Have You Read the Holy Bible Today?


About the presenter:     Joseph E. Swearengin,D.D.  pseudonym  J. E. Appleman
    Born in Delaware Ohio, USA in 1943 and born again of the Lord Jesus Christ somewhat later.in his life. He has since been in The Holy Bible where The Son of God is found.  Reading The Book from Genesis through the Revelation nearly eighty times has been a pleasure of surprises and comforts that cannot be exceeded by anything of this natural life.  When challenged with “why continue” to read it, a response is to state that we return from work each day to our home and wife – that is, to what and whom we love.  Fifteen minutes in the morning and the same in the evening reads through the volume in one year or less.  Have attended Ohio State University, the Columbus College of Art and Design and graduated from Vietnam.  The Bible teacher, Pastor Llewellyn Thompson, who taught me how to study the Holy Book, stated in one of his classes that the names in the Bible are the skeletal structure of the Book.  Unaware of the minute seed he had planted, it grew in me the work of The Holy Celebration, which is presented on this copyright web site.  May the blessings of the Resurrect Lord Jesus be upon those who read the content. JES 2024

The Holy Celebration represents the Spiritual figure of the Lord Jesus Christ, for “God is a Spirit” and” God is love.’ The structure of the Holy Celebration is based on scriptural references [found in its introduction] and grows with each additional book of the Holy Bible until the “seed of the woman” is revealed in the new covenant as Jesus of Nazareth. The pattern of the structure continues through the New Testament until the Book of the Revelation, where God lets us meditate upon its content. As an automobile has characteristic and components, The Spirit also yields its characteristics from the book of Isaiah 11:2-9. Life, light, wisdom, understanding, righteousness, holiness and peace. This defines the anointing Spirit upon Jesus at John the Baptist. The twelve sons of Jacob describe the spirits of the Messiah [Christ], either meaning of their names or acts of their life. Thus the nineteen spirits describe the marvelous person of our Savior The LORD Jesus Christ. What a wonderful and true Hero.

Concerning this web site – should a download be chosen it is requested that a generous donation be made to the World Food Program – donate.wfp.org – or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – stjude.org/givehope. Hunger and disease inhibits the souls ability to receive the written Words of God. Thank you. There are no other fees.

Contents:

About the presenter
Introduction
KJV with The Holy Celebration
Compendiums
3 Commentaries
4 fiction novels
1 screenplay

Pictures:

The Shadow of Death
A view of the Tabernacle from the Gate

Paradise
Inside of the Tabernacle

Map (Africa)
Of Lake Albert, the west shore is in the Congo

The Khamla’ma document
Rendered on animal skin

    Into truth and stability:   

  In the world today are many voices that compete for our attention and importantly our time.  Although familiar with its significance, perhaps you have not been introduced to the Holy Bible.  This voice has transcended the millenniums having been read by: the wealthy, the poor, the influential, the unknown, the remembered, the forgotten, the faithful, the unbelieving, the wise, the foolish, the scoffer and the reverent.  Its acquaintance can enhance the mind and influence the soul: it is always there and ever, the unchanging shoulder to rest a weary head upon.  Like an amiable person, the Holy Bible is worth the time that it takes to become familiar with its personality. Many have spent their lifetime to comprehend the entirety.

    Six thousand years ago a man named Adam described his beginning in the first portion of the Holy Bible, called by the Hebrews the Torah.  The seventh author, Moses, completed these first five books of the Torah and more writers followed adding thirty four books over a period of thirty six hundred years recording the life and faith of a people descended from Adam, who are referred to as the Hebrews or Jews and their God.

    About four thousand years after Adam when the Hebrew, Jesus of Nazareth, presented himself to his people – The Son of God – he was not well received and crucified.  His disciples, during the first century after his birth, witnessed to his resurrection and ascension back to God and a Jewish sect originated recording their faith and witness to the living Jesus in twenty seven books.  With the Hebrew Bible and the twenty seven new covenant books these followers of Jesus, known as Christians, maintain the continuity of the sixty six writings as one book.

    The thirty nine writings comprising the Hebrew Bible were first recorded in the Hebrew language on parchment scrolls and later papyrus pages.  Some of the twenty seven new covenant writings may have been written in Hebrew script but they were finally transmitted in the Greek language.
    

    By the close of the first century A.D. the Jews were observing certain partitionings within the books of their Hebrew Bible.  However, it was not until 1227 A.D. that Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, provided the chapter divisions within the Holy Bible.  The verse numbers were supplied by Robert Stephens during a horse back trip from Paris to Lyons about 1551 A.D.  All copies of the Holy Bible were laboriously made by hand with quill and ink; making it available only to the well educated and wealthy until in 1455 A.D. the German Johann Gutenberg, the first European printer with movable type, printed the Mazarin Bible.
    
    In 1611 A.D., at the bidding of King James of England, an appointed committee of clergy translated the Holy Bible into English with such eloquence, that even today the work is still admired by both the faithful and scholars.  Since then, there have been many other contributions and translations into almost every language on the earth.  The value the reader places upon the words of the Holy Bible will always remain hidden in the heart.  Yet, that the words are Divinely inspired rests in the evidence of the longevity of its orderly existence.    Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.  O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.  Proverbs 23:12, Psalms 34:8.

    Separate from pursuits of drink, food, shelter and entertainment the Holy Bible provides for the awareness; fresh knowledge, stability and a shield from the fears of the world.  Holy, is a word indicating a specialty or separateness from all other; while, ta Biblia, Greek for Books, came down in the English language as singular: thus the name, The Holy Bible.  There are 773, 692 words comprising the Authorized King James Bible making it easily completed in one year by reading a few chapters a day.  As an assignment in life there are many commentaries, Bible dictionaries and concordances available to assist the more interested.

    The Holy Bible comes down to our generation at the cost of careful and diligent hand copying and in some cases at the price of individual lives.  And so, there is a magnificently beautiful work of words whose cover is stained with the blood of martyrs and whose pages describe the shed blood of the Son of God rising to the victory of eternal life.

Have you read the Bible today?  

              Thank you for your valuable time.

NOTE:      The following presentation of the Holy Bible is the text of the Authorized King James Holy Bible, without the referencing guides of chapter numbers or verse numbering.  Since the AKJV is open domain outside of the United Kingdom there is this freedom in presenting a refreshing reading presentation.  Reading place may be noted by page number and paragraph placement.  Free from these encumbrances it is excellent faith to trust only in the words of God.

ATTENTION:    Should any wish to copy or download, it is requested that a generous contribution to the World Food Food Program be made in exchange.          www.wfp.org.              or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital stjude.org/givehope. A physically hungry or ill mind cannot comprehend the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.    j.e.s.

The Death, Burial and Resurrection of our LORD Jesus Christ the Son of God

My understanding of the Glorification of our Savior begins with the Biblical statement of the three days and

three nights. These “days and nights” are rather an indication of “light and darkness” than of twelve or even

twenty four hour periods. This can be shown recognizing nine AM of Friday as the starting point when he

actually hung on he cross [day time, until noon]. We know that from noon Friday until three PM there was

darkness upon the scene of the crucifixion. From three PM until six PM was day light. Six PM indicates the
close of the day, according to Hebrew reckoning. Having been placed in the tomb at six PM and lying dead on the stone slab it became six AM [darkness] and from then until six PM Saturday a period of daytime. Six PM Saturday until six AM a time of darkness and the early morning Resurrection of the crucified Son of God.
To make a briefer statement:
9 to 12 [day] 3 hours — 12 to 3 [night] 3 hours — 3 to 6 [day] 3 hours — 6 to 6 [night] 12 hours — 6 to 6 [day] 12 hours — 6 to 6 [night] 12 hours — and Resurrection
Then again:
Friday:
9 to 12 [day] 3 hours
12 to 3 [night] 3 hours
3 to 6 [day] 3 hours — Crucified, dead after 9 hours
Saturday: Sabbath
6 to 6 [night] 12 hours
6 to 6 [day] 12 hours — Sabbath closes
6 to 6 [night] 12 hours — after 36 hours dead — Resurrection, Sunday morning
A total of 45 hours to the “Glorification of Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God
Thus: three days of [periods of light]
three nights [periods of darkness]
Notice the derivatives of three in the numbers, [three being the number of resurrection]: 9,36,45.

We understand easily enough “death” and “burial” yet, concerning Resurrection our minds remain a bit hazy as to the events within the Savior as he revived from death.
He lay on the stone slab visited with death ever as much as the young man from Nain and Lazarus, His most monumental miracles of His earthly ministry. However, the most glorious miracle, ever, is His own Resurrection.
“I have power to lay it [my life] down and I have power to take it again.”
And He did.
How did he accomplish his prophesy?
May the following shed some understanding of the Savior as He lay dead in our place: From the cross He bid of His Father: “My God, My God why have you forsaken Me?” Remembering the beginning of His ministry as John the Baptist witnessed, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him.”
Now, this Holy Spirit from the Father, who spoke saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear Him,” is further described in Isaiah 11:1-5. To assemble the Holy Spirit as a whole there are seven parts: Life, Light, Wisdom, Understanding, Righteousness, Holiness and Peace; as the disciption appears in the Revelation [the Seven branched lampstick]. This Sprit is the foresakening Jesus experienced on the cross. This left the Messiah of Israel with but twelve spirits that describe that Holy Person. These are the spirits of the Messiah, twelve Sons of Jacob [Israel} that the meaning of their names render to us. These identifying spirits remained with the bloodless body of the Messiah. This Body God was” well pleased” with and thus returned to it with the Holy Spirit [“it is the Spirit that quickeneth”] and once again gave life to Him. His power was to implore His Father “why hast thou forsaken me?” knowing he would be heard when His task was completed.
As a youth this writer, perhaps 10 or 11 experienced death, the fleeting moment when the blow to the head brought complete darkness with stars and they disappeared. Results of the decease of the function of the nervous system [death]. Was revived twenty two hours later by an ingenious physician, Dr. Karrer, who implanted a demon into me until my own soul returned somewhat later. With this information am able to determine that the nervous system is the key instrument to physical life.
But now, the Holy Spirit, upon the dead body of my Savior stimulated the brain [the medulla oblongata] causing the bodily functions to return; with, as my Bible teacher suggested the Holy Spirit then flowing through His arteries and veins, for He is now “flesh and bones,” his blood now on the mercy seat in heaven as witness to his offering. That this is Resurrection, although true to His ministries miracles were instant, may have been more time consuming as rouse to full conscientiousness. He certainly sat up, that takes twenty seconds for full blood, that is Holy Spirit flow to return in the body. Removal of the linen upon his face and about his body, which he evidently folded and placed Himself. Then realization of the events of His death. The return of consciousness to the present and predetermined activities ahead for Him, when the stone rolled away from the tomb opening. There are twelve hours of night from the close of the Sabbath to six AM Sunday morning and Resurrection. Twelve hours, certainly much time for Him.

2024
Joseph E. Swearengin, D.D.
Morgan County, Ohio
43756

NOTE: Concerning the spelling of the NAME (Jehovah as the with current understanding of the spelling and pronouncing); it is important to consider the interview of God at the burning bush with Moses, where God reveals Himself. (See the Holy Celebration for the more complete reveal) As He spells out the Name in pictorial understanding as Jehomah – the third letter (m) in contrast to the today spelling as Jehovah – the third letter being (v). In Hebrew understanding (m) represents – water, fluid or even blood. Jesus in body form as we – contained blood (m) which he shed at the cross to cover our sin. At His presentation to the Apostles he is but ‘flesh and bones” as he states, having taken upon him his eternal state. The permanence of His body form represents the third letter (v) which pictorial meaning is a “nail” as something or place showing permanency. This change can be understood to have occurred during the reins of King David and King Solomon where the great “Father- Son” figure occurs. Those days of heightened spiritual understanding (see the Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, etc. brings us the current (v) spelling – Jehovah. At some point after, scribes seem to have “corrected” from Genesis to Solomon to this the (v) spelling; thus, covering what they did not understand with the intellect and what thing is being continued into these days. Then too, the pronouncing of the name becomes clearer. A name wi8th only four letters and one used therein twice betokens to be pronounced in two syllables. : yoh – mah . Rather today’s spelling – yoh -vah. The heh being pronounced as the explicative of both mah and vah. God is not complicated in delivering us from the curse of Adam, so why think He would make His Name difficult. The name of God is so definingly important because it is the expression of Resurrection.

  Introduction:   The Holy Bible with the Holy Celebration:

     The Holy Bible
                                 
                                               containing   

                                  Old and New Covenants:     

                                                   with

                         The Holy Celebration   

                                as guide

The words of the Authorized King James Translation are
            unaltered and the paragraphing is retained.

         The Holy Celebration including all apparatuses are registered
               U.S. copywrite under the name  Joseph Edsel Swearengin,  
              Reverend Doctor of Biblical Studies, D. D.
                                          # TXu 671-162,  1 – 23 – 1995                                  
                                                                O
                

                Revised  10 – 25 – 98
                Text corrections  3 – 14 – 99
          

               CONTENTS

                                        page                                                                     page

Contents                             [a]                Hosea                     801
Messiah’s Genealogy     [b]                Joel                         809
Introduction                      [c]                Amos                      813
Introduction                      [d]                Obadiah                819
The Outlines                      [e]                Jonah                     821
Descriptive Outline        [f]                  Micah                     825
Descriptive Outline        [g]                  Nahum                 831
Descriptive Outline        [h]                  Habakkuk            835
The Seven Days and      [i]                   Zephaniah             839
The Seven Days and      [j]                   Haggai                   843  
The Holy Celebration     [k]                  Zechariah             847  
The Holy Celebration     [l]                   Malachi                857
The Places                       [m]                  Matthew               861
Genesis                              01                   Mark                    893     
Exodus                              49                   Luke                      913
Leviticus                           91                    John                     947    
Numbers                         121                    Acts                       971     
Deuteronomy                 165                   Romans                 1003    
Joshua                             201                   I Corinthians        1017     
Judges                             227                  II Corinthians        1029    
Ruth                                  253                  Galatians              1039     
I Samuel                          257                  Ephesians              1045    
II Samuel. 289 Philippians. 1051
I Kings. 317. Colossians. 1055
II Kings 349 I Thessalonians. 1059
I Chronicles. 379. II Thessalonians. 1063
II Chronicles. 407 I Timothy 1067
Ezra                                   441                 II Timothy             1071
Nehemiah                       453                 Titus                          1075
Ester                                 469                  Philemon                1079
Job                                     477                  Hebrews                 1081
Psalms                             499                 James                       1091
Proverbs                           585                I Peter                        1095
Lamentations                 613               II Peter                         1099
Ecclesiastes. 619 I John 1103                                                                                                 
Song of Solomon           627               II John                           1107
Isaiiah                               633              III John                         1109
Jeremiah                          681                Jude                             1111
Ezekiel                              735              The Revelation             1113
Daniel                                785        

                    [a]
                 The Messiah’s Genealogy

                                  continued from first column
Adam     4004 BC
Seth                                          David     — same —         David
Enos                                          Solomon                       Nathan
Cainan                                       Rehoboam                    Mattiatha
Mahalaleel                                Abijah                          Menan
Jared                                            Asa                               Melea       
Enoch                                      Jehosaphat                    Eliakim
Methuselah                             Jehoram                        Jonan
Lamech                                    Ahaziah                        Joseph
Noah                                            Joash                            Juda
Shem                                       Amasiah                        Simeon
Arphaxad                                  Uzziah                           Levi
Salah                                        Jotham                          Matthat
Eber                                            Ahaz                             Jorim
Peleg                                      Hezekiah                       Eliezer
Reu                                         Manasseh                      Jose
Serug                                        Amon                             Er
Nahor                                     Josiah                            Elmodam
Terah                                    Jehoahaz                        Cosam
Abram [Abraham]                                                       Addi
Isaac                                       Salathiel                       Melchi    
Jacob                                                                               Neri
Judah                                       Zerubbabel                 Salathiel
Pharez                                                                            Zorobabel
Hezron                                          Abiud                        Rehesa
Aram                                                                               Joanna
Aminadab                                    Eliakim                  Juda
Naasson                                                                        Joseph
Salmon                                               Azor                   Semiel
Boaz                                                                                 Mattathias
Obed                                                  Sadoc                  Maath
Jesse                                                                                 Nagge
                                                             Achim                  Esli
                                                                                             Naum
                                                                 Eliud                  Amos
                                                                                            Mattiathias
                                                             Eleazar                  Joseph
                                                                                             Janna
                                                           Matthan                   Melchi
                                                                                                Levi
                                                               Jacob                  Matthat
                                                                                                Heli
                                                        Joseph    [married]          Mary
                                                                                                         *
                                                                                                  Jesus of Nazareth
                                                                                                  the Messiah of Israel
                                                                                                   the Son of the Living
                                                                                                            God

                       [b]
 

                                         INTRODUCTION                                          page[c]           

    Begrudge me not my alabaster box of very precious ointment, prepared of the Holy Spirit – but, if it be a  question of words and names, and of your law look ye to it; for this is the book of the generations of Adam, and the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, for the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.       Mk 14:3, Acts 18:15, Gen 5:1, Mt 1:1, ICor 15:45                                        

        The outline verse of the entire Bible, Gen 5:1, has spanned before me the three years of this work and continues. ‘The words of the Authorized King James Bible are not changed in this volume; nor the intents of the translators in their dedicatory to King James in 1611. What differs, is the absence of chapter and verse numbers; rather, in this reading Bible, the divisions are indicated with names and words. From Genesis, the names and from Deuteronomy the words; and when prayerfully considered, are valuable clues to the scriptures that concern Him, so that we can say with Paul “But we see Jesus.”          Hb 2:9

        Now, the descriptive outline is set forth in Genesis 1 :1 through 2:3 (pages [k] and [l]), that the seeing may be with understanding. Note also, that the book of Lamentations follows Proverbs in this presentation and a straight through reading of the Bible confirms this placing, as well as the Holy Celebration’s outline.  Keep in mind the individual books description and and it will be recognized, as the verse is underlined.

        Beginning at Hosea (Issachar) clear through Malachi the reader will find a negative view of what the blessing of the names indicates, as it represents the Messiah.  The purpose here in these twelve books, is that we may understand the grief of the grinding and milling the Messiah suffered and on the cross.  In His person, the proof of this edible and savory bread of His fruitfulness as the firstfruit of Creation. Also, a place or watch indicated by these names and words does not begin, necessarily, at the prophesy of them, but at the actuality. For example, look to Exodus at (Joseph), which could begin, at first consideration, with the words “and the LORD spake unto Moses saying, on the first day…” But closer examination shows it begins later where it appears – “and Moses reared up the Tabernacle.”  The first is prophesy (the old covenant) and the second the actual event (the new covenant).  In the first we hear of Jesus and in the second – we see Jesus.        Ex 40:1, Ex 40:17

        The Gospels proved the greatest test of the places (names and words to describe Messiah and His work); but, rather than show any discord of the four records, a most beautiful harmony has emerged to present one Messiah and one work of the Holy Spirit.  
                                              INTRODUCTION                                     page [d]

    The Revelation is a work by itself from the places, as the name Shuham  [meditate] indicates.   The Seven Spirits of God shown with the names of the seven Churches parallel the seven days of Genesis 1:1 – 2:3 and knits the sixty six Books into one band of God’s love letter.

    Should you follow the explanations on pages [k] and [l] you will find the references, to the scriptures containing the names; that also being the order in which the places are applied to the books (the meanings of the names were carefully constructed from their original language).   The absence of certain places, especially in the New Covenant, will with thought be understood, keeping in mind the purpose of the Holy Celebration is to honor Jesus the Messiah and his work at the cross and through the Holy Spirit as described in the Holy Word. The King James text includes italicized headings to many of the Psalms.  Investigation found that these were of uncertain origin and authority, they are, but not without reverence, omitted from this offering of God’s thoughts; and the relation of the name of the place and the Psalm seems smoother.  Being a reading Bible, one may open to Genesis page one, or to any of the sixty six books and read, without having to brood over any of the outline information.              

    There is nothing set forth to intentionally injure or offend anyone or group – Jew – Gentile or  Christian.  My lot has been but to give the Holy Spirit place and time to open my eyes to this wonderful see of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Righteous Father, the Majesty, whose name is Holy, who dwellest between the two Cherubim above the mercy seat, in the Holy of Holiest, within the great and Perfect Tabernacle, not made with hands, pitched in the Heaven of Heavens, far above all heavens, Thou dwellest from Everlasting to Everlasting, Thou art GOD. May Thy two covenants, thus unrolled, be as two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold: to remember, O God our Savior and King, the Lord Jesus Christ for His infinite good.  As it likened the Holy Spirit in  the Kings Name to seal it with the Kings ring for the writing which is written in the King’s Name, and sealed with the Kings ring, may no man reverse.       Amen                     
    composites, and Ezra 8:27, Neh 13:31, Est 8:8

Joseph Edsel Swearengin       2/5/89  

                                                                                                                    page [e]

                           THE OUTLINES

THE COMPREHENSIVE OUTLINE OF THE BIBLE

     This is the book of the generations of Adam.    Genesis 5:1

THE DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE        page [f]  

    is contained in the following pages of Genesis 1:1 through 2:3. These outline verses in Genesis describe the sixty six books individually and correspond to the verse underlined In the books respectively.

THE SEVEN DAYS of Genesis AND THE SEVEN CHURCHES of the Revelation         page [i]
   
     are the likeness of the Seven Spirits of God. The Revelation is the only book without Places as the outline name Shuham (meaning to meditate) shows –  His purpose to the reader.

THE HOLY CELEBRATION,        page [k]
    
     the structural outline follows as the heading indicates, and thereafter  the places of names and words are found within the scriptures.

THE DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE                                         page [f]
            Genesis 1:1 – 2:3   
  For explanations and meanings of the names refer to the [Lamp] references in the Holy Celebration page [k].  Book abbrevation, chapter number and verse number indicate the book’s corresponding verse underlined in each book to the outline verse.

Ard and Naaman, the sons of Bela, form the whole Bible Outline:   

GENESIS [BELA]
               In the beginning God created the heaven1 and the earth. [& ARD] And the     
      the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon (Gen- IIThes)
      [&NAAMAN] the face of the deep.  (I Tim.-Rev)

Descriptive Outline – verses or parts of the verses in Genesis that describe each of the sixty six book’s verses indicated after that corresponding verse:

[Genesis] [BELA]
               In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.     Gen. 5:1, pg 4
    [& ARD] —
               And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon [&
            NAAMAN] — the face of the deep.
            [ASHBEL]
And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
[AHIRAM]
And God said, Let there be light:
[SHUPHAM]
and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good:
[HUPHAM]
and God  divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
[Exodus][NEMUEL]
              And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, Ex. 2:3
            [JAMIN]                                 pg 50
            and let it divide the waters from the waters.  Ex.26:23 , pg74
[Leviticus][JACHIN]
  And God made the firmament,     Lev. 1:2, pg 91
[Numbers][ZERAH]
  and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.     Num. 1:53, pg 123
[Deuteronomy][SHAUL]
  And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.     Deut. 18:15, pg 183
[Joshua][SERED]
  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place,     Josh. 18:1, pg 217
[Judges][SERED]
  and let the dry land appear:     Judg. 2:16, pg 229
[Ruth][ELON]
  and it was so.     Ruth 2:1, pg 254
[I Samuel][JAHLEEL]
  And God called the dry land Earth;     ISam. 16:12, pg 272
[II Samuel][JAHLEEL]
  and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.     II Sam. 8:6, pg 296      
                THE DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE  –  continued                                  page [g]                            
[I Kings][JAHLEEL]
  And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding  seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,     I Kg. 1:29,30, pg 318
[II Kings][JAHLEEL]
  whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.     II Kg. 1:3, pg 349  
[I Chronicles][JAHLEEL]
  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind,  I C.29:18
[II Chronicles][JAHLEEL]                                  pg 405
  and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. IIC. 1:1,2
[Ezra, Nehemiah, Ester][TOLA]                          pg 407
  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day  from the night; and let them be    Ez. 1:4, pg 441; Ne. 1:1, pg 460; Est. 2:7, pg 470
[Job][PUA]
  for signs,     Job 1:1, pg 477
[Psalms][PUA]
  and for seasons,     Psm. 1:1, pg 499
[Proverbs][PUA]
  and for days,     Prv. 1:23, pg 586
[Lamentations][PUA]
  and years:     Lam. 1:1, pg 613
[Ecclesiastes][PUA]
  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the  earth: and it was so.     Eccl. 12:1,2, pg 626
[Song of Solomon][PUA]
  And God made two great lights;     S.S. 2:16, pg628
[Isaiah, Jeremiah][JASHUB]
  the greater light to rule the day, and     Isa.1:1, pg 633;  Jer.1:1,2 pg 681
[Ezekiel, Daniel][JASHUB]
  the lesser light to rule the night:     Eze. 1:1, pg 735; Da. 1:2,3 pg 785
[Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,Zechariah, Malachi][SHIMROM]
  he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give   light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.     Chapter 1:1 typical for all  12 books, pg 1st of each
[Matthew][JIMNAH]
  And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life,     Mt. 1:1, pg 861
[Mark][JESUI]
  and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.   Mk.16:15
[LUKE][BERIAH]                                      pg 912
  [&HEBER] And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind,[&MALCHIEL] and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  Lk. 1:1,2,/3 pg 913
[John][SARAH]  
  And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.     Jn. 20:30, pg 970
[Acts][JAHZEEL  
  And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind,  Ac.10:25
[Romans][GUNI]                                pg 982
  cattle,     Rm. 1:3:4, pg 1003
[I & II Corinthians][GUNI]
  and creeping thing,     I Cor. 3:16, pg 1019; II Cor. 3:3, pg 1030
[Galatians][GUNI]
  and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.     Ga. 6:15, pg 1043
                              
        THE DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE  –  continued                  page [h]
[Ephesians][GUNI]  
  And God made the beast of the earth     Eph. 2:6, pg 1046
[Philippians][GUNI]
  after his kind,     Plp. 1:20, pg1051       
[Colossians][GUNI]
  and cattle after their kind,     Col. 1:15, pg 1055
[I Thessalonians][GUNI]
  and every thing that creepeth upon the earth     I Thes 1:3, pg 1059
[II Thessalonians][GUNI]
  after his kind: and God saw that it was good.      II Thes. 1:13, pg 1064

    [&NAAMAN] —

[I Timothy][JEZER]
   And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:     I Tim. 1:18
[II Timothy][JEZER]                               pg 1067
  and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.     II Tim. 4:2, pg 1073
[Titus][JEZER]
   So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;   Ti.1:4
[Philemon][JEZER]                                       pg 1075
  male and female created he them.     Phi. : /1, /2 pg 1079  
[Hebrews][JEZER]
  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:     Hb. 13:20,21 pg 1090
[James][JEZER]
  and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.     Ja. 2:22, pg 1092
[I Peter][JEZER]
   And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth,     I Pe. 1:23, pg 1096
[II Peter][JEZER]
  and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.     II Pe. 1:5,6,7 pg 1099
[I John][JEZER]
  And to every beast of the earth,     I Jn. 1:3, pg 1103
[II John][JEZER
  and to every fowl of the air,     II Jn. :3, pg 1107
[III John][JEZER]
  and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.     III Jn. :6, pg 1109
[Jude][SHILLEM]
  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.     Jude :25, pg 1112
[The Revelation][SHUHAM]   
  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.     Rev. 21:1,2,3 pg 1126
THE SEVEN DAYS AND THE SEVEN CHURCHES                 page [i]  

     Compare what is written, after the names with the days here; to what is written, after the names with the Churches in The Revelation.

GENESIS   1:1 – 2:3

     [BELA]   In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
        [&ARD] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  
        (Benjamin)  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
         (Simeon)  And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
            (Zebulun) And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
    (Issachar)  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
    (Asher) And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
    (Naphtali)  And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
        [& NAAMAN]
            And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea,  and over the fowl of the air,  and over  every  living      

THE SEVEN DAYS AND THE SEVEN CHURCHES  –  con’d       page [j]

thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
        (Dan)  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

THE HOLY CELEBRATION                                             page [k]

         Exodus 15:17,  Leviticus 23:41     –     1113 Places to celebrate     –    John 12:12-15

Gen.5:1,    Josh.18:9     Num.26:53                 Books                             Refer.             #               Explan.                              
 25:26 [Lampstick]           [Lamp]                     [Fire]                                                   Pl.
                                                                                                  
                                         Bela-a gulp                              1:1-2:3              -Josh 18:9,10     7    Josh 18:2
                                         Ashbel-flowing                        2:4-12:3           -Josh 18:10,11   10   Dt 33:26-29
                   Benjamin {   Ahiram-bro of hgts  }  Gen  {  12:4-29:1      -Josh 18:12-20   3   Abr,Isa,Jac
                                          Shupham-humbly                  29:2-33:17     -Josh 18:21-24   12   G.29,births
                                          Hupham-protection            33:18-50:26    -Josh 18:25-26  14   G.35:,49:bls

                                         Nemuel-day of God  }   Exodus                       -Josh 19:6        13
                                         Jamin-right hand    }                                                                         } Places by
                 Simeon    {   Jachin-established  –   Leviticus                    -Josh 19:6        13     meanings
                                        Zerah-dawn            –     Numbers                      -Josh 19:6        13    G.29:32 –
                                        Shaul-asked for      –    Deuteronomy             -Josh 19:6        13        30:4 & 35:18,
                                                                                                                                                                     order of
                                        Sered-tremble          {    Joshua                         -Josh 19:15       12        Ex.1:2-5
                                                                             {    Judges                         -Josh 19:15       12      
 
                Zebulun {     Elon-friend            –         Ruth                             -Josh 19:15       12

                                                                               
                                                                              {    I Samuel                     -Josh 19:15       12
                                                                              {    II Samuel                    -Josh 19:15       12
                                         Jahleel-expec.God   {    I-II Kings                      -Josh 19:15       12 ea.
                                                                              {    I-II Chronicles            -Josh 19:15       12 ea.

                                                                              {     Ezra                             -Josh 19:22       16
                                         Tola- a worm             {     Nehemiah                  -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                              {     Ester                            -Josh 19:22       16
 
                                                                              {     Job                               -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                              {     Psalms                        -Josh 19:22       16
                                         Pua – blast                 {    Proverbs                      -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                              {    Lamentations             -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                              {     Ecclesiastes               -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                              {     Song of Solomon       -Josh 19:22       16

Adam }                                                                {     Isaiah                           -Josh l9:22        16
Abraham }                      Jashub-he will        {     Jeremiah                     -Josh 19:22        16  } Places by
        Isaac }                                     return        {     Ezekiel                         -Josh 19:22       16  Blessings
       Israel } Issachar {                                      {     Daniel                          -Josh 19:22      16   Dt33:6-292
 
                                                                              {     Hosea                           -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                              {     Joel                               -Josh 19:22        16
                                                                                  
                                                                              {    Amos                             -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                              {     Obadiah                        -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                              {     Jonah                             -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                              {    Micah                             -Josh 19:22       16
                                            Shimron-guard-   {    Nahum                            -Josh 19:22       16
                                                        ianship        {    Habbakkuk                     -Josh 19:22      16
                                                                               {    Zephaniah                     -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                               {    Haggai                            -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                               {     Zechariah                     -Josh 19:22       16
                                                                                {    Malachi                         -Josh 19:22       16

                                       {    Jimnah-prop’rite   –   Matthew                          -Josh 19:30       22
                 Asher           {    Jesui-he will level  –     Mark                               -Josh 19:30       22
                                       {     Beriah- in evil       –     Luke                                -Josh 19:30       22      
                                       {     Sarah-princess      –     John                              -Josh 19:30       22          

                                           THE HOLY CELEBRATION  – continued                          page [l]

         Exodus 15:17,  Leviticus 23:41     –     1113 Places to celebrate     –    John 12:12-15

Gen.5:1,    Josh.18:9     Num.26:53                          Books                        Refer.                #               Explan.                              
 25:26 [Lampstick]           [Lamp]                            [Fire]                                                 Pl.
                

                                         {    Jahzeel-apportioned –  Acts                          -Josh 19:38     19  }  Places by
                                                                        by God                                                                          blessings
                                                                                                                                                               Dt33:6:293  
                                                                                    {     Romans         blk  -Josh 19:38        19
                                                                                    {      I-II Corinthians  blk  -Josh 19:38    19 ea.
                                                                                    {   Galatians         blk  -Josh 19:38        19
                                                                                    {   Ephesians        blu  -Josh 19:38        19
                                        {    Guni-protected w/    {   Philippians      pur  -Josh 19:38        19
                                                               colors         {     Colossians      scar  -Josh 19:38       19
                                                                                   {      I Thessalonians wite  -Josh 19:38     19
                                                                                   {      II Thess.            grn  -Josh 19:38        19
               Naphtali   {                       
                                                                                           I – II Timothy           -Josh 19:38       19 ea.
                                                                                           Titus                         -Josh 19:38       19
                                                                                           Philemon                 -Josh 19:38       19
                                         {   Jezer – to form            {     Hebrews                   -Josh 19:38       19
                                                                                     {      James                       -Josh 19:38       19
                                                                                     {      I-II Peter                   -Josh 19:38       19 ea.
                                                                                     {      I-II John                    -Josh 19:38       19 ea.
                                                                                     {      III John                     -Josh 19:38       19

                                          {   Shillem – requital     {       Jude                          -Josh 19:38       19
              
              Dan         –          {   Shuham – meditate  –   The Revelation – to off the cover          1
                          


                                                     
 The meanings of the names of the Books in the Bible as they are applied in this volume.

Genesis – firstfruit                   Song of Solomon – song of          Mark – a male
Exodus – these trebled land                         peaceful one             Luke – illuminative
Leviticus – to call out. Isaiah – Jah saved. John Jah is gracious
Numbers – spake in wilderness   Jeremiah – Jah will rise          Acts – to accomplish
Deuteronomy – these words       Ezekiel – God strengthen          Romans – have health
Joshua – Jeh saved                   Daniel – judge of God                     Corinthians – dried grape
Judges – to judge                      Hosea – delivered                            Galatians – tranquility
Ruth – friend                              Joel – Jah his God                            Ephesians – rest
Samuel – asked of God            Amos – burdensom                         Philippians – friend in healing
Kings – king                               Obadiah – serving Jah                    Colossians – colossal person
Chronicles – mid-day word    Jonah – a dove                                  Thessalonians – laurel
Ezra – help                                  Micah – who is like Jah                  Timothy – dear to God
Nehemiah – comfort of Jah    Nahum – God avenging                  Titus – the penalty
Ester – star                                 Habbakkuk – embrace                    Philemon – friendly                                
Job – one persecuted               Zephaniah-Jah has secreted        Hebrews – to cross, transition
Psalms – hymn                          Haggai – festive                                James – heel catcher
Proverbs – a pithy rule             Zechariah – to mark                       Peter – a piece of rock
Lamentations – how!                Malachi – an angel                          Jude – praise Jah
Ecclesiastes – assembler        Matthew -gift of Jah                       Revelation – to off the cover

    The Places – – the names and words within the books with references                (m)

  Genesis              Genesis                  Genesis                 Genesis                  Genesis            
 
Bela (lamp)         Ashbel (flowing)  Ahiram(br.ht)     Shupham (Son)   Hupham (in Egypt)
Josh. 18:2             Dt. 33:27-29          (Gn.12:4-28-22)   Gn. 29:1-33:17       Gn.33:18,49:2-27   

Benjamin            Refuge                    Abraham              Reuben                     Benjamin         
Simeon                Arms                       Isaac                     Simeon                      Reuben
Zebulun               Thrust                    Jacob                    Levi                              Simeon     
Issachar              Destroy                                                 Judah                          Levi
Asher                    Alone                                                    Dan                              Judah
Naphtali              Fountain                                              Naphtali                      Zebulun
Dan                       Land                                                      Gad                               Issachar
                              Heavens                                                Asher                           Dan
                              Shield                                                    Issachar                      Gad
                              Sword                                                    Zebulun                       Asher
                                                                                              (Dinah)                        Naphtali
                                                                                              Joseph                          Joseph
                                                                                                                                    Ephriam
                                                                                                                                    Benjamin

  Exodus thru Deut.                       Joshua                        Judges thru Jude                            The Revelation

Redemption – Moses                Possessing                   The Savior helping                       The True Reuben
Gn. 29:2-33:17                            Dt.33:6-25                      Dt.33:6-29                                      Rev.1:5, Dt.33:6    
queue from Ex.1:2-5                 (Simeon does      
                                                         not appear)                  Reuben
Reuben                                                                                   Simeon        
Simeon                                        Reuben                             Judah
Levi                                               Judah                                Levi            
Judah                                           Levi                                    Benjamin            
Issachar                                       Benjamin                        Joseph        
Zebulun                                       Ephraim                           Zebulun        
Benjamin                                    Manasseh                        Issachar        
Dan                                               Zebulun                            Gad
Naphtali                                      Issachar                            Dan
Gad                                               Gad                                     Naphtali        All places above for
Asher                                            Dan                                     Asher           Judges thru II Chron.
Jacob                                            Naphtali                            Refuge
Joseph                                          Asher                                  Arms
                                                                                                    Thrust       All places above for
                                                                                                    Destroy      Ezra thru Malachia              
                                                                                                    Alone  –
                                                                                                    Fountain  –  Three places found    
                                                                                                    Land  –       only in the Gospels
                                                                                                    Heavens       
                                                                                                    Shield          Nineteen places in
                                                                                                    Sword        all books after John
                                
                              
                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Pg 1

According to the pattern of the Holy Celebration (see page [k] in the Introduction) the Holy Bible is reflected as a figure of the Holy Lampstand (Exodus, the Tabernacle).  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the base from which seven stems rise and compose the seven divisions of the individual sixty-six books (again see page [k]) of the Introduction are in their seven groups appearing below beginning with Genesis

Follows:  The words of the KJV Bible with the Holy Celebration appearing therein.

GENESIS   =   firstfruit

BRANCH  –  BENJAMIN  =  son of the right hand

LAMP  –      [BELA]  =  a gulp:  [&ARD] = fugitive  –  [&NAAMAN]  =  pleasantness
                   [ASHBEL]  =  flowing
                   [AHIRAM]  =  brother of heights
                   [SHUPHAM]  =  humbly
                   [HUPHAM]  =  protection

     [BELA]   In the beginning God created the heaven4  and the earth.
       [& ARD]
           And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
          And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
         And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
          And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.  
          And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.    And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.   And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,    And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.    And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.   
          And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.    

        [BELA] [NAAMAN], [ASHBEL]                    Genesis          pg 2                                                   

     And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
         And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
          [&NAAMAN]
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
          Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.   And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.    And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
     [ASHBEL]
       These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
         And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
         And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
          And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should  be  alone;  I  will
                 [ASHBEL] [REFUGE]        Genesis                 pg 3

make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
        Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.    
       [REFUGE]
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?    And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.    And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?    And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
        [ARMS]
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
           And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as  one  of  us,  to  know  good and  evil: and now, lest  he put  forth  his hand, and take also of the tree of life,
          [ASHBEL] [THRUST]            Genesis            pg 4  

and eat, and live for ever:    Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
           And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.  And the LORD said unto Cain,  Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
          And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
     [THRUST]
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
             And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
           And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.   And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.    If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.   
           And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.    And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.    
           This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.    And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:   And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:   And all             the  days that Adam  lived were  nine  hundred and  thirty years: and he  died.  And
              [ASHBEL] [DESTROY]                Genesis             pg 5
 

Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:    And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
           And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:   And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
          And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel: And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
        And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
         And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:  And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
         And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.    And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
           And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
     [DESTROY]            
And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
           These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.    And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
        [ASHBEL] [ALONE]            Genesis             pg 6

          Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
     [ALONE]
           And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him. And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
        And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
     [FOUNTAIN]
        In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:  All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.    And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping  things,  and  the
            [ASHBEL] [LAND]            Genesis                         pg 7

fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.   And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
          And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
           And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
          And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
     [LAND]
          And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
        And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth       upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea;  into your hand are they delivered.  
Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.   But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.   Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.  And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
        [ASHBEL] [LAND]            Genesis            pg 8

          And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
          And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread. And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
          And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
          Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
          And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
          And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.   And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
            [ASHBEL] [HEAVENS]         Genesis              pg 9

          Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.  And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east. These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
          And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
     [HEAVENS]
          These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah: And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg: And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.  And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
          Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they  came  unto  Haran,
        [ASHBEL] [SHIELD]            Genesis           pg 10

and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
     [SHIELD]
          Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
     [SWORD]
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
     [AHIRAM]
So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
          And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
         And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
          And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
          And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
          And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not  the  whole  land  before  thee?  separate
            [AHIRAM]                Genesis           pg 11

thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
          And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
        And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness. And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar. And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
         And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,  That I will not take  from a thread  even to a shoelatchet, and that  I will not
            [AHIRAM]            Genesis          pg 12

take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:  Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
          After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites,and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
            Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
          And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
          And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against   him;   and   he   shall  dwell   in  the   presence  of  all  his  brethren.    And
                    [AHIRAM] [ABRAHAM]            Genesis           pg 13                                   

she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
           And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be [ABRAHAM]; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
           And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
          And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
            And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
          And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and  bowed  himself  toward  the  ground,  And said, My  Lord,  if  now I have  found  
        [AHIRAM] [ABRAHAM]            Genesis          pg 14

favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.  And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
           And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying,  After I am waxed  old shall I have pleasure, my lord being  old also?
And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?  Is any thing too hard for the LORD?  At the time appointed I will return unto thee,according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
        And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
         And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
        [AHIRAM] [ABRAHAM]            Genesis           pg 15

          And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
        But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both  old and  young, all the people from every  quarter:
And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
             And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
         And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
          And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
          The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
             But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
            And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered  Abraham, and  sent Lot  out  of  the  midst of  the overthrow,  when he
        [AHIRAM] [ISAAC]            Genesis           pg 16

overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
          And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
             And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?  Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of  my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake. And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and women- servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
            So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.
          And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, [ISAAC]. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days  old, as  God  had  commanded  him.  And
                  [AHIRAM] [ISAAC]            Genesis           pg 17                    

Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
           And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
       And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.  And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
           And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
          And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear. And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them. Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
            And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.
           And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
           And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of  his young men with him,  and Isaac his son, and clave the  wood for the burnt
        [AHIRAM] [ISAAC]            Genesis           pg 18

offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
          And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
         And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
          And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
             And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead. And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it,  I pray thee, hear me:  I will give thee money for
               [AHIRAM] [ISAAC]            Genesis            pg 19    

the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
          And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.
         And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
          The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.
        And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shown kindness unto my master.
          And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.  And it came to pass,  as the camels had done  drinking,  that  the  
        [AHIRAM] [ISAAC]            Genesis           pg 20

man  took  a  golden  earring  of  half  a  shekel  weight,  and  two  bracelets  for  her
hands of ten shekels weight of gold; And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in? And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren. And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.
          And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
          And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house: Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son. And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son. And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold,  and raiment,  and  
                    [AHIRAM] [ISAAC]            Genesis           pg 21

gave  them to Rebekah:  he  gave  also  to  her  brother and  to  her  mother  precious
things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country.
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a veil, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
                 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
           And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
           And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi.
            Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people. And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.
           And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her;  and she said,  If  it be  so,  why  am I  thus?  And  she  went  to
        [AHIRAM] [JACOB]            Genesis           pg 22

inquire of  the LORD. And the LORD said  unto her, Two  nations are in thy  womb,
and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
            And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.  And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called [JACOB]: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
          And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
          And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lain with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
              And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. And they digged another well,  and strove for  that  also:  and  he  called  the  name  of  it Sitnah.  And he removed from thence,  and digged  another  well;  and  for  that  they
                   AHIRAM] [JACOB]            Genesis           pg 23    

strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.
           Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD. And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.
          And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:  Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
               And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
           And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
          And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly,  my son?  And he said,  Because the LORD thy God brought it  to  
        AHIRAM] [JACOB]            Genesis          pg 24      

me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.  And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
    And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac his father said unto him,Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. And he said, Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing. And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
    And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
    And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters  of Laban thy mother’s brother.  And God Almighty bless thee,  and
            [SHUPHAM]             Genesis               pg 25

make thee  fruitful,and multiply thee, that thou  mayest  be  a  multitude  of  people;
And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
        When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram; And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
        And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
        And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
         Then Jacob went on his journey,
      [SHUPHAM]
and came into the land of the people of the east. And he looked,and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well’s mouth in his place. And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother,that Jacob went near, and rolled the        stone from the well’s mouth,and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.  And  Jacob  told  Rachel      
        [SHUPHAM] [REUBEN]        Genesis           pg 26                                      

that he was her father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son: and she ran and told her father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.
    And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and wellfavoured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
    And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
    And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name [REUBEN]: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name [SIMEON]. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called [LEVI]. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name [JUDAH]; and left bearing.
    And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name [DAN]. And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name [NAPHTALI]. When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name [GAD]. And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name [ASHER].
    And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I
        [SHUPHAM] [ISSACHAR]        Genesis           pg 27                                  

pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son’s mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name [ISSACHAR]. And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name [ZEBULUN]. And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name [DINAH]. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name [JOSEPH]; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
    And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock. I will pass through all thy flock today, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
    And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle. And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.  But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
    And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will  be  with thee.  And Jacob  sent and called Rachel and
        [SHUPHAM] [JOSEPH]            Genesis           pg 28

Leah to the field unto his flock, And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money. For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
    Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s. And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead. And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
    Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the two maidservants’ tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent. Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not. And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.
    And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban,  What is my trespass?  what is my sin,  that thou hast  so  hotly  pursued
        [SHUPHAM] [JOSEPH]            Genesis           pg 29                                                      

after me? Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both. This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
    And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.  And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.  Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount. And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.
    And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
    And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.  Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
    And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shown unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
                        [SHUPHAM] [JOSEPH]        Genesis          pg 30

    And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us. And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me. So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company. And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
    And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
    And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord,  I pray thee,  pass over before his servant:
                        [HUPHAM]                          Genesis                           pg 31            

and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
     [HUPHAM]
        And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.
        And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.
        And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him. And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done. And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister: And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us: But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone. And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son. And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.
        And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
        And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon  the  city  boldly,  and  slew  all  the  males.  And  they  slew  Hamor  and
                        [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]        Genesis          pg 32

Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
    And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.  Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Beth-el, he and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. But Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth.
    And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el.
    And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him [BENJAMIN]. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.
    And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar. And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram.
    And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and  his  sons  Esau  and  Jacob
                        [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]        Genesis           pg 33

buried him.
    Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle. Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:  These are the names of Esau’s sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau’s wife. And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife.
    And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.
    These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.
    And these are the sons of Reuel Esau’s son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife.
    And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau’s wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.
    These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah. And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan. The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran. These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.
    And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead. And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. And Saul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau;  and
                        [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]        Genesis           pg 34

his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth, Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.
    And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
    And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
    And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.  And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
    And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
    And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
    And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?  Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh.  And his  brethren  were  content.  Then  there  passed  by
            [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                    Genesis               pg 35

Midianites  merchantmen;  and  they  drew and lifted up Joseph out of  the  pit,  and
sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
        And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no. And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.
        And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.  Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
        And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. And she arose, and went away, and laid by her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not. Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
        And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath played the harlot;  and also,  behold,  she is
                [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                     Genesis          pg 36

with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
    And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zerah.
    And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not aught he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and wellfavoured.
    And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;  There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:
And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
    And it came to pass after these things,  that the butler of the  king  of  Egypt
                                  [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                      Genesis           pg 37

        
and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
        And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly today? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you. And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
        And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand: But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.  Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
        And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. And, behold, there came up out of the river seven wellfavoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven wellfavoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
        Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker: And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we  dreamed each  man according to the interpretation of  his dream.
                [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                         Genesis           pg 38

And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
    Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and wellfavoured; and they fed in a meadow: And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
    And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
    And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shown thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
                [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                    Genesis               pg 39

    And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number. And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
    And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.
    Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
    And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him. And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.  Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
    And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child;  and ye would not hear?  therefore,
                [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                         Genesis          pg 40

behold, also his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
    Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them. And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack’s mouth. And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us? And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying, The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies: We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone: And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land.
    And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
    And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time. And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
    And the  men took  that  present, and  they took double money in their hand,
                [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                      Genesis           pg 41

and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
    And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
    And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
    And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. Then they speedily took down every man his sack to  the ground, and opened every man his sack.  And he searched, and began at
                [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                   Genesis               pg 42

the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
    And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
    Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us. And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since: And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life; It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
    Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds,  and all that thou hast:  And there
                [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                       Genesis           pg 43

will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
    And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
    And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
        And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:  I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.  And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
        And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
        And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
        And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
        And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
        And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
        And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and  Ezbon, Eri, and  Arodi,  
                [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                        Genesis           pg 44

and Areli.
    And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.
    And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him.
    And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
    And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
    And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
    And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and show Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
    Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
    And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.
    And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that
                                    [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                       Genesis           pg 45

    
the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:  Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.  And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s. And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.  Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands. Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants. And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s.
    And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.
    And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.  And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
    And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath;  the same  is  Bethlehem.  And  Israel  beheld  Joseph’s
                [HUPHAM] [REUBEN]                       Genesis              pg 46

sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shown me also thy seed. And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
    And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
    And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
    [REUBEN], thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
    [SIMEON] and [LEVI] are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
    [JUDAH], thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
    [ZEBULUN] shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
    [ISSACHAR] is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
    [DAN] shall judge his people,  as one of the tribes of Israel.  Dan  shall  be  a
                [HUPHAM] [GAD]                            Genesis               pg 47

    
serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
    [GAD], a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
    Out of [ASHER] his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
    [NAPHTALI] is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
    [JOSEPH] is a fruitful bough,
           [EPHRIAM] even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
    [BENJAMIN] shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
    All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
    And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days. And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
    And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company. And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond Jordan. And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them: For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
    And Joseph returned into Egypt, he,  and his brethren,  and all that went up
              [HUPHAM] [BENJAMIN]                       Genesis           pg 48

with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
    And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
    And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.


note:

The Pens of Genesis:

  1:1   –  2:3    =  Adam
  2:4   –  4:26  =  Enoch
  5:1   –  11:9  =  Noah
11:10 –  25:6  =  Abraham
25:7   –  28:9  =  Isaac
28:10 –  50:26=  Jacob by Joseph’s hand

Compiled by Moses – from the scrolls with Joseph’s bones                                                  

                                             pg 49
SIMEON / EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS, DEUTERONOMY

Exodus  =  these trebled land

BRANCH –  SIMEON =  heard

                       [NEMUEL]  =  day of God
LAMP  {          
                       [JAMIN]  =  right hand

     [NEMUEL]
        Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
        And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
        And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
        Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.  And it came to pass,  because the midwives feared God,  that he
        [NEMUEL] [REUBEN]            Exodus               pg 50

made them houses. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
     [REUBEN]
    And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
    And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.  Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
    And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon today? And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
    And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
    Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither:  put off thy shoes from off thy
        [NEMUEL] [SIMEON]            Exodus                   pg 51

feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
     [SIMEON]
        And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
        And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
        And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
        And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him,
               [Y]4
                        What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said,  Cast it                    
                       on the ground.  And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent;     
                       and Moses fled from before it.  And the LORD said  unto  Moses,  Put

NEMUEL] [SIMEON]            Exodus               pg 52

                        forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod
                        in his hand: That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the
                       God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

             [H]2   And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his
                       hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he
                       said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and
                       plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall
                       come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that
                       they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

            [M]3  And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto
                     thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and
                     the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

            [H]    And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since
                     thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said 
                     unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind?
                     have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
                     And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the
                     LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can                              speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his
                     heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with                      his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he                            shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. And thou                          shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
                                               
 foot note:  In the original, the pictorial ancient Hebrew language, God spells out his name, letter by letter in conversation and demonstration in the following four signs.  The name YHWH means – self-existant,  i.e. I am that I am.  But here when he gives his name to Moses the LORD he spells it YHMH.  Here in the first sign:
[Y]4 = hand, four times – underlined.
[H]2 = window, i.e. to see, to behold, twice in the second sign.
[M]3 = water or any fluid (blood), three times in the third sign.
[H] = window, i.e. to see, to behold, twice in the fourth sign.

Had the third letter been [W] = a peg, nail, sure place, as is the spelling today, this early spelling contains the suggestion that the Person YHMH has blood.  Whereas, the current spelling YHWH contains no blood.  A wonderful symmetry of our Savior, who became flesh and blood but now His blood is shed to deliver us and is ever alive, the sure place, to put our trust.  The spelling may have changed in the days of King David and his great son Solomon, in as much as revelation and confidences were bestowed from the LORD upon them both – they being a Scriptural illustration of the Father, Son relationship.
                                                    

   And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I
        [NEMUEL] [LEVI]            Exodus                   pg 53

will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
     [LEVI]
     And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
        And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.  And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.
        And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.  Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not aught of your work shall be diminished. So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as heretofore?
        Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish aught from your bricks of your daily task. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people?  why is it that thou hast sent  me?
For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
        [NEMUEL] [LEVI]        Exodus                   pg 54

    Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.         
    And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips? And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.         
    These be the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon.
    And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years. The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years. And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations. And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.         
    And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri. And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites. And Eleazar Aaron’s son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families. These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies. These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron.
    And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt, That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee. And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
    And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee:  and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh,  that he send the children of
        [NEMUEL] [LEVI]            Exodus                   pg 55

Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they. And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
        And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river. And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
        [NEMUEL] [LEVI]        Exodus                  pg 56

    Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? And he said, Tomorrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be. And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.
    And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me. And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
    Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,  Behold, the hand of the LORD
        [NEMUEL] [LEVI]        Exodus                   pg 57

is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel. And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land. And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
        And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
        And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’S. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God. And the flax and the barley was smitten: for
                      [NEMUEL] [LEVI]        Exodus                   pg 58

the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up. And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these my signs before him: And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD. And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field: And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh. And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go? And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD. And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
    Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only. And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD. And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:  They saw not one another,  neither  rose  any  from
                       [NEMUEL] [LEVI]        Exodus                   pg 59

his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
        And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither.
        But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
        Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
        And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses
                       [NEMUEL] [LEVI]        Exodus                   pg 60     

where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
    Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.
    And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians. And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened;  because they were thrust out of Egypt,  and could not
                        [NEMUEL] [LEVI]        Exodus                pg 61          

 tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
        Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
        And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof. In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.  One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
        And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month Abib.
        And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
        And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.  Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.
        And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,  That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD’S. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.
        And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem. And it shall be for a token upon thine hand,  and for  frontlets  between  thine  eyes:  for  by
                        [NEMUEL] [LEVI]        Exodus                   pg 62                         

strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.
    And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
    And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
    And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
    And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.  
    And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
    And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:  And it came between the  camp  of  the  Egyptians  and  the  camp  of
                        [NEMUEL] [JUDAH]            Exodus               pg 63                               

Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light to these; so that the one came not near the other all the night.  And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.         
        And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.
     [JUDAH]
        Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.  Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.  Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established. The LORD shall reign for ever and ever. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots  and  with  his  horsemen  into  the  sea,  and  the
                        [NEMUEL] [ISSACHAR]        Exodus               pg 64                                                                             

LORD brought again the waters of the  sea  upon  them;  but  the  children  of  Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
    And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
     [ISSACHAR]
    So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
    And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
    And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
    And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
    Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us? And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
    And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said
                        [NEMUEL] [ISSACHAR]        Exodus               pg65                                                                                        

unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
        This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
        And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: today ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
        And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
        And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
        And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?
                        [NEMUEL] [ISSACHAR]        Exodus          pg66                                                                                             

    Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
    When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt; Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh: And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God: And he said unto Moses, I thy father-in-law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
    And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent. And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
    And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses’ father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that
                        [NEMUEL] [ZEBULUN]        Exodus                       pg 67                                                                                                              

every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
        And Moses let his father-in-law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
        In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim,
     [ZEBULUN]
and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
        And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
        And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
        And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD,  sanctify themselves,  lest the LORD break forth upon them.  And
                        [NEMUEL] [ZEBULUN]        Exodus               pg68                                                                                                          

Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.  So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.
    And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:   Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
    Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal.  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
    And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
    An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.
    Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
    And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the  menservants  do.   If  she  please  not  her  master, who  hath  betrothed  her  to
                        [NEMUEL] [ZEBULUN]        Exodus                pg 69                                                                         

himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
        He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
        And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
        And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
        And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
        And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed: If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
        And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
        If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
        And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
        If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
        And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
        And if one man’s ox hurt another’s, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide. Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.
        If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
        If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.  If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.  If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
        If a man shall cause a field or vineyard  to  be  eaten,  and  shall  put  in  his
                        [NEMUEL] [ZEBULUN]        Exodus          pg70                                                                                                               

beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
    If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
    If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.  If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods. For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour. If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:  Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
    And if a man borrow aught of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good. But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
    And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.  If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
    Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
    Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
    He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
    Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
    Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
    If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
    Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
    Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
    And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
     Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
    Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
    Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
    If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring
                        [NEMUEL] [ZEBULUN]        Exodus           pg71                                                                                                   

it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
        And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
        Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
        Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.  The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
        Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
        There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil. I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. And He said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
                        [JAMIN] [BENJAMIN]          Exodus                           pg 72                                                                                     

     [BENJAMIN]
And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
    And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
    Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,  Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.     
     [JAMIN]
    And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a  cubit  and a  half  the  breadth  thereof.  And  thou  shalt  make  two
                       [JAMIN] [BENJAMIN]        Exodus                   pg 73                                                                                                                                                                                

cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
        Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt make unto it a border of an handbreadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about. And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof. Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me always.
        And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knobs, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:  Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knob and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knob and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knobs and their flowers. And there shall be a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick. Their knobs and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shown thee in the mount.
        Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure. The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another. And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another. And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.
        And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain  four  cubits: and the  eleven  curtains shall be   
                            [JAMIN] [BENJAMIN]        Exodus                   pg 74                                                                                                                                                                                
all of one measure. And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle. And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle. And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it. And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins.
    And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board. Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle. And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward. And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards: And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shown thee in the mount.
    And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
    And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. And thou shalt set the table without the veil, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side. And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.
    And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels,  and his basins,  and his fleshhooks,  and
                        [JAMIN] [BENJAMIN]            Exodus                       pg 75                                                                                                                                                                              

his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shown thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
        And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side: And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
        And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.  The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
        And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.
    The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
        And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
        And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wisehearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.
        And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:  Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel:  thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.  And thou  shalt
                        [JAMIN] [BENJAMIN]        Exodus                          pg 76                                                                                                                                                                                   

put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
    And thou shalt make ouches of gold; And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.
    And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.
    And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold. And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate. And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it.
    And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward. And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
    And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.
    And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.
    And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.
    And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
    And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the  girdle  of  needlework.  And  for  Aaron’s
                        [JAMIN] [BENJAMIN]        Exodus                   pg 77                                                                                                                                                                          

sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.
        And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.  Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.
        Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
        And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.  And thou shalt receive them of  their  hands,  and  burn  them  upon  the
                        [JAMIN] [BENJAMIN]        Exodus                   pg 78                                                                                                                                                                                  

altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.
    And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.
    And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. And if aught of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
    Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.
    And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn  incense  upon  it, a  perpetual
                        [JAMIN] [BENJAMIN]        Exodus                   pg 79                                                                                                                                                                                  

incense before the LORD throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.
        Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
        And  the  LORD  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  See,  I  have  called  by  name
                        [JAMIN] [BENJAMIN]        Exodus                   pg 80                                                                                                                                                                                  

Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wisehearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot, And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office, And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
    And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
    And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out,  to slay them in the mountains,  and to consume
                        [JAMIN] [DAN]        Exodus                       pg 81                                                                                                                                                                              

them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
        And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
     [DAN]
        And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
        And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
     [NAPHTALI]
        And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin —; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite,  and the Jebusite:  Unto a land flowing
[JAMIN] [GAD]            Exodus                   pg 82                                                                                                                                          

with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
    And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb. And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
     [GAD]
    And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
    And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and  that will by  no means
[JAMIN] [ASHER]        Exodus                    pg83                                                                                                                                                                             

clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.  And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
        And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a-whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a-whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a-whoring after their gods. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
        The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
        Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
        And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.
        Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
     [ASHER]     
        And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him,  he took the veil off,  until he came out.  And he came  out,
[JAMIN] [ASHER]        Exodus                          pg 84                                                                                                                                                                             

and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
    And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
    And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. And every wisehearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering, The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the showbread, The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle, The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,  The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.
    And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. And all the women that were wisehearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.
    And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood,
[JAMIN] [ASHER]        Exodus                   pg 85                                                                                                                                                                             

to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
        Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wisehearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wisehearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;
        And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.
      And every wisehearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them. The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size. And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another. And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another. And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle.
        And he made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them. The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size. And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. And he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one. And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers’ skins above that.
    And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up. The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half.  One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward: And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons. And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards, And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. And for the sides of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners. And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets
[JAMIN] [ASHER]        Exodus                   pg 86                                                                                                                                                                         

of silver, under every board two sockets.
    And he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward. And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from the one end to the other. And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
    And he made a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work. And he made thereunto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver.
    And he made an hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework; And the five pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass.
    And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it: And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about. And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.
    And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat; One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.
    And he made the table of shittim wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof: And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown of gold round about. Also he made thereunto a border of an handbreadth round about; and made a crown of gold for the border thereof round about. And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that were in the four feet thereof. Over against the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table. And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. And he made the vessels which were upon the table, his dishes, and his spoons, and his bowls, and his covers to cover withal, of pure gold.
    And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knobs, and his flowers, were of the same: And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof: Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knob and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knob and a flower: so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick were four bowls made like almonds, his knobs, and his flowers: And a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, according to the six branches going out of it. Their knobs and their branches were of the same: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold. And he made his seven lamps, and his snuffers, and his snuffdishes, of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof.
    And he made the incense altar of shittim wood:  the length of it was a  cubit,
[JAMIN] [ASHER]        Exodus                   pg 87                                                                                                                                                                             

and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same. And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto it a crown of gold round about. And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal. And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.
    And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.
    And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof. And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass. And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass. And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it. And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves. And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass. And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.
    And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the looking glasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
    And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits: Their pillars were twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen. And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court. And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver. And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.
    This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen. All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: A bekah for every man,  that is,  half a shekel,  after the shekel  of  the  sanctuary,  for
[JAMIN] [ASHER]        Exodus                   pg 88                                                                                                                                  

every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them. And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.         
    And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work. They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together. And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And they wrought onyx stones enclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel. And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled. And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row. And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were enclosed in ouches of gold in their enclosings. And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.  And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold. And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate. And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it. And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward. And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend. And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates; A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate,  round about  the  hem  of  the  robe  to  minister  in;  as  the  LORD
[JAMIN] [JACOB]        Exodus                   pg 89                                                                                                                                      

commanded Moses. And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
        And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen,
     [JACOB]
and linen breeches of fine twined linen, And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.
        And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD commanded Moses.
        Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.
        And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets, And the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers’ skins, and the veil of the covering, The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat, The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the showbread, The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light, And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door, The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, The hangings of the court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the court gate, his cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation, The cloths of service to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister in the priest’s office. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the veil. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle. And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein. And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate. And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy. And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.
    And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.

[JAMIN] [JOSEPH]        Exodus                  pg 90                                                                                                                                      

     [JOSEPH]
    And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars. And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark: And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the veil. And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses.
    And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward. And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the veil: And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle. And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal. And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat: When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.
    Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

                                               pg 91

LEVITICUS  =  to call out

BRANCH  –  SIMEON  =  heard

LAMP  –        [JACHIN]  =  established

     [REUBEN]
And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
        And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
        And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons. And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes: And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar,  upon the wood that is upon the fire:  it is
        [JACHIN] [REUBEN]                 Leviticus              pg 92

a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
    And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.
    And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
    And if thy oblation be a meat offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering.
    And if thy oblation be a meat offering baked in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the LORD: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar. And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire. No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.
    As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour. And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
    And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
    And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto the LORD be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, And the two kidneys,  and the fat that is upon them,  which is by the flanks,  and the caul  above
        [JACHIN] [SIMEON]        Leviticus               pg 93                            

the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the LORD. And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about. And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD’S. It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
     [SIMEON]
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them: If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock’s head, and kill the bullock before the LORD. And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the veil of the sanctuary. And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away, As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering. And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung, Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.
    And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation. And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD. And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock’s blood to the tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the veil. And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar. And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do  with  this: and the  priest  shall make  an  atonement  for them, and  it  shall be forgiven them.  And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp,  and burn him
        [JACHIN] [SIMEON]                 Leviticus               pg 94                            

as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.
    When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty; Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish: And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
    And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;  Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar: And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.
    And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty. Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty. Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these. And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder: And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin offering.   And  he  shall  offer  the  second  for a burnt  offering,  according  to  the  
        [JACHIN] [SIMEON]                Leviticus               pg 95                            

manner: and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
        But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon: for it is a sin offering.  Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, even a memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: it is a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: and the remnant shall be the priest’s, as a meat offering.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering: And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.
        And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found,  Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place. And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
        And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar. And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour,  even the memorial of it,         [JACHIN] [SIMEON]                 Leviticus               pg 96                        

unto the LORD. And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the LORD in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.  In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baked, thou shalt bring it in: and the baked pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the LORD. And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever unto the LORD; it shall be wholly burnt. For every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy.  The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place. But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy. And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.
    Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy. In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar. And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards. And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away: And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering. Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it. And the priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered. And all the meat offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it. And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another. And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice:  and  on  the  morrow  also  the  remainder  of  it  shall  be  eaten:  But  the
        [JACHIN] [LEVI]        Leviticus               pg 97                            

remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity. And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof. But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it. For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings. His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD. And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.
    This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest’s office; Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations. This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.
     [LEVI]
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done. And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.  And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre,  even upon
        [JACHIN] [LEVI]        Leviticus               pg 98                            

his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it. And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar. But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder: And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder: And he put all upon Aaron’s hands, and upon his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD. And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the LORD: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses’ part; as the LORD commanded Moses. And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.
    And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you. As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you. Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded. So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
        [JACHIN] [JUDAH]        Leviticus               pg 99                            

     [JUDAH]
    And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering; Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for today the LORD will appear unto you.
    And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you. And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.
        Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar: But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses. And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp. And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar. And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar. And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.
        And he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first. And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner. And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning. He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron’s sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about, And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver: And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar: And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD; as Moses commanded. And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
        And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.
And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads,  neither rend your clothes;  lest ye die,  and lest wrath come upon  all
        [JACHIN] [ISSACHAR]      Leviticus            pg 100                            

the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.
    And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
    And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy: And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons’ due, of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire: for so I am commanded. And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons’ due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel. The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be thine, and thy sons’ with thee, by a statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded.
    And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying, Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded. And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering today, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD? And when Moses heard that, he was content.
     [ISSACHAR]
    And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.  Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.  Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
    These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
    And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; Every raven after his kind And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind,  And
        [JACHIN] [ZEBULUN]               Leviticus             pg 101                            

the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. And whosoever beareth aught of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.
    These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even. And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed. And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you. And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination. Ye shall not make your selves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
     [ZEBULUN]
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days;  according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall be
        [JACHIN] [ZEBULUN]      Leviticus             pg 102                    

unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days. And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female. And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests: And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean. If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days: And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more: And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and, behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. But if the scab spread much abroad in the skin, after that he hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again: And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy.
    When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest; And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising; It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean. And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh; Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean. But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean. And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy. Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest; And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.
    The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed, And in the place of the boil there be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be shown to the priest; And if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it be in sight lower than the skin, and the hair thereof be turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil. But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hairs therein, and if it be not lower than the skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days: And if it spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean:  it is a plague. But if the bright spot stay  in  his  place,  and
        [JACHIN] [ZEBULUN]                  Leviticus             pg 103                        

spread not, it is a burning boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
    Or if there be any flesh, in the skin whereof there is a hot burning, and the quick flesh that burneth have a white bright spot, somewhat reddish, or white; Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the hair in the bright spot be turned white, and it be in sight deeper than the skin; it is a leprosy broken out of the burning: wherefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy. But if the priest look on it, and, behold, there be no white hair in the bright spot, and it be no lower than the other skin, but be somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days: And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy. And if the bright spot stay in his place, and spread not in the skin, but it be somewhat dark; it is a rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is an inflammation of the burning.
    If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard; Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard. And if the priest look on the plague of the scall, and, behold, it be not in sight deeper than the skin, and that there is no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days: And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and, behold, if the scall spread not, and there be in it no yellow hair, and the scall be not in sight deeper than the skin; He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more: And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and, behold, if the scall be not spread in the skin, nor be in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. But if the scall spread much in the skin after his cleansing; Then the priest shall look on him: and, behold, if the scall be spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean. But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
    If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots; Then the priest shall look: and, behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in the skin; he is clean. And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean. And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean. And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead.  Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh; He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
    The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment; Whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin; And if the plague be greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shown unto the priest: And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up it that hath the plague seven days: And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the warp,  or in the woof,  or in a skin,  or in any work that  is      
        [JACHIN] [ZEBULUN]      Leviticus            pg 104                        

made of skin;  the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean. He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire. And if the priest shall look, and, behold, the plague be not spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing wherein the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more: And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his colour, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without. And if the priest look, and, behold, the plague be somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof: And if it appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: thou shalt burn that wherein the plague is with fire. And the garment, either warp, or woof, or whatsoever thing of skin it be, which thou shalt wash, if the plague be departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean. This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean. And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy: And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD: And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering: And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD.  And the priest shall  offer  the  sin  offering,
         [JACHIN][[ZEBULUN]    Leviticus             pg 105                        

and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering: And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean. And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD. And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand: And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD: And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering: And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD. And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get; Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD. This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house: Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days: And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house; Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city: And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place: And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house. And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plastered; Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place. Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even. And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes. And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house,  after the house was plastered:  then  the  priest  shall
        [JACHIN] [ZEBULUN]        Leviticus             pg 106                        

pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean. This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall, And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:  To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness. Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean. And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest: And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD for his issue. And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even. And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.  The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.
    And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days;  and all the bed whereon he  lieth  shall  be  unclean.   And  if  a
        [JACHIN] [BENJAMIN]        Leviticus             pg 107                        

woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation. And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness. Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith; And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.
     [BENJAMIN]
        And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
        Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy  place,  until  he  come  out,  and  have
        [JACHIN] [BENJAMIN]    Leviticus             pg 108                        

made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
    And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people. And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar. And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
    And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD. And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a-whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
     [JACHIN] [DAN]        Leviticus             pg 109                        

        And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people.
        And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.
     [DAN]
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
        None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness. The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness. The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time. Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her. And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself
                 [JACHIN] [DAN]        Leviticus             pg 110                    

therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spew not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spewed out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
    Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
    Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
    And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.  And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
    And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
    Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
    And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
    Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
    Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
    Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
    Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour.
    Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
    Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
    Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.
    And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,  even a ram  for  a  trespass  offering.  And  the  priest  shall  make  an
                 [JACHIN] [DAN]               Leviticus                                    pg 111                                                                                  

atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.
        And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
        Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
        Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
        Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
        Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
        Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
        And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
        Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.  Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a-whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
        And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a-whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
        Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.
        For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
        And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them. If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. And if a man lie with a beast,  he shall surely be put to death:  and ye shall  slay  the  beast.
                [JACHIN] [DAN]               Leviticus            pg 112                                                                          

And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people; he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity. And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people. And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity. And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
    Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spew you not out. And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
    A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them. And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled. But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy. They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.  Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.
    And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire. And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not
                 [JACHIN] [NAPHTALI              Leviticus            pg 113                                                                          

approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbacked, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. Only he shall not go in unto the veil, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
     [NAPHTALI]
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD. Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD. What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him; Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath; The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water. And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food. That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD. They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them. There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat. If the priest’s daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things. But if the priest’s daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof.
        And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing. And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD; Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering; Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut;                  [JACHIN] [NAPHTALI]     Leviticus                     pg 114                                                                                       

neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will. On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I am the LORD. Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD. Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you, That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
    These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.  In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
    And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning  of  thy
                 [JACHIN] [GAD]                     Leviticus             pg 115                                                                          

harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD. Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.
     [GAD]
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. Without the veil of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.
    And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.
                 [JACHIN] [GAD]        Leviticus             pg 116                    

    And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shown them. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.
    And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast. And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death. Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.
    And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
    And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. And if thou sell aught unto thy neighbour, or buyest aught of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another: According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee: According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee. Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
                 [JACHIN] [ASHER]        Leviticus              pg 117

     [ASHER]
    Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety. And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
    The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
    If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee: and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession. And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubilee. But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee. Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubilee: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
    And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
    And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee: And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.  For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God. Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
    And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or
                 [JASHER] [ASHER]        Leviticus                      pg 118

to the stock of the stranger’s family: After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him. If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight. And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he, and his children with him. For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
    Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
    If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.
    But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
    And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you,  that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant:  and when ye
                [JACHIN] [JACOB]               Leviticus             pg 119

are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:  Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.  The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD. These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
     [JACOB]
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation. And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver. And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. But if he be poorer than thy estimation,  then he shall present himself before  the  priest,  and
                 [JACHIN] [JOSEPH]        Leviticus                      pg 120

the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him. And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy. And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest: And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be. But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation. And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand. And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his. And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. If he sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy estimation it shall stand. But if he sanctify his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubilee, and it shall be abated from thy estimation. And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him. And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more. But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s. And if a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession; Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubilee: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the LORD. In the year of the jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong. And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.
     [JOSEPH]
    Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD’S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD’S. And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation. Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD. None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death. And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD. And if a man will at all redeem aught of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

                                             pg121

NUMBERS  =  spake in the wilderness

BRANCH  – SIMEON  –  heard

LAMP  –      [ ZERAH]  =  dawn

     [REUBEN]
        And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies. And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.
        And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur. Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.  Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab. Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar. Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon. Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni. Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran. Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan.
These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.
        And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names: And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls. As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
        [ZERAH] [SIMEON]        Numbers             pg 122

     [SIMEON]
    Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
    Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.
    Of the children of Judah, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
    Of the children of Issachar, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
    Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
    Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred.
    Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
    Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
    Of the children of Dan, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
    Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
    Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. These are those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers. So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;  Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand
                                       [ZERAH] [SIMEON]                   Numbers                                    pg 123

and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
    But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying, Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel: But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle. And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts. But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch. And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar. And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun. And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.
    On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur. And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred. And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty. All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank.
    Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards. On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred. And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight  thousand and an hundred,  throughout their  armies.  And  they
        [ZERAH][LEVI]            Numbers                     pg 124

shall go forward in the third rank.
    The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred. And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
    Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards.
    These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses. And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.
     [LEVI]
    These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai. And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office. And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle. And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.  And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers. Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.  Those that were numbered of them,  according to the number of all the males,  from a month old  and
        [ZERAH] [LEVI]    Numbers                     pg 125

upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred. The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward. And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael. And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.
        And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites. In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof. And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
        Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari. And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward. And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto, And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
        But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names. And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel. And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel. And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites; Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:) And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons. And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites: Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and  threescore and  five  shekels, after  the  shekel of  the  sanctuary:   And
        [ZERAH] [LEVI]    Numbers                 pg 126

Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.  This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:
    And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil, and cover the ark of testimony with it: And shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon: And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put in the staves thereof. And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it: And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put it upon a bar. And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof: And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put them on a bar: And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon: And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers’ skins, and put to the staves of it. And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.
    And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites: But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden: But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families; From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens: And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers’ skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve. At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service:  and ye shall appoint unto them in charge  all  their
        [ZERAH][JUDAH]        Numbers              pg 127

burdens. This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
    As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers; From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof, And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden. This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
    And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers, From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation: And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses. And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers, From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty. These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD.
    And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred. These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers, From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation, Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore. According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.
     [JUDAH]    
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell. And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin  that  men  commit,  to  do  a  trespass
        [ZERAH] [ISSACHAR]              Numbers             pg 128

against the LORD, and that person be guilty; Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him. And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his. And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner; And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD: And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water: And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse: And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse: But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband: Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter. Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar: And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water. And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people. And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed. This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law. Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.
     [ISSACHAR]
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink,  and shall drink no vinegar of wine,  or vinegar of  strong
        [ZERAH][ZEBULUN]               Numbers               pg129

drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.  All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD. And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
    And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and he shall offer his offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings, And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings. And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering: And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering. And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven: And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine. This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the LORD for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.
     [ZEBULUN]
    And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle. And the LORD spake unto Moses,  saying,  Take it of them,  that they may be to  do
        [ZERAH] [ZEBULUN]        Numbers             pg 130

the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.
    And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar. And the LORD said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar.
    And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: And his offering was one silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them were full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
    On the second day Nethaneel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, did offer: He offered for his offering one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: One spoon of gold of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nethaneel the son of Zuar.
    On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, did offer: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.
    On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reuben, did offer: His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.
    On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon, did offer: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:  One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering:  One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
    On the  sixth day  Eliasaph the son of  Deuel, prince  of  the  children of Gad,
        [ZERAH] [ZEBULUN]        Numbers             pg 131

offered: His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
    On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, offered: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.
    On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh: His offering was one silver charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
    On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin, offered: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.
    On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan, offered: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
    On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ocran, prince of the children of Asher, offered: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:  One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran.
    On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, offered: His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:  One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: One kid of the goats for a sin offering: And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year:  this was the
        [ZERAH] [ZEBULUN]        Numbers             pg 132

offering of Ahira the son of Enan. This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold: Each charger of silver weighing an hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: The golden spoons were twelve, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the gold of the spoons was an hundred and twenty shekels. All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the lambs of the first year twelve, with their meat offering: and the kids of the goats for sin offering twelve. And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed. And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses. And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the candlestick.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.  Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering. And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together: And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD. And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites. And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.  Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering. For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me. For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary. And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them. And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.  And after that went the Levites in to do  their  service  in  the
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tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more: But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,  Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover. And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.
    And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel? And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.  But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.
    And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not. And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed. And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents,  and  journeyed  not:  but  when  it  was  taken  up,  they  journeyed.   At  the
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commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.
    And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony. And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran. And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
    In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethaneel the son of Zuar. And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle.
    And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur. And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.
    And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud. And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.
    And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, which was the rearward of all the camps throughout their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.  And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran. And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their armies, when they set forward.
    And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not,  I pray thee;  forasmuch as thou
        [ZERAH] [ZEBULUN]        Numbers             pg 135

knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.
    And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.
    And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.
    And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a-lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.
    Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.  I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?  And the LORD said unto Moses,  Is the LORD’S hand waxed short? [ZERAH] [BENJAMIN]        Numbers            pg 136

thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.
    And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them! And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
    And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. And the people journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.
     [BENJAMIN]
    And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)  And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb. And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Send  thou  men, that  they  may
        [ZERAH] [BENJAMIN]        Numbers                     pg 137

search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.  Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
    And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes. So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
    And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
    And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of  the
                        [ZERAH] [DAN]                Numbers             pg 138

children of Israel.
    And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones.
     [DAN]
    And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
    And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
    Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my LORD be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it. (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.  Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty  years,  and  bear  your  whoredoms,  until  your  carcases  be  wasted  in  the

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wilderness. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.  I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still. And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.
        And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned. And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you. But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you, And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock: Then shall he that offereth his offering unto the LORD bring a meat offering of a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil. And the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one lamb. Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil. And for a drink offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savour unto the LORD. And when thou preparest a bullock for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace offerings unto the LORD: Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin of oil. And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid. According to the number that ye shall prepare, so shall ye do to every one according to their number. All that are born of the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do. One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you, Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the LORD. Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it. Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations.
        And if ye have erred,  and not observed all these commandments,  which  the
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LORD hath spoken unto Moses, Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations; Then it shall be, if aught be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance: And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance.
    And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.  Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. But the soul that doeth aught presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him. And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a-whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even tomorrow the LORD will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.  This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: Seemeth it but a small thing unto you,  
                        [ZERAH][NAPHTALI]        Numbers             pg 141

that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him? And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow: And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer. And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation. And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
    And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel. And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered;  and they were made broad plates for a covering of
                        [ZERAH][NAPHTALI]        Numbers            pg 142

the altar: To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
    But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
    And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah. And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.
    And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not. And Moses did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he. And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?
    And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.  And they shall be joined unto thee,  and keep the
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charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you. And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel. And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the veil; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
        And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever. This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.  In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee. And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it. All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee. And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it. Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.  Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem. And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD. And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine. All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.
        And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you,  as though  it  were  the  corn  of  the  threshingfloor,  and  as  the
                        [ZERAH] [NAPHTALI]        Numbers            pg 144

fulness of the winepress. Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD’S heave offering to Aaron the priest.  Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress. And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation. And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke: And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face: And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even. And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin. And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
    He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean. And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave: And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean. And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes;  and  he  that  toucheth  the  water  of  separation
              [ZERAH] [NAPHTALI]              Numbers                             pg 145                                                          

shall be unclean until even. And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
        Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
        And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers: And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.
        And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.  Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor: And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there. And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of
                        [ZERAH] [GAD]        Numbers            pg 146

the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
    And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.
    And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
     [GAD]
    And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth. And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije-abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.
    From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared. From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab. And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.
    Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it: The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah: And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.
    And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we be past thy borders. And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.  Wherefore  they  that  speak  in
                        [ZERAH] [GAD]        Numbers                         pg 147

proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:  For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon. Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites. We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.
        Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
        And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei. And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.
        And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.
        And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak. And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out. And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you. And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
        And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they. And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people. And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more. And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.  And Balaam rose up in the morning,  and saddled his ass,  and  went  with
                        [ZERAH] [GAD]        Numbers            pg 148

the princes of Moab.
    And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again. And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay. Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again. And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
    And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast. And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour? And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak. And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjath-huzoth. And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.
    And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place. And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram. And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab. And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?  For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel?  Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
                        [ZERAH][GAD]        Numbers                         pg 149

And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth? And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.
        And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder. And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken? And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed: and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
        And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?
        And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
        And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:  He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:  How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
        And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.  And Balaam said unto Balak,  Spake I not also  to  thy
                        [ZERAH] [GAD]        Numbers            pg 150

messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak? And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
    And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
    And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever. And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
    And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor.
    And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel. Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Vex the Midianites, and smite them:  For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake.
                        [ZERAH] [ASHER]        Numbers            pg 151

     [ASHER]
        And it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers’ house, all that are able to go to war in Israel. And Moses and Eleazar the priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward; as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt.
        Reuben, the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben; Hanoch, of whom cometh the family of the Hanochites: of Pallu, the family of the Palluites: Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. These are the families of the Reubenites: and they that were numbered of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty. And the sons of Pallu; Eliab. And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign.  Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not.
         The sons of Simeon after their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites: of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites: of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites: Of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites: of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty and two thousand and two hundred.
        The children of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites: of Haggi, the family of the Haggites: of Shuni, the family of the Shunites: Of Ozni, the family of the Oznites: of Eri, the family of the Erites: Of Arod, the family of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites. These are the families of the children of Gad according to those that were numbered of them, forty thousand and five hundred.
        The sons of Judah were Er and Onan: and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Judah after their families were; of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites: of Pharez, the family of the Pharzites: of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites. And the sons of Pharez were; of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. These are the families of Judah according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and sixteen thousand and five hundred.
        Of the sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites: of Pua, the family of the Punites:  Of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites: of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. These are the families of Issachar according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and four thousand and three hundred.
        Of the sons of Zebulun after their families: of Sered, the family of the Sardites: of Elon, the family of the Elonites: of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those that were numbered of them, threescore thousand and five hundred.
        And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
        The sons of Joseph after their families were Manasseh and Ephraim. Of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead come the family of the Gileadites.   These are the sons of Gilead:  of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites: And of Asriel, the family of Asrielites:and of Shechem,the family of the  Shechemites:  And of  Shemida,
                        [ZERAH] [ASHER]        Numbers            pg 152

the family of the  Shemidaites: and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.
    And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.  These are the families of Manasseh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty and two thousand and seven hundred.
    These are the sons of Ephraim after their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthalhites: of Becher, the family of the Bachrites: of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those that were numbered of them, thirty and two thousand and five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph after their families.
    The sons of Benjamin after their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites: of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites: of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites: Of Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites: of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites: and of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. These are the sons of Benjamin after their families: and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and six hundred.
    These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan after their families. All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those that were numbered of them, were threescore and four thousand and four hundred. Of the children of Asher after their families: of Jimna, the family of the Jimnites: of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites: of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites: of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. And the name of the daughter of Asher was Sarah. These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered of them; who were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
    Of the sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites: of Guni, the family of the Gunites: Of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites: of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites.  These are the families of Naphtali according to their families: and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and four hundred. These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Unto these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names.  To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance: to every one shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him. Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. According to the lot shall the possession thereof be divided between many and few.
    And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites.  These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram. And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. And unto Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD. And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.
    These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. But among these  there  was  not  a  man of  them  whom  Moses  and  Aaron  the  priest
                        [ZERAH][ASHER]        Numbers            pg 153

numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
        Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren. And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
        And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.
        And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation. And Moses did as the LORD commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season. And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even;  And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering,  mingled with
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the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil.  It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD. And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the LORD for a drink offering. And the other lamb shalt thou offer at even: as the meat offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
    And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof: This is the burnt offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.
    And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot; And three tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, for one bullock; and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, for one ram; And a several tenth deal of flour mingled with oil for a meat offering unto one lamb; for a burnt offering of a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD. And their drink offerings shall be half an hin of wine unto a bullock, and the third part of an hin unto a ram, and a fourth part of an hin unto a lamb: this is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year.  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering unto the LORD shall be offered, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering. And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein: But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by fire for a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year: they shall be unto you without blemish: And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil: three tenth deals shall ye offer for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram; A several tenth deal shalt thou offer for every lamb, throughout the seven lambs: And one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you. Ye shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering. And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work.
    Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto the LORD, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: But ye shall offer the burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; two young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs of the first year; And their meat offering of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto one bullock, two tenth deals unto one ram, A several tenth deal unto one lamb, throughout the seven lambs; And one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you. Ye shall offer them beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, (they shall be unto you without blemish) and their drink offerings.
    And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you. And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish: And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram, And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: And one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you: Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.
               [ZERAH] [ASHER]            Numbers             pg 155

    And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein: But ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD for a sweet savour; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be unto you without blemish: And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals to a bullock, and two tenth deals to one ram, A several tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: One kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering of it, and their drink offerings.
    And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish: And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams, And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs: And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
    And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot: And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering thereof, and their drink offerings.
    And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish; And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.
    And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
    And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot: And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.
    And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
    And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
    On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein: But ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: one bullock, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish: Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering,  and
                       [ZERAH] [JACOB]        Numbers            pg 156

his drink offering. These things ye shall do unto the LORD in your set feasts, beside your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your meat offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings. And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.
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    And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded. If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth; And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered aught out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her. But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her. Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.  But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity. These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father’s house.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian. Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses,  and
               [ZERAH] [JACOB]        Numbers             pg 157

Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
    And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day. And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.
    And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses; Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water. And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation: And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep: Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD. And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, And threescore and twelve thousand beeves, And threescore and one thousand asses, And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him. And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep: And the LORD’S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and twelve. And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and one. And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD’S tribute was thirty and two persons. And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses. And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred, (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep, And thirty and six thousand beeves, And thirty thousand asses and five hundred, And sixteen thousand persons;) Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And the officers  which  were  over  thousands  of  the  host,  the  captains  of
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thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses: And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.  We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.
    Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.
    And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?  Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them. And the LORD’S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:  Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. And the LORD’S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed. And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.  For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.
    And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.
    And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying,  Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.  Our  little
                  [ZERAH] [JACOB]        Numbers             pg 159

 
ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead: But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.  So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel: And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours. And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.
    And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, And Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fenced cities: and folds for sheep. And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, And Nebo and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded. And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it. And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein. And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havoth-jair. And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
    These are the journeys of the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out. And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments. And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth. And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness. And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pi-hahiroth, which is before Baal-zephon: and they pitched before Migdol. And they departed from before Pi-hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah. And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there. And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea. And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin. And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah. And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush. And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai. And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibroth-hattaavah. And they departed from Kibroth-hattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth. And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah. And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmon-parez. And they departed from Rimmon-parez, and pitched in Libnah. And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah.  And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah. And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher. And they removed from mount Shapher,
                        [ZERAH] [JACOB]        Numbers            pg 160

and encamped in Haradah. And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth. And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath. And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah. And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah. And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah. And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth. And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Bene-jaakan. And they removed from Bene-jaakan, and encamped at Hor-hagidgad. And they went from Hor-hagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah. And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah. And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Ezion-geber. And they removed from Ezion-geber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom. And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor. And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel. And they departed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah. And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon. And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth. And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ije-abarim, in the border of Moab. And they departed from Iim, and pitched in Dibon-gad. And they removed from Dibon-gad, and encamped in Almon-diblathaim. And they removed from Almon-diblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. And they pitched by Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth even unto Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab. And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it. And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit. But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.
    And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon: And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad:
    And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan:  this shall be your north border.  And ye shall point out your east border
        [ZERAH] [JACOB]            Numbers                     pg 161

from Hazar-enan to Shepham: And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward: And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about. And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe: For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance: The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance. And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli. The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them. And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about. And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities. And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities. So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs. And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.
        And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge. Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them:  that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee  thither.  And  if  he
                        [ZERAH] [JOSEPH]        Numbers            pg 162

smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. Or if he smite him with an handweapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die;  Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him. But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait, Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil. But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.  So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
     [JOSEPH]
    And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel:
And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters. And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers. And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well. This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel,  shall be wife unto one of the  family
                        [ZERAH] [JOSEPH]        Numbers            pg 163

of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers. Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance. Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad: For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father’s brothers’ sons: And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father. These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.

                                                            pg 165

DEUTERONOMY  =  these words

BRANCH  –  SIMEON  =  heard

LAMP  –         [SHAUL]  =  ask for

     [REUBEN]
         These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. (There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.) And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them; After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei: On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.  Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.
        And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.  (The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!) How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.  So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment;  but ye shall hear the  small as well as the
                       [SHAUL] [SIMEON]        Deuteronomy            pg 166                                                           

great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.
    And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us. Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
     [SIMEON]
    And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come. And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe: And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us. Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God: And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God, Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day. And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD. Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea. Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.
    Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the  way  of  the
                       [SHAUL] [SIMEON]        Deuteronomy             pg 167                                                           

Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days. And the LORD spake unto me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a footbreadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession. Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.  For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing. And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Ezion-geber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession. The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims. The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them. Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered. And the space in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them. For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.
        So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, That the LORD spake unto me, saying, Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day: And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead: As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day: And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)
        Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
        And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left. Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet; (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.  But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. And the LORD said unto me, Behold,  I have begun to give Sihon and his land before                        [SHAUL][SIMEON]        Deuteronomy            pg 168                                                           

thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain: Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:  Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us.
    Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many. And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city. But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves. And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon; (Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;) All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites. And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants. Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashan-havoth-jair, unto this day. And I gave Gilead unto Machir. And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; The plain also, and Jordan, and the coast thereof, from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, under Ashdoth-pisgah eastward.
    And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your God hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war. But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you; Until the LORD have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the LORD your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.
    And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Thine eyes have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto these two kings: so shall the LORD do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest. Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you. And I besought the LORD at that time, saying, O Lord GOD,  thou hast begun to show  thy  servant  thy  greatness,  and  thy  mighty
                       [SHAUL][LEVI]            Deuteronomy            pg 169                                                           

hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?  I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see. So we abode in the valley over against Beth-peor.
     [LEVI]
        Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day. Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
        And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance: But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land. Take heed unto yourselves,
                       [SHAUL] [JUDAH]        Deuteronomy            pg 170                                                       

lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
    When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was shown, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him. Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he showed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.
    Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising; That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live: Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.
    And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel: These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt, On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt: And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sunrising; From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon, And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.
     [JUDAH]
    And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes
                        [SHAUL] [JUDAH]        Deuteronomy             pg 171

and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,
        I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
        Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Neither shalt thou commit adultery. Neither shalt thou steal. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
         These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me. And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?  Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!  Go say to them, Get you into your tents again. But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the  land  which I  give  them to possess  it. Ye  shall  observe to  do  therefore as the                        [SHAUL] [JUDAH]        Deuteronomy            pg 172

LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.
    Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
    Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
    Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken. And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
    When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.  For  they  will turn
                        [SHAUL][JUDAH]        Deuteronomy             pg 173

away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.  But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.  The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.
        Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee. And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee. If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.  But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed. And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them. The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
        All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee,  and suffered thee to hunger,  and fed thee with manna,                        [SHAUL] [JUDAH]        Deuteronomy            pg 174

which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.  For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.  When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;  Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.  And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.
    Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak! Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee. Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
    Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.  Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.  When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat  bread nor drink water:  And  the
                        [SHAUL] [JUDAH]        Deuteronomy             pg 175

LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image. Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands. And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you. And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes. And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also. And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time. And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount. And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath. Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice. Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you. I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin: Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
    At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me. And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest’s office in his stead.  From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah                    [SHAUL] [ISSACHAR]        Deuteronomy                     pg 176

to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.
    At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him. And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee. And the LORD said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.
    And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.  Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
    Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always. And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm, And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day; And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel: But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
    For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
    And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love  the  LORD your God, and  to
                  [SHAUL][ZEBULUN]        Deuteronomy             pg 177

serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
        Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.
        For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;  Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves. Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be. There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.
        Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh?
     [ZEBULUN]
For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.
        These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.  Ye shall not do after  all  the   things  that  we  do  here  this  day,  every  man        [SHAUL] [BENJAMIN]        Deuteronomy            pg 178

whatsoever is right in his own eyes.For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you. But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD: And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.
     [BENJAMIN]
Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart. Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
    Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto. Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
    When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.  Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD. Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose: And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.  Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.
    When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
                              [SHAUL] [BENJAMIN]        Deuteronomy                            pg 179

    If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.  
    If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;  Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
    If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.  And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;  When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
    Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
     Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat. Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.                         
[SHAUL] [BENJAMIN]        Deuteronomy                      pg 180

    These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
    Of all clean birds ye shall eat. But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,   And every raven after his kind, And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind,  The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten. But of all clean fowls ye may eat.
     Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.  And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
    At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
    At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth aught unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’S release.  Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;  Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.  For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.
    If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him:  because that for  this  thing  the  LORD  thy  God  shall                     

        [SHAUL][BENJAMIN]        Deuteronomy                                        pg 181

bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
        And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.  And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing today. And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; Then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
        All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep. Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household.  And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart.  Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.
         Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.  Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there.  Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee:  But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.  Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.
         Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.
        Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:  And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou,  and thy        [SHAUL] [BENJAMIN]        Deuteronomy                    pg 182

son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.  Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
    Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.
    Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
     Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.
    Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.  If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;  And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:  Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.  The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
    If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment:  And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:  According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.  And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
    When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to                                          
                [SHAUL] [DAN]        Deuteronomy                     pg 183

Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
         The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance. Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them. And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.  For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever.
        And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the LORD shall choose; Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the LORD. They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
        When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
     [DAN]
        The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.  But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?  When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
        When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them,  and dwellest in their cities,  and in their                        [SHAUL] [DAN]        Deuteronomy             pg 184

houses; Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.
    And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:  That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
    But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:  Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
    Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
    One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
    If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;  Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
    When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
    And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.  And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house,  lest he die in the battle,  and another man take her.  And the                    
        [SHAUL] [DAN]        Deuteronomy                            pg 185

officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart. And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.
        When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.  And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:  And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:  But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.  Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:  That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.
         When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege:  Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.
         If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him:  Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;  And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley:  And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:  And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:  And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.  So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
        When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.                        [SHAUL] [DAN]        Deuteronomy            pg 186

    If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:  Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.
    If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:  Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;  And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
    And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:  His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
     Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother.  And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.  In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost thing of thy brother’s, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself.
    Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
     The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
    If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.
    When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.
     Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.
     Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.
    Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.
    Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.
     If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity.  And  they  shall  spread  the
                        [SHAUL] [DAN]        Deuteronomy             pg 187

cloth before the elders of the city.  And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.  But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:  Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.
        If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.
        If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
        But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
         If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.
        A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor discover his father’s skirt.
        He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.  A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD. An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
        Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land. The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
         When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
        If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp: But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
         Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:  For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
    Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his
                        [SHAUL] [DAN]        Deuteronomy            pg 188

master unto thee:  He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
    There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
    Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:  Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
    When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.  But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.  That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
    When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.
    When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
     When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.
    No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.
    If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.
    Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do. Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.
     When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.  Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
    Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: At his day thou shalt give him his  hire,  neither  shall  the  sun go down  upon it; for  he  is
                        [SHAUL] [DAN]        Deuteronomy             pg 189

poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.  The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
    Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
    When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.  When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
    If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number. Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
    Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
    If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.  And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.  Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her; Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house. And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
     When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets:  Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her.
     Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
    Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about,  in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee  for  an
                        [SHAUL] [NAPHTALI]        Deuteronomy            pg 190

inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
    And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;  That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.  And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:  And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:  And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.
    When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;  Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:  I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
    This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.  Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.
     [NAPHTALI]
    And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster: And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee. Therefore
                        [SHAUL] [NAPHTALI]        Deuteronomy                     pg 191

it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.  And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.  Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God: And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.
    And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.
    And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,  These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:  And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
     And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice, Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.  Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.  Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.  Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.  Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife; because he uncovereth his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.  Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.  Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his mother-in-law. And all the people shall say, Amen.  Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.  Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
    And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.  Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.  Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.  The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the  LORD  sware  unto thy  fathers to give
                        [SHAUL] [NAPHTALI]            Deuteronomy        pg 192

thee.  The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
    But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:  Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.  Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.  Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.  Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.  The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.  The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.  And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.  Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand. The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed always: So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.  The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head. The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.  Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.  Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts,  but thou shalt not  anoint  thyself  with  the  oil;  for
                        [SHAUL] [NAPHTALI]        Deuteronomy                     pg 193

thine olive shall cast his fruit.  Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.  All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.  The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.  He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.  The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young:  And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:  So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,  And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;  Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.  Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God. And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.  And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have  none assurance of thy life:  In  the  morning
                        [SHAUL] [NAPHTALI]        Deuteronomy            pg 194

thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
     These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God. And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.  Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.
    Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,  Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:  That he may establish thee today for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day: (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by; And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:) Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven. And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:  So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it; And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:  Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?  Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of  Egypt: For they went and  served other  gods, and worshipped them,  gods  whom
               [SHAUL][GAD]            Deuteronomy            pg 195

they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book: And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day. The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
    And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.  If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
    For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.  It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
    See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;  In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.  But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;  I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:  That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
[GAD]
    And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee,  and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua,  he shall go over before  thee,
               [SHAUL][GAD]            Deuteronomy              pg 196

as the LORD hath said. And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed. And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
    And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
    And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,  When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation. And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.
    And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a-whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods. Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.
    Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel. And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.
    And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.  For  I  know  thy  rebellion, and  thy  stiff  neck:
              [SHAUL] [ASHER]        Deuteronomy            pg 197

behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?
    Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
[ASHER]
And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.
     Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:  Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
    Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD’S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.  He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.
    But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.  They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.  For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.  I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.  They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.  The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs. I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would  make  the  remembrance  of
              [SHAUL] [JACOB]        Deuteronomy            pg 198

them to cease from among men:  Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this. For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.  O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!  How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?  For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:  Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left. And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted, Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.  See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.  For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.  Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
    And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:  And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.  For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,  Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:  And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
     [JACOB]
    And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.
    Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.
    And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.
                       [SHAUL] [JOSEPH]        Deuteronomy             pg 199

    And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.  Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.
    And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.
    And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.  His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.
    And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.  They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.
     And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head. And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.
    And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
    And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south.
    And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.
    There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.  Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.
     [JOSEPH]
    And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
                       [SHAUL] [JOSEPH]        Deuteronomy            pg 200

    So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.
    And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
    And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
    And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,  In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel.
 
pg 201

ZEBULUN/ Joshua through II Chronicles 
                                                

JOSHUA  =  Jehovah saved

BRANCH  –    ZEBULUN  =  dwelling

LAMP  –  [SERED]  =  tremble

     [REUBEN]
        Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.  Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.  From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.  Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
        Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,  Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
        And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them; Until the LORD have given  your  brethren  rest, as he  hath  given  you, and they also have  possessed the
        [SERED][JUDAH]        Joshua             pg 202          

land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD’S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.
    And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.  Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
     [JUDAH]
    And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.  And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither tonight of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.  And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:  And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
    And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.  And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.  Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.  And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days,  until the pursuers were returned:  and the pursuers  sought
        [SERED][LEVI]    Joshua                  pg 203          

them throughout all the way, but found them not.
    So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.
     [LEVI]
    And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.  Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you. And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
    And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
    And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God. And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
    And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;  And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
    And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder,  according unto the number of the  tribes
        [SERED][LEVI]               Joshua                 pg 204          

of the children of Israel: That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?  Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
    For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.  And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them: About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
    On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.  And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying,  Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.  And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.
    And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:  That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
    And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
    At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.  For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that  he  would  not  show  them the land, which the  LORD sware  unto their
        [SERED][LEVI]        Joshua              pg 205          

fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.
    And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
    And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
    Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.  And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
    And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.
    And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.
    And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rearward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.
    And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rearward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp: so they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times:  only on that  day  they  compassed  the
        [SERED][LEVI]                Joshua                 pg 206          

city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
    And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.  So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.  And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
    And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.
    But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand man go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.  So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
    And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!  For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
    And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also  stolen, and  dissembled also, and they  have put it even among their own stuff.  
        [SERED][BENJAMIN]        Joshua                 pg 207          

Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
    So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
    So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
     [BENJAMIN]
    And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.  
    So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready: And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them,  (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them.  Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand.  And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on
        [SERED][BENJAMIN]        Joshua                 pg 208          

fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.
    Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.  And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.  And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai. And he took about five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city.  And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
    And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city. And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.  And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. And the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire.  And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai. And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape.  And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.  And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.  And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.  For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the LORD which he commanded Joshua. And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day.  And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.
     Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,  As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.
     And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.  And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and  their  judges, stood  on  this  side  the ark and  on  that  side before the
        [SERED][BENJAMIN]            Joshua                 pg 209          

priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.  There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.
        And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.
        And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.  Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.  This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:  And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.  And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.  And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
    And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them.  And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
    And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the
        [SERED][BENJAMIN]        Joshua                 pg 210          

LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing. And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.
     Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;  That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. Wherefore Adoni-zedec king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,  Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.  Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.
    And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us. So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.
    And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
    Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
    And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal. But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them: And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand. And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities. And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of  the  children  of  Israel. Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of
                   [SERED][BENJAMIN]        Joshua                pg 211          

the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
    And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho. Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah: And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.
    And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it: And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
     Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.
    And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it:  And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it:  And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
    And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it: And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.
     So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded. And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.
    And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west, And to  the  Canaanite on  the  east  and  on  the  west, and to the Amorite, and the
        [SERED] [BENJAMIN]        Joshua                 pg 212         

Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
    And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for tomorrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.  So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them. And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining. And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.
    And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms. And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire. And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded.  But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn. And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.
    As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.  So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;  Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them.  Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.  There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
    And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
    Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:  Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;  And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdoth-pisgah:
    And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,  And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah,
        [SERED] [BENJAMIN]        Joshua                 pg 213

and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. Them did Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.
    And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions; In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
     The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Beth-el, one; The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;  The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;  The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Beth-el, one; The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;  The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;  The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; The king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;  The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;  The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one; The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.
    Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri, From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites: From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites: And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath. All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephoth-maim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee. Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh, With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them; From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon; And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon; And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah; All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out. Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day. Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them.
    And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families. And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba; Heshbon,  and all her cities that are in the plain;  Dibon, and Bamoth-baal,
         [SERED] [BENJAMIN]    Joshua                 pg 214         

and Beth-baal-meon, And Jahaza, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zareth-shahar in the mount of the valley,  And Beth-peor, and Ashdoth-pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.
    Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them. And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border thereof. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof. And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families.  And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah; And from Heshbon unto Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir; And in the valley, Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.  This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.
    And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families. And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities: And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families.  These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Jericho, eastward. But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.
    And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them. By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe. For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them.  For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.  As the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.
    Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh-barnea. Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.  Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.  Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me,  then I shall be able to drive them out,  as  the  LORD  said.  
        [SERED] [BENJAMIN]        Joshua                          pg 215

And Joshua blessed him,  and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron  for  an
inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.
    This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast. And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward: And it went out to the south side to Maaleh-acrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa: From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast.  And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan. And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan:  And the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and passed along by the north by Beth-arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben: And the border went up toward Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river: and the border passed toward the waters of En-shemesh, and the goings out thereof were at En-rogel: And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward: And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim:  And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed on to Timnah: And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea. And the west border was to the great sea, and the coast thereof. This is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families.
    And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, even the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron.  And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher.
     And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou?  Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs.  This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families. And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur, And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah, And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,  Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron, which is Hazor,  Amam, and Shema, and Moladah, And Hazar-gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth-palet,  And Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba, and Bizjothjah, Baalah, and Iim, and Azem, And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah,  And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah, And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages: And  in  the  valley,  Eshtaol, and  Zoreah, and  Ashnah,  And  Zanoah, and           
        [SERED] [& EPHRAIM]    Joshua                 pg 216

Engannim, Tappuah, and Enam, Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages:  Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdal-gad, And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon, And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish, And Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages:  Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan,  And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib, And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages: Ekron, with her towns and her villages: From Ekron even unto the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages: Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof:
    And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh, And Dannah, and Kirjath-sannah, which is Debir, And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim, And Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages: Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean, And Janum, and Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah, And Humtah, and Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, and Zior; nine cities with their villages:  Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah,  And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,  Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages: Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor, And Maarath, and Beth-anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages: Kirjath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages: In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah, And Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and En-gedi; six cities with their villages.
    As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.
     [& EPHRAIM]
    And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Beth-el, And goeth out from Beth-el to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth, And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Beth-horon the nether, and to Gezer: and the goings out thereof are at the sea. So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
    And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper; And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah; And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan. The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families. And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.
     [& MANASSEH]
    There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
    But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son  of  Manasseh, had  no  sons, but  daughters: and  these  are  the  names  of  his
        [SERED] [ZEBULUN]        Joshua                 pg 217

daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;  Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.
    And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah. Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim; And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:  Southward it was Ephraim’s, and northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east. And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries. Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out. And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto? And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites, and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee. And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:
    But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.
     [ZEBULUN]
    And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them. And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?  Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me. And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north. Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.  But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance: and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.
    And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged  them that went to
        [SERED] [ZEBULUN]        Joshua                 pg 218

describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh. And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.
    And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.
    And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Beth-aven.  And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Beth-el, southward; and the border descended to Ataroth-adar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Beth-horon. And the border was drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Beth-horon southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kirjath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter. And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjath-jearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah: And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to En-rogel, And was drawn from the north, and went forth to En-shemesh, and went forth toward Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, And passed along toward the side over against Arabah northward, and went down unto Arabah: And the border passed along to the side of Beth-hoglah northward: and the outgoings of the border were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan: this was the south coast. And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof round about, according to their families.  Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, and the valley of Keziz,  And Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el, And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah, And Chephar-haammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages: Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,  And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,  And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.
    And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah. And they had in their inheritance Beer-sheba, or Sheba, and Moladah, And Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Azem, And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,  And Ziklag, and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, And Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages: Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages: And all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalath-beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.  Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them.
    And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families: and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid: And their border went up toward the sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the river that is before Jokneam; And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth-tabor, and then  goeth out to Daberath,  and  goeth up to
        [SERED] [ZEBULUN]        Joshua                  pg219

Japhia, And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gittah-hepher, to Ittah-kazin, and goeth out to Remmon-methoar to Neah; And the border compasseth it on the north side to Hannathon: and the outgoings thereof are in the valley of Jiphthah-el: And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
    And the fourth lot came out to Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their families. And their border was toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem, And Haphraim, and Shion, and Anaharath, And Rabbith, and Kishion, and Abez, And Remeth, and En-gannim, and En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez; And the coast reacheth to Tabor, and Shahazimah, and Beth-shemesh; and the outgoings of their border were at Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.
    And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families. And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph, And Alammelech, and Amad, and Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath; And turneth toward the sunrising to Beth-dagon, and reacheth to Zebulun, and to the valley of Jiphthah-el toward the north side of Beth-emek, and Neiel, and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand, And Hebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Zidon; And then the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib: Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty and two cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
    The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families. And their coast was from Heleph, from Allon to Zaanannim, and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum; and the outgoings thereof were at Jordan: And then the coast turneth westward to Aznoth-tabor, and goeth out from thence to Hukkok, and reacheth to Zebulun on the south side, and reacheth to Asher on the west side, and to Judah upon Jordan toward the sunrising. And the fenced cities are Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth, And Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor, And Kedesh, and Edrei, and En-hazor, And Iron, and Migdal-el, Horem, and Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.
    And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, And Shaalabbin, and Ajalon, and Jethlah, And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron, And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath, And Jehud, and Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon, And Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho. And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
    When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them: According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath-serah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein. These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country.
        [SERED] [ISSACHAR]        Joshua                 pg 220

     [ISSACHAR]
    The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:  That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.  And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.  And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.
    And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.  These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.
     [GAD]
    Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel; And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle. And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs. And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities. And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.  And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name,  Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for their’s was the first lot. And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.  But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
    Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs, And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs, And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs, And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.  And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, Anathoth with her suburbs,  and Almon with  her  suburbs;  four  cities.  All  the  cities  of  the      
        [SERED] [DAN]        Joshua                 pg 221

children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
    And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.  For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs, And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs; four cities.  And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs, Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities. And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs; two cities. All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.
    And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beesh-terah with her suburbs; two cities. And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,  Jarmuth with her suburbs, En-gannim with her suburbs; four cities. And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities. And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammoth-dor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities. All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
     And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,  Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities. And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs, Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.  And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,  Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.  So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities. All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs. These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.
    And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not aught of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.
     [DAN]
     Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan. But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.
    Now to the one  half  of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in
        [SERED] [DAN]    Joshua                     pg 222

Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them, And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
    And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
    And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.
    And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.  And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them. And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.
    And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying,  Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?  Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD, But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel. Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD’S tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God. Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.
    Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel, The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,) That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it; And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?  For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD. Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice: But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the  service of the  LORD before  him with our burnt offerings, and
        [SERED] [NAPHTALI]        Joshua                 pg 223

with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD. Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.  God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.
    And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.
    And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again. And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.
     [NAPHTALI]
    And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age. And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you. Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward. And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised unto you. Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.  For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.  Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:  Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the  LORD your God promised you;
        [SERED] [ASHER]        Joshua                 pg 224

so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.
     [ASHER]
    And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.  And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season. And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:  But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand. And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
    Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put away, said he, the strange
                   [SERED][ASHER]                Joshua                 pg 225

gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
    And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.  So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
    And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.  And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.
    And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

                              pg226

JUDGES  = to judge

BRANCH  –  ZEBULUN  –  dwelling

LAMP  –  [SERED]  –  tremble

    Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
    And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley. And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher: And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou? And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
    And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people. And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it.  And the name of the city was called Hormah.   Also Judah  took
        [SERED]        Judges                     pg 228

Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof. And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak. And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
    And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el: and the LORD was with them.  And the house of Joseph sent to descry Beth-el. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.) And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will show thee mercy.  And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family. And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.
    Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.
    Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
    Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
    Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob: But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.
    Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries unto them. And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley: But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries. And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
    And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.
    And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried  him  in the  border  of  his  inheritance  in  Timnath-heres,  in  the  mount  of
        [SERED] [REUBEN]        Judges                 pg 229

Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
    And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
    And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.
    Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a-whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then The LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
    And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.
        Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath. And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
     [REUBEN]
        And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites: And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
        Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years. And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered  Chushan-rishathaim  king of  Mesopotamia  into  his hand; and  his hand
        [SERED] [SIMEON]        Judges                 pg 230

prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim. And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
     [SIMEON]
    And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.  So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.  But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.  And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.  And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.  But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out. Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them. When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.  And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth. And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.  And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them. And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.  So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.
     [JUDAH]
    And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.
    And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead. And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
    And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
     [LEVI]
And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward  mount  Tabor,  and  take  with  thee  ten  thousand  men  of  the children of
            [SERED][LEVI]        Judges                 pg 231

Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
        And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him. Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left. Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
        And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
        Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,  Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water. The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel. In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways. The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the LORD.  Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way. They that are delivered from  the  noise of archers in the  places of  drawing water, there  shall they rehearse
         [SERED] [BENJAMIN]    Judges                 pg 232

the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates. Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam. Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.  Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.  And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart. Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.  Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.  Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.  The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money. They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones. Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty. Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.  He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead. The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariot?  Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself, Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil? So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
     [BENJAMIN]
    And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
    And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites, That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians,  and out of the hand of all that oppressed you,  and drave
        [SERED] [BENJAMIN]        Judges                 pg 233

them out from before you, and gave you their land; And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.
    And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.  And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.  And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
    And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
    Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.  And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.  And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.  Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
     And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:  And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.  Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
    And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.  Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.  Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
    Then all  the  Midianites and  the  Amalekites and  the  children of  the east
        [SERED] [BENJAMIN]        Judges                 pg 234

were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. But the spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
    And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,  Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.  And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.  And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
    Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.  And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.  Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.  So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
    And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.  But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.
    And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into  the host of Israel, and
        [SERED] [BENJAMIN]        Judges                 pg 235

said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.  And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.  When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
    So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath.  And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
    And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Beth-barah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Beth-barah and Jordan.  And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.
    And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.  And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that. And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them. And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
    And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army? And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.
     And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.  And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
    Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
    And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure. And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.
    And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up, And  caught  a  young  man  of  the  men  of  Succoth, and  inquired  of  him:  and  he
        [SERED] [BENJAMIN]        Judges                 pg 236

described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men. And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary? And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
    Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. And he said, they were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.  Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.
    Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
    And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a-whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.
    Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
    And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
    And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a-whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god. And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side: Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown unto Israel.
    And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of  Baal-berith, wherewith  Abimelech  hired  vain and light persons,
        [SERED] [BENJAMIN]        Judges                 pg 237

which followed him. And he went unto his father’s house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.
    And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.  The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands;  (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: And ye are risen up against my father’s house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;) If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.  And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
     When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren. And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out.
    And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee. Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field:  And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest
        [SERED] [JOSEPH]        Judges                 pg 238

thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.
    And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men. And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim. Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them. And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate. And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them. And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them. And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
    And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith. And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
    Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.  But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower. And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull. Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.
    Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
     [JOSEPH]
    And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
     [ZEBULUN]
    And after  him  arose  Jair, a  Gileadite, and  judged  Israel twenty and  two
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years. And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
     [ISSACHAR]
    And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
    And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
    And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh. And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
    Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
    And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head? And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
    And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?  And  the  king  of  the  children  of  Ammon answered unto the  messengers of
        [SERED] [ISSACHAR]        Judges                 pg 240

Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon: And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon: But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh; Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.  Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab. And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place. But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.  So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?  Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,  While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time? Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon. Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
    Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
    So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
    And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let  me  alone two  months, that I may  go up and down upon the mountains,
          [SERED][GAD]            Judges                 pg 241

And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
    And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire. And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands. And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me? Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites. And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
     [GAD]
    And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.
     [DAN]
    And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
     [NAPHTALI]
    And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years. And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.
     [ASHER]
    And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
    And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
    Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: But he said unto me, Behold, thou  shalt  conceive, and bear a son; and  now drink  no wine
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nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
    Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.  And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.  She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
    And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.
    And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
    Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
    And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.  And he  took thereof  in  his hands, and  went on eating, and came to his
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father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
    So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do. And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
    And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so? And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee? And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people. And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
    And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house. But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
    But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
    And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
    Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
    And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
    Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.  Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.   And they spake unto him, saying,
          [SERED] [ASHER]        Judges                 pg 244

No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
    And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi.
    And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
    Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.
    And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
    And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.  Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
    And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a  Nazarite  unto  God  from  my  mother’s womb: if  I be shaven, then my
          [SERED] [ASHER]        Judges                 pg 245

strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shown me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
    But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.  And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
    And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son. And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah. And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
    And there was a young man out of Bethlehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehem-judah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a  priest, and I will  give  thee ten shekels of silver by the year,
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and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons. And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
    In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there. When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest. And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.
    Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man. And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye? And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.  When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.
    And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war. And they went up, and pitched in Kirjath-jearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjath-jearim. And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.
    Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do. And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him. And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate. And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye? And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people. So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.
    And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan. And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces,
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and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee? And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household. And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house. And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein. And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.
    And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
    And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem-judah. And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Bethlehem-judah, and was there four whole months. And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father’s house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him. And his father-in-law, the damsel’s father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
    And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel’s father said unto his son-in-law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way. And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel’s father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry. And when the man rose up to depart, his father-in-law urged him: therefore he lodged there again. And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel’s father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them. And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the damsel’s father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and tomorrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home. But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him. And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah. And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah. And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin. And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.
    And,  behold,  there  came an old man from his work out of the  field at even,
          [SERED] [ASHER]        Judges                 pg 248

which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites. And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
    And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehem-judah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Bethlehem-judah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me to house. Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing. And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.  So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink. Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing. But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
    Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light. And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold. And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.
    And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel. And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.
    Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh. And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness? And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead. And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel. Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.
    And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of  ten thousand, to fetch victual  for  the  people, that  they  may do,
          [SERED] [ASHER]        Judges                 pg 249

when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel. So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
    And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel: But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
    And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first. And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men. And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day. (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.) And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
    Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand. And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah. And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel. And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways. And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah. And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them. And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.  So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of  Israel  gave place to the Benjamites, because
          [SERED] [ASHER]        Judges                 pg250

they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah. And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city. And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle. But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven. And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.  Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them. Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising. And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valour. And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them. So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour. But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months. And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.
    Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife. And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel? And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death. And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
    And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there. And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man. And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them. And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not. And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
          [SERED] [ASHER]        Judges                 pg 251                      

    Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin? And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel. Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin. Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty. And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them. And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

                               pg252
                                                           

RUTH  =  friend, i.e. pasture or graze

BRANCH  –  ZEBULUN  =  dwelling

LAMP  –        [ELON]  =  friend

         Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
        Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread. Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also tonight, and should also bear sons; Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me. And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto her.  And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the  LORD do  so  to  me, and more also, if aught but
               [ELON] [REUBEN]        Ruth                 pg 254                                                         

death part thee and me. When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
    So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?  So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
      [REUBEN]  
    And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
    And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:  And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
     [SIMEON]
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shown me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
     [JUDAH]
The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.  Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.
     [LEVI]
So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned today? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge  of  thee.  And  she  showed  her mother-in-law  with  whom she had
              [ELON] [BENJAMIN]            Ruth                 pg 255                                                     

wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought today is Boaz.
     [BENJAMIN]
And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother-in-law.
     [JOSEPH]
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshingfloor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
        And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
        And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
      [ZEBULUN]
And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
     [ISSACHAR]
Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning.
        And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. Also he said, Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law. Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.
     [GAD]
        Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. And he said unto the kinsman,  Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab,  selleth a parcel
         [ELON] [DAN]            Ruth                 pg 256

of land, which was  our brother  Elimelech’s: And I thought to advertise thee, saying,
Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.  Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
    And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it. Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel. Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.
     [DAN]
    And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi. Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
     [NAPHTALI]
And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem: And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.
     [ASHER]
    So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter-in-law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him. And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
    Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

                                                    pg 257

I SAMUEL  = asked [heard] of God

BRANCH  –  ZEBULUN  =  dwelling

LAMP  –        [JAHLEEL]  =  expectant of God

     [REUBEN]
        Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
        And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
        So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.  Then Eli answered and said,  Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee  
        [JAHLEEL][SIMEON]        I Samuel             pg 258                                                   

thy petition that thou hast asked of him.  And  she  said,  Let  thine  handmaid  find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her. Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.  And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever. And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.
     [SIMEON]
    And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
     [JUDAH]
    And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.  The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.  The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.
    Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men
            [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Samuel             pg 259                                                   

abhorred the offering of the LORD.
    But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
    And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home. And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.  
    Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD’S people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.
    And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
        And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
     [LEVI]
And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
        And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;  That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me.  And  
        [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Samuel             pg 260                                                   

Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and  it  shall  be, if  he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
    And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.  For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
    And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
    And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
    And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.
    And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.  Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
    And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
    And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. And when Eli heard the noise of the  crying,  he  said,  What  meaneth  the  noise  of  this  
                [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Samuel            pg261                                                                      

tumult?  And  the  man  came  in hastily, and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety and eight
years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
        And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
        And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod.  When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
        And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
        Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
        And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to  the  number of  the  lords of  the Philistines: for one plague
        [JAHLEEL][LEVI]        I Samuel             pg 262                                                   

was on you all, and on your lords. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?  Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.
    And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. And the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh. And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.  And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.
    And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
    And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
    And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
    And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only. And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted
                    [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Samuel             pg 263                                                   

on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
        And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.
        So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.
        And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
        But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
        And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Samuel             pg 264                                                   

    Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. And the asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.  And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can show us our way that we should go. Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
    And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came today to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people today in the high place: As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him. And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place.
    Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people. Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is. And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house? And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?  And  Samuel took  Saul and  his  servant, and brought them into the
         [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Samuel             pg 265                                                   

parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons. And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee. And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.
    And when they were come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house. And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God.
    Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?  When thou art departed from me today, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?  Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: And the spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do.
    And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.
    And Saul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel. And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.
    And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us.  Now  therefore  present  yourselves
         [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Samuel             pg 266                                                   

before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.  Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
    And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
    Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days’ respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee.
    Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept. And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. And the spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, Tomorrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and showed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. Therefore the men of Jabesh said, Tomorrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you. And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
    And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death. And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for today the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel. Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
    And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have  walked before  you from my  childhood unto this day.  Behold, here I
         [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Samuel             pg 267                                                   

am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man’s hand. And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
    And Samuel said unto the people, It is the LORD that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers. When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. And when they forgat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe. And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king. Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you. If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God: But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.
    Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.  Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king. So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.
    And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:  Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
     Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.  And  all  Israel  heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines,
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Samuel             pg 268

and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.
    And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
    And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.
    And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
    And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual: And another company turned the way to Beth-horon: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
    Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.  So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.
    Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
    And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other  side: and  the  name of  the one was Bozez, and the name of the  other  Seneh.   
            [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Samuel             pg 269    

The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah. And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few. And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us. And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him. And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling. And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.  Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there. And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.
        And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.  So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Beth-aven.
        And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much  greater  slaughter among the  Philistines? And they smote the Philistines that
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Samuel             pg 270    

day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint.
    And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood. Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day. And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD.
    And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God. And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee. Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped. And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die. And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.  Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place.
    So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them. And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them. Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melch-ishua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal: And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.
    Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.  And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
    And Saul said unto the  Kenites, Go, depart, get  you down  from among  the
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Samuel             pg 271    

among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
        Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
        And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
        Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
        Then  Samuel  went to  Ramah; and  Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of
        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Samuel             pg 272    

Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
    And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.  And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.  And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
    And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said,
     [JOSEPH]
There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
    But the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
    Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
    Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered  together, and  pitched  by the  valley  of  Elah, and  set the battle  in array
        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Samuel             pg 273    

against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
        And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
        Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
        And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.  And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.  And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
        And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
        And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the  people  answered  him  again after the former manner. And when the words
        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Samuel             pg 274    

were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.
    And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:  And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.  David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
    And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.  This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.  So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
    And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought  him before  Saul with  the head of  the Philistine in his hand. And
        [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    I Samuel             pg 275

Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
     [ZEBULUN]
        And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.  Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
        And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
        And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
        And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
        And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD’S battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king? But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife. And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law in the one of the twain.
        And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king’s son-in-law. And Saul’s servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David. And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law: and the days were not expired. Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and  David  brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king,
        [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    I Samuel             pg 276

that he might be the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.
    And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul’s daughter loved him. And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David’s enemy continually. Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.
    And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.
    And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:  For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.
    And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.  Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life tonight, tomorrow thou shalt be slain.
    So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
    And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster. And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?
    So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?
        [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    I Samuel             pg 277

    And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will show it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
    And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about tomorrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and show it thee;  The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will show it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father.  And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not:  But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David’s enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.  Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth. But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away. And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever.
    So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty. Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor today? And Jonathan answered Saul, David  earnestly asked  leave of me to  go to  Bethlehem:  And he  said, Let me go, I
        [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    I Samuel             pg 278

pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king’s table. Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother’s nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
    And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
    And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
    Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.
    And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste. And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.
    And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not  sing one to another of him in dances, saying,  Saul hath  slain
                   [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    I Samuel             pg 279

his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?
     [ISSACHAR]
        David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
        And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
        And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.
        When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;) Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
        Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king. And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?  Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king’s son-in-law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house? Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more. And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.
        And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD. And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
        And  one  of  the  sons  of  Ahimelech  the  son  of  Ahitub,  named  Abiathar,
        [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    I Samuel             pg 280                         

escaped, and fled after David. And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the LORD’S priests. And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house. Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
    Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors. Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? Then David inquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.  So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
    And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
    And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.
    Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth. And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
    Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand. And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me. Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly. See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah. And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of
        [JAHLEEL] [GAD]        I Samuel             pg 281                         

Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them.
    But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth.
    And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at En-gedi.
     [GAD]
    And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily. And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.  So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself.
    And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD’S anointed. Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.
    And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast shown this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.  Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house. And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.
    And  Samuel  died;   and  all  the  Israelites  were  gathered  together,  and
        [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        I Samuel             pg 282                         

lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran. And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
    And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
     [DAN]
    And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.  Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be? So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings. And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
    But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.
    Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine  enemies,  and  they  that  seek  evil  to  my  lord,  be as  Nabal.  And now this
        [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        I Samuel             pg 283                         

blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;  That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
    And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.  For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.
    And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.
    And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife. And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives.
    But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.
    And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.
    And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.
    Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?   And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.   So David and Abishai came to
        [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        I Samuel             pg 284                         

the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless? David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.  The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them.
    Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them: And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD’S anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster. And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods. Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.
    Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. And David answered and said, Behold the king’s spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it. The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand today, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed.  And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
    And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand. And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife. And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.
    And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy  servant dwell  in  the royal city with thee?   Then Achish gave him Ziklag
        [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        I Samuel             pg 285                         

that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day. And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.
    And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road today? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites. And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines. And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
    And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men. And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.
    Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Giboa. And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
    Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
    And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.  Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel  with  thee
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    I Samuel             pg 286                         

into the hand of the Philistines:  and tomorrow  shalt thou and thy sons be with me:
the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.
    And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way. But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof: And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rearward with Achish. Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
    Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not. Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.
    And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master’s servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart. So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
    And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
    So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.  And David’s two wives were  taken  captives,  Ahinoam
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        I Samuel             pg 287                        

the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of  stoning him, because  the  soul  of  all  the people
was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David inquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.
    And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
    And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
     [ASHER]
And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.
    And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD; To them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa, And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites,  and to them which were in the  cities  of  the  
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        I Samuel            pg 288                         

Kenites, And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach, And to  them which were  in Hebron, and
to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
    Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchi-shua, Saul’s sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.
    And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people. And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
    And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul; All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
                                                          pg  289

II SAMUEL  = asked [heard] of God

BRANCH  –  ZEBULUN  =  dwelling

LAMP  –        [JAHLEEL]  =  expectant of God

     [REUBEN]
         Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.  So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord. Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD’S anointed? And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’S anointed.
        And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan  his  
[JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]        II Samuel             pg 290

son:  (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is
written in the book of Jasher.) The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.  I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
     [SIMEON]
    And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron. So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal’s wife the Carmelite. And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul.
    And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shown this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him. And now the LORD show kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.  Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.
    But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ish-bosheth Saul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
    And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.  Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
    And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe. And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am. And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside
                       [JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]                II Samuel                     pg 291

from following of him. And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
        And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill. Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more. And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim. And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel. But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and threescore men died.
        And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.
        Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
        And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
        And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul. And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine? Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog’s head, which against Judah do show kindness this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me today with a fault concerning this woman? So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him; To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba. And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he feared him.
        And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee. And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Saul’s daughter, when thou comest to see my face.
        And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth Saul’s son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the Philistines. And Ish-bosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from Phaltiel the son of Laish.  And her husband went with her along weeping behind her to Bahurim.  Then
                        [JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]        II Samuel             pg 292

said Abner unto him, Go, return. And he returned.
    And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you: Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies. And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin.  So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast. And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.
    And, behold, the servants of David and Joab came from pursuing a troop, and brought in a great spoil with them: but Abner was not with David in Hebron; for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace. When Joab and all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace. Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came unto thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone? Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest. And when Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, which brought him again from the well of Sirah: but David knew it not. And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.
    And afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner: Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread. So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
    And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David himself followed the bier. And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept. And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him. And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or aught else, till the sun be down. And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people. For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner. And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
    And when Saul’s son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled. And Saul’s son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin: And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.) And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and  his  nurse  took  him  up, and  fled: and  it  came  to pass, as she made
                        [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        II Samuel             pg 293

haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night. And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
    And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the LORD liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings: How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth? And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.
        Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.  
     [JUDAH]
         David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
        And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.
        And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house. And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake.
        And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David. And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia, And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.
        But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold. The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.  And David inquired of the LORD, saying,  Shall I go up to the Philistines?
                        [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        II Samuel             pg 294

wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim. And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.
    And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.  And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.
     [LEVI]
    Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.  And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
    And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me? So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obed-edom, and all his household.
    And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
    And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.
    Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and  said,  How  glorious was the king of  Israel today,
                       [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        II Samuel             pg 295

who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
    And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
        And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,  Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?  Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar? Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
        And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:  But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
         Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.  For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.  And now, O LORD God, the word  that  thou  hast  spoken  concerning  thy  servant,  and  concerning  his  house,
                       [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    II Samuel             pg 296

establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said. And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
    And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines. And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
    David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.
    When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer, Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass: Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued; Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.
    And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe; And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers.
     [BENJAMIN]
    And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.  Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David,  he
                       [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    II Samuel             pg 297

fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
    And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
    Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.
    And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.  Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.
        And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ish-tob twelve thousand men. And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ish-tob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field. When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon. And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee. Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good. And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him. And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.
        And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together. And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them. And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. And the Syrians fled before
                       [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    II Samuel             pg 298

Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there. And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.
    And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
    And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
    And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. And David said to Uriah, Tarry here today also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
    And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.  And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.  And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
     Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king, And if so be that the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
    So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for. And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate. And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king’s servants be dead, and  thy  servant  Uriah  the  Hittite is dead also.  Then
                       [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    II Samuel             pg 299

David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
    And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
    And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
    And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
        And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be  gracious to me, that the  child may live?  But now he is dead, wherefore
                        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        II Samuel             pg 300

should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
    And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him. And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
    And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.
     [JOSEPH]
And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. And he took their king’s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David’s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance. And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
    And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her. But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtle man. And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister. And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.
    So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand. Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him. And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.
    Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her. Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman  out  from  me,  and  bolt  the  door after her.  And she had a garment of
                       [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        II Samuel             pg 301

divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.
    And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying. And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.
    But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
    And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant. And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him. Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee? But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.
    Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.
    And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left. Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent. And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead. But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much people by the way of the hill side behind him. And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king’s sons come: as thy servant said, so it is. And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept very sore.
    But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.  So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years. And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.
    Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead: And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.
    And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king. And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead. And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.  And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said,
                       [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        II Samuel              pg 302

Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth. And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee. And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house: and the king and his throne be guiltless. And the king said, Whosoever saith aught unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more. Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on. And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished. For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid. For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee. Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid: To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
    And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again. And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, Today thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant. So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face.
    But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight. And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
    So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face. Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come. Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. Then Joab arose, and  came  to  Absalom  unto  his  house,  and  said  unto  him,  Wherefore have thy
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servants set my field on fire? And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me. So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.
    And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
    And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron. For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD. And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.
     [ZEBULUN]
    And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. And the king’s servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint. And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house. And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.
    Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile.  Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee. And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him. And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the  king also himself passed over the brook  Kidron, and all
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the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
    And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation: But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.  See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me. Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there.
    And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
    And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
    And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head: Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear.  So Hushai David’s friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.
    And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink. And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, Today shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father. Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.
    And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.
    Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore
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hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him. It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day. And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill’s side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust. And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.
    And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king, God save the king. And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend? And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the LORD, and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide. And again, whom should I serve? should I not serve in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father’s presence, so will I be in thy presence.
    Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong. So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.
    Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night: And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only: And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel. Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith. And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not; speak thou. And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person. So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there. And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.
    Then  said  Hushai  unto  Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus

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        [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    II Samuel 

did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled. Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.  Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-rogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David.  Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down. And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known. And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you. Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.
    And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father. Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
    And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother. So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.
    And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, Brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse, And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
     [ISSACHAR]
    And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city. And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.
     So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim; Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men. For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
    And  Absalom  met  the  servants of  David. And Absalom rode upon a mule,
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and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away. And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak. And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle. And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me. Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people. And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.
        Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king’s dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom’s place.
        Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the LORD hath avenged him of his enemies. And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead. Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran. Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?  But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi. And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone. And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near. And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings. And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings. And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king. And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was. And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still. And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee. And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.
        And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
        And it was told Joab,  Behold,  the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom.
        [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    II Samuel             pg 308

And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now. Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.
    And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom. And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
    And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house. Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king? And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.  So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.
    And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king. And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan; And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD’S anointed? And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.
    And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace. And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me,  Mephibosheth?   And he answered,  My  lord,  O king, my
        [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    II Samuel             pg 309

servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame. And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes. For all of my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king? And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land. And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house.
        And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan. Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man. And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king? Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?  Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto thee. And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee. And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place. Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel.
        And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David’s men with him, over Jordan? And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift? And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
        And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.  So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.         And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.         
        Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him. And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.   And there went out after him Joab’s men,  and the Cherethites, and  the
        [JAHLEEL] [GAD]        II Samuel             pg 310

Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab’s garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. And one of Joab’s men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab. And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still. When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
    And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him. And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
    Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter. I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD? And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
    Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites: And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder: And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.
     [GAD]
    Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.) Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you. And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and  that  devised  against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of
        [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        II Samuel             pg 311

the coasts of Israel, Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite: And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
    And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
    And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa: And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged. And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land.
     [DAN]
    Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint. And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel. And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant. And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother of David slew him. These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
     [NAPHTALI
    And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul: And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me; In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. There  
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Samuel             pg 312

went up a smoke  out of his nostrils,  and fire out  of his mouth devoured: coals were
kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies. Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.  The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice. And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them. And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters; He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me. The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eyesight. With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt show thyself upright. With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt show thyself unsavoury. And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down. For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God? God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet: and setteth me upon my high places.  He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip. I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them. And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet. For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me. They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but he answered them not. Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad. Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me. Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me. Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close places. The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation. It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me, And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. He is the tower of salvation for his king: and showeth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.
         Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.   The God of Israel said,  the Rock of Israel spake to me,  He  that  ruleth
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Samuel             pg 313

over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning,  when the sun riseth,  even a morning  without clouds;  as the tender grass
springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.
        But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands: But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.
        These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away: He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil. And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory. And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim. And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD. And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men. And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three. Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first three. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow: And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among three mighty men. He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard. Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,  Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,  Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, Zelek the Ammonite, Nahari the Beerothite,  armourbearer to  Joab  the  son  of  Zeruiah,  Ira  an  Ithrite,  
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        II Samuel             pg 314

Gareb an Ithrite, Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.
     [ASHER]
    And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people. And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing? Notwithstanding the king’s word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.
    And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer: Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan, and about to Zidon, And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beer-sheba.  So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
    And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.  For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
    So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men. And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.
    And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The  LORD  thy  God accept thee.  And the king said unto Araunah,  Nay; but I will
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        IISamuel             pg 315

surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

                                     pg316

I KINGS  =  a king to ascend the throne

BRANCH  –  ZEBULUN  =  dwelling

LAMP  –          [JAHLEEL]  =  expectant of God

     [REUBEN]    
    Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
     Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom. And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him. But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants: But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
    Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign? Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words. And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king. And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king.  And the king said,  What wouldest thou?  And she said unto him, My
                pg 318             

             [JAHLEEL] [REUBEN]        I Kings 

lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called. And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
    Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king’s sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah. But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called. Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not showed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
    Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king. And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.
    And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David. So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar?
    And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings. And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king. And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule:  And  Zadok the  priest and  Nathan  the  prophet  have  anointed him king in
             [JAHLEEL] [REUBEN]        I Kings                 pg 319             

Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard. And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. And moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it. And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.
    And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword. And Solomon said, If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die. So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
    Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.  Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.  And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
    Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
    And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s: for it was his from the LORD. And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on. And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.
    Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne,  and caused a seat to be  set for the king’s mother;  and she sat
             [JAHLEEL] [REUBEN]        I Kings                 pg 320             

on his right hand. Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay. And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.  Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.
    And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
    Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.  Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
    And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.
    And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good. Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged  thee  with?   The  king  said  moreover  to  Shimei,   Thou knowest  all  the
             [JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]        I Kings                 pg 321                    

wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head; And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
    And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days. And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
        [SIMEON]
    In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shown unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;  Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
    Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.  And the king said,  Divide the  living  child  in two,  and  give half to the one, and half  to the
             [JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]        I Kings                 pg 322                    

other. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
     So king Solomon was king over all Israel. And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,  Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king’s friend: And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.
    And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:  The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan: The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:  The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam: The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars: Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:  Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:  Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.
    Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl. For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.
    And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
    And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that  springeth  out of the wall: he  spake also of  beasts, and of fowl, and of
             [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        I Kings                 pg 323                    

creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of        Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.  
    And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
     [JUDAH]
    And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.  And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
    And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;  Beside the chief of Solomon’s officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
    And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.
    And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about: The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. And the house, when it was in building,  was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither:  so that there
             [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        I Kings                 pg 324                    

was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third. So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
    And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. So Solomon built the house, and finished it. And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long. And the cedar of the house within was carved with knobs and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
    And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.
    And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.  The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees. So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall. And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.
    And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.
    In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif: And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
    But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.
             [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        I Kings                 pg 325                    

    He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row. And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks. And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks.
    And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.
    Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.
    And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch. All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.  And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.  And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.
    And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work. For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about. And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits: And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter. And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter. And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits. And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter. And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz. And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished.
    And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under the brim of it round about there were knobs compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knobs were cast in two rows, when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And it was an handbreadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.  And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.  And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:  And on  the  borders  that  were  between  the  ledges  were  lions, oxen, and
             [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Kings                 pg 326                    

cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work. And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition. And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten. And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself. And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same. For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about. After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.
    Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver. And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.
    And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD: The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars; And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases; And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea; And the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out. And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the showbread was, And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple. So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.
     [LEVI]
    Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. And king  Solomon,  and  all  the  congregation  of   Israel,   that  were  assembled  unto  him,
             [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Kings                 pg 327                    

were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.  For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
    Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.  I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
    And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today: That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace: and when thou hearest, forgive.
    If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:  Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his
             [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Kings                 pg 328                    

way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
    When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:  Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.
     When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
    If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwellingplace, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.
    If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwellingplace, and maintain their cause, And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:  That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.  For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD. And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. And he stood, and blessed  all  the  congregation  of  Israel  with a  loud  voice,  saying,  Blessed  be the
             [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Kings                 pg 329                    

LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.  The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:  That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
    And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD. And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings. And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days. On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
     [BENJAMIN]
    And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:  Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.
    And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.  And  Hiram came out  from Tyre to  see  the cities which Solomon had given
             [JAHLEEL][JOSEPH]        I Kings                 pg 330                    

him; and they pleased him not. And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day. And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.
    And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife. And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen. These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
    But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
    And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.
    And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
     [JOSEPH]
    And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king’s house,  harps also and psalteries for singers:  there came no such almug trees,
             [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Kings                 pg 331                    

nor were seen unto this day. And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
    Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.
    And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
    Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.
    And all king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.  So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.
    And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
    And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.
    And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price. And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.
    But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;  Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
    And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.  Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon,
             [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Kings                 pg 332      

Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.
    And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom. For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom;  (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:) That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child.  And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh. And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country. Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise.
    And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.
    And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.  And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken
             [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Kings                 pg 333      

unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
    And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
    And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
    And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
    So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him; And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
     So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.  So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. And when Rehoboam was  come  to  Jerusalem,  he assembled all  the  house  of Judah, with the  tribe of
             [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Kings                 pg 334      

Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,  Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
    Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
    And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.
    Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which  came  from Judah.  And  he said unto his sons,  Saddle me the ass.  So
             [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Kings                 pg 335      

they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.  He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
    And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
    And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
    After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
    At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
    And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it
             [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Kings                 pg 336      

shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
    And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died; And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet. And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
    And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
    And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house. And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
    Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name
             [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    I Kings                 pg 337      

was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
    Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless for David’s sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.
    And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
     [ZEBULUN]
    And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels.
    And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.
    And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
    And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him;  and  Baasha smote  him at  Gibbethon,  which belonged to the Philistines;  for
             [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    I Kings                 pg 338     

Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.  Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead. And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite: Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.
    Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
    Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead. And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.
    In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years. And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.
    And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends. Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
    In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire, and died, For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
    Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.  But the
             [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    I Kings                 pg 339      

people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.
    In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.
    But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
    And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.
     [ISSACHAR]
    And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
    And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.
    And it came to pass  after  these  things,  that  the  son  of  the  woman,  the  
             [JAHLEEL] [GAD]        I Kings                 pg 340      

mistress  of  the  house,  fell  sick;  and  his  sickness was so sore, that there was no
breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
    And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.
      [GAD]
And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
    And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD’S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
    And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Eliajah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks;  and let them  choose  one bullock  for themselves,  and cut it in
             [JAHLEEL] [GAD]    I Kings                     pg 341      

pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.  Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.  Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
    And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
    And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.  Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life,  and  came to Beer-sheba,  which  belongeth to Judah, and  left  his
             [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        I Kings                 pg 342      

servant there.
    But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
    And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and
     [DAN]
Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
    So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
    And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; Yet I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow  about this time, and they shall search thine house,
             [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        I Kings                 pg 343      

and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.  Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not. And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent. Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
    And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.  So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
    And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms: And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so. And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
    And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in  one  day.   But  the  rest  fled  to  Aphek,  into the city; and there a wall fell upon
             [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        I Kings                 pg 344      

twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
    And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
    And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
    And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
    But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear  witness against him, saying,  Thou didst blaspheme God
             [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    I Kings                 pg 345      

and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
    And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
    And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.
    But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.
     [NAPHTALI]
    And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD:  but I hate him;  for he doth not  prophesy  good  
             [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    I Kings                 pg 346      

concerning me,  but evil.  And Jehoshaphat said,  Let not the king say so.  Then  the
king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king’s hand. And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.  So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?  And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.  So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying,  Every man to  his  city,  
             [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        I Kings                 pg 347      

and every man to his own country.
        So the king died,  and was brought to Samaria;  and they buried the  king  in
Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
     [ASHER]
    And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.
    And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
    Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:  For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

                                  pg348

II KINGS  =  a King to ascend the throne

BRANCH  –  ZEBULUN  =  dwelling

LAMP –       [JAHLEEL]  =  expectant of God

     [REUBEN]
    Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.
    And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back? And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.  Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
    And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty  thy  servants, be  precious  in  thy  sight.  Behold,  there  came  fire  down  from
        [JAHLEEL] [REUBEN]        II Kings             pg 350

heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
    So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
    And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.
    And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
    And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
    And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
    And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this  city  is  pleasant,  as  my  lord  seeth:  but  the water is naught, and the ground
        [JAHLEEL] [REUBEN]        II Kings             pg 351

barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
    And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.
    Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
    And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
    And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel. And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them. And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.
    And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.  And they rose up early in the morning,  and the sun shone upon
        [JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]        II Kings             pg 352

the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country. And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
    And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not. Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.
     [SIMEON]
    Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
    And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
    And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee,  one of the young men, and
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one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.
    And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.
    And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.  So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.
    Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will
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send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
    And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
    And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused. And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing. And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.
    But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed. But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his
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presence a leper as white as snow.
     [JUDAH]
    And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
    Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
    And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
    And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
    And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give
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thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son. And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.  Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day. But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him? And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
    Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
    And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.  So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. And he called the porters; and they told it to the king’s house within.
    And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city. And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see. They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king. And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to
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the word of the LORD.
    And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him. And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria: And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
    Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. And it came to pass at the seven years’ end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying,
Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now. And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shown me that he shall surely die. And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shown me that thou shalt be king over Syria. So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover. And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
    And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give him always a light, and to his children.
    In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose  by  night,  and  smote  the  Edomites  which  compassed  him  about,  and  the
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captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents. Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
    In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
    And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
    And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead: And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber; Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.
    So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain. And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel: And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah: And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.
    Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication. And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria. But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.  So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram. And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let  him  say,  Is  it  peace?  So there  went one on  horseback to meet him, and said,
        [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        II Kings             pg 359

Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again. Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously. And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him; Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD.
    But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David. And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.
    And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king’s daughter. And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
    And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab’s children, saying, Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour; Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house. But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand? And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes. Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king’s
        [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]          II Kings             pg 360

sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up. And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.
    And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning. And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these? Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.  So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.
    And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way, Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen. And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men: neither left he any of them.
    And when he was departed thence, He lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.
    And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much. Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it. And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another. And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments. And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only. And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him. And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them. And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
    Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan. And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of  Ahab
        [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        II Kings             pg 361

according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin. In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel; From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead. And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.
    And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.
     [LEVI]
    And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son. And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house; And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king. And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD. And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.
    And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD. And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason. But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD. And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king’s house: and there was she slain.
    And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD’S people; between the king also and the people. And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.  And the priest appointed officers over the house
        [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        II Kings             pg 362

of the LORD. And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king’s house. Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.
    In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
    And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the LORD, Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD. And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD, And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD: But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD. Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully.  The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests’.
    Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
    And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
    In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz  the  son  of  Jehu  began  to  reign  over  Israel  in  Samaria, and  reigned
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    II Kings             pg 363

seventeen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
    And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, all their days. And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing.
    Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.
    In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein. And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
    Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
    And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
    But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. So Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead. And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.
     [BENJAMIN]
    In  the  second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah
         [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    II Kings             pg 364

the son of Joash king of Judah. He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.
    And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father. But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.
    Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents. And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.
    Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead.
    And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there. And they brought him on horses: and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David.
    And all the people of Judah took Azariah, which was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.
    In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath-hepher. For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel. And the LORD said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might,  how  he  warred,  and  how  he  recovered  Damascus,  and  Hamath,  which
         [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        II Kings             pg 365

belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead.
     [JOSEPH]
    In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done; Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places.
    And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the house, judging the people of the land. And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
    In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. This was the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass.
    Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
    Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up. In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
    And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
    In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room. And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
    In  the  two  and  fiftieth  year  of  Azariah  king  of  Judah  Pekah the son of
         [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    II Kings             pg 366

Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria. And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
     [ZEBULUN]
    In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.
    Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD.
    Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
    In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
    Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
    And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon. And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar. And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar. And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying,  Upon the great altar burn the morning  burnt
        [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    II Kings             pg 367

offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to inquire by. Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
    And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones. And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria.
    Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
    In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
    Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents. And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
    Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
    In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God,  but walked in the
         [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    II Kings             pg 368

statutes of Israel which they made. And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
    And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them. Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land. Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land. Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence. Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods. But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.
    He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen  serpent that  Moses had made:  for unto those days
         [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    II Kings             pg 369

the children of Israel did burn incense to it:  and he called it Nehushtan.  He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
    And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it. And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes: Because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them.
    Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
    And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field. And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him. But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews’ language in the ears of the people that are on the wall. But Rab-shakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying,  Hear the word of the great king, the king of  Assyria:  Thus saith
         [JAHLEEL] [GAD]        II Kings             pg 370

the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand? But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not. Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.
     [GAD]
    And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household,and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
    And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
    So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?
    And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed  the  nations and their lands,  And have  cast their  gods into
         [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        II Kings             pg 371

the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.
    Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel. I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places. Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.
     [DAN]
    In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days  fifteen years;  and  I will  deliver thee and this city out of the
        [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        II Kings             pg 372

hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
    And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.
    At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.
    Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?
    And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.
    Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations,  and hath done  wickedly above  all that the Amorites did,
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Kings             pg 373

which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day. Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
    Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
    Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did. And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them: And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD.
    And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house. And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead. Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And he was buried in his sepulchre in the garden of Uzza:
     [NAPTALI]
and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.
    Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
    And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people: And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house, Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.
    And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD. And Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law,  that  he  rent  his  clothes.  And  the  king  commanded Hilkiah the  priest, and
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Kings             pg 374

Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying, Go ye, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us. So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.
    And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard; Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.
    And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.
    And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el. And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven. And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove. And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city. Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren. And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. And he  took away  the  horses that  the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Kings             pg 375

entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.
    Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth-el. And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria. And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el. And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
    And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant. Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.
    Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
    Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal. And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there. Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  
    In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him. And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s stead.
    Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when  he  began  to  reign;  and he
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Kings             pg 376

reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. And Pharaoh-nechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. And Pharaoh-nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Johoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there. And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh-nechoh.
    Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
    In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.
    Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
    Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.
    At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.  And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it. And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
    And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.  For through
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        II Kings             pg 377

the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain. And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away.
     [ASHER]
    But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.  The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight. The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.
    And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king’s presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city: And Nebuzar-adan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah: And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
    And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler. And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.  And Gedaliah sware to them, and to
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        II Kings             pg 378

their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you. But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah. And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
    And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon; And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life

                                                               pg 379

I CHRONICLES  =  a word during the day

BRANCH  –  ZEBULUN  =  dwelling

LAMP  –          [JAHLEEL]  =  expectant of God

     [REUBEN]
    Adam, Sheth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
    The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
    The sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth. And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim. And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth, The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.
    The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech. And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber. And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother’s name was Joktan. And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu,  Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abram; the same is Abraham. The sons of Abraham; Isaac, and Ishmael.
    These are their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael.
    Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these are the sons of Keturah. And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons of Isaac; Esau and Israel.
    The sons of  Esau; Eliphaz, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.  The
        [JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]        I Chronicles             pg 380

sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and Timna, and Amalek. The sons of Reuel; Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. And the sons of Seir; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezar, and Dishan. And the sons of Lotan; Hori, and Homam: and Timna was Lotan’s sister. The sons of Shobal; Alian, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon; Aiah, and Anah. The sons of Anah; Dishon. And the sons of Dishon; Amram, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. The sons of Ezer; Bilhan, and Zavan, and Jakan. The sons of Dishan; Uz, and Aran.
    Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel; Bela the son of Beor: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. And when Bela was dead, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. And when Husham was dead, Hadad the son of Bedad, which smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. And when Hadad was dead, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. And when Samlah was dead, Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. And when Shaul was dead, Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. And when Baal-hanan was dead, Hadad reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pai; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
    Hadad died also. And the dukes of Edom were; duke Timnah, duke Aliah, duke Jetheth, Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, Duke Magdiel, duke Iram. These are the dukes of Edom.
     [SIMEON]
    These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
    The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him. And Tamar his daughter-in-law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five. The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul. And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all. And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed. And the sons of Ethan; Azariah.  The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai. And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah; And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz, And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse.
    And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third, Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth.  Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:  Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.
    And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon. And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur. And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel.
    And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub. And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead. And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah, then Abiah Hezron’s wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa.
    And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and  Ozem, and  Ahijah.   Jerahmeel  had also another  wife,
        [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        I Chronicles             pg 381

whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker. And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur. And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bare him Ahban, and Molid. And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children. And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai.  And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children. And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel.
    Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai. And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad, And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed, And Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah, And Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah, And Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Sisamai begat Shallum, And Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama.
    Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were, Mesha his firstborn, which was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron. And the sons of Hebron; Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema. And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkoam: and Rekem begat Shammai. And the son of Shammai was Maon: and Maon was the father of Beth-zur. And Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez.  And the sons of Jahdai; Regem, and Jotham, and Gesham, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph. Maachah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Sheber, and Tirhanah. She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.
    These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim, Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader. And Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim had sons; Haroeh, and half of the Manahethites. And the families of Kirjath-jearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites. The sons of Salma; Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites. And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
      [JUDAH]
    Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess: The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith: The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife. These six were born unto him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years. And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel: Ibhar also, and Elishama, and Eliphelet, And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia, And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. These were all the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister.
    And Solomon’s son was Rehoboam, Abia his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, Amon his son, Josiah his son. And the sons of Josiah were, the firstborn Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son.
        [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        I Chronicles             pg 382

    And the sons of Jeconiah; Assir, Salathiel his son, Malchiram also, and Pedaiah, and Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister: And Hashubah, and Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, Jushab-hesed, five. And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah. And the sons of Shechaniah; Shemaiah: and the sons of Shemaiah; Hattush, and Igeal, and Bariah, and Neariah, and Shaphat, six. And the sons of Neariah; Elioenai, and Hezekiah, and Azrikam, three. And the sons of Elioenai were, Hodaiah, and Eliashib, and Pelaiah, and Akkub, and Johanan, and Dalaiah, and Anani, seven.
    The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi: And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem.
    And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan. And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
    And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
    And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton. And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Rechah. And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath. And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen. And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz. And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel. And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. And his wife Jehudijah bare Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took. And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite. And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Ben-zoheth.
    The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea, And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubi-lehem. And these are ancient things. These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.
    The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul: Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son. And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah. And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-shual, And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad, And at Bethuel, and at  Hormah,  and  at  Ziklag,  And  at  Beth-marcaboth,  and  Hazar-susim,  and  at  Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim.  These were their cities unto  the  reign  of  David.  And
        [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        I Chronicles             pg 383

their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities: And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy. And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah, And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel, And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah, And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah; These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly. And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old. And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks. And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.
    Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:) The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son, Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites. And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon: And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead. And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead.
    And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salcah: Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan. And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven. These are the children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz; Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers. And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders. All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
    The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war. And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab. And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was entreated of them; because they put their trust in him. And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand. For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.
        [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Chronicles             pg 384

    And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baal-hermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon. And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers.
    And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a-whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them. And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
     [LEVI]
    The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
    Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua, And Abishua begat Bukki, and Bukki begat Uzzi, And Uzzi begat Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begat Meraioth, Meraioth begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub, And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Ahimaaz, And Ahimaaz begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Johanan, And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest’s office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:) And Azariah begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub, And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Shallum, And Shallum begat Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begat Azariah, And Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat Jehozadak, And Jehozadak went into captivity, when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
    The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. And these be the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei. And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.  Of Gershom; Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son. The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son,  Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth. As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah. The sons of Merari; Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son,  Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son. And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest. And they ministered before the dwellingplace of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their order. And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel, The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea,  The son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchiah, The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, The son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi,  the son of Abdi,  the son of Malluch,  The son of Hashabiah,  the son of
        [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Chronicles             pg 385

Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer, The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. Their brethren also the Levites were appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God.
    But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. And these are the sons of Aaron; Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,  Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.
    Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot. And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof round about it. But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs, And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs, And Ashan with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs: And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities. And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities. And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs. And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names. And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim. And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs, And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs, And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs: And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath. Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs: And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs, And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs: And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her suburbs, And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs: And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs. Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs: And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs, Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs: And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim with her suburbs, And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.
    Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimrom, four.
And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations;  whose number was in the days of David two and twenty
        [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        I Chronicles             pg 386

thousand and six hundred. And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men. And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons. And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand.
    The sons of Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher. And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour, was twenty thousand and two hundred. The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar. All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle. Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher.
    The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.
    The sons of Manasseh; Ashriel, whom she bare: (but his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead: And Machir took to wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maachah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters. And Maachah the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. And the sons of Ulam; Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. And his sister Hammoleketh bare Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahalah. And the sons of Shemidah were, Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam.
    And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son,
    And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle. And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.
    And when he went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. (And his daughter was Sherah, who built Beth-horon the nether, and the upper, and Uzzen-sherah.) And Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, Non his son, Jehoshuah his son.
    And their possessions and habitations were, Beth-el and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof: And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth-shean and her towns, Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and her towns, Dor and her towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel.
    The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who is the father of Birzavith. And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. And the sons of Japhlet; Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet. And the sons of Shamer; Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. And the sons of his brother Helem; Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal.   The sons of Zophah;  Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah,
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Chronicles             pg 387

Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. And the sons of Jether; Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara. And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and Haniel, and Rezia. All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father’s house, choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were apt to the war and to battle was twenty and six thousand men.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third, Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. And the sons of Bela were, Addar, and Gera, and Abihud, And Abishua, and Naaman, and Ahoah, And Gera, and Shephuphan, and Huram. And these are the sons of Ehud: these are the heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Geba, and they removed them to Manahath: And Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera, he removed them, and begat Uzza, and Ahihud. And Shaharaim begat children in the country of Moab, after he had sent them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives. And he begat of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcham, And Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirma. These were his sons, heads of the fathers. And of Hushim he begat Abitub, and Elpaal. The sons of Elpaal; Eber, and Misham, and Shamed, who built Ono, and Lod, with the towns thereof: Beriah also, and Shema, who were heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who drove away the inhabitants of Gath: And Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth, And Zebadiah, and Arad, and Ader, And Michael, and Ispah, and Joha, the sons of Beriah; And Zebadiah, and Meshullam, and Hezeki, and Heber, Ishmerai also, and Jezliah, and Jobab, the sons of Elpaal; And Jakim, and Zichri, and Zabdi, And Elienai, and Zilthai, and Eliel, And Adaiah, and Beraiah, and Shimrath, the sons of Shimhi; And Ishpan, and Heber, and Eliel, And Abdon, and Zichri, and Hanan, And Hananiah, and Elam, and Antothijah, And Iphedeiah, and Penuel, the sons of Shashak; And Shamsherai, and Shehariah, and Athaliah, And Jaresiah, and Eliah, and Zichri, the sons of Jeroham.  These were heads of the fathers, by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem. And at Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon; whose wife’s name was Maachah: And his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab, And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zacher. And Mikloth begat Shimeah. And these also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against them.
    And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-baal. And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal begat Micah. And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz. And Ahaz begat Jehoadah; and Jehoadah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza, And Moza begat Binea: Rapha was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son: And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. And the sons of Eshek his brother were, Ulam his firstborn, Jehush the second, and Eliphelet the third. And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valour, archers, and had many sons, and sons’ sons, an hundred and fifty. All these are of the sons of Benjamin.
    So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.
    Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims. And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh; Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the children of Pharez the son of Judah. And of the Shilonites; Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons. And of the sons of Zerah; Jeuel, and their brethren, six hundred and ninety. And of the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Chronicles             pg 388

Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hasenuah, And Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephathiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; And their brethren, according to their generations, nine hundred and fifty and six. All these men were chief of the fathers in the house of their fathers.
    And of the priests; Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin, And Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God; And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasiai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God. And of the Levites; Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; And Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph; And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, that dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites. And the porters were, Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren: Shallum was the chief; Who hitherto waited in the king’s gate eastward: they were porters in the companies of the children of Levi. And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the LORD was with him. And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. All these which were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office. So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the house of the LORD, namely, the house of the tabernacle, by wards. In four quarters were the porters, toward the east, west, north, and south. And their brethren, which were in their villages, were to come after seven days from time to time with them. For these Levites, the four chief porters, were in their set office, and were over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God.
    And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them. And certain of them had the charge of the ministering vessels, that they should bring them in and out by tale. Some of them also were appointed to oversee the vessels, and all the instruments of the sanctuary, and the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices. And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices. And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the set office over the things that were made in the pans. And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread, to prepare it every sabbath. And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night. These chief fathers of the Levites were chief throughout their generations; these dwelt at Jerusalem.
    And in Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jehiel, whose wife’s name was Maachah: And his firstborn son Abdon, then Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab, And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zechariah, and Mikloth. And Mikloth begat Shimeam. And they also dwelt with their brethren at Jerusalem, over against their brethren. And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-baal. And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal: and Merib-baal begat Micah. And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and  Tahrea, and  Ahaz.  And  Ahaz begat  Jarah; and  Jarah  begat  Alemeth,  and
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Chronicles             pg 389

Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza; And Moza begat Binea; and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel.
    Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers. Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died. So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together. And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, then they forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
    And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people. And they put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.
    And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul. They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
    So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; And inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
    Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel. Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel.
    And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief. And David dwelt in the castle; therefore they called it the city of David. And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about: and Joab repaired the rest of the city. So David waxed greater and greater: for the LORD of hosts was with him.
    These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel. And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time. And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties. He was with David at Pas-dammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines.  And they set themselves in the midst of that
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    I Chronicles             pg 390

parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the LORD saved them by a great deliverance.
    Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim. And David was then in the hold, and the Philistines’ garrison was then at Bethlehem. And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate! And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD, And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest.
    And Abishai the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three: for lifting up his spear against three hundred, he slew them, and had a name among the three. Of the three, he was more honourable than the two; for he was their captain: howbeit he attained not to the first three. Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day. And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among the three mighties. Behold, he was honourable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard.
    Also the valiant men of the armies were, Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,  Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Antothite, Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah, that pertained to the children of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, The sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shage the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai, Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Haggeri, Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armourbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a captain of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, Hanan the son of Maachah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jehiel the sons of Hothan the Aroerite, Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, Eliel, and Obed, and Jasiel the Mesobaite.
    Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war. They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin. The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite, And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Josabad the Gederathite,  Eluzai, and Jerimoth, and Bealiah, and Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite, Elkanah, and Jesiah, and Azareel, and Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korhites, And Joelah, and  Zebadiah, the  sons of Jeroham of  Gedor.   And of the Gadites there separated
        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        I Chronicles             pg 391

themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh. These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand. These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west. And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David. And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band. And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads. As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zilthai, captains of the thousands that were of Manasseh. And they helped David against the band of the rovers: for they were all mighty men of valour, and were captains in the host. For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God.
    And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD. The children of Judah that bare shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, ready armed to the war. Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valour for the war, seven thousand and one hundred. Of the children of Levi four thousand and six hundred. And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, and with him were three thousand and seven hundred; And Zadok, a young man mighty of valour, and of his father’s house twenty and two captains. And of the children of Benjamin, the kindred of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto the greatest part of them had kept the ward of the house of Saul. And of the children of Ephraim twenty thousand and eight hundred, mighty men of valour, famous throughout the house of their fathers. And of the half tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, which were expressed by name, to come and make David king. And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war, fifty thousand, which could keep rank: they were not of double heart. And of Naphtali a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand. And of the Danites expert in war twenty and eight thousand and six hundred. And of Asher, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, forty thousand. And on the other side of Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, an hundred and twenty thousand.
     [JOSEPH]
All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king. And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking: for  their  brethren  had  prepared  for  them.  Moreover  they  that  were  nigh them,
        [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    I Chronicles             pg 392

even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel.
    And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us: And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul. And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjath-jearim. And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjath-jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it. And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart. And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.
    And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God. And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzza: wherefore that place is called Perez-uzza to this day. And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me? So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that he had. Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him an house. And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel.
    And David took more wives at Jerusalem: and David begat more sons and daughters. Now these are the names of his children which he had in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, And Ibhar, and Elishua, and Elpalet, And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia, And Elishama, and Beeliada, and Eliphalet. And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them. And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
     [ZEBULUN]
And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand. So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim. And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire. And the Philistines yet again spread themselves abroad in the valley. Therefore David inquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to  smite  the  host of  the  Philistines.   David therefore did as God commanded
        [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    I Chronicles             pg 393

him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer. And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.
    And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever. And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had prepared for it. And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites: Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twenty: Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty: Of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and thirty: Of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred: Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore: Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve. And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: Sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it. For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order. So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD. And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; And with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the porters. So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass; And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth; And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel. And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful. And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark. And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obed-edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark. So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the house of Obed-edom with joy. And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams. And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen. Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps. And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.
     [ISSACHAR]
    So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David
        [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    I Chronicles             pg 394

had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.
    And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel: Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals; Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.
    Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance; When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it. And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.  Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place. Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.  And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.
    So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required: And Obed-edom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters: And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon, To offer burnt offerings unto the LORD upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which he commanded Israel; And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever;  And  with them Heman and Jeduthun with
        [JAHLEEL] [GAD]        I Chronicles             pg 395

trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters. And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.
    Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains. Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.
    And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in: For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars? Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel: And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth. Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning, And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the LORD will build thee an house.
    And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will establish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
     [GAD]
    And David the king came and sat before the LORD, and said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O LORD God. What can David speak more to thee for the honour of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant. O LORD, for thy servant’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt? For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, LORD, becamest their God. Therefore now, LORD, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said. Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee. For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee. And now, LORD, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:  Now therefore  let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant,
        [JAHLEEL] [GAD]        I Chronicles             pg 396

that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O LORD, and it shall be blessed for ever.
    Now after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines. And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
    And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to stablish his dominion by the river Euphrates. And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. Then David put garrisons in Syria-damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought gifts. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. Likewise from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, brought David very much brass, wherewith Solomon made the brasen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
    Now when Tou king of Hamath heard how David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah; He sent Hadoram his son to king David, to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer, and smitten him; (for Hadarezer had war with Tou;) and with him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.
    Them also king David dedicated unto the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek. Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand.
    And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became David’s servants. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people. And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder. And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe; And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.
    Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. And David said, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land? Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away. Then there went certain, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.
    And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maachah, and out of Zobah. So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people; who came and pitched before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle. And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array before the gate of the city: and the kings that were come were by themselves in the field.  Now when Joab  saw
        [JAHLEEL] [GAD]        I Chronicles             pg 397

that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose out of all the choice of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians. And the rest of the people he delivered unto the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon. And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee. Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the LORD do that which is good in his sight. So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh before the Syrians unto the battle; and they fled before him. And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.
    And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river: and Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them. And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host. And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David, and became his servants: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.
    And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it. And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David’s head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city. And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
    And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued. And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam. And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant. But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him. These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants. And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel? Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
    And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword. But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.  And  God was  displeased  with this thing; therefore he smote
        [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        I Chronicles             pg 398

Israel.
     [DAN]
And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. And the LORD spake unto Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee Either three years’ famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.
    So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father’s house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.
    Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the LORD. And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all. And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.
    At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon. But David could not go before it to inquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
    Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.   And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the  doors
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    I Chronicles             pg 399

of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
    Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel. And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God: But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee. Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed. Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work. Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.
    David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people. Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.
    So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
     [NAPHTALI]
    And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges: Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith. And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
    Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei. The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three. The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan. And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father’s house.
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    I Chronicles             pg 400

    The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever. Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi. The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer. Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief. And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief. Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and Jesiah the second.
    The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish. And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them. The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
    These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward. For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever: And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof. For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above: Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God; Both for the showbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size; And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even; And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD: And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.
    Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest’s office. And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service. And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers. Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar. Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, The ninth to Jeshuah, the tenth to Shecaniah, The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, The thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses, The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel, The one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul, The three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah. These were the orderings of  them  in their  service to come  into the house of the LORD, according to
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    I Chronicles             pg 401

their manner, under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.
    And the rest of the sons of Levi were these: Of the sons of Amram; Shubael: of the sons of Shubael; Jehdeiah. Concerning Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah. Of the Izharites; Shelomoth: of the sons of Shelomoth; Jahath. And the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah: of the sons of Michah; Shamir. The brother of Michah was Isshiah: of the sons of Isshiah; Zechariah. The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi: the sons of Jaaziah; Beno.
    The sons of Merari by Jaaziah; Beno, and Shoham, and Zaccur, and Ibri. Of Mahli came Eleazar, who had no sons. Concerning Kish: the son of Kish was Jerahmeel. The sons also of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after the house of their fathers. These likewise cast lots over against their brethren the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites, even the principal fathers over against their younger brethren.
    Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king. Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD. Of Heman: the sons of Heman; Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth: All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king’s order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman. So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the LORD, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.
    And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar. Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph: the second to Gedaliah, who with his brethren and sons were twelve: The third to Zaccur, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The fourth to Izri, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The fifth to Nethaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The sixth to Bukkiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The seventh to Jesharelah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The eighth to Jeshaiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The ninth to Mattaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:  The tenth to Shimei, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:  The eleventh to Azareel, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:  The twelfth to Hashabiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The thirteenth to Shubael, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The fourteenth to Mattithiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The fifteenth to Jeremoth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The sixteenth to Hananiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The seventeenth to Joshbekashah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The eighteenth to Hanani, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The nineteenth to Mallothi, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The twentieth to Eliathah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The one and twentieth to Hothir, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The two and twentieth to Giddalti, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: The three and twentieth to Mahazioth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:  The
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    I Chronicles             pg 402

four and twentieth to Romamti-ezer, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve.
    Concerning the divisions of the porters: Of the Korhites was Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. And the sons of Meshelemiah were, Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Elioenai the seventh. Moreover the sons of Obed-edom were, Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethaneel the fifth, Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth: for God blessed him. Also unto Shemaiah his son were sons born, that ruled throughout the house of their father: for they were mighty men of valour. The sons of Shemaiah; Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad, whose brethren were strong men, Elihu, and Semachiah. All these of the sons of Obed-edom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men for strength for the service, were threescore and two of Obed-edom. And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, strong men, eighteen. Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons; Simri the chief, (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief;) Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men, having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the LORD.
    And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate. And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward. To Obed-edom southward; and to his sons the house of Asuppim. To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward. Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two. At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar. These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari. And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things. As concerning the sons of Laadan; the sons of the Gershonite Laadan, chief fathers, even of Laadan the Gershonite, were Jehieli. The sons of Jehieli; Zetham, and Joel his brother, which were over the treasures of the house of the LORD. Of the Amramites, and the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler of the treasures. And his brethren by Eliezer; Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son. Which Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the chief fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated. Out of the spoils won in battles did they dedicate to maintain the house of the LORD. And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated; and whosoever had dedicated any thing, it was under the hand of Shelomith, and of his brethren.
    Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges. And of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, men of valour, a thousand and seven hundred, were officers among them of Israel on this side Jordan westward in all the business of the LORD, and in the service of the king. Among the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even among the Hebronites, according to the generations of his fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valour at Jazer of Gilead. And his brethren, men of valour, were two thousand and seven hundred chief fathers, whom king David made rulers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king.
    Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of  thousands and hundreds, and their officers that  served the  king in any
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    I Chronicles             pg 403

matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand. Over the first course for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. Of the children of Perez was the chief of all the captains of the host for the first month. And over the course of the second month was Dodai an Ahohite, and of his course was Mikloth also the ruler: in his course likewise were twenty and four thousand. The third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. This is that Benaiah, who was mighty among the thirty, and above the thirty: and in his course was Ammizabad his son. The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anetothite, of the Benjamites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
    Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah: Of the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of the Aaronites, Zadok: Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael: Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel: Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah: Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner: Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.
    But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens. Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.
    And over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah: And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub: And over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: over the increase of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite: And over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the low plains was Baal-hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash: And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai: Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David’s. Also Jonathan David’s uncle was a counsellor, a wise man, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons: And Ahithophel was the king’s counsellor: and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion: And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and  Abiathar: and the  general of the
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        I Chronicles             pg 404

king’s army was Joab.
     [ASHER]
    And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem. Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day. Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.
    And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it. Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD. He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service: Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick. And by weight he gave gold for the tables of showbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basins he gave gold by weight for every basin; and likewise silver by weight for every basin of silver: And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites,  even they  shall be  with thee for all the service of the house of God:
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        I Chronicles             pg 405

and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.
    Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God. Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal: The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?
    Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king’s work, offered willingly, And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.
    Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee. O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.
    And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings unto the LORD, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel: And did eat and drink before the LORD on that day with great  gladness.  And they made Solomon the son
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        I Chronicles             pg 406

of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the LORD to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest. Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king. And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.
    Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.

                                               pg 407

II CHRONICLES  =  a word during the day

BRANCH  –  ZEBULUN  =  dwelling

LAMP  –          [JAHLEEL]  =  expectant of God

     [REUBEN]  
    And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly. Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers. So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjath-jearim to the place which David had prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it. And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.
    In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shown great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.
    Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel. And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and  with  the  king  at  Jerusalem.  And  the  king  made  silver and  gold  at
        [JAHLEEL] [REUBEN]        II Chronicles             pg 408                                             

Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycamore trees that are in the vale for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price. And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means. And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.
    And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me. Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel. And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.  But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him? Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide. Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great. And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.
    Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them. Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s, The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father. Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.
    And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred. And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people awork. Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
        [JAHLEEL] [REUBEN]        II Chronicles             pg 409                                                            

 
    Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold. And the greater house he ceiled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains. And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls. And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
    And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub. The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.
    And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon. Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
    Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.
    Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths.
    He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basins of gold.
    Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south. And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king  Solomon for the  house  of  God; To wit, the two  pillars, and the pommels, and
        [JAHLEEL] [REUBEN]        II Chronicles             pg 410                                                            

the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars; And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon the pillars. He made also bases, and lavers made he upon the bases; One sea, and twelve oxen under it. The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah. Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.
    And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the showbread was set; Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold; And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold; And the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.
    Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.
    Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
    And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.
    Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever. And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel:  and all the congregation of Israel stood.  And he said,  Blessed be the  LORD
        [JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]     II Chronicles             pg 411                                                            

God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel: But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel. Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart: Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name. The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel.
     [SIMEON]
    And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven, And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and showest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David. But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.
    If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
    And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon
        [JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]        II Chronicles             pg 412                                                            

thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.
    If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be: Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: Then hear thou from heaven thy dwellingplace, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
    Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwellingplace, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;  If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwellingplace, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee. Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.
    Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’S house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
    Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of music of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon  had  made  was  not able  to  receive  the  burnt  offerings,  and  the  meat  offerings,
        [JAHLEEL] [SIMEON]        II Chronicles             pg 413                                                            

 
and the fat.
    Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shown unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people. Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king’s house: and all that came into Solomon’s heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected.
    And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.
    And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house, That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it. And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath. Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars; And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion.
    As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel, But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen. And these were the chief of king Solomon’s officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people.
    And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he  had  built for her: for he said,  My wife shall not dwell in the
        [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        II Chronicles             pg 414                                                            

house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come.
    Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch, Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
    And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded. And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures. Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.
     [JUDAH]
    Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom. And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.
    And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon. And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king’s palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah. And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants.
    Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold; Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
    And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of  beaten  gold  went  to  one target. And three hundred shields made he of
        [JAHLEEL] [JUDAH]        II Chronicles             pg 415                                                            

beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays: And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.
    And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
    And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
    And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
    And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycamore trees that are in the low plains in abundance. And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.
    Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat? And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
    And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt. And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed.
    And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him. And he said unto them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people, which have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon us? And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to
        [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        II Chronicles             pg 416                                                            

me on the third day. And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
    And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents. But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
    And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam. But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
    And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah. He built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, And Beth-zur, and Shoco, and Adullam, And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities. And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine. And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.
     [LEVI]
    And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts. For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD: And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made. And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.
    And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham. And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.) And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king. And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.
    And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself,  he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.  And
        [JAHLEEL] [LEVI]        II Chronicles             pg 417                                                            

it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.
    Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous. And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made. Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king’s house. And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber. And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.
    So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD. Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
    Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour.
    And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel; Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord. And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them. And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.  Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a  priest of  them that are no gods.  But as  for us, the  LORD is our God, and we
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    II Chronicles            pg 418                                                            

have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business: And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the showbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him. And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
    But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand. And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers. And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns thereof. Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he died.
    But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters. And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.
     So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David:
     [BENJAMIN]
and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.
    And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.
    And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for  they  were  destroyed  before  the  LORD,  and  before  his host; and they carried
        [JAHLEEL] [BENJAMIN]    II Chronicles             pg 419                                                            

away very much spoil. And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.
    And the spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.
    And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
    And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
    In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease. Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.
    And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore  is the  host of the king of  Syria  escaped out of thine hand.  Were not
        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        II Chronicles             pg 420                                                            

the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.
    And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.
    And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.
     [JOSEPH]
    And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel. And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance. And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.
    Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests. And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.
    And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats.
    And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store. And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem. And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand. And next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand. And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour. And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand. And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war. These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.
    Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab. And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and  oxen  for him  in  abundance, and for the  people that  he  had with
        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        II Chronicles             pg 421                                                            

him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead. And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war.
    And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD today. Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king’s hand. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good. And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak. And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand. And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD? Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil? Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee. Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.  Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not the LORD spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were
        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        II Chronicles             pg 422                                                            

with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him. And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he died.
    And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God. And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer-sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers.
    And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
    Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass. And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and the LORD shall be with the good.
    It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
    And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and  help.  And now, behold, the children of
        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        II Chronicles             pg 423                                                            

Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
    Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
    And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
    And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
    And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.
    And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD. Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared  their  hearts  unto  the  God  of  their  fathers.  Now the rest of the acts of
        [JAHLEEL] [JOSEPH]        II Chronicles             pg 424                                                            

Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
    And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish. Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn. Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.
    Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD. Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.
    In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king. Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots. So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers. Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.
    And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a-whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself: Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.
    Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians: And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
    And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers. Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
    And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest.  So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.  Forty and two
        [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    II Chronicles             pg 425                                                            

years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly. Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction.
    He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians smote Joram. And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick. And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. And it came to pass, that, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them. And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom.         But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.
     [ZEBULUN]
But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.
    And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David. This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors; And a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD. But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out. So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses. Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David’s, which were in the house of God. And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about. Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king.  And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said,
        [JAHLEEL] [ZEBULUN]    II Chronicles             pg 426                                                            

God save the king.
    Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD: And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of music, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason. Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges: and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD. So they laid hands on her; and when she was come to the entering of the horse gate by the king’s house, they slew her there.
    And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD’S people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David. And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in. And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.
    Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest. And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.
    And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD. And he gathered together the priest and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not. And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness? For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim. And at the king’s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD. And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end. Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD. So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it.  And when they had  finished it,  they  brought  the  rest of the money before the king
        [JAHLEEL] [ISSACHAR]    II Chronicles             pg 427                                                            

and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.
    But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house. Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. And the spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.
    And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus. For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings. And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess.
    Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings.
     [ISSACHAR]
And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead. Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.
    Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.
    Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield. He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver. But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power
        [JAHLEEL] [GAD]        II Chronicles             pg 428                                                            

to help, and to cast down. And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this. Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.
    And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand. And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.
    But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-horon, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil.
    Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king’s counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.
    Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face. And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom. So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. And Judah was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent. And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.
    And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?
    Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the LORD they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there.
    And they brought him upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.
     [GAD]
    Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who  was  sixteen  years  old,  and
        [JAHLEEL] [DAN]         II Chronicles             pg 429                                                            

made him king in the room of his father Amaziah. He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers. Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Mehunims. And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly. Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry. Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred. And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
    But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.
    Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write. So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper:
     [DAN]
and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
         Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jerushah, the daughter of  Zadok.  And  he  did  that  which  was  right  in  the sight of the LORD,
        [JAHLEEL] [DAN]        II Chronicles             pg 430                                                            

according to all that his father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered not into the temple of the LORD. And the people did yet corruptly. He built the high gate of the house of the LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much. Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.
    He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year, and the third. So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.
    Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.
    And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.  Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.
    For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven. And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God? Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you. Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war, And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel. So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.
    At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him. For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and  had  taken  Beth-shemesh,  and  Ajalon,  and  Gederoth,  and  Shocho with the                  [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Chronicles             pg 431                                                            

villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there. For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD. And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not.
    And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz. For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers.
    Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel:
     [NAPHTALI]     
and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead. Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
    He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes. For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
    Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah: And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah: And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel. And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. Now they began on the first day of the first month
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Chronicles             pg 432                                                            

to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the showbread table, with all the vessels thereof. Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.
    Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD. And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD.  So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them: And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel. And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel. And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped. Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings. And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests. And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order. And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
    And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation.  So  they  established  a decree  to  make  proclamation  throughout  all
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Chronicles             pg 433                                                            

Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.  And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.  So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD.
    And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron. Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites. For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD. And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD: and they did eat throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness. For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced.  So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.
    Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwellingplace, even unto heaven.
    Now when all this was finished,  all Israel that were present went out to the
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Chronicles             pg 434                                                            

cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.
    And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD. He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD.
    And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them by heaps. In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel. Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.
    Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them, And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next. And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the most holy things. And next him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small: Beside their genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even unto every one that entereth into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses; Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses; And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness: Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites.
    And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
    After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities,  and
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Chronicles             pg 435                                                            

thought to win them for himself. And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
    After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem? Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand? Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand? And his servants spake yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah. He wrote also letters to rail on the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand. Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city. And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man. And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.
    And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign. But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.  Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart,  both he and the inhabitants of
        [JAHLEEL] [NAPHTALI]    II Chronicles             pg 436                                                            

Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
    And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels; Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks. Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much. This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
    Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.
    Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
    For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
    Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God. Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah. And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. And he repaired the altar of the  LORD,  and  sacrificed  thereon  peace  offerings  and  thank  offerings,  and
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        II Chronicles             pg 437                                                            

commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.
    Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
    So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
    Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem. But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them; And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.
    But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon;
     [ASHER]
and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
    Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.
    For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about. And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.
    Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God. And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem. And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house: Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music. Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        II Chronicles             pg 438                                                            

    And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses. And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan. And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it. And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen. Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king’s, saying, Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book. And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect.
    And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah: Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched. And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard; Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD. Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.
    Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.
    Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD, And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the  LORD your  God, and his
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        II Chronicles             pg 439                                                            

people Israel, And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son. And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of your brethren the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites. So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king’s substance. And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen. Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for passover offerings five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen. So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king’s commandment. And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them. And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen. And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people. And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron. And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them. So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah. And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days. And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.
    After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not. Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded. His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
    And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations. Now the rest of the acts  of  Josiah, and  his  goodness,according to that which was written in the
        [JAHLEEL] [ASHER]        II Chronicles             pg 440                                                            

law of the LORD, And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
    Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.
    Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
    Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
     Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.
     Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
    Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
                                                         pg 441

ISSACHAR / Ezra through Malachi

EZRA  =  help

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  TOLA  =  a worm, a scarlet voracious maggot

     [REUBEN]
    Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
    Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.
    Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods; Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
     [SIMEON]
And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives, Thirty basins of gold, silver basins of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand.  All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.
     [JUDAH]
    Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon,  and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah,  every
        [TOLA] [LEVI]            Ezra                 pg 442                                                               

one unto his city; Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mizpar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred seventy and two. The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two. The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five. The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve. The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four. The children of Zattu, nine hundred forty and five. The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and threescore. The children of Bani, six hundred forty and two. The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and three. The children of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty and two. The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six. The children of Bigvai, two thousand fifty and six. The children of Adin, four hundred fifty and four. The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight. The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and three. The children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve. The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three. The children of Gibbar, ninety and five. The children of Bethlehem, an hundred twenty and three. The men of Netophah, fifty and six.  The men of Anathoth, an hundred twenty and eight.  The children of Azmaveth, forty and two.  The children of Kirjath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty and three.  The children of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and one. The men of Michmas, an hundred twenty and two. The men of Beth-el and Ai, two hundred twenty and three. The children of Nebo, fifty and two. The children of Magbish, an hundred fifty and six. The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four. The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and five. The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five. The children of Senaah, three thousand and six hundred and thirty.
     [LEVI]
    The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three. The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven. The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
    The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy and four. The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred twenty and eight.
    The children of the porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine.
    The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth, The children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon, The children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub,  The children of Hagab, the children of Shalmai, the children of Hanan, The children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah, The children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, The children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai, The children of Asnah, the children of Mehunim, the children of Nephusim, The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, The children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Thamah, The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Peruda, The children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Ami. All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred ninety and two. And these were they which went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could  not  show  their  father’s  house, and  their  seed,  whether they were of Israel:
        [TOLA] [BENJAMIN]        Ezra                 pg 443                                                               

The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two.
    And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name: These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim. The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore, Beside their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and there were among them two hundred singing men and singing women. Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and five; Their camels, four hundred thirty and five; their asses, six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
    And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place: They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests’ garments. So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
    And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening. They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required; And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD. From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout,  when they praised the LORD,  because the  foundation  of the  house  of  the
        [TOLA] [BENJAMIN]        Ezra                 pg 444                                                               

LORD was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off. Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
    And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time.
    This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time. Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations. Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings. Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king; That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed. We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.
    Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time. The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me. And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them. Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?  Now when the copy of  king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before  Rehum,  and  Shimshai  the  scribe,  and their  companions,  they went up  in
        [TOLA] [BENJAMIN]        Ezra                 pg 445                                                               

haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
    Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.
    At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building? But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.
    The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius the king: They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace. Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands. Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls? We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them. And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded these many years ago, which a great king of Israel builded and set up. But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; And said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place. Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished. Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king’s treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.
    Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written: In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house: And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored,  and brought again unto the temple which is  
        [TOLA] [JOSEPH]        Ezra                 pg 446                                                               

at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God. Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place. Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.
     [JOSEPH]
    Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily. And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
    And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.
     [ZEBULUN]
And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat, And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest: This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters,  and the Nethinims,  unto Jerusalem,  in the  seventh year of Artaxerxes the
        [TOLA] [GAD]        Ezra                    pg 447                                                               

king. And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.
     [GAD]
For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.
    Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.
     [DAN]
Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand; And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem: That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of your God. The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem. And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure house. And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, Unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.
     [NAPHTALI]
Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them. And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.
    Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem: And hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.
     [ASHER]
    These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush.
        [TOLA] [REFUGE]        Ezra                 pg 448                                                              

Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males an hundred and fifty. Of the sons of Pahath-moab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males. Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males. And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males. Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males. And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and threescore males. And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males. And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten males. And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males. Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.
    And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding. And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God. And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.
     [REFUGE]
    Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us.
    Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered: I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents; Also twenty basins of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold. And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.  So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.
     [ARMS]
    Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.  And
        [TOLA] [THRUST]        Ezra                 pg 449                                                               

we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.
    Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites; By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time. Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the LORD.
    And they delivered the king’s commissions unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.
    Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.
    And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?
     [THRUST]
    O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is
        [TOLA] [DESTROY]        Ezra                 pg 450                                                               

this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.
    Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.
    Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
    Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.
     [DESTROY]
Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.
    Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.
    And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah. And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.  Of the singers also; Eliashib:  and of the porters;  Shallum, and         [TOLA] [DESTROY]        Ezra                 pg 451                                                               

Telem, and Uri. Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah. And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. And of the sons of Pahath-moab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

                          pg452

Nehemiah  =  comfort of Jah

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –   [TOLA]  =  a worm, a scarlet voracious maggot

    [REUBEN]  
    The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
     [SIMEON]
    And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandest thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer. And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said  unto me,  Why  is  thy  countenance sad,  seeing thou art  not sick?  this is
        [TOLA] [JUDAH]        Nehemiah             pg 454                 

nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
    Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
     [JUDAH]
So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
    And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
    Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
     [LEVI]
    Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok  the son of  Baana.  And  next  unto them the Tekoites repaired;  but
        [TOLA] [LEVI]            Nehemiah             pg 455                     

their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah. Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahath-moab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces. And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate. But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king’s garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David. After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty. After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah. And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the going up to the armoury at the turning of the wall. After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib. And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain. After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house. After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner. Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh. Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out. After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel. From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house. After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate. After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber. After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith’s son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner. And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.
    But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army  of  Samaria, and  said,  What do these feeble Jews?  will
        [TOLA] [BENJAMIN]        Nehemiah             pg 456                     

they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity: And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
    But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.
      [BENJAMIN]
    Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.
    And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us. So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day. So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.
    And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews. For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live. Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth. There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
        [TOLA] [JOSEPH]        Nehemiah             pg 457

     [JOSEPH]
    And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them. And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer. Also I said, It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury. Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them. Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise. Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.
    Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor. But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God. Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work. Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us. Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people. Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words. And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart. For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel,  who was shut up; and he said,  Let us meet together in the house of
        [TOLA] [ISSACHAR]        Nehemiah             pg 458                     

God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear. So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.
    Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed, That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many. And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house. Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.
    And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein, These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city; Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this; The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred seventy and two. The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two. The children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two. The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred and eighteen. The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four. The children of Zattu, eight hundred forty and five. The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and threescore. The children of Binnui, six hundred forty and eight. The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight. The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred twenty and two. The children of Adonikam, six hundred threescore and seven. The children of Bigvai, two thousand threescore and seven.  The children of Adin, six hundred fifty and five. The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight. The children of Hashum, three hundred twenty and eight. The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and four. The children of Hariph, an hundred and twelve. The children of Gibeon, ninety and five. The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, an hundred fourscore and eight. The men of Anathoth, an hundred twenty and eight. The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty and two. The men of Kirjath-jearim, Chephirah, and  Beeroth,  seven hundred  forty and  three.   The men of  Ramah and  Gaba, six
        [TOLA] [ISSACHAR]        Nehemiah             pg 459                     

hundred twenty and one. The men of Michmas, an hundred and twenty and two. The men of Beth-el and Ai, an hundred twenty and three. The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two. The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four. The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five. The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and one. The children of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
    The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three. The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven. The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
    The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the children of Hodevah, seventy and four. The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred forty and eight.
    The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, an hundred thirty and eight.
    The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hashupha, the children of Tabbaoth, The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon, The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Shalmai, The children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, The children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, The children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Phaseah, The children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephishesim, The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, The children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Tamah, The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.
     The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,  The children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Amon. All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred ninety and two. And these were they which went up also from Tel-melah, Tel-haresha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not show their father’s house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel. The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two.
    And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name. These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.
    The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore, Beside their manservants and their maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women. Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six: their mules, two hundred forty and five: Their camels, four hundred thirty and five: six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses.
    And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests’ garments. And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver. And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests’ garments. So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and  the  Nethinims,  and  all  Israel, dwelt  in  their  cities;  and  when  the
        [TOLA] [GAD]                   Nehemiah             pg 460                     

seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.
     [GAD]
    And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
    And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.
    And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
    So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.
     [DAN]
    Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. And the seed of Israel  separated themselves from all strangers,  and stood and confessed their sins,
        [TOLA] [NAPHTALI]        Nehemiah             pg 461                     

and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.
    Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; And showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.
     [NAPHTALI]
Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do  with  them as they  would.  And  they  took  strong  cities, and  a  fat  land,  and
        [TOLA] [ASHER]        Nehemiah             pg 462                     

possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
     [ASHER]
Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.
    Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the priests. And the Levites: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; And their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah, Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Bani, Beninu. The chief of the people; Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani,  Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur, Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua, Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub, Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek, Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
    And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having  knowledge, and  having  understanding;  They  clave to  their brethren, their

        [TOLA] [REFUGE]        Nehemiah             pg 463                     

nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes; And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons: And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt. Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; For the showbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law: And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD: Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God: And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house. For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.
     [REFUGE]
    And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities. And the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.
    Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants. And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez; And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred threescore and eight valiant men. And these are the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jesaiah. And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and eight. And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer: and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city. Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin. Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the ruler of the house of God. And their brethren that did the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and two: and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchiah, And his brethren, chief of the fathers, two hundred forty  and  two:  and  Amashai  the  son  of  Azareel,  the  son  of  Ahasai, the  son of
        [TOLA] [REFUGE]        Nehemiah             pg 464                     

Meshillemoth, the son of Immer. And their brethren, mighty men of valour, an hundred twenty and eight: and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of one of the great men. Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God. And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four. Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates, were an hundred seventy and two.
    And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance. But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims. The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God. For it was the king’s commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day. And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people. And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjath-arba, and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof, And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Beth-phelet, And at Hazar-shual, and at Beer-sheba, and in the villages thereof, And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in the villages thereof, And at En-rimmon, and at Zareah, and at Jarmuth, Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beer-sheba unto the valley of Hinnom. The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash, and Aija, and Beth-el, and in their villages, And at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,  Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,  Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen. And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin.
     Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,  Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah,  Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,  Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah, Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chief of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua. Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, which was over the thanksgiving, he and his brethren. Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, were over against them in the watches.
    And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada, And Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua. And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; And of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel.
    The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian. The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of  God, ward  over  against  ward.  Mattaniah, and  Bakbukiah,  Obadiah,
        [TOLA] [ARMS]        Nehemiah             pg 465                     

Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates. These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
     [ARMS]
    And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps. And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi; Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate: And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah, And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, And certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph: And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them. And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward. And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall; And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate. So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me: And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
    And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited. And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son. For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God. And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron.
    On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah: And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and
        [TOLA] [THRUST]        Nehemiah             pg 466                 

the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests. But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king:
     [THRUST]
And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense. And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries. And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were counted faithful, and their office was to distribute unto their brethren. Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.
    In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.
     [DESTROY]
    In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives? And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite:  therefore I chased him from me.  Remember them, O
        [TOLA] [DESTROY]        Nehemiah             pg 467                     

my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business; And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

                                                                                     pg468

ESTHER  =  star

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [TOLA]  =  a worm, a scarlet voracious maggot

    Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:) That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace, In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him: When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days. And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace; Where were white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble. And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king. And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
    On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
    Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment: And the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king’s face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;) What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains? And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen  hath  not  done  wrong  to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all
        [TOLA] [REUBEN]        Ester                 pg 470

the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king’s princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath. If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she. And when the king’s decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small. And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan: For he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.
    After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king: And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king’s chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them: And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.
    Now in Shushan the palace
     [REUBEN]
there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
    So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king’s house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women. Esther had not shown her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it.
     [SIMEON]
And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
    Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;) Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house. In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the  custody of  Shaashgaz,  the king’s chamberlain,  which kept the concubines:  she
        [TOLA] [JUDAH]        Ester                 pg 471

came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.
    Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king. And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate. Esther had not yet shown her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.
     [JUDAH]
    In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai’s name. And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
    After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him.
     [LEVI]
But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king’s servants, which were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment? Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shown him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
    In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.
    And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries. And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every  people  of  every  province  according to the writing thereof, and to every people  
        [TOLA] [BENJAMIN]        Ester                pg 472

after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written,  and sealed with
the king’s ring. And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day. The posts went out, being hastened by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.
     [BENJAMIN]
    When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
    So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not. Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was. So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king’s gate. And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people. And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
    Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai; All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days. And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
     [JOSEPH]
    Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre  that  was  in  his  hand.  So  Esther  drew  near, and  touched the top of the
        [TOLA] [ISSACHAR]        Ester                 pg 473

sceptre. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom. And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him. Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
     [ISSACHAR]
    And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is: If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king hath said.
    Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow am I invited unto her also with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.
    Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
     [GAD]
    On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.
    And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king’s servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself? And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback  through the  street of the city, and proclaimed before
        [TOLA] [DAN]            Ester                 pg 474

him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
    And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered. And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him. And while they were yet talking with him, came the king’s chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared. So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.
     [DAN]
Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.
    Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
    And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.
    On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jew’s enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her. And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
    And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king, And said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king’s provinces: For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
     [NAPHTALI]
    Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing  which is written in the king’s name,  and sealed with the king’s ring, may no
        [TOLA] [ASHER]        Ester                 pg 475

man reverse. Then were the king’s scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language. And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus’ name, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries: Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey, Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.  The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.
     [ASHER]
    And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour. And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.
    Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;) The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.
     [REFUGE]
And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
     [ARMS]
Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them. And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men. And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha, And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha, And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha, The ten sons of Haman the sons of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand. On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.
    And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done. Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do tomorrow also  according unto this day’s decree,  and let Haman’s ten
        [TOLA] [THRUST]        Ester                 pg 476

sons be hanged upon the gallows.
     [THRUST]
And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons. For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand. But the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey, On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.
    And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
     [DESTROY]
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them; Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them, The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year; And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim. And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry. And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
    And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

                                                pg 477

JOB  =  one persecuted

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [PUA]  =  blast

     [REUBEN]
    There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
    Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God,and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
    And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven,  and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said,  The Chaldeans made out three bands,  and fell upon the camels,
            [PUA] [SIMEON]        Job                     pg 478

and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
     [SIMEON]
And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
    Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
    So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
    Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
    Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
    After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. And Job spake, and said, Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; Or with princes that had gold,  who filled their houses with silver:  Or as an hidden untimely
            [PUA] [SIMEON]        Job                     pg 479

birth I had not been; as infants which never  saw light. There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.
    Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad. Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,  Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
    Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them. Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance. Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.  I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night. But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth. Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. In famine he shall redeem thee from death:  and in war from the power of the sword.  Thou shalt be hid from the  scourge
            [PUA] [JUDAH]        Job                     pg 480

of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
     [JUDAH]
    But Job answered and said, Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat. Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life? Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass? Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me? To him that is afflicted pity should be shown from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid: What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish. The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid. Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance? Or, Deliver me from the enemy’s hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty? Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove? Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind? Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.  Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie. Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it. Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?
    Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope. O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good. The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? When I say, My bed shall comfort me,  my couch shall ease my complaint;  Then thou scarest me with  dreams,
        [PUA] [LEVI]            Job                                 pg 481

and terrifiest me through visions: So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.  I loathe it; I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity. What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment? How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
        Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind? Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice? If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression; If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden. His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones. If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwellingplace of the wicked shall come to nought.
         [LEVI]
        Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered? Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not. Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou? If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him. How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him? Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge. If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice. For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause. He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness. If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead? If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life. This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. If the scourge slay  
        [PUA] [LEVI]            Job                          pg 482

suddenly,  he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.  The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he? Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good. They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself: I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.  If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain? If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both. Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me: Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.
    My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days,  That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand. Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee. If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
    Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?  Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?  The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt. If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: Because thou shalt forget thy misery,  and remember it as waters that pass away:  And thine age shall be  clearer
            [PUA] [BENJAMIN]        Job                                 pg 483

than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
     [BENJAMIN]
        And Job answered and said, No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn. He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
        Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it. What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom. Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him. Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears. Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified. Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost. Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee. Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid. Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me. How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy? Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro?  and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?  For thou writest  bitter
        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]        Job                                 pg 484

things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is motheaten.
    Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day. For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
    Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee. Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? I will show thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword. He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.  For he stretcheth out his hand against  God, and  strengtheneth  himself
            [PUA] [JOSEPH]        Job                     pg 485

against the Almighty. He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps. He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green. He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
     [JOSEPH]
        Then Job answered and said, I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest? I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you. But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should assuage your grief. Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased? But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company. And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face. He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground. He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust. My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure. O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place. Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour! When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.
        My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me. Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation? Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me? For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.  He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail. He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret. Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow. Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you. My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness. If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness. I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it? They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.
        Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, How long will it be ere ye make an end of  words?  mark,  and  afterwards  we  will  speak.  Wherefore  are  we
        [PUA] [ZEBULUN]        Job                         pg 486

counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight? He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place? Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet. His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side. It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength. His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Then Job answered and said, How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me. And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself. If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach: Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net. Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths. He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree. He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies. His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle. He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me. They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight. I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I entreated him with my mouth. My breath is strange to my wife, though I entreated for the children’s sake of mine own body. Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me. All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
    Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste. I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer. Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,  That the triumphing of the wicked
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]        Job                         pg 487

is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him. His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods. His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust. Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue; Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth: Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him. He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly. He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him. He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter. That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein. Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not; Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired. There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods. In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him. When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through. It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him. All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle. The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.
     [ISSACHAR]
        But Job answered and said, Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations. Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on. As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh. Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me. How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it. His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. They shall lie down alike in the dust,  and the worms shall cover them. Behold,  I know  your  thoughts,  and  the
        [PUA] [GAD]            Job                                 pg 488

devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me. For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked? Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?
    Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect? Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment? Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee. Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them? Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn. Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
     [GAD]
    Then Job answered and said, Even today is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.  But he is in one mind,  and who can turn him?
        [PUA] [DAN]            Job                                 pg 489

and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him. For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me: Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
        Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days? Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof. They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge. They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together. Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children. They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked. They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold. They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter. They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor. They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry; Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst. Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them. They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof. The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief. The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face. In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light. For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned. The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree. He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow. He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life. Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways. They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
        Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places. Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise? How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?
     [DAN]
        But Job answered and said, How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength? How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is? To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee? Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.  The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.  Lo, these are parts of his  ways:  but  how  little  a
        [PUA] [NAPHTALI]        Job                         pg 490

portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
    Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul; All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain? This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty. If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep. Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh. The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place. For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they refine it. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?  Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
        [PUA] [ASHER]            Job                                 pg 491

     [ASHER]
    Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle; When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up. The princes refrained talking, and laid their  hand  on  their  mouth.  The  nobles  held  their  peace,  and  their  tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.  I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them. And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain. If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down. I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.
        But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat. They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;) To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together. They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth. And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.  They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face. Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper. They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me. Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud. And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest. By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat. He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes. I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not. Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me. Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance. For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.  Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness. My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me. I went mourning without the sun: I stood up,
        [PUA] [REFUGE]        Job                                pg 492

and I cried in the congregation. I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat. My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.
     [REFUGE]
    I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps? If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; Let me be weighed in an even balance,  that God may know mine integrity.  If my step hath turned out of  the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands; Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out. If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door; Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase. If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb? If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;) If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.  If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;  If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above. If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied. The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.  If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom: Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door? Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.  Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me. I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him. If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain; If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life: Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended. So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
     [ARMS]
Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God. Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.  When Elihu saw that there was no answer  in  the mouth of  these  three  men,  then  his  wrath  was  kindled.  And  Elihu  the  son  of  
        [PUA] [ARMS]            Job                                 pg 493

Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not show you mine opinion. I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will show mine opinion. Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say. Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words: Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man. Now he hath  not  directed  his  words  against  me:  neither  will  I  answer  him  with  your speeches. They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking.  When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;) I said, I will answer also my part, I also will show mine opinion. For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer. Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.
    Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words. Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth. My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up. Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay. Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee. Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying, I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me. Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy, He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths. Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man. Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters. For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain: So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat. His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers. If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness: Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his youth: He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living. Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I will speak. If thou hast any thing to say, answer me: speak, for I desire to justify thee. If not, hearken unto me: hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom.
    Furthermore Elihu answered and said, Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me,  ye that have knowledge.  For the ear trieth  words,  as the  mouth
tasteth meat.  Let us choose to us judgment:  let us know among  ourselves  what  is
        [PUA] [ARMS]            Job                                 pg 494

good. For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment. Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression. What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men. For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God. Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity. For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment. Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world? If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust. If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words. Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just? Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly? How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands. In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at  midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand. For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God. He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead. Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed. He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others; Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways: So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only: That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.  Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest. Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me. Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom. My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked men. For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.
    Elihu spake moreover, and said, Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s? For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee. Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?  Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man. By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night; Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it. Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him. But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger;  yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:  Therefore doth Job  open  his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.
        [PUA] [ARMS]            Job                                           pg 495

 
        Elihu also proceeded, and said, Suffer me a little, and I will show thee that I have yet to speak on God’s behalf. I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee. Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom. He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor. He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted. And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction; Then he showeth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.  He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity. If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge. But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them. They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean. He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression. Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness. But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee. Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength. Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place. Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction. Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity? Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold. Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off. Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out. For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly. Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle? Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea. For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance. With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt. The noise thereof showeth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.
        At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place. Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places.  Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened. Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud: And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth. He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy. Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine? Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge? How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south wind? Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten lookingglass? Teach us what we shall say unto him; for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. Shall it be told him that I speak?  if a man speak,  surely he shall be swallowed  up. And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds:  but  the  wind  passeth,  
        [PUA] [THRUST]        Job                                pg 496

and cleanseth them. Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty. Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart.
     [THRUST]
    Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?  Hast  thou  commanded  the  morning  since  thy  days;  and  caused  the dayspring to know his place; That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken. Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all. Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof, That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great? Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth? Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart? Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven, When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together? Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions, When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat. Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows. Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them. Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?   Whose house I have  made the  wilderness, and the barren land his dwel-
lings.  He scorneth the multitude of the city,  neither regardeth  he  the  crying  of  the  
        [PUA] [THRUST]        Job                          pg 497

driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn? Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear; Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider. Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.  He swalloweth the ground with fierceness  and  rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.
        Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. Then Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further. Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.
        Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn? Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee? Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever? Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants? Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. Behold, the hope of him
        [PUA] [DESTROY]        Job                                 pg 498

is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me? Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine. I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion. Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle? Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about. His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered. By his sneezings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him. The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved. His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves. The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear,  the dart,  nor the habergeon.  He esteemeth iron as straw,  and  brass  as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble. Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear. Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire. He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment. He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary. Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.
         Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
     [DESTROY]
    And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job. And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days.
                                                     pg 499

PSALMS  =  hymn, with plucking of strings

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [PUA]  =  blast

     [REUBEN]
        Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
        But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
        And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
        The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
        Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
        For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

        Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
        The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
        Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
        He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
        Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
        Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
        I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
        Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
        Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
        Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
        Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
        [PUA] [SIMEON]            Psalms             pg 500

    Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

     [SIMEON]
    Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
    Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
    But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
    I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
    I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
    I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.
    Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
    Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

    Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
    O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.
    But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
    Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
    Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
    There be many that say, Who will show us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
    Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
    I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

 
    Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
    Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
    My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
    For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
    The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
    Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
    But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
    Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
    For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

        [PUA] [SIMEON]            Psalms             pg 501

    Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
        But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
        For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

 
        O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
        Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
        My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?
        Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake.
        For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
        I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
        Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
        Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.
        The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.
        Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

        O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
        Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
         O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;
        If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)
        Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.
        Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.
        So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their sakes therefore return thou on high.
        The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.
        Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
        My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.
        God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
        If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
        He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.
        Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
        He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
        His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall
        [PUA] [JUDAH]           Psalms             pg 502

come down upon his own pate.
    I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.

     [JUDAH]
    O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
    Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
    When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
    What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
    For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
    Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
    All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
    The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
    O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

    
    I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvellous works.
    I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
    When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
    For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
    Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
    O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
    But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
    And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
    The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
    And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
    Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
    When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
    Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
    That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
    The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
        [JUDAH]            Psalms                 pg 503

    The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
    The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
    For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
    Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
    Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

    Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
    The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
    For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
    The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
    His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
    He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
    His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
    He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
    He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
    He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
    He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
    Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
    Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
    Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
        Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
        The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
        LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
        To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

 
        In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
        For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
        If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
        The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes
        [PUA] [JUDAH]        Psalms                 pg 504

behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
    The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
    Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
    For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

 
    Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
    They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
    The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
    Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
    For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
    The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
    Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
    The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

    
    How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
    How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
    Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
    Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
    But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
    I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

    The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
    The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
    They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
    Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.
    There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.
    Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.
    Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

 
        [PUA] [LEVI]                    Psalms                 pg 505

     [LEVI]
    Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
    He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
    He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
    In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
    He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

 
    Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
    O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
    But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
    Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
    The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
    The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
    I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
    I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
    Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
    For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
    Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

    
    Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
    Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
    Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
    Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
    Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
    I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
    Show thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
    Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
    From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
    They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
    They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
        [PUA] [LEVI]               Psalms                 pg 506

    Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
    Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
    From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
    As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

    I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
    The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
    I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
    The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
    The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
    In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
    Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
    There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
    He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
    And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
    He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
    At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
    The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
    Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
    Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
    He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
    He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
    They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.
    He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
    The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
    For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
    For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
    I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
    Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness,
        [PUA] [LEVI]                       Psalms                 pg 507

according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
    With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright;
    With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward.
    For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
    For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
    For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
    As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
    For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
    It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
    He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
    He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
    Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
    Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
    I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
    I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
    For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
    Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
    They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
    Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
    Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
    As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
    The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
    The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
    It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
    He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
    Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
    Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

    The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
    Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.
    There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
    Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
    Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a
        [PUA] [LEVI]           Psalms                 pg 508

strong man to run a race.
    His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
    The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
    The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
    The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
    More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
    Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
    Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
    Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
    Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

    The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
    Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;
    Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.
    Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.
    We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
    Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
    Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
    They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
    Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.

    The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
    Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
    For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
    He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
    His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
    For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
    For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
    Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
        [PUA] [LEVI]                       Psalms                 pg 509

    Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
    Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
    For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
    Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
    Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

    My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
    O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
    But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
    Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
    They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
    But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
    All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
    He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
    But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
    I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
    Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
    Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
    They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
    I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
    My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
    For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
    I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
    They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
    But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
    Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
    Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
    I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
    Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
    For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

        [PUA] [LEVI]                    Psalms                 pg 510

    My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
    The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
    All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
    For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations.
    All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
    A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
    They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

    The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
    He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
    He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
    Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
    Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
    

    The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
    For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
    Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
    He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
    He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
    This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
    Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
    Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
    Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
    Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

    Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.
    O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
    Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which
        [PUA] [LEVI]                        Psalms             pg 511

transgress without cause.
     Show me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
    Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
    Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
    Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.
    Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
    The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
    All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
    For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
    What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
    His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
    The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.
    Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
    Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
    The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
    Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.
    Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
    O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.
    Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
    Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

    Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
    Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
    For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
    I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
    I have hated the congregation of evildoers; and will not sit with the wicked.
    I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:
    That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
    LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
    Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
    In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
    But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
    My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

    The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
        [PUA] [LEVI]                      Psalms             pg 512

    When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
    Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
    One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.
    For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
    And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
    Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
    When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
    Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
    When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
    Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
    Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
    I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
    Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

    Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
    Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
    Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
    Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
    Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
    Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
    The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
    The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
    Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

    Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
    Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
    The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]            Psalms             pg 513

    The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
    The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
    He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
    The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
    The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
    The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
    The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
    The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

    
     [BENJAMIN]
    I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
    O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
    O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
    Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
    For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
    And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
    LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
    I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.
    What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
    Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
    Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
    To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
        

    In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.
    Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.
    For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.
    Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.
    Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
    I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.
    I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;
    And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet
        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]           Psalms             pg 514

in a large room.
    Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.
    For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.
    I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.
    I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.
    For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.
    But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God.
    My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
    Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies’ sake.
    Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.
    Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
    Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
    Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
    Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shown me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
    For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
    O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
    Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

    Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
    Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
    When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
    For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
    I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
    For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
    Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
    I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
    Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
    Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD,
        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]           Psalms             pg 515

mercy shall compass him about.
    Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
    Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
    Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
    Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
    For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.
    He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
    By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
    He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
    Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
    For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
    The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
    The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
    Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
    The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
    From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
    He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
    There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
    An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
    Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
    To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
    Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
    For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
    Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

    I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
    My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
    O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
    I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
    They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
    This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
    The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
    O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]            Psalms             pg516

    O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
    The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
    Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
    What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
    Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
    Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
    The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
    The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
    The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
    The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
    Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
    He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
    Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
    The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

    Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
    Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.
    Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
    Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
    Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them.
    Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.
    For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.
    Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.
    And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.
    All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
    False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
    They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
    But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
    I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
    But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:
        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]           Psalms             pg 517

    With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
    Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.
    I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.
    Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
    For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
    Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
    This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.
    Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
    Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.
    Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
    Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.
    Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
    And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

    The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
    For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
    The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
    He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
    Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
    Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.
    How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
    They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
    For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
    O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
    Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
    There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.

        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]           Psalms             pg 518

        
    Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
    For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
    Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
    Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
    Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
    And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
    Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
    Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
    For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
    For yet for a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
    But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
    The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
    The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
    The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
    Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
    A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
    For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
    The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
    They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
    But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
    The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth.
    For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
    The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
    Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
    I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
    He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
    Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
    For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
    The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
    The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
    The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
    The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
    The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is
        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]            Psalms             pg 519

judged.
    Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
    I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
    Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
    Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
    But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
    But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
    And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

    
    O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
    For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.
    There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
    For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
    My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
    I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
    For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.
    I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
    Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.
    My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
    My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
    They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
    But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
    Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
    For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
    For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.
    For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
    For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
    But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
    They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
    Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.
    Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

 
        [PUA] [JOSEPH]            Psalms             pg 520

        
    I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
    I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
    My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue,
    LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.
    Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
    Surely every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
    And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
    Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
    I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
    Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
    When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
    Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
    O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
    

     [JOSEPH]
    I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
    He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
    And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
    Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
    Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
    Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
    Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
    I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
    I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.
    I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
    Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
    For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.
    Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.
    Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
    Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
        [PUA] [JOSEPH]          Psalms             pg 521

        
    Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
    But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
        

    Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
    The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
    The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
    I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
    Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?
    And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.
    All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.
    An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.
    Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
    But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.
    By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
    And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
    Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

    As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
    My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
    My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
    When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
    Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
    O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
    Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
    Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
    I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
        [PUA] [JOSEPH]        Psalms                 pg 522

        
    As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
    Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

    Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.
    For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
    O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
    Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
    Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

    We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
    How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
    For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
    Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
    Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
    For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
    But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.
    In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
    But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
    Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
    Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
    Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
    Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
    Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.
    My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,
    For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
    All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
        [PUA] [JOSEPH]           Psalms             pg 523

        
    Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;
    Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
    If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
    Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
    Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
    Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.
    Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
    For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
    Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.

    My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
    Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
    Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.
    And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
    Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.
    Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
    Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
    All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.
    Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
    Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house;
    So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
    And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour.
    The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.
    She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.
    With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.
    Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
    I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
    

    God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
    Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the
        [PUA] [JOSEPH]         Psalms             pg 524

mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
    Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
    There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
    God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
    The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
    The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
    Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
    He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
    Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
    The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

    O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
    For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
    He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
    He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
    God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
    Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
    For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
    God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
    The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

    Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
    Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
    God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
    For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.
    They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.
    Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
    Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
    As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.
    We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
    According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
    Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.
    Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
    Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.
        [PUA] [ZEBULUN]            Psalms             pg 525

    For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

    Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:
    Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
    My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
    I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
    Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
    They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
    None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
    (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
    That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
    For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
    Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
    Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
    This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
    Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
    But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
    Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
    For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
    Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
    He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
    Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

    
     [ZEBULUN]
    The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
    Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
    Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
    He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
    Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
    And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
        [PUA] [ZEBULUN]        Psalms                 pg 526

    Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.
    I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.
    I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.
    For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
    I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
    If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
    Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
    Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
    And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
    But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
    Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
    When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.
    Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
    Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.
    These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
    Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
    Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.

    Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
    Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
    For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
    Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
    Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
    Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
    Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
    Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
    Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
    Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
    Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
    Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
    Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
    Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
    O Lord, open thou my lips: and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
        [PUA] [ZEBULUN]           Psalms             pg 527

    For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
    The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
    Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
    Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
    

    Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.
    Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
    Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
    Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
    God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwellingplace, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
    The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
    Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
    But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
     I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
    

    The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
    God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
    Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
    Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.
    There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
    Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

    Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.
    Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
    For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
    Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
    He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
    I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good.
    For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
        [PUA] [ZEBULUN]         Psalms             pg 528

    Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
    Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
    Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
    My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
    Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
    And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
    Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
    I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
    Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
    Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
    Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
    For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
    But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
    We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
    Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
    As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
    Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
    He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.
    God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
    He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
    The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
    Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
    But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

    Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.
    Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.
    What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
    In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
    Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.
    They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps,
        [PUA] [ZEBULUN]          Psalms             pg 529

        
when they wait for my soul.
    Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.
    Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
    When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
    In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word.
    In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
    Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
    For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

    Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
    I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
    He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
    My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
    Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
    They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
    My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
    Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
    I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
    For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
    Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

    Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
    Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
    The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
    Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
    Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
    Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
    Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
    As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
    Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
    The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his
        [PUA] [ZEBULUN]        Psalms                 pg 530

feet in the blood of the wicked.
    So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

    Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.
    Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.
    For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD.
    They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold.
    Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.
    They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
    Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?
    But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.
    Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.
    The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.
    Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
    For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.
    Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.
    And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
    Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.
    But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
    Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.

    O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
    Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
    Thou hast shown thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
    Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
    That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.
    God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
    Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
    Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]           Psalms             pg 531

thou because of me.
    Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
    Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?
    Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
    Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

     [ISSACHAR]    
    Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
    From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
    For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
    I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
    For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.
    Thou wilt prolong the king’s life: and his years as many generations.
    He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.
    So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

    Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
    He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
    How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.
    They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
    My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
    He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
    In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
    Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
    Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
    Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.
    God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
    Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

    O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
    To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
    Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]            Psalms             pg 532

    Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
    My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
    When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
    Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
    My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
    But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
    They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.
    But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

    Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

    Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
    Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
    That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.
    They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?
    They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.
    But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
    So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.
    And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
    The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

    Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
    O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
    Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
    Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
    By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:
    Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power:
    Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
    They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]            Psalms             pg 533

makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
    Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
    Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.
    Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.
    They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.
    The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.
    

    Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
    Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
    Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
    All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
    Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.
    He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.
    He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
    O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:
    Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.
    For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
    Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.
    Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
    I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
     Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
    I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
    Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
    I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
    If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
    But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
    Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

    God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
    That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
    Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
    O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]         Psalms             pg 534

    Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
    God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

    Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
    As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
    But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
    Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
    A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
    God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
    O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
    The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
    Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
    Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
    The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
    Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.
    Though ye have lain among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.
    When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.
    The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan.
    Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.
    The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
    Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
    Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
    He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.
    But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.
    The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:
    That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.
    They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
    The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]           Psalms             pg 535

them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
    Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
    There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
    Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
    Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.
    Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.
    Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
    Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:
    To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.
    Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.
    O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

    Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
    I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
    I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
    They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
    O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.
    Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
    Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
    I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.
    For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
    When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
    I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.
    They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.
    But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.
    Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
    Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
    Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
    And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
    Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.
        [PUA] [GAD]                   Psalms                 pg 536

        
    Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.
    Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
    They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
    Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
    Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
    Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
    Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
    For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
    Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.
    Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
    But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.
    I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
    This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
    The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.
    For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
    Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
    For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
    The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

    
     [GAD]
    Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD.
    Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.
    Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.
    Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.
    But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.

    In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
    Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
    Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.
    Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
    For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.
    By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out
        [PUA] [GAD]                 Psalms                 pg 537

of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.
    I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.
    Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.
    Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.
    For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
    Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.
    O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.
    Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.
    But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.
    My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.
    I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
    O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
    Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shown thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
    Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!
    Thou, which hast shown me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
    Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.
    I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.
    My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.
    My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.

    Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
    He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
    The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
    He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
    They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
    He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
    In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
    He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
    They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
        [PUA] [GAD]                  Psalms                 pg 538

    The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
    Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
    For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
    He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
    He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
    And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.
    There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
    His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
    Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
    And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
    The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

    Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.
    But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.
    For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
    For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.
    They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.
    Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.
    Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.
    They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.
    They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.
    Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.
    And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?
    Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.
    Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.
    For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.
    If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.
    When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;
    Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
    Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
    How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.
    As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.
        [PUA] [GAD]                Psalms                 pg 539

    Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.
    So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
    Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
    Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
    Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
    My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
    For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a-whoring from thee.
    But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

    O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
    Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
    Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
    Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
    A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
    But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
    They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.
    They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
    We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
    O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
    Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
    For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
    Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength; thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
    Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
    Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
    The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
    Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
    Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
    O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.

        [PUA] [GAD]                 Psalms                 pg 540

    Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
    O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
    Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
    Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.

    Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.
    When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.
    The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.
    I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
    Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
    For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
    But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
    For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.
    But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
    All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

    In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.
    In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwellingplace in Zion.
    There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.
    Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.
    The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.
    At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
    Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
    Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,
    When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.
    Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
    Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
    He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.

    I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear
        [PUA] [GAD]                Psalms                 pg 541

        
unto me.
    In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.
    I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
    Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
    I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
    I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
    Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
    Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
    Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
    And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
    I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
    I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
    Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
    Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.
    Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
    The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.
    The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
    The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
    Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
    Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

    Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
    I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
    Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
    We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
    For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
    That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
    That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
    And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
    The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.
    They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
        [PUA] [GAD]                    Psalms                 pg 542

    And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shown them.
    Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
    He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
    In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
    He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.
    He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
    And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.
    And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.
    Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
    Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?
    Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
    Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:
    Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
    And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
    Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.
    He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.
    He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea:
    And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.
    So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;
    They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,
    The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.
    For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
    Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.
    When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early after God.
    And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.
    Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
    For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
    But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
    For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
    How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
    Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
    They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
        [PUA] [GAD]                  Psalms                 pg 543

    How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan:
    And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink.
    He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
    He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust.
    He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost.
    He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
    He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
    He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;
    And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham:
    But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
    And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
    And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.
    He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
    Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:
    But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
    For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
    When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
    So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;
    And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s hand.
    He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.
    The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
    Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
    Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
    And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach.
    Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
    But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
    And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever.
    He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
    From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
    So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.
        [PUA] [DAN]                   Psalms                 pg 544

    O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
    The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
     Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.
    We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.
    How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
    Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.
    For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwellingplace.
    O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.
    Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake.
    Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.
    Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
    And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
    So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all generations.

     [DAN]
    Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
    Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
    Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
    O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
    Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.
    Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.
    Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
    Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
    Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.
    The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
    She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.
    Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?
    The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth     
devour it.            
               [PUA] [DAN]                     Psalms                 pg 545  

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;
    And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
    It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
    Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
    So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
    Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

    Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
    Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
    Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
    For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
    This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
    I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
    Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
    Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
    There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
    I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
    But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
    So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
    Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
    I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
    The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
    He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

    God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

    How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

    Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

        [PUA] [DAN]                    Psalms                 pg 546

    Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
    They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
     I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
    But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
    Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

    Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
    For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
    They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
    They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
    For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
    The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
    Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
    Assur also is joined with them: they have helped the children of Lot. Selah.
    Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:
    Which perished at En-dor: they became as dung for the earth.
    Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:
    Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
    O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
    As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
    So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
    Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
    Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
    That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

    How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
    My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
    Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
    Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
    Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
    Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
    They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
    O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
        [PUA] [DAN]                  Psalms                 pg 547  

    Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
    For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
    For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
    O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

    Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

    Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

    Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

    Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

    Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
    Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
    Show us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.
    I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
    Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
    Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
    Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
    Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.
    Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

    Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
    Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
    Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
    Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
    For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
    Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
    In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
    Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
    All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
    For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
    Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear
        [PUA] [DAN]                      Psalms                 pg 548  

thy name.
    I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
    For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
    O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
    But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
    O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
    Show me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast helped me, and comforted me.
    

    His foundation is in the holy mountains.
    The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
    Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
    I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
    And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
    The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.
    As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

    O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
    Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
    For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
    I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
    Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
    Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
    Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
    Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
    Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
    Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
    Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
    Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
    But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
    LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
    I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
        [PUA] [DAN]                      Psalms                 pg 549  

    Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
    They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.
    Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

    I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

    For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
    I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
    Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.
    And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.
    For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?
     God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
    O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
    Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
    Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.
    The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.
    The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.
    Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.
    Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
    Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
    In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
    For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.
    For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
    Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
    I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:
    With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.
    The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
    And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.
    But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
    I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.
        [PUA] [NAPHTALI]               Psalms                 pg 550  

    He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
    Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.
    My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
    His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
    If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;
    If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;
    Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
    Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
    My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
    Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
    His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
    It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
    But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.
    Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
    Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.
    All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.
    Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
    Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.
    Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.
    The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.
    How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
    Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
    What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
    Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
    Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
    Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.
    Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

    
     [NAPHTALI]
    Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
    Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
    Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
    For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
    Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning  
        [PUA] [NAPHTALI]                   Psalms                 pg 551  

they are like grass which groweth up.
    In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
    For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
    Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
    For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
    The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
    Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
    So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
    Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
    O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
    Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
    Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
    And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

    He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
    I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
    Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
    He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
    Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
    Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
    A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
    Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
    Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
    There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
    For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
    They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
    Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
    Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
    He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
    With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
        [PUA] [NAPHTALI]                   Psalms                 pg 552  

    It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
    To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
    Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
    For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
    O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
    A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
    When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
    But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.
    For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
    But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
    Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
    The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
    Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
    They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
    To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

    The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
    Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
    The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
    The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
    Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.

    O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself.
    Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
    LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
    How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
    They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage.
    They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
    Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
    Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
        [PUA] [NAPHTALI]                  Psalms                 pg 553  

    He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
    He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
    The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
    Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
    That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
    For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
    But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
    Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
    Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
    When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.
    In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
    Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
    They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
    But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
    And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.

    O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
    Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
    For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
    In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
    The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
    O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
    For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice,
    Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
    When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
    Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
    Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

    O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
    Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day.
    Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
    For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all
        [PUA] [NAPHTALI]                  Psalms                 pg 554  

gods.
    For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
    Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
    Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
    Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.
    O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
    Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.
    Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
    Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
    Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

    The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
    Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
    A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
    His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
    The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
    The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
    Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
    Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD.
    For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
    Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
    Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
    Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

    O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
    The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shown in the sight of the heathen.
    He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
    Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
    Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
    With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.
    Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell
        [PUA][ASHER]                     Psalms                 pg 555  

therein.
    Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together
    Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

    The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
    The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.
    Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.
    The king’s strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob.
    Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
    Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
    He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.
    Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.
    Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

 
     [ASHER]
    Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
    Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing
    Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  
    Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
    For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

    I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.
    I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
    I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
    A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
    Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
    Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
    He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
    I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.

    Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
    Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear
        [PUA] [ASHER]                 Pslams                 pg 556

unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
    For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
    My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
    By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.
    I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
    I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
    Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
    For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
    Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
    My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.
    But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.
    Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
    For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.
    So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
    When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
    He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
    This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
    For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
    To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
    To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
    When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
    He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
    I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.
    Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
    They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
    But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
    The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.

    Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
    Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
    Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
    Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
    Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
    The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
    He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
        [PUA] [ASHER]                 Psalms                 pg 557  

    The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
    He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
    He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
    For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
    As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
    Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
    For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
    As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
    For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
    But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
    To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
    The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
    Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
    Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
    Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

    Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
    Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
    Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
    Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
    Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
    Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
    At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
    They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
    Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
    He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
    They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.
    By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
    He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
    He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
    And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.
        [PUA] [ASHER]                   Psalms                 pg 558  

    The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
    Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
    The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.
    He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
    Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
    The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
    The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
    Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
    O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
    So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
    There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
    These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
    That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
    Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
    Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
    The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.
    He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
    I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
    My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.
    Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

    O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
    Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
    Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
    Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
    Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
    O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
    He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
    He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
    Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
    And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
    Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
    When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.
        [PUA] [ASHER]                    Psalms                 pg 559  

    When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;
    He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;
    Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
    Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
    He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
    Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
    Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
    The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
    He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:
    To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
    Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
    And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.
    He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtly with his servants.
    He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.
    They showed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
    He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.
    He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.
    Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.
    He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.
    He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
    He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.
    He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number,
    And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.
    He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.
    He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.
    Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.
    He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.
    The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
    He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.
    For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.
    And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:
    And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people;
    That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD.

    Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can show forth all his praise?
    Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
    Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people:
        [PUA] [ASHER]                 Psalms                 pg 560  

O visit me with thy salvation;
    That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.
    We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
    Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
    Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
    He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
    And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
    And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.
    Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
    They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
    But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
    And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
    They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
    The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
    And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
    They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
    Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
    They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
    Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
    Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
    Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:
    But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.
    Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:
    To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
    They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
    Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.
    Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.
    And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
    They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:
    Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
    They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:
    But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
    And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
    Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
    And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
    Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a-whoring with their
        [PUA] [ASHER]                   Psalms                 pg 561  

own inventions.
    Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
    And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.
    Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
    Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
    Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
    And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
    He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
    Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise.
    Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.

    O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
    And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
    They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
    Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
    Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
    And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
    Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
    For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
    Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
    Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
    Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
    Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
    He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
    Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
    For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
    Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
    Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
    Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
        [PUA] [ASHER]                   Psalms                 pg 562  

    He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
    Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
    And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
    They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
    These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
    For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
    They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
    They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.
    Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
    He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
    Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
    Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
    Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
    He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
    A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
    He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
    And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
    And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
    He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
    Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
    He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
    Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
    The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
    Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

    O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
    Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
    I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
    For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.
    Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;
        [PUA] [REFUGE]                  Psalms                 pg 563  

    That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.
    God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
    Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
    Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.
    Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
    Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
    Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
    Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

    
     [REFUGE]
    Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
    For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
    They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
    For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
    And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
    Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
    When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
    Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
    Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
    Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
    Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
    Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
    Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
    Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
    Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
    Because that he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
    As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
    As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
    Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
    Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
    But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
    For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
        [PUA] [REFUGE]               Psalms                 pg 564  

    I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
    My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
    I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
    Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
    That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it.
    Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
    Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
    I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
    For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.

    The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
    The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
    Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
    The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
    The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
    He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
    He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

    Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
    The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
    His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
    He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
    He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.
    He hath shown his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.
    The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
    They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
    He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.
    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

        [PUA] [REFUGE]                 Psalms                 pg 565  

    Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
    His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
    Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
    Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
    A good man showeth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
    Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
    He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
    His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
    He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
    The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

    Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
    Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
    From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised.
    The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
    Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
    Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!
    He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
    That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
    He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.

    When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
    Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.
    The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.
    The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.
    What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
    Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?
    Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;
    Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

        [PUA] [REFUGE]                Psalms                 pg 566  

    Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
    Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
    But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
    Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
    They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
    They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
    They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
    They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
    O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
    O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
    Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
    The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
    He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
    The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
    Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
    The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
    The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
    But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.

    I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
    Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
    The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
    Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
    Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
    The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
    Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
    For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
    I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
    I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
    I said in my haste, All men are liars.
    What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
    I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
    I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
    Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
    O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
    I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
    I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
    In the courts of the LORD’S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
        [PUA] [REFUGE]               Psalms                 pg 567  

    O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.
    For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

    O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
    Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
    Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
    Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
    I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
    The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
    The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
    It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
    It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
    All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
    They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
    They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
    Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
    The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
    The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
    The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
    I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
    The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.
    Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
    This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
    I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
    The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
    This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
    This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
    Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
    Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
    God is the LORD, which hath shown us light: bind the sacrifice with cords,     
even unto the horns of the altar.
    Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
    O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

            Aleph
    Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
    Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the
    whole heart.

    [PUA] [REFUGE]               Psalms                 pg 568  

    They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
    Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
    O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
    Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
    I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
    I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

            Beth
    Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
    With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
    Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
    Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
    With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
    I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
    I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
    I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

            Gimel
    Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.
    Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
    I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
    My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
    Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.
    Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.
    Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.
    Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.

            Daleth
    My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.
    I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.
    Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
    My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
    Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.
    I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.
    I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.
    I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

            Heh
    Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
    Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with
        [PUA] [REFUGE]                 Psalms                 pg 569  

my whole heart.
    Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
    Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
    Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.
    Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.
    Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.
    Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.

            Vau
    Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word.
    So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.
    And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.
    So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.
    And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
    I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
    And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.
    My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.

            Zain
    Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
    This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
    The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.
    I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself.
    Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
    Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
    I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law.
    This I had, because I kept thy precepts.

            Cheth
    Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words.
    I entreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
    I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
    I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.
    The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy law.
    At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.
    I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.
    The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes.

            Teth
    Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word.
        [PUA] [REFUGE]                 Psalms                 pg 570  

    Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.
    Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
    Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
    The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
    Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.
    It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
    The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

            Jod
    Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
    They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.
    I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
    Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.
    Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.
    Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
    Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies.
    Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.

            Caph
    My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
    Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
    For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.
    How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
    The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
    All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.
    They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.
    Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

            Lamed
    For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
    Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
    They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.
    Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
    I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
    I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
    The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.
        [PUA] [REFUGE]                Psalms                 pg 571  

    I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.

            Mem
    O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
    Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
    I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
    I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
    I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
    I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
    How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
    Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

            Nun
    Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
    I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
    I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
    Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments.
    My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
    The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
    Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
    I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.

            Samech
    I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.
    Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
    Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.
    Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
    Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
    Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood.
    Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
    My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.

            Ain
    I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors.
    Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.
    Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.
    Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.
    I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
        [PUA] [REFUGE]               Psalms                 pg 572  

    It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
    Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
    Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

            Pe
    Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
    The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
    I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
    Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
    Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
    Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.
    Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
    Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.

            Tzaddi
    Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.
    Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.
    My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
    Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
    I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.
    Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
    Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.
    The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.

            Koph
    I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.
    I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.
    I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.
    Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.
    Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment.
    They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.
    Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
    Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.

            Resh
    Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
    Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.
    Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.
    Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments.
    Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.
    I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.
        [PUA] [ARMS]                     Psalms                 pg 573  

    Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.
    Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

            Schin
    Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
    I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
    I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
    Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.
    Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
    LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.
    My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.
    I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.

            Thau
    Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.
    Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.
    My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.
    My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
    Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.
    I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight.
    Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.
    I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

     [ARMS]
    In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.
    Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.
    What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
    Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
    Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
    My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.
    I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

    I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
    My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
    He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
    Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
    The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
    The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
        [PUA] [ARMS]                  Psalms                 pg 574  

    The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
    The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

    I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
    Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
    Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:
    Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.
    For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
    Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
    Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
    For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
    Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.

    Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
    Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
    Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
    Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

    If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;
    If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
    Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
    Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
    Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
    Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
    Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
    Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

    They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.
    As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
    For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
    Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.
    As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them
        [PUA] [ARMS]                  Psalms                 pg 575  

forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.

    When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
    Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
    The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.
    Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.
    They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
    He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

    Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
    It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
    Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
    As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
    Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

    Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
    For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
    Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
    Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
    The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
    Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.

    Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
    Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.
    The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.
    The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
    Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
    Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:
    Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
    Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.

    
        [PUA] [ARMS]                  Psalms                 pg 576  

    Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
    Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
    If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
    But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
    I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
    My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
    Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
    And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

    Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.
    Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
    Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.

    Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions:
    How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
    Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;
    I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,
    Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.
    Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.
    We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.
    Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.
    Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.
    For thy servant David’s sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.
    The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
    If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.
    For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
    This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
    I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
    I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
    There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
    His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.

    Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
    It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
        [PUA] [ARMS]                  Psalms                 pg 577  

    As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

    Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
    Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
    The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.

    Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.
    Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God,
    Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
    For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
    For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
    Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
    He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.
    Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.
    Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants.
    Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings;
    Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan:
    And gave their land for an heritage, an heritage unto Israel his people.
    Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations.
    For the LORD will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants.
    The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
    They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
    They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.
    They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.
    Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron:
    Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD.
    Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

    O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.
        [PUA] [THRUST]               Psalms                 pg 578  

    To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:
    And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.
    O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

     [THRUST]
    By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
    We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
    For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
    How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?
    If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
    If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
    Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
    O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
    Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

    I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
    I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
    In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with
        [PUA] [THRUST]               Psalms                 pg 579  

 strength in my soul.
    All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
    Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
    Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
    Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
    The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

    O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
    Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
    Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
    For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
    Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
    Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
    Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
    If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
    If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
    Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
    If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
    Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
    For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
    I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
    My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
    Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
    How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
    If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
    Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
    For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
    Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
    I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
    Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
        [PUA] [DESTROY]              Psalms                 pg 580  

    And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

    [DESTROY]
    Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;
    Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war.
    They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.
    Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.
    The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.
    I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.
    O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
    Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
    As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
    Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
    Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
    I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
    Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

    Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
    Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
    Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
    Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
    Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
    When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
    Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
    But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
    Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.
    Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.

        [PUA] [DESTROY]                Psalms                 pg 581  

    I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
    I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him my trouble.
    When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
    I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
    I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
    Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
    Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

    Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
    And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
    For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
    Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
    I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
    I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
    Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
    Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
    Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
    Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
    Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
    And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.

    .

    Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
    My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.
    LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!
    Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.
    Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
    Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.
    Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from
        [PUA] [DESTROY]                 Psalms                 pg 582

the hand of strange children;
    Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
    I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
    It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
    Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:
    That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:
    That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:
    That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.
    Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

    I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
    Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
    Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
    One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
    I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
    And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
    They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
    The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
    The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
    All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
    They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
    To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
    Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
    The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
    The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
    Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
    The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
    The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
    He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
    The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
    My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his
        [PUA] [DESTROY]                 Psalms                 pg 583  

holy name for ever and ever.

    Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
    While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
    Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
    His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
    Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
    Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
    Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:
    The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:
    The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
    The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.

    Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
    The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
    He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
    He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
    Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
    The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
    Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
    Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
    He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
    He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
    The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
    Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.
    For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
    He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
    He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.
    He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
    He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?
    He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
    He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
        [PUA] [DESTROY]               Psalms                 pg 584  

    He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

    Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
    Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
    Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
    Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
    Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
    He hath also stablished them for ever and ever; he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
    Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
    Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
    Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
    Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
    Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
    Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
    Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
    He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.

    Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
    Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
    Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
    For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
    Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
    Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
    To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
    To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
    To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
    Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
    Praise him for his mighty acts; praise him according to his excellent greatness.
    Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
    Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
    Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
    Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
 
                                                pg 584

PROVERBS  =  a pithy rule

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [PUA]  =  blast

     [REUBEN]          
    The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
To give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

    My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
    Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
        [PUA] [REUBEN]               Proverbs             pg 586

She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
    Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
    My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
    When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it,
But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

        [PUA] [SIMEON]        Proverbs             pg 587

     [SIMEON]
    My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
    Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
    Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
    My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
    Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
    My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
    Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
    Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
    The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
    Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
        [PUA] [SIMEON]        Proverbs             pg 588

For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
    Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
    My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
    Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
    My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
    For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
    Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
        [PUA] [JUDAH]        Proverbs             pg 589

Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
    His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
    My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
    Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
    A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

     [JUDAH]
    My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
        [PUA] [LEVI]            Proverbs                    pg 590

Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
    My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
    For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart.
(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
I have peace offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows.
Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
    Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

     [LEVI]
    Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right
        [PUA] [LEVI]            Proverbs             pg 591

things.
For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:
That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
    Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.
She hath sent forth her maidens; she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]        Proverbs             pg 592

He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
    A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
To call passengers who go right on their ways:
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

     [BENJAMIN]
    The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.
The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.
Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.
He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.
The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.
He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.
The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
        [PUA] [BENJAMIN]        Proverbs              pg 593

As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.
The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.
    A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.
An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace.
A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretyship is sure.
A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches.
The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.
They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight.
Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.
The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
        [PUA] [JOSEPH]        Proverbs             pg 594

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.
He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

     [JOSEPH]
    Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.
A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.
He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.
The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.
He that speaketh truth showeth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.
There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.
There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.
The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.
        [PUA] [JOSEPH]        Proverbs              pg 595

Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.
The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.
In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
    A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.
Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.
There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.
The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.
The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.
A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.
Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repaid.
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.
    Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.
In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
        [PUA] [ZEBULUN]        Proverbs                     pg 596

A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.
The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.
Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.
The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.
He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.
He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.
In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.
A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
In the multitude of people is the king’s honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.

     [ZEBULUN]
    A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]        Proverbs             pg 597

In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.
The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.
All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.
Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.
A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.
The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat.
The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.
He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

     [ISSACHAR]
    The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]        Proverbs             pg 598

evil.
When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
A just weight and balance are the LORD’S: all the weights of the bag are his work.
It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.
Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.
The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.
In the light of the king’s countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.
Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.
An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.
A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.
A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.
He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass.
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
      Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.
A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter
        [PUA] [GAD]            Proverbs             pg 599

separateth very friends.
A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend.
He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.
He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

     [GAD]
    Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.
A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.
The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.
A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
        [PUA] [GAD]            Proverbs              pg 600

The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.
A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.
A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
The poor useth entreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.
A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
    Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.
Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
Many will entreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.
The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
        [PUA] [DAN]            Proverbs             pg 601

Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.

     [DAN]
    Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?
The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.
Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed.
Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good.

     [NAPHTALI]
    Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make inquiry.
A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
        [PUA] [NAPHTALI]        Proverbs             pg 602

Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.
The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.
    The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.
The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.
It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.

It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.
It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.
The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.
The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly.
A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way.
There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.
    A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

        [PUA] [NAPHTALI]        Proverbs              pg603

The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
    When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
        [PUA] [ASHER]            Proverbs                     pg 604

For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
    Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.

     [ASHER]
    Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?         

                        [PUA] [REFUGE]        Proverbs                                   pg 605

My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;
For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:
But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

     [REFUGE]
    These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the refiner.
Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men:
For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.
        [PUA] [ARMS]            Proverbs             pg 606

Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:
Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.
Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.
By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

     [ARMS]
    As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.
As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage.
The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour to a fool.
As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.
The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his
        [PUA] [ARMS]                  Proverbs              pg 607                                

mouth.
The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
 So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.
He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him;
When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.
Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shown before the whole congregation.
Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
    Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
Open rebuke is better than secret love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which betrayeth itself.

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
        [PUA] [THRUST]        Proverbs             pg608

Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
As the refining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.
And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

     [THRUST]
    The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.
Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.
Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.
He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.
The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Happy is the man that feareth always: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.
A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.
Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.
He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.
He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
        [PUA] [THRUST]        Proverbs             pg 609

He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.
Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.
He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.
He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.
    He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.
The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.
If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.
The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.
A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.
The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.
The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.
Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.
Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.
An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and betrayeth it not.
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD.
An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is
        [PUA] [DESTROY]        Proverbs             pg 610

abomination to the wicked.
    The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;
For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.
There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

     [DESTROY]
    The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong
        [PUA] [DESTROY]        Proverbs             pg 611

drink:
Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

                                                 pg 613

LAMENTATIONS  =  how!

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [PUA]  =  blast

                                                                              
    How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer. Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths. Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward. Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation. All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile.
    Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow  like  unto  my sorrow, which is done  unto  me,  wherewith  the  LORD  hath
        [PUA]              Lamentations                 pg614

afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up. The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress. For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed. Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them.
    The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls. Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death. They have heard that I sigh: there is none to comfort me: all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it: thou wilt bring the day that thou hast called, and they shall be like unto me. Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.
    How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger! The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof. He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about. He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire. The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a noise in the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemn feast. The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together. Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD. The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground. Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city,  when their soul was poured out into  their  mothers’ bosom.
        [PUA] [REUBEN]        Lamentations              pg 615                              

What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee? Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment. All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth? All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up: certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it. The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries. Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest: let not the apple of thine eye cease. Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
    Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied. Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD’S anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.
     [REUBEN]
    I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.
     [SIMEON]
Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
     [JUDAH]
I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day. He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes. And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
     [LEVI]
The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
     [BENJAMIN]
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth  
        [PUA] [JOSEPH]        Lamemtations          pg 616                              

silence, because he hath borne it upon him.
     [JOSEPH]
He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
     [ZEBULUN]
    For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High, To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
         Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
     [ISSACHAR]
Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
     [GAD]
We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned. Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied. Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.
     [DAN]
Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
     [NAPHTALI]
Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction. Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission, Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven. Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city. Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.
     [ASHER]
They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.
     [REFUGE]
    I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.
     [ARMS]
O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.  O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me. Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me; The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their music.
     [THRUST]
    Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.
     [DESTROY]
Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.
    How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst:  the young children ask bread,  and no man breaketh it unto them.  They that
        [PUA]               Lamentations             pg617                              

did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick. They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people. The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof. The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.
    For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments. They cried unto them, Depart ye; It is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there. The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders. As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us. They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come. Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness. The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.
    Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.
    The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will  visit  thine  iniquity,  O  daughter  of    Edom; he will discover thy sins.
    Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us. Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand. We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness. Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine. They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah. Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured. They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood. The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music.  The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.  The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim. Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it. Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.
                            pg618

ECCLESIASTES  =  assembler

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [PUA]  =  blast

     [REUBEN]
        The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
        I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
        I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what  was  that  good  for  

        [PUA] [SIMEON]        Ecclesiastes             pg620                     

the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the  days  of  their  life.  I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
     [SIMEON]
    And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool. Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
    Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shown myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
     [JUDAH]
    There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I? For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
    To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
        [PUA] [LEVI]            Ecclesiastes             pg 621                     

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
     [LEVI]
        And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
     [BENJAMIN]
        So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
        Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
        Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
        Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor. I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead. There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
     [JOSEPH]
        Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before  God:
        [PUA] [ZEBULUN]        Ecclesiastes             pg 622                     

for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
    If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
    Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
     [ZEBULUN]
    There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
    If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
    Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place? All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
    Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
    Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]        Ecclesiastes             pg623                     

      [ISSACHAR]
      A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of  death  than the day of one’s birth.
        It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
        Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.
        Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun. For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all. Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city. For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee: For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
        All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out? I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
     [GAD]
        Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.
        Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be? There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit;
        [PUA] [DAN]            Ecclesiastes             pg624                     

neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
    Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God. There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity. Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
     [DAN]
    When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
    For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
    For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
    Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
    I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
    This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed  great  unto  me:
        [PUA] [NAPHTALI]        Ecclestiastes             pg 625                     

There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
        Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
     [NAPHTALI]
        The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
        Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
        By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
        A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.
        Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
     [ASHER]
        Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
        Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
        [PUA] [REFUGE]        Ecclestiastes            pg 626                     

     [REFUGE]
    Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;
     [ARMS]
    Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
     [THRUST]
    Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
    Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
     [DESTROY]
And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
    Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be                                                                 pg 627    

Song of Solomon  =  song of the peaceful one

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [PUA]  =  blast

     [REUBEN]                
        The song of songs, which is Solomon’s. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee. I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
     [SIMEON]
        If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
        While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi. Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.
     [JUDAH]
        I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
        [PUA] [LEVI]            Song of Solomon         pg 628

    The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
     [LEVI]
    The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
    O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
     [BENJAMIN]    
    My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
    By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
     [JOSEPH]
    Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
    Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
     [ZEBULUN]    
    Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
    Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is
        [PUA] [ISSACHAR]        Song of Solomon         pg 629    

thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
     [ISSACHAR]
A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
        Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.
     [GAD]
        I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
        I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweetsmelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
     [DAN]
        What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
     [NAPHTALI]
        Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee. My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.
        Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.
     [ASHER]
There are threescore queens and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.
        [PUA][REFUGE]        Song of Solomon         pg 630    

My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
    Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.
     [REFUGE]
    How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples; And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
     [ARMS]
    I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
    O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.
     [THRUST]
    Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
     [DESTROY]
    We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a  thousand,  and  
         [PUA] [DESTROY]        Song of Solomon         pg 631    

those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.
        Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.
                                                         pg632

ISAIAH  =  Jah has saved

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [JASHUB]  =  he will return

     [REUBEN]    
        The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
        Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
        Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
        Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith  the
        [JASHUB] [REUBEN]        Isaiah                 pg 634                                                

LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
    How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:
    And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
    And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
    The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
    Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
    Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day  a  man
        [JASHUB] [SIMEON]        Isaiah                 pg 635                                                

shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
        For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
        The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
        As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
        Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, The rings, and nose jewels, The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.
        And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
     [SIMEON]
In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written  among  the  living  in  Jerusalem:
        [JASHUB] [SIMEON]        Isaiah                 pg 636                                            

When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the LORD will create upon every dwellingplace of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
    Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
    Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
    Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
    Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
    Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their  carcases  were  torn  in  the
        [JASHUB] [SIMEON]        Isaiah                 pg 637                                                

midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
        And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
        In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
        Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
        Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
        But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
        And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field; And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
        Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee  a  sign  of  the
        [JASHUB] [JUDAH]        Isaiah                 pg 638                                                

LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
    The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
    Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
    The LORD spake also unto me again, saying, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
    Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
     [JUDAH]
    Bind up the testimony, seal the law  among  my  disciples.  And  I  will  wait
        [JASHUB] [JUDAH]        Isaiah                 pg 639                                                

upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
        And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
        Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
        The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
        For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
        For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
        Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey,  and  that
        [JASHUB] [JUDAH]        Isaiah                 pg 640                                            

they may rob the fatherless! And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
    O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
    And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
    Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages: They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough  with
        [JASHUB] [LEVI]        Isaiah                 pg 641                                                

terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
     [LEVI]
        And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
        And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
        And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
        The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his  indignation,  to  destroy  the  whole
        [JASHUB][LEVI]        Isaiah                 pg 642                                                

land.
    Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
    And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
    For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
    That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the  mount
        [JASHUB] [LEVI]        Isaiah                 pg 643                                                

of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
        The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
        Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times. What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
        The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer-elim. For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
        Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; betray not him that wandereth.   Let  mine  outcasts  dwell  with  thee,
        [JASHUB] [BENJAMIN]    Isaiah                 pg 644                                            

Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
     [BENJAMIN]
    And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
    We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so. Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken. For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.
    Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen. And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease. Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.
    And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail. This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning Moab since that time. But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.
    The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts. And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
    Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel. At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
    In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation. Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
    Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion  of  them
        [JASHUB] [BENJAMIN]    Isaiah                 pg 645                                                

that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
        Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwellingplace like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
        In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
        The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts. And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.
        Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
        In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction. In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD. And  it  shall  be  for a  sign
        [JASHUB] [JOSEPH]        Isaiah                 pg 646                                                

and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.
    In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
     [JOSEPH]
    In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?
    The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
    The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.
    The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim. The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of  Kedar,  shall  be
        [JASHUB] [JOSEPH]        Isaiah                 pg 647                                                

diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it. The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains. And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
        And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die. And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
        Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house. And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.
        The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins. As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.  Who hath taken this
             [JASHUB] [ZEBULUN]        Isaiah                 pg 648

counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest. Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
        And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
     [ZEBULUN]
           Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.
        When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
        From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is
             [JASHUB] [ZEBULUN]        Isaiah                 pg 649

moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
        O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
        And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
        And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.
        In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
        For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy. The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Let favour be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD. LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
        LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed
             [JASHUB] [ISSACHAR]        Isaiah                 pg 650

them, and made all their memory to perish. Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
     [ISSACHAR]
        Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
        In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me. He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
        Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind. By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up. Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof. When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will show them no favour.
        And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
        Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.     In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle  to  the  gate.  But
             [JASHUB] [ISSACHAR]        Isaiah                 pg 651

they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
        Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
        Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
        Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
        And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
        Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
        Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee. And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible
             [JASHUB] [ISSACHAR]        Isaiah                 pg 652

ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
        And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.
        Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
        Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?
        And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.
        Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. For  the  Egyptians  shall  help  in  vain,  and  to  no  purpose:
             [JASHUB] [ISSACHAR]        Isaiah                 pg 653

therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
        Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
        And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
        Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel. And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile  thereof is  fire  and  much  wood;  the  breath  of  the  LORD,  like a  stream  of
             [JASHUB] [GAD]        Isaiah                 pg 654

brimstone, doth kindle it. Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD! Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is helped shall fall down, and they all shall fail together. For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
        Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.
        Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited. And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
     [GAD]
        Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
        Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; Yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
         Woe  to  thee  that  spoilest,  and  thou  wast  not  spoiled;   and  dealest
             [JASHUB] [GAD]        Isaiah                 pg 655

treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee. O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered. And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them. The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure. Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man. The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you. And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
        Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers? Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand. Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.  Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.  For it is the
              [JASHUB] [DAN]        Isaiah                 pg 656

day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
        But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.
        Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them. And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
        The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
        Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
     [DAN]
        Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. And the king of Assyria sent Rab-shakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field. Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the recorder.
        And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.  But if thou say to
             [JASHUB] [DAN]        Isaiah                 pg 657

me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
        But Rab-shakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? Then Rab-shakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
        Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.
        And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
        And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
        So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king  of  Judah,  saying,  Let not thy God,  in whom thou trustest,  deceive  
             [JASHUB] [DAN]        Isaiah                pg 658

thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
        And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed unto the LORD, saying, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.
        Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.  Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
        So  Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt
             [JASHUB][DAN]        Isaiah                 pg 659

at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.
        In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
        Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.
        The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave; I am deprived of the residue of my years. I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD. For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?
        At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.
        Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them. Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be  carried  to  Babylon:  nothing  shall  be  left,  saith  the
             [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]    Isaiah                 pg 660                                             

LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.
     [NAPHTALI]
        Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
        O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
        Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
        To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
        Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is  weary?  there  is
             [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]    Isaiah                 pg 661                                             

no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
        Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
        Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will
             [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]    Isaiah                 pg 662                                             

give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
        Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
        Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands. The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
        They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods. Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant? Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
        But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.  Since thou wast precious in  my  sight,  thou  hast  been
             [JASHUB] [ASHER]        Isaiah                 pg 663                                             

honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
        Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shown, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
        Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
        Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.
        But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
     [ASHER]
        Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the LORD’S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel. Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come,  let them show unto
             [JASHUB] [ASHER]        Isaiah                 pg 664                                         

them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
        They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
        Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have  even  called  thee  by  thy  name:  I  have  surnamed thee, though
             [JASHUB] [ASHER]        Isaiah                 pg 665                                             

thou hast not known me.
        I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it. Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
        Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
        Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy laden; they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
        Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
        To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they  fall  down, yea, they  worship.  They
             [JASHUB] [REFUGE]        Isaiah                 pg 666                                         

bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. Remember this, and show yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
        Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
        Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.  Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
        I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
        And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
        For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
        Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.
     [REFUGE]
        Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name. I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly,  and they came to pass.  Because I knew that thou art obstinate,  and thy
             [JASHUB] [REFUGE]        Isaiah                 pg 667                                             

neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shown thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.
        For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
        Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
        Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his spirit, hath sent me. Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
        Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob. And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
        Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
        And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people,  to  establish  the  earth,  to  cause  to  inherit  the
             [JASHUB] [REFUGE]        Isaiah                 pg 668                                             

desolate heritages; That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
        Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
        Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
        Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
        Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
        The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
        For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint,  and I know that I shall not be ashamed.  He  is  near
             [JASHUB] [REFUGE]        Isaiah                 pg 669                                             

that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.
        Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
        Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
        Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people. My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
        Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
        Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
        Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up. These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.
             [JASHUB] [ARMS]        Isaiah                 pg 670                                             

         Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over. Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
        How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
        Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
        Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward.
        Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
     [ARMS]
        Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
        Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked,  and with the rich in his death;  because he had  done  no  violence,
             [JASHUB] [ARMS]        Isaiah                 pg 671                                             

neither was any deceit in his mouth.
        Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
        Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
        For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
        O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
        No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
        Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
        Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
             [JASHUB] [THRUST]        Isaiah                 pg 672                                             

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
        For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
     [THRUST]
        Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
        Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
        All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.
        The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
        But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks? Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these? Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for
             [JASHUB] [THRUST]        Isaiah                 pg 673                                             

thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it. And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell. Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved. And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not? I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
        When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain; And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
        Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
        Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
        Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rearward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations;  and  thou  shalt  be  called,  The  repairer  of  the
             [JASHUB] [THRUST]        Isaiah                 pg 674                                             

breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
        If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
        Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
        Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
        And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
        Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far,  and thy daughters shall be  nursed  at  thy  side.
             [JASHUB] [THRUST]        Isaiah                 pg 675                                             

Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.
        The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
        And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
        For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion:  therefore in their land they shall possess  the  double:  everlasting  joy              [JASHUB] [DESTROY]        Isaiah                 pg 676                                             

shall be unto them. For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
     [DESTROY]
        For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
        For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.
        Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.
        Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.
        I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them:  in his love and
             [JASHUB] [DESTROY]        Isaiah                 pg 677                                             

in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
        But they rebelled, and vexed his holy spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy spirit within him? That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? As a beast goeth down into the valley, the spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.
        Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
        O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.
        Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
        Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste. Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
        I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,  Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD,
             [JASHUB] [DESTROY]        Isaiah                 pg 678                                             

which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom. Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.
        But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name: That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
        For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
        Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
        Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies.  Before she travailed,  she brought forth;  before  her  pain  came,  she  was
             [JASHUB] [DESTROY]        Isaiah                 pg 679                                             

delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD. For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
 
                                                pg 681

JEREMIAH  =  Jah will rise

VINE  – ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [JASHUB]  =  he will return

     [REUBEN]
    The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
    But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
    Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
    Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold,  I have made thee this day a defenced city,  and an  iron  pillar, and  brasen
        [JASHUB][REUBEN]        Jeremiah             pg 682                                                

walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
    Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD. Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
    Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
    Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead. For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
    Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way? And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
    For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD. How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her. Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst,  There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.  As

        [JASHUB] [REUBEN]        Jeremiah             pg 683                                                

the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us. But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD. In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
    O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
    They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD. Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lain with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
    The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
    Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass,  when ye be multiplied and increased in  the  land,  in  those  days,  saith  the
        [JASHUB] [SIMEON]        Jeremiah             pg 684
                                                

LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
     [SIMEON]
    Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
    If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
    For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice  against  the  cities  of  Judah.   As  keepers of a  field,  are  they  against  her
        [JASHUB] [SIMEON]        Jeremiah             pg 685
                                                

round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
    My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
    Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely. O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God. I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
    How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
    Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD’S. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD. They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts,  Because ye speak this word, behold,  I will make my  words  in thy  mouth
        [JASHUB] [SIMEON]        Jeremiah             pg 686
                                                

fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.
    And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
    Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
    A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
    O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction. I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out. Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
    For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
    Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets. To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together:  for even the husband with the wife shall be taken,
        [JASHUB] [JUDAH]        Jeremiah             pg 687
                                                

the aged with him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
    Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
    O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters. The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.
     [JUDAH]
    The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
    Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.  But go ye  now  unto  my  place  which  was  in
        [JASHUB] [JUDAH]        Jeremiah             pg 688
                                                

Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.
    Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
    Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
    Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
    Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.
    At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven,  whom  they  have  loved,  and  whom  they  have  served,  and after  whom   they have walked, and whom they have sought,  and whom  they  have  worshipped: they  
        [JASHUB] [JUDAH]        Jeremiah             pg 689
                                                

shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth. And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
    Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle. Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them? Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
    I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble! The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.
    When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
    Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD. Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit;  through deceit  they  refuse  to  know  me,

        [JASHUB] [LEVI]        Jeremiah             pg 690
                                                

saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people? Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
    Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone. And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
    Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through? And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
    Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come: And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation. For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
     [LEVI]
    Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
    Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
    Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth  it  appertain:  forasmuch  as
        [JASHUB] [LEVI]        Jeremiah             pg 691
                                                

among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men. But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
    Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
    Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it. My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered. Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons. O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
    The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD. Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not. And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
    Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring  evil  upon  them,  which
        [JASHUB] [BENJAMIN]    Jeremiah             pg 692

                                                
they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
    And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou showedst me their doings. But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered. But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause. Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine: And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins. But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
    If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.
    I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it. Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour. Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace. They have sown wheat,  but shall reap thorns:  they have put
        [JASHUB] [BENJAMIN]    Jeremiah             pg 693

themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
    Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people. But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.
    Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins. And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
    Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
    Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’S flock is carried away captive. Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory. The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive. Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock? What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail? And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare. Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by  the  wind  of  the
        [JASHUB] [JOSEPH]        Jeremiah             pg 694

wilderness. This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood. Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear. I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?
    The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
    O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
    Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
    Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow. If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul loathed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
     [JOSEPH]
    Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and  Samuel  stood before  me,
        [JASHUB] [JOSEPH]        Jeremiah             pg 695

yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest? Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways. Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city. She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.
    Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel? Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
    O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?
    Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
    The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from  this  people,  saith  the  LORD,
        [JASHUB] [JOSEPH]        Jeremiah             pg 696

even lovingkindness and mercies. Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them: Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
    And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not show you favour.
    Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
    Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things. O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.
    The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills. O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.
    Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
    The heart is deceitful above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked:  who  can
        [JASHUB] [ZEBULUN]        Jeremiah             pg 697

know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
    A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
    Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now. As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee. Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil. Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
    Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
     [ZEBULUN]
    The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
    Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,  Thus saith the LORD;  Behold, I  frame  evil  against  you,  and
        [JASHUB] [ZEBULUN]        Jeremiah             pg 698

devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing. Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken? Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
    Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet. Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.
    Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests; And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee, And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter. And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them. Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee, And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury. Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet: And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of  Tophet,  because  of  all  the  houses  upon
        [JASHUB] [ZEBULUN]        Jeremiah             pg 699

whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods. Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’S house; and said to all the people, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.
    Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
    O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
    For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him. But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten. But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause. Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
    Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide; Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
    The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, Inquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
    Then said Jeremiah unto them,  Thus shall ye  say to  Zedekiah:  Thus saith
        [JASHUB] [ZEBULUN]        Jeremiah             pg 700

the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
    And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
    And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the LORD; O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations? But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
    Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus saith the LORD unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness; and cities which are not inhabited. And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city? Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
    Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more: But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;  That saith, I  will  build  me  a  wide  house  and  large chambers,  and cutteth him out windows;  and it is ceiled  with  cedar,  and  painted
        [JASHUB] [ISSACHAR]        Jeremiah             pg 701

vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
    Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
    Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
    Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on,  and fall therein:  for I will bring evil upon them,  even the year of their
        [JASHUB] [ISSACHAR]        Jeremiah             pg 702

visitation, saith the LORD. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
    And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
    The LORD showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD,  after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon  had  carried  away
        [JASHUB] [ISSACHAR]        Jeremiah             pg703

captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
    Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
    And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers. The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
    Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
    And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.  
        [JASHUB] [GAD]        Jeremiah             pg704

    For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
    Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.
     [GAD]
    In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word: If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them,  but ye have not hearkened;  Then will I make this house like  Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.  So the priests and the
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prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.
    Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
    When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
    Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
    Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God. Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying, Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls. And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah: And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt; And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt. And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
    In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have
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I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
    I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD’S house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.
    For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city, Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem; They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.
    And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the LORD’S house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon: And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
    Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD, Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD’S house,   and  all  that  is  carried  away  captive,   from  Babylon  into  this  place.
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Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people; The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.
    Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and brake it. And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
    Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.
    Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD. So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
    Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
    For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
    For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne
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of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
    Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; Because they have committed villainy in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
    Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks. Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you? For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
    Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.
    The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
    And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
    Therefore  fear thou not,  O my servant Jacob,  saith the LORD;  neither  be
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dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar,  and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
    Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.
    At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God. For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
    Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD,  for wheat,  and for wine,
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and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.
    Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.
    I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD. Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
    How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
    Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
    Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
    Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.  Thus saith the  LORD;  If  heaven  above  can  be
        [JASHUB] [GAD]        Jeremiah                     pg 711

measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
    Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
    The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house. For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
    And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it. So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open: And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
    And I charged Baruch before them, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
    Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying, Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Thou showest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day; And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror; And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;  And they came in,  and possessed it;  but they obeyed
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Jeremiah                     pg 712

not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them: Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it. And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
    Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it: And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
     [DAN]
    And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.
    Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Jeremiah                     pg 713

the mounts, and by the sword; They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city. Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.
    And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it. Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
    In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.
    For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.
    And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; if ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
    The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,  Thus saith the LORD,  the God of Israel;  Go and speak to Zedekiah king of
        [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]    Jeremiah                     pg714

Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire: And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD. Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, When the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.
    This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go. But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.
    Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which are gone up from you. Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.
     [NAPHTALI]
    The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim  the  son  of  Josiah  king  of  Judah,  saying,  Go  unto  the  house  of  the
        [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]    Jeremiah                     pg 715

Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door: And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
    Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD. The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.
    And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.
    And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD: Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth,  the words of the LORD in the  ears  of  the  people  in  the  LORD’S
        [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]    Jeremiah                     pg 716

house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people. And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’S house. And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem. Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house, in the ears of all the people.
    When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the LORD, Then he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them. And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth? Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.
    And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king. So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them. But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.
    Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned. And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.  And  I  will  punish  him  and  his  seed  and  his servants for their iniquity;  and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants  of  
        [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]    Jeremiah                     pg 717

Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.
    Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.
    And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah. And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us. Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison. Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
    Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
    And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people. And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
    When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison? Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
    Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall  live;  for he shall  have  his  life  for a
        [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]    Jeremiah                     pg 718

prey, and shall live. Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it. Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
    Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebed-melech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
    Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shown me: And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
    Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king,  that he would not cause  me to return to  Jonathan’s  house,  to die  there.
        [JASHUB] [ASHER]          Jeremiah                     pg 719

Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived. So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
    In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.
    And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain. But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.
    And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained. But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
     [ASHER]
    Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the king of Babylon’s princes; Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.
    Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
    The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place. Now the LORD hath brought it, and done according as he hath said: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come;  and I will look well unto thee:  but if it seem ill  unto  thee  to  come
        [JASHUB] [ASHER]          Jeremiah                     pg 720

with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go. Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
    Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon; Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken. Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan; Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.
    Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not. Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.
    Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah. Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war. And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it, That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit,  he,  and the men that were with him.  But  ten  men were  found among them that said unto Ishmael,  Slay us not: for we have  treasures
        [JASHUB] [REFUGE]        Jeremiah                     pg 721

in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren. Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain. Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
    But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon. Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad. So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah. But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon: And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt, Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.
     [REFUGE]
    Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) That the LORD thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.
    And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah. Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will show mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
    But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God,  Saying,  No;  but we will go into the land of Egypt,  where we shall
        [JASHUB] [ARMS]        Jeremiah                             pg 722

see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.
    The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day. For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.
    [ARMS]
    And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words, Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there: But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon. So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah. But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
    Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah; And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword. And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace. He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.
    The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt,  which dwell at Migdol,  and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph,  and in  the
        [JASHUB] [ARMS]        Jeremiah                             pg723

country of Pathros, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein, Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers. Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day. Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain; In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem? They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.
    Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah. And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.
    Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
    Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying, The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind? So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have  committed;  therefore is your  land a desolation,  and an astonishment,  and a
        [JASHUB] [THRUST]        Jeremiah                             pg 724

curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day. Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows. Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth. Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.
    And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil: Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.
    The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
     [THRUST]
    The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles; Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah. Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle. Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines. Wherefore have I seen them dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the LORD. Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates. Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow. For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.  Go up  into  Gilead,  and  take
        [JASHUB] [THRUST]         Jeremiah                             pg 725

balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured. The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.
    The word that the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt. Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee. Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them. He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed. As I live, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant. Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north. Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation. The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood. They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable. The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north. The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings: even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him: And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD.
    But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
    The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza. Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands; Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself? O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.
    Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised
        [JASHUB] [THRUST]          Jeremiah                             pg 726

evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
    For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken. Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein. Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
    Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence.
    How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war? Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast. All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod! Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds. O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done? Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled, And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath, And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim, And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon, And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the LORD.
    Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy. O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth. We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect it. Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kir-heres. O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy vintage. And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting. From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods. Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes,  and mine  heart  shall  sound
        [JASHUB] [THRUST]        Jeremiah                             pg727

like pipes for the men of Kir-heres: because the riches that he hath gotten are perished. For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD. They shall howl, saying, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him. For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle. and shall spread his wings over Moab. Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men’s hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD. He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones. Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.
    Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
    Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD. Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together. Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me? Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth. And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.
    Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him. If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough. But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it. For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men. Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy  nest as  high as  the  eagle, I  will  bring  thee  down  from
        [JASHUB] [THRUST]          Jeremiah                             pg 728

thence, saith the LORD. Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
    Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet. Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad.
    Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.
    Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you. Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone. And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD. And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
    The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD. But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.
    The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
        [JASHUB] [THRUST]         Jeremiah                             pg 729

         In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace. All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers. Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats   before the flocks.    
    For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain. And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD. Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls; Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD. Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the LORD: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
    Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
    Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have commanded thee. A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. The LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans. Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left. Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple. Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work;  according to all that she
        [JASHUB] [DESTROY]                Jeremiah                             pg 730

hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel. Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD. Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
    A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men. A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed. A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed. A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols. Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein. Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not show mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me? Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
     [DESTROY]
    Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host. Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets. For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her,  and let us go every one into his own country:  for her judgment reacheth
        [JASHUB] [DESTROY]                 Jeremiah                             pg 731

unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple. Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness. The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall lift up a shout against thee. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name. Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD. Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillars. Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken. One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come. Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold,  I will plead thy cause,  and take vengeance for thee;  and I will  dry  up  her
        [JASHUB] [DESTROY]      Jeremiah                             pg 732

sea, and make her springs dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant. They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps. In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats. How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby. And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall. My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD. And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD. As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth. Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD’S house. Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD. A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans: Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered: Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite. And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
    The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince. So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD,  according to all that  Jehoiakim  had  done.
        [JASHUB] [DESTROY]                Jeremiah                             pg 733

done.  For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king     of Babylon.
    And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about. So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain.
    But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him. And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
    Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, And burned the house of the LORD, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire: And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen. Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. And the basins, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away. The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these vessels was without weight. And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow. And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these. And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.
    And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them,and put them to death in Riblah in the land of  Hamath.  Thus
        [JASHUB] [DESTROY]                   Jeremiah                             pg 734

Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty: In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons: In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
    And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.
                                                       pg 735

EZEKIEL  =  God will strengthen

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [JASHUB]  =  he will return

     [REUBEN]
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
    And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
    Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of
        [JASHUB] [SIMEON]        Ezekiel                                 pg 736

eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings. And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
    And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
     [SIMEON]
    And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
    And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
    And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
     [JUDAH]
    Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
    And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language,  whose words thou  canst  not  understand.
        [JASHUB] [JUDAH]        Ezekiel                                 pg 737

Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted. Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place. I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing. So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
    Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
    And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee. Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face. Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them: And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.
    Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about. Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.  And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on         [JASHUB] [JUDAH]        Ezekiel                                 pg 738

thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
    Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it. Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them. Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth. Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
    And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
    Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds. Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
    A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal,  when I have accomplished my fury  in  them.  Moreover  I
        [JASHUB] [LEVI]        Ezekiel                                  pg739

will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it. When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread: So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
     [LEVI]
And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
    Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a-whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
    Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
    Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the  time  is  come,  the  day  of  trouble  is  near,  and  not  the sounding again of the mountains.  Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon  thee,  

        [JASHUB] [LEVI]         Ezekiel                            pg 740

and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth. Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them. The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
    But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
    As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.
    Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
    And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me. Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.  He said furthermore unto me,  Son of

        [JASHUB] [LEVI]        Ezekiel                                 pg 741

man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.
    And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.
    He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
    Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
    Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them. He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
    And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
    And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side,  reported the
        [JASHUB] [BENJAMIN]    Ezekiel                                 pg 742

matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory. And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh. And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels. And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out.
    And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man’s hand under their wings. And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone. And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went. And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had. As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel. And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar. And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them. When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in them. Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims. Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.
    Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD’S house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city: Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
    Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. And the spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.  Ye have multiplied your slain in this  city,  and  ye  have  filled  the  streets
        [JASHUB] [JOSEPH]          Ezekiel                                    pg 743

thereof with the slain. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD. And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you. Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.
    And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?
     [JOSEPH]     
    Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.
    Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
    Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shown me.
     [ZEBULUN]
    The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying, Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house. Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity. Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel. And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand;  I brought it  forth in  the  twilight,  and  I bare  it
        [JASHUB] [ISSACHAR]         Ezekiel                             pg 744

upon my shoulder in their sight.
    And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou? Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them. Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity. And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes. My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there. And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.
     [ISSACHAR]
    But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.
    Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
     [GAD]
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity,  and that divine  lies:  they  shall  not  be  in  the
        [JASHUB] [GAD]          Ezekiel                             pg 745

assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
    Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar: Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.
    Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies? Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly. Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
    Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
    Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
And if the  prophet be  deceived  when he  hath  spoken a  thing,  I the  LORD  have
        [JASHUB] [GAD]            Ezekiel                            pg 746

deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
    The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
    If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?
    Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work? Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?
    Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them. And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.
    Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee,  and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in
        [JASHUB] [GAD]           Ezekiel                             pg 747

thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
    But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD. Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood. And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;) That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street. Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire; But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
        [JASHUB] [GAD]          Ezekiel                            pg 748

    Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them; Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more. So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.
    Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite. And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about. Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD. For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
        [JASHUB] [GAD]        Ezekiel                                 pg 749

    Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants. He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.
    Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; And hath taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing;  in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 750

dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
     [DAN]
    The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
    But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.
    If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife, Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
    Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour’s wife, Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
    Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
    But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
    Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? When a righteous man turneth away
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 751

from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
    Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
    Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men. The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt. Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
    Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
    And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to inquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
    And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God; In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt:  then I said, I will pour out my
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 752

fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.
    Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God. Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth. I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols. Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.
    Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings. Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day. Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations? For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
    As I live,  saith  the  Lord  GOD,  surely  with a  mighty  hand,  and  with  a
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 753

stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
    Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.
    Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon  my  people:  smite  therefore  upon  thy
        [JASHUB] [DAN]         Ezekiel                            pg 754

thigh. Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD. Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers. I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter. Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.
    The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver. At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
    And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
    And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering: Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end. Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it.
    Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt show her all her abominations. Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed. Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. In thee  are  men  that  carry  tales  to  shed  blood:  and  in  thee  they  eat  upon  the
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 755

mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness. In thee have they discovered their fathers’ nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.
    Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it. And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken. The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
    The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah. And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her,  and they bruised
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 756

the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her. And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms. She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way, And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
    Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side; The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses. And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels. Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more. For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated: And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone awhoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols. Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; That they have committed adultery, and
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 757

blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house. And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil. And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them? Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.
    And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands. For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled. And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire. Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
    Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD come unto me, saying, Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it: Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.
    Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it. For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great. Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire. In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.
    Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.    So I spake unto the people in
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 758

the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
    And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
    The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
    Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.
    Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 759

    And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
    For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
    Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee? Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee. And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure. For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living; I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.
    The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus; And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.  Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars;  the  company  of
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 760

the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee. The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots. The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise. They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness. The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect. Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market. They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules. The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony. Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate. Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm. Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool. Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market. Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants. The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants. These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise. The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.
    Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas. Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land; And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes: And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea? When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall. All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.
    The word of  the  LORD came again unto me, saying,  Son of  man, say  unto
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 761

the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: By thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
    Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
    Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her. For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
    And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.
    In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  Son of man,  set thy face against Pharaoh
        [JASHUB] [DAN]         Ezekiel                           pg 762

king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.
    Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee. And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it. Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
    Yet thus saith the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered: And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom. It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
    And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD.
    In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
    The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.  Thus saith the LORD;  They also that uphold  Egypt shall  fall;
              [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                         pg 763

and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed. In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain. And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No. And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily. The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
    And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
    And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
    Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him:  the fir trees were not like his boughs,  and the chestnut trees were not
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 764

like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
    Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness. And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him. Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches: To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
    To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
    And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net. Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee. And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD. I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.
    For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee. By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed. I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters;  neither shall the foot of man  trouble  them any  more,  nor
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 765

the hoofs of beasts trouble them. Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD. When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD. This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
    It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword: Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living. There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain. There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword. There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit. Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
    Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come,  and take any person from among them,  he is taken away in his iniquity;  but
        [JASHUB] [DAN]        Ezekiel                                 pg 766

his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
    So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
    Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
    Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways. And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour’s wife: and shall ye possess the land? Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.
    Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people,  and they hear thy words, but they  will  not  do  them:  for  
        [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]    Ezekiel                                 pg 767

with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
     [NAPHTALI]
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
    Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
    For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
    Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them;  I the LORD  have  spoken  it.  And  I  will  make  with  them a
        [JASHUB] [ASHER]                Ezekiel                                 pg 768

covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
    Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: since thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee. Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth. And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword. I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there: Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee. And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume. Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
     [ASHER]
    Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession: Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with  the  joy of  all  their  heart,  with
        [JASHUB] [REFUGE]                 Ezekiel                             pg 769

despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.
    But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations; Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD. Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.
     [REFUGE]
    Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.
    But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
    Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have
        [JASHUB] [ARMS]                Ezekiel                                 pg 770

cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
     [ARMS]
    The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
    Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
    The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
    And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
    And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel;  and one king shall be king to them all:  and they
        [JASHUB] [THRUST]                 Ezekiel                     pg 771

shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
     [THRUST]
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
    After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
    Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel,  saith the Lord GOD,  that my fury shall come  up  in  my
        [JASHUB] [DESTROY]              Ezekiel                            pg 772

face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
     [DESTROY]
    Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
    Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
    And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
    And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.  Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots,
        [JASHUB]                                Ezekiel                                 pg 773

with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

    In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither.  In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee; for to the intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel. And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an handbreadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
    Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad. And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed. He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed. Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward. And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door. He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate. And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits. And there were narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate  round  about,  and  likewise  to  the  arches:  and
        [JASHUB]                              Ezekiel                                 pg 774

windows were round about inward: and upon each post were palm trees. Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement. Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward.
    And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof. And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them. And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.
    After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits. And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures; And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps.
    And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures. And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.
    And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures; The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.
    And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering. And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables. Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices. And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt  offering  and  the  sacrifice.  And  within  were  hooks,  an  hand
        [JASHUB]                               Ezekiel                                 pg 775

broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.
    And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house. And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him. So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house.
    And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side. The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.
    Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle. And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits. Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits. So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place. After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side. And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house. And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst. I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits. The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within. And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side. And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about. Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits. So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long; Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits. And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court; The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, ceiled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered; To that above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without,  by measure.  And it was made with cherubims and palm trees,

        [JASHUB]                               Ezekiel                                 pg 776

so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces; So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about. From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple. The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other. The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD. And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors. And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door. And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without. And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.
    Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was before the building toward the north. Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits. Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pavement which was for the utter court, was gallery against gallery in three stories. And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north. Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries were higher than these, than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building. For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the building was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground. And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the utter court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. For the length of the chambers that were in the utter court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were an hundred cubits. And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the utter court. The chambers were in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, over against the separate place, and over against the building. And the way before them was like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north, as long as they, and as broad as they: and all their goings out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors. And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them.
    Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy. When the priests enter therein, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the utter court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy; and shall put on other garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people. Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about. He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed. He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long,
        [JASHUB]                               Ezekiel                                 pg 777

and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place. Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.
    And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. Thou son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
    And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an handbreadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar. And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit. So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns. And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.
    And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering. And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it. Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary. And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD. Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a  goat  for a  sin  offering:  they  shall  also  prepare  a [JASHUB]                               Ezekiel                                 pg 778

young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves. And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.
    Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.
    Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face. And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
    Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
    But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
    And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat. And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.  Neither shall they take for their  wives a  widow,  nor  her  that
         [JASHUB]                             Ezekiel                                 pg 779

is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before. And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD. And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house. The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.
    Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof. And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place. The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the sanctuary. And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers.
    And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.
    And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD. Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer. And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh. This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of barley: Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer: And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering,  and for peace offerings,  to  make  reconciliation  for  them,  saith  the  Lord
        [JASHUB]            Ezekiel                         pg 780

GOD. All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. And it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary: And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house. In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah. In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil.
    Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons. And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish. And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish. And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of oil to an ephah. And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.
    But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it. And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth. And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate. Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the LORD of a lamb of the first year without blemish: thou shalt prepare it every morning. And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil,  to temper with the fine flour;  a meat  offering  continually
        [JASHUB]                               Ezekiel                                 pg 781

by a perpetual ordinance unto the LORD. Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt offering.
    Thus saith the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons’; it shall be their possession by inheritance. But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons’ for them. Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.
    After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward. Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people. Then he brought me forth into the utter court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure. And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about. Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.
    Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
    And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.         Thus saith  the  Lord  GOD;   This  shall  be  the  border,  whereby  ye  shall   
        [JASHUB]                              Ezekiel                                 pg 782

inherit  the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance. And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad; Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran. And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side. And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side. And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward. The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side. So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
    Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan. And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher. And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali. And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh. And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim. And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben. And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
    And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth. And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof. It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites. And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand. And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
    And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof. And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five  hundred.  And  the  suburbs  of  the  city  shall  be
        [JASHUB]                               Ezekiel                                 pg 783

toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty. And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city. And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel. All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
    And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof. Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince’s, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince. As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion. And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion. And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion. And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion. And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion. And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea. This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD. And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures. And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan. And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun. At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

                                       pg784

DANIEL  =  judge of God

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [JASHUB]  =  he will return

     [REUBEN]     
    In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
    And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but wellfavoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego.
    But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which  did  eat
        [JASHUB] [SIMEON]        Daniel                                      pg 786

the portion of the king’s meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.
    As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.
    And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it. The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof.
    The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
     [SIMEON]
    Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision.
     [JUDAH]
Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know  understanding:  He  revealeth  the
            [JASHUB] [JUDAH]        Daniel                                      pg 787

deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.
    Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
    Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
    This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
            [JASHUB] [LEVI]    Daniel                                      pg 788

     [LEVI]
    Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
    Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
    Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed  against  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abed-nego:  therefore  he  spake,  and
            [JASHUB] [JOSEPH]                 Daniel                                      pg 789

commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
    Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
     [JOSEPH]
    Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
    I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
    But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw in the visions of
        [JASHUB] [ZEBULUN]             Daniel                         pg 790

my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
    All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.   And  at  the  end  of  the

            [JASHUB] [GAD]                      Daniel                                      pg 791

days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
    Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
    In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.
     [GAD]
    Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing: And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet,  and have a  chain of  gold  about  thy  neck,  and
        [JASHUB] [DAN]                      Daniel                                      pg 792

shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
    Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
    And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
    In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
     [DAN]
    It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
    Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
    Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.  Then  these  men  assembled,  and  found  Daniel  praying  and  making
            [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]            Daniel                                      pg 793

supplication before his God. Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
    Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
    And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
    Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
     [NAPHTALI]
    In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.  After this I saw in the night visions,  and  behold a  fourth
        [JASHUB] [NAPHTALI]           Daniel                                      pg 794

beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
    I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
    I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.  But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
    In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high;  but one was higher than the other, and
            [JASHUB] [ASHER]                   Daniel                                      pg 795

the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
    Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
    And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
     [ASHER]
    In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah  the  prophet,  that  he  would  accomplish  seventy  years  in  the
        [JASHUB] [ASHER]                  Daniel                                      pg 796

desolations of Jerusalem.
    And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
    O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
    And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be  seven  weeks,  and  threescore  and
            [JASHUB] [REFUGE]               Daniel                                      pg 797

two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
     [REFUGE]
    In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
     [ARMS]
    And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,
     [THRUST]
    And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
        [JASHUB] [THRUST]                Daniel                                      pg 798

     Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
    And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand. And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it. For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the  strong
            [JASHUB] [DESTROY]             Daniel                                      pg 799

holds, even for a time. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
    For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
     [DESTROY]
    And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to
        [JASHUB] [DESTROY]            Daniel                                      pg 800

the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
    Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the day

                                                pg 801

HOSEA  =  delivered

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMROM]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
    And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
    Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
    Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah. Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts; Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms. For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said,  I will go after my lovers,  that give me  my  bread  and  my
        [SHIMRON] [SIMEON]        Hosea                                         pg 802

water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
    Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now. For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness. And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand. I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them. And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.
    Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
     [SIMEON]
And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
    Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.
     [JUDAH]
For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
    Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish,  with the beasts
        [SHIMRON] [LEVI]        Hosea                                         pg 803

of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
     [LEVI]
    My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
    My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a-whoring from under their God. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
    Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-aven, nor swear, The LORD liveth. For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place. Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye. The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
    Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor. And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled. They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD. And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
     [BENJAMIN]
Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin. Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be. The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment. Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
        [SHIMRON] [JOSEPH]         Hosea                                         pg 804

     [JOSEPH]
    I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
    Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
    O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood. And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness. I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled. Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.
    When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without. And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face. They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened. In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners. For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire. They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me. Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not. And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard. Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me. Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me. They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
    Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee. Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
    Thy  calf,  O  Samaria,  hath  cast  thee  off;  mine anger  is  kindled  against   
        [SHIMRON] [ISSACHAR]      Hosea                                         pg 805

them:  how  long  will  it  be  ere  they  attain  to innocency? For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure. For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers. Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin. I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing. They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt. For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a-whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor. The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. They shall not dwell in the LORD’S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria. They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD. What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD? For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles. The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God. They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins. I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved. As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception. Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them! Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer. Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters. Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.
     [GAD]
    Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images. Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images. For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us? They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus
        [SHIMRON] [DAN]                  Hosea                                         pg806

judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth-aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water. The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
     [DAN]
O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them. It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows. And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods. Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children. So shall Beth-el do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.
     [NAPHTALI]
    When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
    He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return. And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels. And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD. Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.
    Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.
     [ASHER]
The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
    He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Beth-el, and there  he  spake  with  us;
        [SHIMRON] [REFUGE]             Hosea                                         pg 807

Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial. Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.
    He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress. And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin. And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast. I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets. Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields. And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved. Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
     [REFUGE]
    When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died. And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.  Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
    I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them: I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
    O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid. The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
     [ARMS]
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels. Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
     [THRUST]
    O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they
        [SHIMRON] [DESTROY]           Hosea                                         pg 808

shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
     [DESTROY]
Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

                                                       pg 809

JOEL  =  Jah his God

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMRON]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
     [SIMEON]
Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.
     [JUDAH]
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
    Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
     [LEVI]
The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’S ministers, mourn. The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD. Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
        [SHIMRON] [JOSEPH]         Joel                                        pg 810

     [JOSEPH]
Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
     [ISSACHAR]
Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
     [GAD]
    Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
    Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
     [DAN]
    Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea,  and  his  stink  shall  come  up,  and  his  ill
        [SHIMRON] [NAPHTALI]     Joel                                          pg 811

savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
     [ASHER]
    And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
     [REFUGE]
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
     [ARMS]
    For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
     [THRUST]
I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompense? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head; Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head: And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it.
    Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes,  multitudes in the valley of decision:  for the day of the LORD is near  in
        [SHIMRON] [DESTROY]    Joel                                          pg 812

the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
    And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
     [DESTROY]
Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

                                                 pg813

AMOS  =  burdensom (set)

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  –  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMRON]  –  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. And he said, the LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
     [SIMEON]
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.
    Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom: But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant: But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
    Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border: But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,  and it shall  devour  the   palaces  thereof,  with
              [SHIMRON] [JUDAH]        Amos                  pg814

shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.
    Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet: And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.
    Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
    Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
    Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
     [JUDAH]
Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.
    Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
     [LEVI]
Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
    Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
                [SHIMRON] [BENJAMIN]          Amos                   pg815

     [BENJAMIN]
Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Beth-el: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to ground. And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.
     [JOSEPH]
    Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink. The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the LORD.
    Come to Beth-el, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
    And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.
    For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: But seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought. Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el. Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night:  that calleth for the waters of the sea,  and poureth
        [SHIMRON] [ISSACHAR]    Amos                  pg816

them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
     [ISSACHAR]
Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to Wailing. And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
    I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.
     [GAD]
    Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David; That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
    Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD. For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

            [SHIMRON] [DAN]        Amos              pg817

     [DAN]
    Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Thus hath the Lord GOD shown unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.
    Thus hath the Lord GOD shown unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD. Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
     [ASHER]
    Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: But prophesy not again any more at Beth-el: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.
    Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit: And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
    Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
     [REFUGE]
    Thus hath the Lord GOD shown unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
    Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
        [SHIMRON] [ARMS]        Amos                  pg818

Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
     [ARMS]
    Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
     [THRUST]
    I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them: And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.
     [DESTROY]
Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD. For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
    In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

                                         pg819

OBADIAH  =  serving Jah

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  –  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMRON]  –  guardianship

     [REUBEN]  
    The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
     [SIMEON]
Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
    The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
     [JUDAH]
    Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
     [LEVI]
How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up! All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him. Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
     [BENJAMIN]
And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
     [JOSEPH]
    For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
     [ZEBULUN]
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.

[SHIMRON] [ISSACHAR]    Obadiah                                    pg820

     [ISSACHAR]
But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
     [GAD]
Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
     [DAN]
Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
     [NAPHTALI]
For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
     [ASHER]
For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
     [REFUGE]
    But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
     [ARMS]
And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
     [THRUST]
And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
     [DESTROY]
And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

                                               pg 821

JONAH  =  a dove

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMRON]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]  
    Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
     [SIMEON]
    But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
     [JUDAH]
    Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. So they
        [SHIMRON] [LEVI]        Jonah                                       pg 822

took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
     [LEVI]     
Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
    Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
     [JOSEPH]
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
     [ZEBULUN]
    And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
    And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
     [ISSACHAR]
So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
     [GAD]
    So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
     [DAN]
For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
     [NAPHTALI]
    And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
     [ASHER]
    But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

        [SHIMRON] [REFUGE]    Jonah                  pg823

     [REFUGE]
Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
    Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
     [ARMS]
But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
     [THRUST]
    And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
     [DESTROY]
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

                                  pg824

MICAH  =  who is like Jah

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMRON]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
     [SIMEON]
Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem? Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof. And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot. Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls. For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
    Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust. Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel; he shall receive of you his standing. For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem. O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee. Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.
     [JUDAH]
Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.  Make thee bald,  and poll thee for thy delicate  children;  
        [SHIMRON] [LEVI]        Micah                         pg 826

enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.
    Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.
    In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD. Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.
     [LEVI]
    O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.
    I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.
     [BENJAMIN]
    And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
    Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
     [JOSEPH]
    But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us. Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
        [SHIMRON] [ZEBULUN]    Micah                         pg 827

     [ZEBULUN]
    But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
    And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
     [ISSACHAR]
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
     [GAD]
    And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
    Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
    Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
     [DAN]
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
    And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth
            [SHIMRON] [NAPHTALI]    Micah                         pg 828

not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.
     [ASHER]
    Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? The LORD’S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
    Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins. Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword. Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
    For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.
    Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit. The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
    That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
            [SHIMRON] [REFUGE]    Micah             pg829

     [REFUGE]
    Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
     [ARMS]
    Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
     [THRUST]
Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed. In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
     [DESTROY]
Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things.
     The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

                           pg830

NAHUM  =  to avenge ones (God) self

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMRON]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
     [SIMEON]
God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
     [JUDAH]
The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
     [LEVI]
The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor. Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.
     [BENJAMIN]
Behold  upon  the  mountains  the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that
        [SHIMRON] [JOSEPH]        Nahum                         pg832

publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
     [JOSEPH]
    He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.
     [ZEBULUN]
The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings. He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.
     [ISSACHAR]
     The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.
     [GAD]
But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back. Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture. She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion’s whelp, and none made them afraid? The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.
     [DAN]
Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
     [ASHER]
Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.
     [REFUGE]
And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and
say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee? Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the  streets:  and  they  cast  lots  for  her
         [SHIMRON] [ARMS]        Nahum                         pg 833

 honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
     [ARMS]
Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy. All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brickkiln.
     [THRUST]
There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away. Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.
     [DESTROY]
There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

                                                                pg 835

HABUKKUK  =  embrace

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMROM]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
     [SIMEON]
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
     [JUDAH]
    Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
     [LEVI]
    Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? They take up all of them with the angle,  they  catch  them  in  their
[SHIMRON] [BENJAMIN]    Habakkuk            pg 836

net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
     [BENJAMIN]
    I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
     [JOSEPH]
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
    Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
     [ZEBULUN]
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
    Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
    Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
     [GAD]
    What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
     [DAN]
    A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory  covered  the  heavens,
        [SHIMRON] [NAPHTALI]    Habakkuk                     pg 837

and the earth was full of his praise.
     [NAPHTALI]
And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went
forth at his feet. He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?
     [ASHER]
Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.
     [REFUGE]
Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.
     [ARMS]
Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.
     [THRUST]
Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters. When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.
     [DESTROY]
    Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instrument                               pg838

ZEPHANIAH  =  Jah has secreted

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMROM]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
     [SIMEON]
I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
     [JUDAH]
I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham; And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for him.
     [LEVI]
Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
     [BENJAMIN]
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills. Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.

        [SHIMRON] [JOSEPH]        Zephaniah                     pg 840

     [JOSEPH]
Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
     [ZEBULUN]
A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
    Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.
     [ISSACHAR]
    For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
     [GAD]
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
     [DAN]
    I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them. This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts. The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword. And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.
        [SHIMRON] [ASHER]        Zephaniah             pg 841

     [ASHER]
    Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant. I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.
     [REFUGE]
    Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.
     [ARMS]
In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
     [THRUST]
    Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
     [DESTROY]
Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.
                               pg842

HAGGAI  =  festive

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMRON]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,
     [SIMEON]
Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built.
     [JUDAH]
Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
     [LEVI]
    Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.
     [BENJAMIN]
Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
     [JOSEPH]
Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet,  as the LORD their  God  had  sent  him,
[SHIMRON] [ISSACHAR]    Haggai                pg 844

and the people did fear before the LORD. Then spake Haggai the LORD’S messenger in the LORD’S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD.
     [ISSACHAR]
And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
     [GAD]
    In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:
     [DAN]
According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
     [NAPHTALI]
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts:
     [ASHER]
and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
     [REFUGE]
    In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD: Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressvat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.
     [ARMS]
Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.
     [THRUST]
    And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to  Zerubbabel,  governor  of  Judah,  saying,  I  will
        [SHIMRON[ [DESTROY]    Haggai                 pg 845

shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms,
     [DESTROY]
and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

                                       pg 846
                        

ZECHARIAH  =  to mark  (a male)

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMRON]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers. Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD. Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us
     [SIMEON]
    Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these be. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
    Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease:  for I was but a little  displeased,
[SHIMRON] [JUDAH]        Zechariah             pg 848

and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
    Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. And the LORD showed me four carpenters. Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
    I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
     [JUDAH]
    Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.
    Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
     [LEVI]
    And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at:
     [BENJAMIN]
for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof,  saith the LORD of hosts,  and I will remove the iniquity of  that
        [SHIMRON] [JOSEPH]        Zechariah             pg 849

land in one day. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.
    And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, And said unto me, What seest thou? And I  said,  I
have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
    Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
     [JOSEPH]
    Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
    Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.  Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.
     [ZEBULUN]
    And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.  Then I answered and said unto the angel that  talked  with  me,  What  are
[SHIMRON] [ISSACHAR]    Zechariah             pg 850

these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.
    And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.
     [ISSACHAR]
    And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
    Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying, Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
    And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts. Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts: But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
     [GAD]
    Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of  Jerusalem:  and  Jerusalem  shall  be  called a  city  of  truth;  and  the
        [SHIMRON] [DAN]        Zechariah             pg 851

mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
    Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts. For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not: So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.
    These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD. And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
     [DAN]
    The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD. And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise. And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by,  and because of him that  returneth:  and no  oppressor  shall  pass
    [SHIMRON] [NAPHTALI]    Zechariah             pg 852

through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
    Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
    Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee; When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
    And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
     [ASHER]
    And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them. And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.
    Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
     [REFUGE]
There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds;  for their glory is spoiled:  a  voice  of
        [SHIMRON] [ARMS]        Zechariah                     pg 853

the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.  Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not. For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
     [ARMS]
    And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
    And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
     [THRUST]
    The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
    And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
    In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
     [DESTROY]
    And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.  And I will pour upon the house of David, and
    [SHIMRON] [DESTROY]    Zechariah            pg 854        

upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
    In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
    And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
    Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
    Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
    And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the
        [SHIMRON] [DESTROY]    Zechariah             pg 855

corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
    And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
    And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
    In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

                            pg856

MALACHI  =  an angel

VINE  –  ISSACHAR  =  hired

LAMP  –  [SHIMRON]  =  guardianship

     [REUBEN]
    The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
     [SIMEON]
I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
     [JUDAH]
And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.
     [LEVI]
    A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
    But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.
            [SHIMRON] [BENJAMIN]    Malachi                 pg 858

Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
    And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
     [BENJAMIN]
My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
    Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts. And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
     [JOSEPH]
    Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
    Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
     [ZEBULUN]
    Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
     [ISSACHAR]
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
          [SHIMRON] [GAD]        Malachi             pg 859

     [GAD]
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
     [DAN]
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
     [NAPHTALI]
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
    Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
    Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
     [ASHER]
    Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
     [REFUGE]
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
    For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
     [ARMS]
    But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
     [THRUST]
And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
     [DESTROY]
    Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

                                                                         pg. 860

ASHER / Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

MATTHEW  =  gift of Jah

BRANCH  –  ASHER  =  happy

LAMP  –  [JIMNAH]  =  property right

     [REUBEN]    
    The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
    Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold,  a virgin shall be with child,  and shall bring forth a son,  and they shall call
        [JIMNAH] [SIMEON]        Matthew             pg 862                                          

his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
    Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
    And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
    Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
     [SIMEON]
    In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their
        [JIMNAH] [JUDAH]        Matthew                     pg 863

sins.
    But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
     [JUDAH]
    Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
    Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him,
     [LEVI]
and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
    Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
    From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
    And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.  And they immediately

        [JIMNAH] [LEVI]        Matthew                     pg 864

left the ship and their father, and followed him.
    And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
    And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
    Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
    Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
    Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
    Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee
        [JIMNAH] [LEVI]        Matthew                             pg 865

that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
    Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
    Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
    Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
    Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
    And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
    Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
        [JIMNAH] [LEVI]        Matthew                             pg 866

    Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
    Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
    Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
    Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord,  Lord,  have we not prophesied in thy name?  and in thy name
        [JIMNAH] [BENJAMIN]         Matthew                             pg 867

have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
    Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
    When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
     [BENJAMIN]
    And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
    And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
    When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
    Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
    And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!  And when he was come to the other  side  into  the
        [JIMNAH] [BENJAMIN]    Matthew                             pg 868

country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.
    And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men. And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
    And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
    Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
    While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
    And when Jesus departed thence,  two blind men followed him,  crying,  and
        [JIMNAH] [BENJAMIN]    Matthew                             pg 869

saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.
    As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
    And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
    Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear
        [JIMNAH] [BENJAMIN]      Matthew                             pg 870

not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
    And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
    And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
    Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom,  it would have remained until this day.  But I say unto you,  That it  shall
        [JIMNAH] [JOSEPH]                Matthew                             pg 871

be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
    At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
    Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
     [JOSEPH]
    At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
    And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
    Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; And charged them that they should not make him known: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
    Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I

        [JIMNAH] [JOSEPH]               Matthew                             pg 872

say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
    Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
    While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
    The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see,  and shall not  perceive:  For  this  people’s  heart  is  waxed
        [JIMNAH] [JOSEPH]               Matthew                             pg 873

gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
    Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
    Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
    Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
    Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
    Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
        [JIMNAH] [ZEBULUN]               Matthew                             pg 874

    Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
    Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
    Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
    And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
     [ZEBULUN]
And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
    At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.
    For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
    When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
    And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship,  and to go before him unto the other side,
        [JIMNAH] [ISSACHAR]             Matthew                             pg 875

while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
    And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
    And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
     [GAD]
    Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, Iam not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and
        [JIMNAH] [GAD]                     Matthew                             pg 876

worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
    Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.
    The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
    Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
    When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he  was  Jesus the Christ.
        [JIMNAH] [DAN]                     Matthew                             pg 877

    From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
    Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
     [DAN]
    And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
    And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
    And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
    And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?  Peter saith unto him,  Of strangers.  Jesus saith unto him,
        [JIMNAH] [NAPHTALI]           Matthew                             pg 878

Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
    At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
    Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
    Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not:  but went and cast him into prison,  till he should  pay  the  debt.  So  when  his
        [JIMNAH] [ASHER]                 Matthew                             pg 879

fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
    And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
    His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
     [ASHER]
    Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
    And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
    Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
    Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say

        [JIMNAH] [REFUGE]               Matthew                             pg880

unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
    For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
    And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
    Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
     [REFUGE]
And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying,
        [JIMNAH] [ARMS]                    Matthew                             pg 881

Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.
     [ARMS]
    And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,  Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
    And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
    And he left them,
     [THRUST]
and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
    And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
    But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.  And he came to  the  second,  and  said  likewise.  
        [JIMNAH] [DESTROY]             Matthew                             pg 882

And he answered and said, I go sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
    Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.
    And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.
     [DESTROY]
    Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them,  Whose
        [JIMNAH] [ALONE]                   Matthew                             pg 883

is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
    The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.
     [ALONE]
    But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
    While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
    Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
    But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple,  it is nothing;  but whosoever shall swear
        [JIMNAH] [FOUNTAIN]            Matthew                             pg 884

by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
    And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
     [FOUNTAIN]
    And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the
        [JIMNAH] [FOUNTAIN]            Matthew                             pg 885

world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
    But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
    Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
    Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried,
        [JIMNAH] [FOUNTAIN]           Matthew                             pg 886

they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
    For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
    When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye
        [JIMNAH] [LAND]                    Matthew                             pg 887

gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
     [LAND]
    And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
    Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.
    Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
    Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
    And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also
        [JIMNAH] [LAND]                   Matthew                             pg 888

said all the disciples.
    Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
    And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
    And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?
    Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.  And when he was gone out into the porch,  another maid saw
        [JIMNAH] [LAND]                      Matthew                             pg 889

him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
    When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
    Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me. And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
    When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
    Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
    And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.  And when they were come unto a place  called  Golgotha,  that  is  to
        [JIMNAH] [HEAVENS]              Matthew                             pg 890

say, a place of a skull,
    They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
    And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
    Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children. When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
    Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
     [HEAVENS]
    In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women,  Fear not ye:  for I know that ye seek Jesus,  which was crucified.  He is  not         [JIMNAH] [SHIELD]                  Matthew                             pg 891

here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
    And as they went to tell his disciples,
     [SHIELD]
behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
    Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
    Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
     [SWORD]
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

                            pg892

                                                      pg 893

MARK  = a male

BRANCH  –  ASHER  =  happy

LAMP  –  [JESUI]  =  he will level

     [REUBEN]
    The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
     [SIMEON]
John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.  I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
     [JUDAH]
And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
     [LEVI]
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and  went  after  him.  And  they  went  into  Capernaum;  and  straightway  on  the
        [JESUI] [BENJAMIN]           Mark                                        pg 894

sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee. And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
     [BENJAMIN]
    And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.  And as he passed by,
        [JESUI] [JOSEPH]        Mark                                         pg 895

he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
     [JOSEPH]
And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the showbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
    And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known. And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, And Judas Iscariot,  which also betrayed him:  and they  went  into  an  house.  And  the
        [JESUI] [JOSEPH]        Mark                                         pg 896

multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
    And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
    There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
    And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
    The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
    And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.  If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.  And he  said  unto  them, Take
        [JESUI] [JOSEPH]        Mark                                         pg 897

heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
    And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
    And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
    And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for  him:  and  all  men  did
        [JESUI] [ZEBULUN]          Mark                                         pg 898

marvel. And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.
     [ZEBULUN]
    And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judah, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
    And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. And they went out, and preached  that  men  should  repent.  And
        [JESUI] [ZEBULUN]         Mark                                         pg 899

they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
But when they saw him walking upon the sea,  they supposed it  had  been a  spirit,
        [JESUI] [ISSACHAR]        Mark                                         pg 900

and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
    And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
     [GAD]
    And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord:  yet  the  dogs  under  the  table  eat  of  the  children’s  crumbs.   And  he  said  unto
        [JESUI] [GAD]            Mark                                         pg 901

her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
    And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
    In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
    And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.
    Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?
    And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
    And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias;  and others,  One of
        [JESUI] [DAN]            Mark                                         pg 902

the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
    And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
    And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
     [DAN]
    And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
    And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
    And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire,  and into the waters,  to destroy him:  but if thou  canst  do  any  thing,
        [JESUI] [NAPHTALI]            Mark                                         pg 903

have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
     [NAPHTALI]
    And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
    And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.
    And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
         And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.
    And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.  What therefore God hath joined together,  let not man
        [JESUI] [ASHER]                  Mark                                         pg 904

put asunder. And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
     [ASHER]
    And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
    And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
    And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!  And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
    Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
    And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
    And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.   But Jesus called them to him,
        [JESUI] [REFUGE]               Mark                                         pg 905

and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
     [REFUGE]
    And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
     [ARMS]
    And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come,
     [THRUST]
he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
    And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
    And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. And when even was come, he went out of the city. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou
        [JESUI] [DESTROY]               Mark                                         pg 906

cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
    And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
     [DESTROY]
    And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winevat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.
    And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him. Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed:  and the third likewise.  And the seven had her,  and  left  no  seed:
        [JESUI] [ALONE]                  Mark                                         pg907

last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
     [ALONE]
    And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
    And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.
    And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.
    And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
    And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
     [FOUNTAIN]
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles:  these are the beginnings of sorrows.  
        [JESUI] [LAND]                     Mark                                         pg 908

    But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
    But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
    But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
    But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
     [LAND]
    After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.
    And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor.  And they murmured against her.  And Jesus  said,  Let
        [JESUI] [LAND]                     Mark                                         pg 909

her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
    And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.
    And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover? And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me. And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I? And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish. The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
    And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
    And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all. And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
        [JESUI] [LAND]                    Mark                                         pg 910

    And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him, and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.
    And they laid their hands on him, and took him. And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him, and fled. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together. And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. But neither so did their witness agree together. And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.
    And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh one of the maids of the high priest: And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew. And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
    And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled. Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. But Pilate answered them,  saying,
        [JESUI] [LAND]                     Mark                                         pg 911

Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
    And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and plaited a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
    And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.
    And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.

        [JESUI] [HEAVENS]              Mark                                         pg 912

     [HEAVENS]
    And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
    Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
    After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
     [SHIELD]
    Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
     [SWORD]
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

                                                                  pg 913

LUKE  =  illuminative

BRANCH  –  ASHER  =  happy

LAMP  –  [BERIAH]  =  in evil,   &HEBER = to cross,  &MALCHIEL = king
                                           appointed by God

     &HEBER  [REUBEN]
    Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
    There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.  And,  behold,  thou shalt be  dumb,  and  not  able  to
        [BERIAH] &HEBER  [REUBEN]               Luke         pg914                                          

speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless. And it came to pass, that as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shown strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house. Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shown great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.  And he asked for a writing table,  and wrote,
        [BERIAH] &HEBER  [REBUEN]               Luke         pg915                                          

saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.
    And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord,  A pair of  turtledoves,  or  two
        [BERIAH] &HEBER  [SIMEON]               Luke             pg916                                          

young pigeons. And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
    Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests,
     &HEBER  [SIMEON]
the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance,  and begin not to say  within  yourselves,  We  have  Abraham  to  our
        [BERIAH] &HEBER  [JUDAH]               Luke             pg917                                          

father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
     &HEBER  [JUDAH]
    Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Judah, Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Judah, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Judah, Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
    And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of  the  devil.  And  in  those
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL [LEVI]                 Luke         pg918                                          

days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
     &MALCHIEL  [LEVI]
    And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way,
     &MALCHIEL  [BENJAMIN]
And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.
    And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.   And the fame of him went  out  into  every  place  of  the  
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL [BENJAMIN]         Luke         pg919                                          

country round about.
    And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.
    Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.
    And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
    And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
    And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
    And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?  But that ye may know that the Son of  man  hath  power  upon  earth  to
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL [JOSEPH]            Luke         pg920                                          

forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today.
    And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
    And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
    And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
     &MALCHIEL  [JOSEPH]
    And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which were with him. How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the showbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
    And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
    And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him,  and to  be  healed  of
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL [JOSEPH]                Luke         pg921                                          

their diseases; And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
    And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
    But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye. For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
    And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
    Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL [JOSEPH]           Luke         pg922                                          

of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.
    And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about. And the disciples of John showed him of all these things.
    And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
    And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
    And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children.
    And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would  eat  with  him.  And  he
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL [JOSEPH]           Luke         pg923                                          

went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
    And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
    And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
    No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[JOSEPH]           Luke             pg924                                          

    Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
    Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
    And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
    Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and show how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.
    And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
    And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.  And he
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[ZEBULUN]      Luke             pg925                                          

said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
    While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.
     &MALCHIEL [ZEBULUN]
    Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.
    Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead; And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.
    And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place. But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.
    And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;  Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
    And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory,  and in his Father’s,  and of the holy
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[ISSACHAR]        Luke         pg926                                          

angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
     &MALCHIEL [ISSACHAR]
    And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
    And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a-coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
    And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples, Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.
    Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
    And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.
    And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
    And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.  Jesus said unto  him,  Let  the  dead  bury
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[GAD]                 Luke             pg927                                          

their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
     &MALCHIEL [GAD]
    After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
    And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
    In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
    And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[GAD]                 Luke             pg928                                          

passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
    Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
    And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
    And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[DAN]                 Luke             pg929                                          

they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
    And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
    And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.
    And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
    Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.
     &MALCHIEL  [DAN]
    In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed;  neither hid,  that
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[DAN]                 Luke             pg930                                          

shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
    And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
    And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
    But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had  
         [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[NAPHTALI]      Luke             pg931                                          

known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
    Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
    I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
    And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?
    When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.
     &MALCHIEL  [NAPHTALI]
    There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
    He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
    And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and  glorified  God.  And  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue  answered  with  indignation,
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[NAPHTALI]      Luke             pg932                                          

because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
    Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
    Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
    The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
    And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? And they could not answer him again to these things.
    And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[ASHER]             Luke             pg933                                          

the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
    Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
    And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out unto the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
    And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
    Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
     &MALCHIEL  [ASHER]
    Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
    And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
    Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle,  and sweep the house,  and seek diligently till she find it?  And  when
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[ASHER]              Luke         pg934                                          

she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
    And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
    And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[ASHER]              Luke         pg935                                          

    No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
    There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
    Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
    Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
    And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,  And fell down on his face at his feet,  giving him
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[ASHER]              Luke         pg936                                          

thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
    And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
    And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him,Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is,  God.  Thou knowest the commandments,  Do not commit adultery,  Do
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[REFUGE]           Luke         pg937                                          

not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
     &MALCHIEL  [REFUGE]
    Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
    And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
     &MALCHIEL  [ARMS]
    And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.  And it came to pass,  that when he was returned,  having received the kingdom,
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[THRUST]           Luke         pg938                                          

then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
    And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.
    And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
     &MALCHIEL  [THRUST]
And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.
    And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:  The baptism of John,         [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[DESTROY]        Luke             pg939                                          

was it from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
     &MALCHIEL  [DESTROY]
Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
    And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor. And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s. And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.
    Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife. And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
    Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. And after that they durst not ask him any question at all. And he said unto them,
      &MALCHIEL[ALONE]
How say they that Christ is David’s son?   And David himself  saith  in  the  book  of  
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[FOUNTAIN]     Luke             pg940                                          

Psalms, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son? Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples, Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; Which devour widows’ houses, and for a show make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.
    And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
    And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
     &MALCHIEL  [FOUNTAIN]
And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
    And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
    And take heed to  yourselves,  lest at any  time  your  hearts be  overcharged
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[LAND]               Luke         pg941                                          

with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.
     &MALCHIEL  [LAND]
    Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.
    Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
    And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
    But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.
    And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
    And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[LAND]               Luke         pg942                                          

shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.
    And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
    And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
    And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
    Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
    And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.
    And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.  Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.  Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.
    And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. And Pilate asked him, saying,  Art thou the King of the Jews?  And he answered him and
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[LAND]               Luke         pg943                                          

said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.
    And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.
    And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.
    And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.
    And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
    Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
    And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto  Jesus,  Lord,  remember me when thou comest into  thy  kingdom.
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL[HEAVENS]        Luke             pg944                                          

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
    And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned. And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.
    And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments: and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
     &MALCHIEL  [HEAVENS]
    Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
    And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body,  they came,  saying,  that they had also  seen a  vision of  angels,
        [BERIAH] &MALCHIEL  [SHIELD]        Luke             pg945                                          

which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,  Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
     &MALCHIEL  [SHIELD]
    And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.
     &MALCHIEL  [SWORD]
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.
    And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
    And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

                               pg946

                                                 pg 947

JOHN  =  Jah is gracious

BRANCH  –  ASHER  =  happy

LAMP  –  [SARAH]  =  princess

     [REUBEN]
    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
      [SIMEON]
    There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
    John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
    And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying,  I baptize with water:  but there standeth one  among  you,  whom  ye
        [SARAH] [JUDAH]        John                                         pg 948

know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
     [JUDAH]
    The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
    Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
     [LEVI]
    The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
    And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.  And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.   This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of  Galilee,                                            
        [SARAH] [BENJAMIN]        John                 pg 949

and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
     [BENJAMIN]
    After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.
    And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
    Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
    Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
    There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
    And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
    He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light,  neither  cometh to  the  light,  lest  his  deeds  should  be

        [SARAH] [BENJAMIN]        John                 pg 950

reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
    After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
    And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison.
    Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
    When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit:  and
        [SARAH] [JOSEPH]        John                 pg 951

they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
    And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
    In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
    And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
    Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
     [JOSEPH]
    After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him,  Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.   And immediately the man was made whole,
        [SARAH] [JOSEPH]        John                 pg 952

and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
    The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
    But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
    There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
    But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
    Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

        [SARAH] [ZEBULUN        John                 pg 953

     [ZEBULUN]
    After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
    When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea, And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
    The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone; (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign showest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
        [SARAH] [ZEBULUN]         John                 pg 954

and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
    From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
    After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.  When he had said these  words  unto  them,  he  abode  still  in
        [SARAH] [ISSACHAR]        John                 pg 955

Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me. Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?
    The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come? In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
    Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
    Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them,  (he that came to Jesus by night,  being one
        [SARAH] [GAD]         John                 pg 956

of them,) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house.
     Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
    [GAD]
And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me,  because my word hath no place in you.  I speak that which I have seen with   
        [SARAH] [DAN]        John                 pg 957

my  Father:  and  ye  do  that  which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
     [DAN]
    And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
    The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
    They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said,  How can a man that is a sinner do such  miracles?  And  there  was  a division
        [SARAH] [NAPHTALI]              John                 pg 958

among them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
    And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father:  and
        [SARAH] [ASHER]                      John                 pg 959

I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
    There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
    And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shown you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there.
     [ASHER]
    Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.  Then when Jesus came,  he found  that  he  had  lain  in  the  grave  four  days
        [SARAH] [REFUGE]                 John                 pg 960

already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
    Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.
     [REFUGE]
    And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. Then sought they for Jesus,  and spake among themselves,  as they stood in the temple,  What  think  ye,
        [SARAH] [ARMS]                      John                 pg 961

that he will not come to the feast? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should show it, that they might take him.
         Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
    [ARMS]
    Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
    But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.
    On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt. These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
     [THRUST]
The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.
    And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
    And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.
     [DESTROY]
Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.
     [ALONE]
    The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth
        [SARAH] [FOUNTAIN]              John                 pg 962

for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
    But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
     [FOUNTAIN]
    Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
     [LAND]
    Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass,  ye may believe that I am he.  Verily,  verily,  I say unto you,  He that receiveth
        [SARAH] [LAND]                      John                 pg 963

whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
    Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
    Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
    Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
    If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father,  and I will love him,  and  will  manifest  myself to  him.
        [SARAH] [LAND]                     John                 pg 964

Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
    I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
    These things have I spoken unto you,  that ye should  not be  offended.  They
        [SARAH] [LAND]                       John                 pg 965

shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you. A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
    These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father,  glorify thou

        [SARAH] [LAND]                     John                 pg 966

me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
    When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.  Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him, And led him away to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.
    And Simon Peter followed Jesus,  and so did another  disciple:  that  disciple
        [SARAH] [LAND]                      John                 pg 967

was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not. And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: and they warmed themselves: and Peter stood with them, and warmed himself.
    The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me? Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not. One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Peter then denied again: and immediately the cock crew.
    Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
    Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
    When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;  And went
        [SARAH] [LAND]                      John                 pg 968

again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
    When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!  But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
    And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
    Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
    Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!  Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
    After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
    And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also  Nicodemus,  which at  the  first  came to  Jesus by  night,  and  brought a
        [SARAH] [HEAVENS]                 John                 pg 969

mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
     [HEAVENS]
    The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
    But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
     [SHIELD]
    Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.
    But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
    And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands;  and reach hither thy hand,  and thrust it into my side:  and be not faithless,
        [SARAH] [SWORD]                    John                 pg 970

but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
     [SWORD]
    And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
    After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a-fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.  Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.  This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
    So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
                                                 pg 971

NAPHTALI /  Acts through Jude

ACTS  =  practice,  i.e. accomplish

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JAHZEEL]  =  expectant of God

     [REUBEN]
    The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
    And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us,  and had obtained part of this  ministry.  Now  this  man
        [JAHZEEL] [SIMEON]        Acts                 pg 972                

purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
     [SIMEON]
    And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
     [JUDAH]
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:  Because thou wilt  not  leave  my  soul in  hell,  neither  wilt
        [JAHZEEL] [LEVI]         Acts                 pg 973                

thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
    Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
    Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
     [LEVI]
    Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted  unto  you;  And  killed  the  Prince of  life,  whom  God  hath
        [JAHZEEL] [LEVI]        Acts                pg 974            

raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things, which God before had shown by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
    Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
    And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
    And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
    Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,  Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.  For the man was above forty  years  old,
        [JAHZEEL] [LEVI]        Acts                 pg 975                

on whom this miracle of healing was shown.
    And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
    And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
    But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
    And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
    Then the high priest rose up,  and all they that were with him,  (which is the
        [JAHZEEL] [BENJAMIN]      Acts                 pg 976                

sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told, Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
    When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
    And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
    And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of
        [JAHZEEL] [JOSEPH]                  Acts                 pg 977                

God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
     [JOSEPH]
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
    Then said the high priest, Are these things so? And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place. And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh. Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem. But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. The same dealt subtly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live. In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months: And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. And the next day he showed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again,  saying,  Sirs,  ye are brethren;  why do ye wrong one to  another?
        [JAHZEEL] [JOSEPH]                Acts                 pg 978                

But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday? Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons. And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out, after that he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
    This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen. Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?
    Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
    When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
        [JAHZEEL] [ZEBULUN]            Acts                 pg 979                

    And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
     [ZEBULUN]
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water:  and the eunuch said,  See,  here is water;  what doth hinder me to be  
        [JAHZEEL] [ISSACHAR]           Acts                pg 980                

baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
     [ISSACHAR]
    And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
    And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus,  and disputed against the Grecians:  but they went about to  slay
        [JAHZEEL] [GAD]                     Acts                 pg 981                

him. Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
    And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.
    Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord. And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.
     [GAD]
    There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
    On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate, And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
    While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.  Arise therefore,  and get  thee  down,  and  go  with  them,  doubting
        [JAHZEEL] [GAD]                    Acts                pg 982                

nothing: for I have sent them. Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me? And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
    Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and showed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
    While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
    And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the
        [JAHZEEL] [GAD]                    Acts                 pg 983                

earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house: And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
    Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
    Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
    And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
    Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel;  but  thought he  saw a  vision.  When  they  were
        [JAHZEEL] [DAN]        Acts                 pg 984

past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go show these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
    And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
    But the word of God grew and multiplied.
     [DAN]
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
    Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
    So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
             [JAHZEEL] [DAN]        Acts                     pg 985

    But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
    Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
    And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.  For so
        [JAHZEEL] [DAN]        Acts                 pg 986

hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.
    And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles. And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them, They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about: And there they preached the gospel.
    And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people. Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.
    And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia: And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. And there they abode long time with the disciples.
        [JAHZEEL] [NAPHTALI]    Acts                 pg 987

     [NAPHTALI]
    And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
    And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
    Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.  So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.  And after they had tarried there a space,  they were  let  go  in
        [JAHZEEL] [ASHER]         Acts                 pg 988

peace from the brethren unto the apostles.  it pleased Silas to abide there still. Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
    And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
     [ASHER]
And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.
    Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
    And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
    And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
    And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed,  and
        [JAHZEEL] [REFUGE]          Acts                 pg 989

sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
     [REFUGE]
    Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
    But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go. And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still. And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
    Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews,  and with the  devout  persons,  and in  the  market  daily
        [JAHZEEL] [REFUGE]         Acts                 pg 990

with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
    Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
    After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth: And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
    And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,  Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.  And he drave them  from  the  judgment  seat.
        [JAHZEEL] [REFUGE]         Acts                 pg 991

Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.
    And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
    And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ. And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve. And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.  So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. After these things were ended,  Paul purposed in the spirit,  when he had  passed  through  Macedonia  and Achaia, to go  
        [JAHZEEL] [ARMS]        Acts                 pg 992

to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season. And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:  So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.  Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people. But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another. But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.
     [ARMS]
    And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. These going before tarried for us at Troas. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so
        [JAHZEEL] [ARMS]          Acts                 pg 993

he departed. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.
    And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus. For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
    And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shown you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
    Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shown you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
    And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.
    And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed. And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again. And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.
        [JAHZEEL] [THRUST]              Acts                 pg 994

     [THRUST]
And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem. There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge. And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them. And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut. And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul. Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done. And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle. And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people. For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him. And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee?  Who said,  Canst  thou  speak  Greek?   Art  not  thou  that
        [JAHZEEL] [DESTROY]            Acts                 pg 995

Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?
     [DESTROY]
But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people. And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,
    Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. On the
        [JAHZEEL] [DESTROY]             Acts                 pg 996

morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.
    And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would inquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him. And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him. So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee. Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me? And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul tomorrow into the council, as though they would inquire somewhat of him more perfectly. But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee. So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shown these things to me. And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. And he wrote a letter after this manner: Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting. This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council: Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.  And  
        [JAHZEEL] [DESTROY]            Acts                 pg 997

when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell. Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris. On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle: Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him. And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia; I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.
    And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul. And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence, We accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words. For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law. But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands, Commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things, whereof we accuse him. And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so. Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself: Because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship. And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city: Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings. Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult. Who ought to have been here before thee, and object, if they had aught against me.  Or else let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me, while I stood before the council, Except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day. And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter. And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him. And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him. But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room: and Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.

        [JAHZEEL] [HEAVENS]            Acts                 pg 998

    Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him, And desired favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him. But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself would depart shortly thither. Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him. And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought. And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all. But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me? Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar. Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go. And after certain days king Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus. And when they had been there many days, Festus declared Paul’s cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix: About whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him. To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him. Therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth. Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed: But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters. But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man myself. Tomorrow, said he, thou shalt hear him. And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus’ commandment Paul was brought forth. And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer. But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him. Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write. For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.
     [HEAVENS]
    Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself: I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof  I am accused of  the  Jews:  Especially  because  I  know  thee  to  be
        [JAHZEEL] [HEAVENS]            Acts                 pg 999

expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them: And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.
    And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band. And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon.  And Julius courteously entreated Paul,  and gave
        [JAHZEEL] [SHIELD]              Acts                       pg1000

him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone; And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea. Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
     [SHIELD]
For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea. And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore,  into the which they were minded,  if it were
        [JAHZEEL] [SWORD]                Acts                       pg 1001

possible, to thrust in the ship. And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoisted up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinderpart was broken with the violence of the waves. And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
    And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary. And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli: Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appiiforum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage. And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had aught to accuse my nation of. For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came showed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
     [SWORD]
And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.  And some believed the things which  were  spoken,  and  some
        [JAHZEEL] [SWORD]                Acts                        pg1002

believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
 
                                             pg1003

ROMANS  =  have health

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (black)

     [REUBEN]
     Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
     [SIMEON]
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
     [JUDAH]
For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shown it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,  even his eternal  power  and  Godhead;  so
        [GUNI] [LEVI]            Romans                   pg1004                        

that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
    Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.
     [LEVI]
For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?  Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery,  dost thou  commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou  commit  sacrilege?  Thou that makest
        [GUNI] [BENJAMIN]        Romans            pg1005                    

thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
    What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
     [BENJAMIN]
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
    What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also
        [GUNI] [JOSEPH]        Romans                   pg1006                    

describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
    Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
     [JOSEPH]
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned,  so is the gift:  for the judgment was by one to
        [GUNI] [ZEBULUN]               Romans                       pg 1007                    

condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
     [ZEBULUN]
    What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
     [ISSACHAR]
Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law,  did work in our members to
        [GUNI] [GAD]                            Romans                           pg1008                    

bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
     [GAD]
    There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity,  not willingly,  but by reason of him  who  hath
        [GUNI] [GAD]                           Romans                        pg1009                    

subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault?
        [GUNI] [DAN]                           Romans                       pg1010                    

For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
     [DAN]
    Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
     [NAPHTALI]
But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.  But to Israel he saith,  All day long I have  stretched
        [GUNI] [NAPHTALI]                Romans            pg1011                    

forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.
    I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always. I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
    I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
        [GUNI] [ASHER]                      Romans                  pg1012                    

bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
    Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
     [ASHER]
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
    Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not;  and let not him  which  eateth
        [GUNI] [REFUGE]                    Romans                   pg 1013                    

not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
     [REFUGE]
    We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
     [ARMS]
Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
     [THRUST]
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish  one  another.  Nevertheless,  brethren,  I  have  written  the  more
        [GUNI] [DESTROY]                Romans                              pg 1014                    

boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.
     [DESTROY]
But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
     [HEAVENS]
    I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ. Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.  Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.  Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord.  Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus’ household.  Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.  Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord. Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them. Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men.  I am glad therefore on your behalf:  but
        [GUNI] [SHIELD]                    Romans                    pg1015                    

yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
     [SHIELD]
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
     [SWORD]
But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

                                       pg1017

I CORINTHIANS  =  a small dried grape

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (black)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
     [SIMEON]
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after  wisdom:  But  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  unto  the  Jews a         [GUNI] [JUDAH]        I Corinthians                    pg1018

stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
     [JUDAH]
    And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
    And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest:  for the day shall declare it,  because it shall be revealed  by  fire;
        [GUNI] [LEVI]            I Corinthians                    pg1019

and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
     [LEVI]
    Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?
    It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven,
        [GUNI] [LEVI]            I Corinthians                    pg1020

that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
    Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
    Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. And unto the married I command,  yet not I,  but the Lord,  Let
        [GUNI] [BENJAMIN]                I Corinthians                    pg1021

not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches. Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you. But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry. Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well. So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.
     [BENJAMIN]
    Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him. As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols,  we know that an idol is nothing  in the
        [GUNI] [JOSEPH]               I Corinthians                    pg1022

world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
      [JOSEPH]
    Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?  Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?  Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run,  not as uncertainly;  so
        [GUNI] [ZEBULUN]                 I Corinthians                    pg1023

fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.  I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.  Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that showed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof:  Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?  For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks? Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.  For if the woman  be  not  covered,  let
        [GUNI] [GAD]                  I Corinthians                    pg1024

her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
     [GAD]
    Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,  whether we be  Jews or  Gentiles,  whether
        [GUNI] [DAN]                          I Corinthians                    pg1025

we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.
     [DAN]
    Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?  And even things  without  life  giving  sound,  whether  pipe or  harp,
        [GUNI] [ASHER]                      I Corinthians                    pg1026

except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth. How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
     [ASHER]
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.
     [REFUGE]
    Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,  how that Christ died for our
        [GUNI] [ARMS]                         I Corinthians                    pg1027

sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
     [ARMS]
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
     [THRUST]
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
     [DESTROY]
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink: for tomorrow we die. Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.  And so it is written,  The  first  man  Adam  was  made  a  
        [GUNI] [HEAVENS]                  I Corinthians                    pg1028

living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy:  the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
     [HEAVENS]
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem. And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me. Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia. And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go. For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit. But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do. Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me: for I look for him with the brethren. As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time.
     [SHIELD]
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity. I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth. I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such. The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.
     [SWORD]
The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

    
                                       pg1029

II CORINTHIANS  =  a small dried grape

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (black)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
     [SIMEON
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
     [JUDAH]
For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf. For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end; As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.
     [LEVI]
And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;  And  to  pass  by  you  into  Macedonia,  and  to  come  again  out  of
        [GUNI] [BENJAMIN]        II Corinthians                            pg1030

Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea. When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
    But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
     [BENJAMIN]
For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all. Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,  I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia. Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
     [JOSEPH]
Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if  that  which  is  done  away  was  glorious,  much  more  that  which  remaineth  is
        [GUNI] [ZEBULUN]        II Corinthians                            pg1031

glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
     [ISSACHAR]
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
    For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
     [GAD]
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;  but we are
        [GUNI] [DAN]            II Corinthians                            pg1032

made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
     [DAN]
    We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
     [NAPHTALI]
    Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you. Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; And not by his coming only,  but by the consolation wherewith he  was  comforted  in
        [GUNI] [ASHER]        II Corinthians                            pg1033

you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more. For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you. Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth. And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him. I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.
     [ASHER]
    Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
     [REFUGE]
But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you. And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches; And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind: Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.  And we
        [GUNI] [ARMS]         II Corinthians                           pg 1034

have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you. Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow-helper concerning you: or our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ. Wherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.
     [ARMS]
    For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready: Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting. Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:  (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.  Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
     [THRUST]
    Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s. For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present. For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto
        [GUNI] [DESTROY]                  II Corinthians                           pg 1035

you. For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand. But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.
    Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles. But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things. Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely? I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service. And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself. As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia. Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.
     [DESTROY]
But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.  For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: And through a window in a
        [GUNI] [HEAVENS]                 II Corinthians                           pg 1036

basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.
     [HEAVENS]
    It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong. Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps? Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying. For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.
    This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
     [SHIELD]     
For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.  For we are glad, when we are weak,  and ye are strong:  and this also we
        [GUNI] [SWORD]                      II Corinthians                           pg 1037

wish, even your perfection.
     [SWORD]
Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with an holy kiss. All the saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

                           pg1038  
 

GALATIANS  =  milk, tranquility

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (black)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
     [SIMEON]
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
     [JUDAH]
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions of  Syria,  and Cilicia;  And was unknown by  face
        [GUNI] [LEVI]            Galatians                           pg 1040

unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.
      [LEVI]
    Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
     [BENJAMIN]
(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
     [JOSEPH]
But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
     [ZEBULUN]
We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
    O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture,  foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached
        [GUNI] [ISSACHAR]         Galatians                           pg 1041

before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
     [ISSACHAR]
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
     [GAD]
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
     [DAN]
And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
    Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
     [NAPHTALI]
Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all. Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not,  nor rejected;  but received me as an angel of  God,  even
        [GUNI] [ASHER]        Galatians                           pg 1042

as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
     [ASHER]
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,  I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
     [REFUGE]
    Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
     [ARMS]
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. I would they were even cut off which trouble you. For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
     [THRUST]
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

        [GUNI] [DESTROY]         Galatians                           pg 1043

     [DESTROY]
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
     [HEAVENS]
    Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
     [SHIELD]
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
     [SWORD]
Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.


  note:                        “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”    Matt. 11:30

          Matthew 22:35                                                                            John 15:12 & :17,
                                                                                                                   Acts 15:20

                 The Laws of Moses                                                            The Laws of Grace
                 (essence)                                                                                (new covenant)

         Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all                Do – –    1.   love one another  – – Christ      
         thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with           abstain    2.   pollutions of idols  – –  other gods
         all thy mind…                                                                      “         3.   fornication  – – premarital fidelity
         Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.                     “        4.   things strangled  – –  diet
         On these two commandments hang all the              “        5.   eating blood  – –  diet
         law and the prophets.

                  penalty  – –  death                                                                       Reward  – –  Life

      …and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.    Ezra 8:27
                                                                                                                                                                                
                                                                            pg1044

EPHESIANS  =  rest

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (blue)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
     [SIMEON]
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
     [JUDAH]
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,  Which  he  wrought
in  Christ,  when he raised him from the dead,  and set him at his own right hand in
        [GUNI] [LEVI]                        Ephesians                                pg 1046

the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
     [LEVI]
    And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
     [BENJAMIN]
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
     [JOSEPH]
    For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
     [ZEBULUN]
Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers
        [GUNI] [ISSACHAR]               Ephesians                                pg 1047

in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
     [ISSACHAR]
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
     [GAD]
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
     [DAN]
    I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
     [NAPHTALI]
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
     [ASHER]
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
     [REFUGE]
But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.Be ye angry, and sin not:  let not the sun go down upon your wrath:  Neither  give  place to
        [GUNI] [ARMS]                     Ephesians                                pg 1048

the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
     [ARMS]
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
    Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
     [THRUST]
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
     [DESTROY]
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
    Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers,  provoke not your
        [GUNI] [HEAVENS]                Ephesians                                pg 1049

children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
     [HEAVENS]
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
     [SHIELD]
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation,
     [SWORD]
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

                                   pg1050
                                            

PHILLIPPIANS  =  a loving friend in healing

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (purple)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
     [SIMEON]
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
     [JUDAH]
For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
     LEVI]
According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
          [GUNI] [BENJAMIN]        Phillippians                  pg 1052                               

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
     [BENJAMIN]
    If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
     [JOSEPH]
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
     [ZEBULUN]
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
     [ISSACHAR]
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye
          [GUNI] [GAD]             Phillippians                   pg 1053                               

may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.
    Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
     [GAD]
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
     [DAN]
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
     [NAPHTALI]
and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
     [ASHER]
Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:  Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
     [REFUGE]
    Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
     [ARMS]
And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
     [THRUST]
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts
          [GUNI] [DESTROY]        Phillippians                  pg 1054                               

and minds through Christ Jesus.
     [DESTROY]
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
     [HEAVENS]
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
     [SHIELD]
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
     [SWORD]
But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
      
                                               pg 1055

COLOSSIANS  =  colossal  (person)

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (scarlet)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
     [SIMEON]
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering
     [JUDAH]
with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
     [LEVI]
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
     [BENJAMIN]
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross,  by him to reconcile all  things unto  himself;  by
        [GUNI] [JOSEPH]        Colossians                              pg 1056

him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;
     [JOSEPH]
whereof I Paul am made a minister; Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
     [ZEBULUN]
Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
    For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
     [ISSACHAR]
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
     [GAD]
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
     [DAN]
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,   (Touch not; taste not;  handle  not;  Which  all  are to  perish  with  the
        [GUNI] [NAPHTALI]        Colossians                              pg 1057

using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship. and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
     [NAPHTALI]
    If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
     [ASHER]
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is wellpleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
     [REFUGE]
Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
    Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
     [ARMS]
Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
     [THRUST]
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
     [DESTROY]
Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
     [HEAVENS]
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate,  and comfort your hearts;  With Onesimus,
        [GUNI] [SHIELD]        Colossians                              pg 1058

a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.
     [SHIELD]
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.  Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.
     [SWORD]
And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.

                                                             pg 1059

I THESSALONIANS  =  laural [seen]

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (white)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
     [SIMEON]
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;  Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
     [JUDAH]
For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: So that ye were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
     [LEVI]
For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
    For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:
     [BENJAMIN]
But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our heart
     [JOSEPH]
For  neither at  any  time  used  we  flattering  words,  as  ye  know,  nor  a  cloak  of
        [GUNI] [ZEBULUN]        I Thessalonians                      pg 1060

covetousness; God is witness: Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,
     [ZEBULUN]
That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
     [ISSACHAR]
For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
     [GAD]
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.
    Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;
     [DAN]
And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.
     [NAPHTALI]
For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain. But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:
     [ASHER]
Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
     [REFUGE]
Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
        [GUNI] [ARMS]        I Thessalonians                      pg 1061

     [ARMS]
    Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
     [THRUST]
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
     DESTROY]
    But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
     [HEAVENS]
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.

        [GUNI] [SHIELD]        I Thessalonians                      pg 1062

    [SHIELD]
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us.  Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.
     [SWORD]
I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

                                                         pg 1063

II THESSALONIANS  =  laural (possessed)

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (green)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
     [SIMEON]
Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
     [JUDAH]
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
     [LEVI]
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
     [BENJAMIN]
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
     [JOSEPH]
When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
     [ZEBULUN]
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
     [ISSACHAR]
    Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto  him,  That  ye  be  not  soon  shaken in  mind,  or  be
        [GUNI] [GAD]            II Thessalonians                    pg 1064

troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
     [GAD]
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
     [DAN]
But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
     [NAPHTALI]
Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
     [ASHER]
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
     [REFUGE]
    Finally brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free  course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
     [ARMS]
And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
     [THRUST]
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
     [DESTROY]
For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
     [HEAVENS]
But ye,  brethren,  be not weary in well doing.  And if any man obey not  our word by
        [GUNI] [SHIELD]             II Thessalonians                     pg 1065

this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
     [SHIELD]
Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
     [SWORD]
The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
    
                                  pg1066

I TIMOTHY  =  dear to God  (costly)

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
     [SIMEON]
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
     [JUDAH]
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;  Holding faith,  and a good conscience;  which  some  having  put
                [JEZER] [LEVI]        I Timothy                   pg 1068

away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
     [LEVI]
    I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
     [BENJAMIN]
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
     [JOSEPH]
    This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine,  whereunto thou hast
                [JEZER] [ISSACHAR]            I Timothy                   pg 1069

attained. But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
     [ISSACHAR]
These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
     [GAD]
Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
     [DAN]
    Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity. Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless. But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
     [NAPHTALI]
Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work. But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned aside after Satan.
     [ASHER]
If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.
     [REFUGE]
Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure. Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
     [ARMS]
Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.  Likewise also the good works  of some  are   manifest  beforehand;  and
                [JEZER] [THRUST]        I Timothy                   pg 1070

they that are otherwise cannot be hid.
     [THRUST]
    Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
     [DESTROY]
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
     [HEAVENS]
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
     [SHIELD]
That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
     [SWORD]
Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.
    
                                               pg 1071

II TIMOTHY  =  dear to God  (costly)

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
     [SIMEON]
To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears,
     [JUDAH]
that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
     [LEVI]
Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.  
        [JEZER] [BENJAMIN]        II Timothy                   pg 1072

     [BENJAMIN]
    Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
     [JOSEPH]
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
     [ZEBULUN]
Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evildoer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
     [ISSACHAR]
Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
     [GAD]
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
     [DAN]
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
     [NAPHTALI]
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
    This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses,  and lead captive silly women laden with sins,led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these   
          [JEZER] [ASHER]        II Timothy                   pg 1073

also resist the truth:  men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.  But they
shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
     [ASHER]
But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
     [REFUGE]
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
     [ARMS]
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
    I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
     [THRUST]
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
     [DESTROY]
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
     [HEAVENS]
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
     [SHIELD]
Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee,
     [SWORD]
and the books, but especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus abode at Corinth:  but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.  Do thy

        [JEZER][SWORD]                  II Timothy                  pg 1074                    

diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and
Claudia, and all the brethren. The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit.  Grace be
with you. Amen.
                                                       pg 1075

TITUS  =  the penalty

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
     [SIMEON]
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
     [JUDAH]
But hath in due times manifested his word
     [LEVI]
through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
     [BENJAMIN]
To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
     [JOSEPH]
If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.  One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
        [JEZER] [ZEBULUN]        Titus                                       pg 1076

     [ZEBULUN]
    But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
     [ISSACHAR]
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
     [GAD]
In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
     [DAN]
Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
     [NAPHTALI]
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
     [ASHER]
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
     [REFUGE]
These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
    Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
     [ARMS]
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
     [THRUST]
But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject;
     [DESTROY]
Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.
     [HEAVENS]
When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.
     [SHIELD]
Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.
        [JEZER] [SWORD]        Titus                                       pg 1077

     [SWORD]
And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses,  that they be not unfruitful. All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

                               pg1078

PHILEMON  =  friendly, affectionate

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow labourer, And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house: Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,
     [SIMEON]
Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
     [JUDAH]
For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
     [LEVI]
Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,
     [BENJAMIN]
Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
     [JOSEPH]
I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:
     [ZEBULUN]
Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:
     [ISSACHAR]
Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels: Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:
     [GAD]
But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;
     [DAN]
Not now as a servant,  but above a servant,  a brother beloved,  specially to me,  but
        [JEZER] [NAPHTALI]        Philemon                   pg 1080

how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?
     [NAPHTALI]
If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account;
     [ASHER]
I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.
     [REFUGE]
Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.
     [ARMS]
Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
     [THRUST]
But withal prepare me also a lodging:
     [DESTROY]
for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.
     [HEAVENS]
There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus;
     [SHIELD]
Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.
     [SWORD]
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

                                              pg 1081

HEBREWS  =  to cross  i.e. transition

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
     [SIMEON]
    Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified,  saying,  What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
        [JEZER] [JUDAH]        Hebrews                   pg 1082

     [JUDAH]
or the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
     [LEVI]
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
    Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
     [BENJAMIN]
    But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
    Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said,  As I have sworn in my wrath,  if they shall enter  into  my  rest:  although  the  
        [JEZER] [JOSEPH]         Hebrews                   pg 1083

works were finished from the  foundation  of the  world.  For  he  spake  in a  certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
     [JOSEPH]
    For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
     [ZEBULUN]
    Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.
     [ISSACHAR]
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:  But that which beareth thorns  and  briers  is  rejected,  
        [JEZER] [GAD]                   Hebrews                   pg 1084

and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
     [GAD]
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work  and  labour  of  love,  which  ye  have shown toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
     [DAN]
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
     [NAPHTALI]
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
    For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness,
     [ASHER]
and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.  And they truly were many priests,  because they  were  
        [JEZER] [REFUGE]                  Hebrews                   pg 1085

not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
     [REFUGE]
    Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown to thee in the mount. But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
    [ARMS]
    Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this  
        [JEZER] [THRUST]                  Hebrews                   pg 1086

building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood  of  bulls  and of  goats,  and  the  ashes  of an  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
     [THRUST]
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us,  through the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh;  And
        [JEZER] [DESTROY]                 Hebrews                   pg 1087

having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith  without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
     [DESTROY]
    Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out,  they  
        [JEZER] [HEAVENS]                Hebrews                   pg 1088

might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.  By  faith  Abraham, when  he  was  tried,  offered  up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a-dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
     [HEAVENS]
    Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence:  shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits,  and  
        [JEZER] [SHIELD]                    Hebrews                   pg 1089

live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,  but grievous:  nevertheless  afterward it  yieldeth  the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.
    Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:
     [SHIELD]
for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not:  for with such sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased.  Obey
        [JEZER] [SWORD]                    Hebrews                   pg 1090

them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for  that is  unprofitable  for  you.  Pray  for us:  for  we  trust  we  have a  good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
     [SWORD]
And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words. Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen.
                                               pg1091

JAMES  =  heel catcher

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
     [SIMEON]
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
     [JUDAH]
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
     [LEVI]
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.
     [BENJAMIN]
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
     [JOSEPH]
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay
        [JEZER] [ZEBULUN]        James                                pg1092

apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
     [ZEBULUN]
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
     [ISSACHAR]
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
     [GAD]
    My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shown no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
     [DAN]
My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all.
     [NAPHTALI]
If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the
        [JEZER] [ASHER]        James                pg1093

whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
     [ASHER]
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
     [REFUGE]
    From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
     [ARMS]
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
     [THRUST]
Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
     [DESTROY]
    Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered;  and the rust of  them  shall be a  witness  against  you,  and
        [JEZER] [HEAVENS]        James                pg1094

shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
     [HEAVENS]
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
     [SHIELD]
Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
     [SWORD]
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

                                              pg 1095

I PETER  =  a (piece of) rock

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
     [SIMEON]
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
     [JUDAH]
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
     [LEVI]
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy,  so be ye holy in all manner of  conversation;
Because it is written,  Be ye holy;  for I am holy.  And if ye call  on  the  Father,  who
        [JEZER] [BENJAMIN]        I Peter                               pg 1096

without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
     [BENJAMIN]
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
    Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
     [JOSEPH]
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
     [ZEBULUN]
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
     [ISSACHAR]
As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
     [GAD]
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:  Who,  when he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again;  when  he  suffered,  he
        [JEZER] [DAN]         I Peter                               pg 1097

threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
     [DAN]
    Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
     [NAPHTALI]
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
     [ASHER]
For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
     [REFUGE]
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
     [ARMS]
    Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
     [THRUST]
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness,  lusts,  excess  of  wine,  revellings,  banquetings,
        [JEZER] [DESTROY]        I Peter                               pg 1098

and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
     [DESTROY]
Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
     [HEAVENS]
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
    The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
    [SHIELD]
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
     [SWORD]
By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand. The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son. Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

                                               pg 1099

II PETER  =  a (piece of) rock

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
     [SIMEON]
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
     [JUDAH]
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
     [LEVI]
For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shown me.
     [BENJAMIN]
Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son,  in whom I am well pleased.  And this voice which came from heaven we heard,
        [JEZER] [JOSEPH]        II Peter                   pg 1100

when we were with him in the holy mount.
     [JOSEPH]
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
    But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
     [ZEBULUN]
    This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
     ISSACHAR]
That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets,
        [JEZER] [GAD]         II Peter                   pg 1101

and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
     [GAD]
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
     [DAN]
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
     [NAPHTALI]
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
     [ASHER]
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
     [REFUGE]
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
     [ARMS]
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
     [THRUST]
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace,
     [DESTROY]
without spot, and blameless.
     [HEAVENS]    
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
     [SHIELD]
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also
     [SWORD]
the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

                             pg1102    

I JOHN  =  Jah has favored

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
     [SIMEON]
And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
     [JUDAH]
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
     [LEVI]
    My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you:  because
        [JEZER] [BENJAMIN]        I John                                pg1104

the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
     [BENJAMIN]
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
     [JOSEPH]
I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
     [ZEBULUN]
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
     ISSACHAR]
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
     [GAD]
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
    Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
     [DAN]
Little children, let no man  deceive  you:  he  that  doeth  righteousness is  righteous,
        [JEZER] [NAPHTALI]        I John                                pg1105

even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
     [NAPHTALI]
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
     [ASHER]
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
     [REFUGE]
    Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
     [ARMS]
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
        [JEZER] [THRUST]        I John                                pg1106

     [THRUST]
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
     [DESTROY]
We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
      [HEAVENS]
    Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
     [SHIELD]
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
     [SWORD]
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

                                              pg1107

II JOHN  =  Jah has favored

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.
     [SIMEON]
Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
     [JUDAH]
I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth,
     [LEVI]
as we have received a commandment from the Father.
     [BENJAMIN]
And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee,
     [JOSEPH]
but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
     [ZEBULUN]
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments.
     [ISSACHAR]
This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not
     [GAD]
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.  
     [DAN]
This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
     [NAPHTALI]
Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought,
     [ASHER]
but that we receive a full reward.
     [REFUGE]
Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.
     [ARMS]
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
        [JEZER] [THRUST]        II John                                pg1108

     [THRUST]
If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house,
     [DESTROY]
neither bid him God speed:
     [HEAVENS]
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
     [SHIELD]
Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you,
     [SWORD]
and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.
                                                               pg 1110

III JOHN  =  Jah has favored

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
      The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
     [SIMEON]
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
     [JUDAH]
For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.
     [LEVI]
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
     [BENJAMIN]
Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;
     [JOSEPH]
Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:
     [ZEBULUN]
Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.
     [ISSACHAR]
We therefore ought to receive such,
     [GAD]
that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.
     [DAN]
I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
     [NAPHTALI]
Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth,
     [ASHER]
prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith,
     [REFUGE]
neither doth he himself receive the brethren,

        [JEZER] [ARMS]        III John                          

     [ARMS]
and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.
     [THRUST]
Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.
     [DESTROY]
He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
     [HEAVENS]
Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself:
     [SHIELD]
yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.
     [SWORD]
 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.
                                                 pg 1110

JUDE  =  praise Jah

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [SHILLEM]  =  requital, be complete

     [REUBEN]
    Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
     [SIMEON]
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you,
     [JUDAH]
and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
     [LEVI]
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
     [BENJAMIN]
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
     [JOSEPH]
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is
        [JEZER] [ZEBULUN]        Jude                               pg 1111

reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
     [ZEBULUN]
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these,
     [ISSACHAR]
saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all,
     [GAD]
and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,
     [DAN]
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
     [NAPHTALI]
But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
     [ASHER]
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
     [REFUGE]
Keep yourselves in the love of God,
     [ARMS]
looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
     [THRUST]
And of some have compassion, making a difference:
     [DESTROY]
And others save with fear,
     [HEAVENS]
pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
     [SHIELD]
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
     [SWORD]
To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Ame                                                                                      
pg1112

DAN /  The Revelation

THE REVELATION  =  to off the cover

BRANCH  –  DAN  =  judge

LAMP  –  [SHUHAM]  =  meditate

     The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
    John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.  And he laid his right hand upon me,  saying unto me,  Fear not;  I
                         The Revelation            pg1114

am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
                (Benjamin -light)
    Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
                (Simeon -life)
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
                (Zebulun -wisdom)
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
                (Issachar -understanding)
And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death;  and all the churches shall know that I am he  which  searcheth
                         The Revelation            pg1115

the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
                (Asher -righteousness)                
    And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
                (Naphtali -holiness)
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
                (Dan -peace)
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
                         The Revelation            pg1116

    After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
    And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
    And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him:  and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.  And  when he had  opened
                         The Revelation            pg1117

the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
    And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I
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said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
    And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
    And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. One woe is past; and,  behold,  there come two woes more hereafter.  And the sixth angel
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sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
    And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.  And they of the people and kindreds and  tongues  and  nations  shall  see
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their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
    And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman,  and went to make war with the remnant of her  seed,  which  keep  the
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commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
    And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
    And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same
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shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
    And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
    And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  seat  of  the  beast;  and  his  kingdom  was  full  of
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darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
    And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God
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shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
    And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
    And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:  For true and righteous are his judgments:  for he hath judged the great whore,
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which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
    And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to
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gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
     And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold,  as  it  were  transparent  glass.  And  I  saw  no
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temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
    And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

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Paradise, Inside of the Tabernacle


containing: Genesis Compendium\

The Four Books of Moses, a Compendium\
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Joshua Compendium\
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Mark Compendium\
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Jude Compendium\
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united in one volume: March 17, 2002\
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Preface \
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In every age from every heart that hearkens to the words of God His visual presence has and now is sought. Only during a very short time, some two thousand years ago and for less than forty years, has His Perfect Image been physically seen and handled. Before and after the Passion of the Lord Jesus there exist word shadows of The Father\’92s Holy being. These are held as the Sacred Scriptures, a collection of sixty-six writings, lifted to our eyes, drawn close to our person, touched of the pages, read and reread, pondered and studied, expounded and praised, and with thus gained wisdom and understanding, confessed as shadows of the invisible God. While reading His words, it is the Holy Spirit of the Father who discloses, the marvelous person who obtained eternal life for such as we:\
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And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias [Isaiah]. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This \
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day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. Luke 4: 17-22 \
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24: 26,27
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\fs24 The stimulus for us to think upon God, either incorrectly of correctly, is dependent upon what our knowledge, either incomplete or complete, of the LORD may be; and is expressly contingent upon the Holy Scriptures, while the Holy Spirit is influence upon the intellect: necessarily, as one reads the Words or meditates in them.\
The scriptures are the motivations of conduct, and inspiration, the glory of the Holy Spirit, who is The Guide and confidante concerning Jesus the Messiah of Israel. It is most sad that our youth have not at all been encouraged to spend a little of their day reading the Holy Bible, but then had we not known the power of its words ourselves, How! could we tell or show them. \
We then leave our children to the the world which holds with contempt skepticism, and \’91ridiculous impossibilities,\’92 the Holy Words, reducing them to \’91myth literature\’92 and by that tragic error leaving the most excellent and indeed profound miracle in the history of mankind, found only in the Holy Scriptures, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, nil. To miss, to reject, Jesus, is sin itself. Jesus, only, is sent from God to save men and women to God, all others are impostors. Bias and intolerant! Not so. The Holy Bible is quite clear concerning the evidences of truthful identification and record; compare its openness to any other claim, it is the lack of consulting its pages whereby error becomes compounded. For this reason, as in preparing for retirement, \
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becoming familiar with the contents of the Holy Bible is discreet for choosing a wise destination for the soul in eternity. Granted the Book is not short, nor its message at first evident, however neither are the preparations for retirement. \

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\fs24 The prophet Mica says it best chapter 6:8,
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\fs24 He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
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\fs24 A walk through the Bible by way of the commentaries is not so difficult if one persuade and indeed they walk together in the Truth of God so that knowledge of God increases and faith abounds.\
Three commentaries are included in this volume as the subject matter of each follows the order of the first six books of the Holy Bible. Genesis one work, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy a second work, and Joshua the final subject of the third compendium. These six Biblical books are convenient to explain the structure of The Holy Celebration [pages k and l] in the Holy Bible to which the commentaries are intended to complement. Each of the three compendiums includes its own introduction so a reiteration of those here is unnecessary.\
These words are offered of my own hand, wrought through the Holy Spirit by the grace of the Father, to encourage open hearts to behold the Lord Jesus in a vision of incomparable proportions as the Holy Bible sets forth; for \’93we see Jesus made so much better than the angels\’94 and He who suffered for us who are washed in his own blood. Even so Lord Jesus, Come. We desire to hold thee by the feet as others before us who have looked upon, and their hands have, handled the Word of Life;\
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J.E.S., D.D.\
3-17-2002\
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\fs28 Genesis Compendium
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author\
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Joseph Edsel Swearengin
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\f0\fs24 Reverend Doctor of Biblical Studies, D. D.
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\fs24 March 22, l999
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\f0\fs24 Contents [a]\
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name page\
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Genesis, with divisions G.page numbers, 24 pages\
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Genesis Compendium 1\
Bela 9\
Ard 11\
Naaman 16 Ashbel 19\
Refuge 22\
Arms 24\
Thrust 29\
Destroy 31\
Alone 35\
Fountain 37\
Land 39\
Heavens 42\
Shield 44\
Sword 45\
Ahiram 46\
Abraham 48\
Isaac 50\
Jacob 57\
Shupham 65\
Reuben 66\
Simeon 66\
Contents continued [b]\
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name page\
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Levi 66\
Judah 67\
Dan 67\
Naphtali 67\
Gad 68\
Asher 68\
Issachar 68\
Zebulun 68\
Joseph 69\
Hupham 73\
Benjamin 77\
Reuben 90\
Simeon 91 Levi 91\
Judah 91\
Zebulun 91\
Issachar 92\
Dan 92\
Gad 93 Asher 93\
Naphtali 93\
Joseph 94\
Ephraim 94\
Benjamin 95\
Contents continued [c]\
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name page\
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The Places 98\
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The Messiah\’92s Genealogy 99\
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Genealogy Chart 100\
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Index 101\
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Glossary 107\
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Scriptures Referenced 117 \
A Supplement of Thoughts 120\
about Genesis\
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Introduction to The Scrolls of the Patriarchs 125\
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The Six Scrolls of the Patriarchs SSP page numbers, 28 pages\
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Final and Familiar Comments on 129\
The Six Scrolls\
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\fs28 Genesis Compendium
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God\’92s Beckoning Door…\
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Eden, the land with a garden. The Holy Bible, the Holy Library with Jesus the Son of God. Genesis, the door book into the sixty-six collection, is so alluring the yielded mind finds spiritual radiance in each page. God\’92s beckon into His exquisite beauty is with Genesis. He wants to be found, he needs to be found, in being and in purpose. Reasonably, quite simply and openly, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, He states his theme in chapter five verse one – – This is the book of the generations of Adam… The angels are mentioned and fallen ones; but, the book remains centered upon Adam, the first Adam, a likeness of the last Adam, Jesus, the anointed by the Priest John \
# \
the Baptist. God has written a book, about faith-people and the revealing of Himself; and finding His faith-path through the scriptures is much like discovering the stones of a wooded walk-way on a damp fall day: …here a little and there a little… Isaiah 28:10, is often covered with leaves of other words. \
The ancients recorded from the simplicity of the incident in the Garden of Eden, fully understood by the participants: while, we must simplify the complexity compounded over the six thousand of years of their God-inspired writings, to obtain a sound comprehension of the experience of the same interlocution in our lives. Isaiah. 28:13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little;…\
The People of the Sea were the Phoenicians, the People of the Earth encompass the balance of the population: while a fragment, The People of the Book, as they call themselves, seek upward. Labels have been tagged upon religion as a whole since the political and desired system emerged. With the apostate Jewish branch, that began with Jesus of Nazareth, a brand name of Christian is first applied at Antioch in the book of Acts. However, this names word origin is founded from the Greek language that was along with Latin the eras common speech further alienating the new faith from its parent Judaism. From Antioch until now subtitles of the new faith have been adopted mostly for the purpose of setting them apart from the less alluring. Catholic, Protestants, Lutherans, Methodists, and the zealous Fundamentalists. The quiet, nearly unheard of, without charters, organization or dues or bodily assembly, has existed since Adam and perhaps in the untold ages of beings before Adam, as those who glean from the written words the nourishment that builds and sustains their faith. They are called – believers – because they approach the open Book ready to examine and compare it contents rather than \
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accept without exception a minister, a college, or a local churches doctrine. See Acts 17:11. Just as the body requires daily sustenance to remain vigorous the believers renewed being is fed faith food from the Holy Scriptures. This requires nothing more than opening the pages and reading each day. And so, these benevolent gather around the written words of God in scattered numbers such as morel mushrooms, if one has ever attempted to locate these valued prizes. Rare and difficult to see they are many times hidden under springs damp leaves of last summers foliage. They are in churches among the congregation on Sundays or Wednesdays; but more often, at large upon the face of the earth. Their Bibles, as evidence, are usually worn and beside the bed or on the kitchen table where considerable time is spent with the open pages. They are the children of God who wait patiently, if need be faithfully through death itself, for the re-appearance of the seed of the woman, Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God.\
Since the LORD has emphasized his theme of Adam people; a Holy Celebration of select living Adam descendants is prepared. [this presentation of Genesis is found preceding these words]. In as much as the Holy Bible is not a morgue of names of people long dead, and the LORD himself declared God the God of the living; therefore, it is termed a \’91Celebration\’92 of faith-lives that shall never die in their hope of physical resurrection. The line of the LORD\’92s ancestors is utilized from the Bible, all the fruit of Jacob. See The Places page 102. The Adamic names were prayerfully chosen through examining the scriptures with common sense and extensive detail; discovering the thinking of the author through the Holy Spirit who inspired the writing.\
What then does the title of the book Genesis offer of itself? other than identification. The pattern for titles in other very old manuscripts stems from the first main thought of the work or as in this case the very first word. That \
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is true when the Hebrew title is in reference. The Hebrew title is Beresheth meaning, head or firstfruit. Here is what it offers, the idea of the head in unison with the creator, that which is enabled. Fruitfulness is enablement, the ultimate fruitfulness is resurrection. Only Jesus has given evidence of this power and so the first word is a term that defines him as the head or first, the Chief. [The Word\’92s (John1:1-3) title is, Chief, before the judgment of Genesis1:2 and it is LORD (Jehovah) after the judgment of Genesis 1:2 and after his incarnation (Matthew. 1:2) it is Jesus the Messiah [the anointed one] and when he steps foot on the earth the second time it will be The King of Israel and indeed of all of the earth. The first of what? The first fruit on the tree of Adam\’92s descendants that has the power to regenerate himself by falling into the ground and sprouting up again from it\’92s – – seed. He is the savior of the tree because all of the other fruit [individuals] on the tree of Adam have given no evidence of the power of resurrection in themselves. Jesus taught this saying, Verily Verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abiteth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. It saves the whole of the tree through the promise of resurrection. With the first words of the book, firstfruit [translated, In the beginning…], the readers attention is immediately and permanently held. This is the reason the word Genesis, a Greek word meaning, generation, has such an appeal and is widely used today as a name or label in advertising, as it is recalls to the mind the words \’93in the beginning.\’94 Should not this rightly be part of the inference that Jesus makes in the Gospel of John 10:28. …neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. from the influence of his words and power. \
Perhaps the most elevated truth lies hidden in the first two verses, when Colossians 1:15-18 is consulted. …Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, \
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and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. The first word is \’91firstfruit\’92 [from the Hebrew] the first word in verse one. God is the second name of the God-head who created. And in verse two the reference to \’91the Spirit of God\’92 shows clearly the three-fold identity of God. That is, his three faces. This identity never changes throughout the scriptures. The \’91firstfruit\’92 is much built upon as the flow of words continues even revealing himself as I am that I am, [Jehovah] [LORD] to Israel through Moses whom Jesus, in the New Covenant, claims to be and proves to be through his resurrection. Jesus the Son, calls God, his Father and the Spirit the Comforter, whom he has sent to us. \
Much speculation has been offered concerning the age in which Adam lived and that he is the original person of all humanity; thus negating him to a realm of cave-man illiteracy severing him from any possibility of having ever composed a written word. Biblically all humanity is referred to as adam. The Adam of Genesis though is in Hebrew termed \’91the Adam\’92 and since the births and deaths are carefully recorded and a very accurate date can be established of 4004 B. C. for his creation from the dust of humanity. In this adam the LORD God created God-conciousness and took him and put him into the Garden of His preparation. This is because of all humanity on the face of the earth, there lacked even one person that had any innate knowledge of or fear in The Creator. At 4004B.C. writing flourished in the Sumerian state-cities of southern Mesopotamia, the near vicinity of Adam\’92s creation. Not only did Adam have this advantage, but he had the LORD in the Garden of Eden to teach him. When the LORD came to see what he would call them: Genesis 2:19 \
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every beast of the field and fowl of the air: does it not seem reasonable to presume that the multitudinous list may have been written down, in spite of Adam\’92s remarkable mind and divine enablement. Interesting comparisons of the patriarchs ages is drawn when a graph of ages is projected. See Genealogy Chart page 104. Adam was not living when Enoch was taken away from the earth; but, he did live shortly past the birth of Methuselah\’92s son Lamech the father of Noah. Including Seth, in all Adam lived through the births of eight of his descendants. Each of these were certainly looked upon as possible \’91delivers\’92 the LORD had spoken of in the Garden of Eden. In addition, if the advanced ages of the patriarchs is not accepted into the heart, it is not likely that the concept of resurrection holds any validity either; both of which are basic statements and promise of the Holy Bible. And so, the entire Bible can be seen as an elaboration of the incident in the Garden of Eden and in all readings should be held in mind; but more importantly, the scriptures hold the tree of Life to whom desire should prevail even if a perfect understanding of the aforementioned is not apprehended. Desire for perfect conduct, a result of rebirth, must be overcome by the desire for physical presence with Jesus; otherwise resurrection, God\’92s cure for worthless conduct can not be embraced. Colossians. 3:1 … seek those things which are above… In The Book is both the tree of knowledge, concisely the law of Moses, and the tree of life whence the seed pictures Jesus of Nazareth. Unfortunately, after the event of ones rejuvenation into existence the tree of knowledge is chosen to seek , but the seeker withers and the attempt dies. If at the outset, the Biblical definition of life were fully understood the presence of the Savior would be the goal. A snake continues to act like a snake after it sheds its skin — but a crawling caterpillar after it emerges from its cocoon flies having been reborn with wings. \
Although Genesis has been attributed to the authorship of Moses; the \
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discerning heart might consider the perception of Moses as having compiled a collection of scrolls into the book we have today – – Genesis. Moses came into possession of six scrolls when he removed the bones of Joseph [scrolls that Joseph received from Jacob and were buried with Joseph] from Egypt, Genesis 50:25. Adam, created into God-consciousness 4004 B.C., wrote the first scroll; being made conversant of the things of Genesis 1:1 through 2:3 through his intimate relationship with the LORD in the Garden of Eden. Enoch, the traditional scribe, wrote the second scroll from Genesis 2:4 through4:26. Notice that the Enoch scroll begins with the term generations as with the scroll attributed to Noah beginning at verse 4:27. The Noah scroll ends with Genesis 11:9 with the reasoning that the information following 11:9 was not known to Noah. Of course, the spiritual configuration that the Holy Spirit has bid the writer to scribe, carries divine right. And again11:10 utilizes for the beginning of the scroll of Abraham the term generations. This idea carries with it a sense of purpose as an opening welcome to the reader of the importance of keeping a written line of God\’92s faith- people and the narrative is constructed as muscle and flesh to this skeletal. The beginning of the Isaac scroll is not so easily determined: possibly because of the advanced age of Abraham and Sarah who were through their experience of longevity able to instill the more stable personality traits that resembled them both; showing inherited qualities transmitted by Isaac in his writing. The bump between the scrolls is then mostly determined according to the information that would no longer be available to Abraham even though he was a prophet. However, almost immediately following Genesis 25:7 a genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham\’92s son by Hagar, is termed generations in 25:12. Now, the sixth scroll by Jacob possibly penned by Joseph, a craft that magnifies Jacob\’92s loss of Joseph, begins at chapter 28:10. From here on information provided is not only outside of \
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Isaac\’92s knowledge but nearly all occur outside of the promised land and all concern Jacob and his offspring, again generations of God-conscious Adam\’92s. Even though the text becomes increasingly open in its presentation and the generation more plentiful; it narrows to one faith-man and the specifics elaborate as seen in the particulars of the twelve births of Jacob\’92s sons.\
In addition to the title, the chosen name that further defines the book of Genesis is Benjamin, meaning son of my right hand. Benjamin is the youngest son of Jacob and his beloved Rachel. Although Rachel was Jacob\’92s first choice she was his second wife and so stood on his right hand. With this explanation the only portion left of the meaning of Benjamin is son and this is the true thought to be conveyed by the multitude of genealogies and births and begat and begots. If Genesis were to be discovered as any other one word definition it is SON. \
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The [BELA] Section, the name means a gulp \
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Now Benjamin had five sons and two grandsons from his oldest. According to their meanings these children of Benjamin each define five portions of the book of Genesis. Bela describes Genesis 1:1 through 2:3, while Bela\’92s two sons represent two divisions of this same section. The Bela section is both venerated and attacked. Revered for its brevity and concise wording, it is unknowingly petitioned as the first of seven steps of creation. The more sensitive mind might insightfully consider three divulgences: the first a total creation of all, a judgment of the earth and a seven day revealing of the making of the earth rehabital. This is not a new notion, as one may discover in the original Matthew Henry\’92s Commentaries. In this provision many unreconcilable differences are resolved that cloud the more popular view. Here, verse one shows all as having been created. First created are the heavens, and this word is plural in the received Hebrew text, including the heavens of heavens and the seat of God; then the earth as denoting a move in the direction of concentrated attention upon. This entire verse spans untold years and convulsions of the earth in which at intervals, at least, it was inhabited by intelligent beings not unlike ourselves, for the earth has always been inhabited. Isaiah 45:18. During verse one we can find the age of the dinosaurs and great earth monsters in which the foot prints of primordial man are found side beside in stone memorials. Also, ice ages, asteroid disasters and floods can be included as incidents within verse one. The late inhabitants just prior to the events of verse two may contain the inhabitant that brought the entire devastations \
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upon the earth making it without form and void. These late inhabitants of the age of creation saw the destruction of a person by the name of Lucifer, meaning, son of the morning. How significantly this meaning fits the times of verse one describing the dawn of God\’92s creation. This man, or man form, was then the King and High Priest of the entire earth in this late time frame. Note the inferences in Ezekiel 28:15: Perfect in thy ways, from the day that thou wast created… Perfect in beauty, son of the morning, full of wisdom. Till iniquity was found in thee till sin was found in thee. And Isaiah 14:12-14, How thou art fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… I will ascend above the heights of the clouds… I will be like the Most High. Lucifer made himself God\’92s, adversary, the meaning of the name Satan. Jesus witnessed, Luke 10:18, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Ezekiel 28:16 … I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God. …I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all them that behold thee. Isaiah 14:16, The LORD God destroyed thee from ruling His people, they that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake the kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof: That opened not the house of his prisoners? God may have started over many times during this untold period of time, to have persons that were after his own heart. Held within this verse is all the substance of things seen and unseen that God created. And so closes what must be the last age of faith-persons in the epoch of the creation in Genesis verse one. This is in itself a gulp – – Bela! \
A distinction is established with chapter two of Genesis verse three, that is also the final verse of Bela. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified \
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it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. Creating was accomplished in verse one of all that exists. The word create is used only six times in Bela. Once in verse one, once in verse twenty one [day five], and three times in verse twenty seven [day six], and once in chapter two verse three. Six times total in the section Bela and five times with regards to a creating act. Of these five there is a restatement twice in verse twenty seven when man is created which leaves three acts of creation in the section Bela that can be considered separate accounts . The first in verse one is stated above. Verse twenty one [fifth day] is the creation of the whale, a singular reiteration of verse one\’92s creation to form a preparation in thinking in day six for the great accomplishment of the creation of man in verse twenty seven. Thus seen, two acts of creation are recorded. \
Concerning made in the section Bela; the word appears eight times in the section Bela. Once in verse seven [day two], twice in verse sixteen [day four], once in verse twenty-five [day six], once in verse thirty one, twice in chapter two verse two, and once in chapter two verse three, does the word made occur. Only the first four of these occasions refer to acts of God, the remaining four confirm retrospect. When made is used it is a reforming of what already exists. When made is not used the word Let describes God\’92s confirming the actions that the earth is producing during a given length of time, a day. \
Now a son of Bela, Ard, meaning, fugitive, marks a division in the section and haunts every day that follows. For the fugitive, Satan, robbed of his physical body is now described in the results of destruction as \’91darkness\’92 upon the face of the waters. Jeremiah 4:23, I beheld the earth, and, Lo, It was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. Notice in the midst of \’91darkness\’92 the spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters. God \
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does not see good, these waters of judgment that remain in darkness. This evasive \’91darkness\’92 even presumes to present himself before the LORD, as do the sons of God, in the opening of the book of Job 1:6. \
…the face of the waters. indicative of a global flood, evidently, and not earth\’92s last destruction by water. Note that the the subject of the discourse beginning with verse two is the condition and inhabitants of the earth. The heavens of the cosmos with their galaxies and super-novas and planets, even in our own solar system, are not effected by the \’91makings\’92 of the following seven days. Indeed, creation is complete in every respect, but to \’91make\’92 the earth habital for God-conscious beings after its total destruction in verse two, God must cause.\
Day one begins with no light from the heavens upon the earth. Also it is very cold without this energy. A very huge pearl of frozen surface existed beneath a dense cloud of dust. How could this have occurred? From the violence of the upheavals of the earth in the destruction of verse two, dust was formed as a global cloud; perhaps, even densified with space dust to form a blanket that shielded the earth in darkness. Upon the earth time ceased, not only because there was no sun light, but importantly, no inhabitants existed to record day and night intervals. The cause God effected was to remove by a settling onto the earth the dense dust. And so, God said Let there be light. Once again light shown upon the earth and time resumed. And why was the light good? because light makes things happen and light reveals the truth. God sees the light as good. …God is light and in him is no darkness… I John 1:5. This is choosing and thereby rejecting \’91darkness,\’92 the fugitive, from a previous age. And so, they are divided like day and night; this is the first division, but division is not seen as good only necessary and so it is not spoken of as good. Notwithstanding, night has its way for a time, this death – – until \
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morning when the light arises as when Jesus arose. And when Jesus arose from the dead individuals he accomplished something that his adversary Satan can never do; that is to raise his body from the finality of physical death and thereby Jesus became the Conqueror. But physical light is more than the evidence that God exists, it is a likeness of spiritual intelligence and divulgence from the Father. Jesus is the perfect conversant of God-intelligence, an eternal being thereby; whereas, Lucifer must have become in some way lacking in his being of this quality to fall under Satan failure. And this God-intelligence is not a learned benefaction it is an innate part of The Being. Jesus knew his Father\’92s will and is obedient to it as seen in his discourse with Satan in the Gospels. Thus, day one is not seen as good because of looming darkness that God cannot overlook in this abstraction of the earth. \
The second day – – And God said… as in the first day and each after it by his word is every matter established. God is a divider, he has already proven so in dividing the Light from the Darkness. However, he does not bless his dividing, neither in day one nor in day two. Now, he shows the cause of a division of the waters upon which his Spirit brooded. The pressure of the global waters brings up through it the nitrogen gases of his first world forming an expanse of air called the firmament; which pushes the lighter or evaporated water, for the waters upon the earth have sunlight now, up above the surface of the water below. There is now life sustaining air dividing the waters below from the waters above. Pictured is the life sustaining Savior who divides non-believer from believer – – the non-believer below and the believer to the heaven above. God does not choose to divide darkness from light nor unbeliever from believer yet he cannot accept what rejects him and places who does receive him with his beloved and beloved ones. It is life to be …accepted in the beloved Ephesians. 1:6; that is, to be in his everlasting presence. Life is the spirit \
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illustrated and accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus.\
The third day – – two things happen to describe the spirit of Wisdom that is God\’92s. When the waters of verse two are separated by the firmament the waters below the firmament [heaven] suffer a loss causing the dry land to appear as God let it happen. This dry is the firmness of the Savior as he is often described as the rock [dry land]. God names Earth and Seas, respectively, and sees the good in that the land is no longer covered by waters of judgment. Note that God does the naming at this point and that earth related animals fall to the godly Adam to name. And so, God speaks to the fertile earth that it should bring forth and grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself – – and it obeys his command just as Jesus. John 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And the fruitful tree, that also is the Savior bringing forth after his kind. John 15:1,2 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. The evening and the morning… John 16:19 …A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? The words of God are the seeds.\
And in the fourth day distinction and designation and increment of time is determined and the greatest defense against fear of imperils from outerspace is met. God\’92s spirit of Understanding is illustrated. The book of Job best explains saying …and to depart from evil is understanding 28:28. These space lights of the outer heaven, the ones outside of earth\’92s heaven, where the clouds and God\’92s throne were created in verse one, shut off from the earth by the judgment in verse two, let into sight on the earth in day one and finally, their presence is defined and explained in day four. Now with these lights outside of \
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the earth\’92s sun in the night they added their brilliance in the midst of the darkness. Having found the darkness unfruitful God declares good the rule of the distant stars that dotted the night and Satan\’92s attempt to prevail. If it is as has been taught, the Sun represents the Messiah and the Moon his Church then surely the stars symbolize believers from other ages before Adams inhabited the Earth, prior to Genesis 1:2, as Moses states in Psalms. 90:1 Lord, thou hast been our dwellingplace in all generations. This purpose of the stars to give their light upon the earth; infers exclusion of them being for habitation of their own recourse. It is comforting to know that should they contain intelligent habitation; that the occurrence has emanated from this planet. When and how could this have happened and what is the evidence. Incident would have had to been before verse two. That intelligent beings existed is given credibility by the description of Lucifer. Ezekiel 28:12,13,15 …Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;… Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. This is not the description of an ignorant or deficient being and his act told in Isaiah 14:13 …I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:… indicates capability and to be cast down from heaven as Jesus describes in Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven., shows instrumentation by Lucifer [Satan]. Instrumentation to ascend – – by miracle or craft? If any exit from our earth has been effected to the stars, it was before then, before Genesis 1:2.\
That day four is a setting of earth\’92s time determination and making of descriptions can be shown, in that, day and night were divided on day one 1:4 and is restated in verse 14. God simply reiterates his act of making from what he has already created in verse one, adding his intentions for them as givers \
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and rulers. Is not this additionally a description of the Savior\’92s work – – he gave his life [the evening] and rules by the victory of his resurrection [morning].\
Now, we enter into God\’92s first of three blessings in the section Bela and it is day five. And God said – – Let… water creatures and firmament creatures live in their natural habitation. To swim in the words of God is to fly with the wings of an eagle in the Holy realm; a inherent righteous function of the creature born of God. What God saw good was that they existed after their kind. Then he blesses to them fruitfulness, thus increasing their numbers in the sea and in the earth. It is the spirit of Righteousness that represents God\’92s Spirit in the Messiah – – Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. John 8:28, 29. The evening of his life and the morning of his resurrection.\
With the waters filled with life the earth is ready to let the making of the beast, cattle and creeping things upon the earth on day six. Producing after their kind is seen as good, of God because there was not man to see. The partitioning of Ard ends and the partition of Naaman, meaning pleasantness, begins. And God said… Let us… [a revealing of his person! three persons or faces as discussed above] and he makes humanity [adams] and for perhaps thousands of years they have dominion over the earth\’92s and water\’92s creatures. A bright star arises in whom God is well pleased arising from the dust of humanity – – he created one Adam in his own image and like of himself. It is 4004 B.C. Until this time, or at least at this time, there existed no God- conscious human-beings. God had to create one to fellowship with. He created them [male and female, as one] having dominion over the earth \
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creatures as He has dominion over Adam. This Adam of adams God blesses in speaking to him of his food that he is to eat; knowing that in Adam\’92s innocency obedience abounded. God saw good of all things because with the presence of Adam upon the earth there is Godly order. Not only is Adam created from the dust [adams] of the earth, he is the only creation act of the seven days that are established by God picturing the Spirit of Holiness that is, separate from, by token of the breath of life. Darkness prevails over adams until Adam arises a morning light upon the earth, the sixth day. \
Additionally, if one graciously accepts the creation of the whale in day five as a reiteration within the original creation act in Genesis 1:1; there are only two creation acts in the section called Bela: one the original creation of all and the creation of Adam in day six. Seen and received this way the forthcoming Genesis 5:1 declaring this the book of the generations of Adam trumpets with meaning. \
A statement of completion reveals an aspect of each of the heavens in chapter two verse one. Two heavens are already described. The heaven containing the stars and sun and moon and the earth\’92s heaven containing the fowl of the air; but, it is between them that exists the invisible heaven of God\’92s throne and the host of angels each heaven created in chapter one verse one. If speculation were an option one might easily insert this dangling verse after chapter one verse one and without a singe of judgment [seen in 1:2] attached to it.\
And the day after Adam is created he rests. And God rests. And all of creation is enveloped together in rest. This is the meaning of the Spirit of Peace – – agreement – safe, completed, friendly. And God adds blessing to the seventh day and sets it apart from the other six as the day in which he had rested – – implies that he must after, still make war with his unrelenting \
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adversary of Genesis chapter one verse two. The section Bela closes with this conclusion of day seven a remarkable configuration of details and abstract brilliance that one could only reflect that these words must have been scribed in the Garden of Eden and in the confidence of the LORD, before the tragedy that unfolds next.\
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The [ASHBEL] Section, the name means flowing \
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What we received in a gulp at the feet of the Savior is followed by a flowing of words of precepts that represent the LORD God\’92s holy deliverance; confirmed by Moses when he uses the pattern to form his blessing to Israel in his farewell address of Deuteronomy 33:26-29. Ashbel is the second son of Benjamin after whom this section is designated. The section begins an elaboration of events from an opening cognizant narrator that one feels has all the right information and relates it accordingly; yet, the tone shows that he was never in the Garden of Eden. \
The Ashbel Section spans a period of time some two thousand and forty-eight years and into the life of Abraham. Ashbel\’92s first four paragraphs, bring the reader to the entrance of the serpent, alternately discusses incidents outside and inside the Garden of Eden. Those things that are outside the garden are not in this occasion sought for spiritual values in that they take place outside of the place of blessing [the Garden of Eden] for the inhabitants who are placed within. However, included is particular information that is useful in placing the condition of the earth before there were adams [souls] to till the soil and the Adam [a living soul] and the general location of the Garden of Eden. The garden was eastward and two of the rivers were toward the east, Hiddekel being the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. Notice that the Euphrates River and the land of Ethiopia have retained their names since ancient times. The more delicate placing of the garden would be along the Euphrates and probably near the Sumerian city of Ur close to the Persian Gulf. \
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The extent of Eden is likely identified with the Fertile Crescent that extended from the Persian Gulf into the land of Ethiopia. \
All of paragraph two of the Ashbel section and the first part of paragraph one and are descriptions outside of the garden. However, the sentences of the latter part of paragraph one begin the spiritual precepts that can be identified through examples that Moses compressed into individual words. In the garden that the LORD God planted he placed Adam; this is a refuge from — adams who\’92s interest is tilling the earth\’92s resources and each other. Adam\’92s interest was in the LORD who walked in the garden and communicated with him or else Adam would not have later hidden from him. \
Like the blind man that Jesus healed, he first saw men walking as trees; walking with hands uplifted in praise and prayer to heaven, this is the tree of life in the garden and is a shadow of the Savior with arms stretched forth. Paragraph three. But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is thrust out of the mind of Adam as being the tree in the garden whose fruit was not to be eaten. …whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. I Corinthians 13:8; thus life was chosen for Adam in the form of a commandment from his LORD God. And should Adam disobey, he would die. This word from God is destroy, from being in the LORD\’92s presence in the Garden of Eden any longer. And it happened! Paragraph four begins very solemnly with …the man … alone… Adam is alone. Only once again has any individual been unable to seek anothers councel to be understood, except in the transfiguration; than when the Savior faced the cup that his Father had prepared for him. Finally, after all of the discourse concerning Adam he speaks and writes the names of all the animals that the LORD brings to him. Truly a fountain of names. And Adam sleeps as Jesus slept and from this land of corn and wine [flesh and blood, for the stem of a rib covers the corn of the heart and to open the flesh causes \
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bleeding] the church of believers is formed. And Adam [the created of the LORD God] said… the heavens dropped down this dew of words concerning the Woman. Continuing, … and shall cleave unto his wife… a veritable shield as any husband knows in the war of life; thus a double edged sword of words for any who dares upon them. And so, God has wonderfully shown a pattern of his unvarying deliverance, before the need arose; knowing the intentions of his intrusive adversary who lunges his lies at the weakest member of God\’92s called, shown in paragraph five.\
Without doubt it is the peculiar physical structure of the serpent that caused Satan to inhabit it\’92s body. Without extremities to raise in praise to the Creator, Satan caused it\’92s mouth to utter nothing but lies. Yet there must have been some sort of submission since the serpent was ultimately cursed. The serpent must have stood upon the extremity of its tail, perhaps even eye level. Jesus became as helpless a figure as the serpent when he became sin for us. With his feet nailed he could not walk to the people to teach them of his Father and with arms fastened to the cross he could not lift them, either to heal infirmities nor to praise his Father. That Satan, the imitator of God, could cause the serpent to speak is not unthinkable when we vehemently adhere to the report of the Gospels that Jesus healed a mute man to speech. The LORD\’92s commandment not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil came before the Woman was brought to Adam and Adam had rehearsed the matter carefully to the Woman as can be seen in her response that they would surely die to eat of the tree. The weakest of God\’92s creation, the Woman did not notice the tree until its features were pointed out to her, until after being robbed of the words of God. A fourth being the serpent of deception came in to profane the garden temple. Good and evil, life and death the knowledge of which was not necessary when they were with the LORD, for \
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that presence is life. With the clothing of innocency deceptively stripped away Adam and the Woman see that they are naked; both to themselves and to the LORD God. They had worn innocency but now conveniently leaves from the fig tree of knowledge of good and evil. Before they had enjoyed conversations with the LORD, life unobstructed. Now, between them and the LORD God was disobedience. \
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Refuge portion of the ASHBEL section\
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The evidence of their disobedience was in their actions, the fig leaves withering, they hide from the LORD; who it seems as by custom seeks them out in the evening of the day. This may imply that Satan approached the Woman in the heat of the day during keeping of the garden, when her resistance was lowest from laboring. Calling to them, the LORD sees the fig leaves and knows what they have done. The guilt of their action was death, but physical death did not come upon them as yet; because, despite their actions Adam cast his care upon the LORD the LORD availed himself to Adam\’92s need. And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;… 2 Samuel. 22:2,3,4,5. This meeting was not as the other evenings when they communed with the LORD in his presence. That had been life, a likeness of before when they had enjoyed the LORD of life and been refreshed from his vitality. The tree of life that the LORD later refuses to Adam and the Woman is more than likely the \
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pomegranate tree. The pomegranate fruit consists of a pinkish pulp flesh with reddish vesicles of juice blood and is astonishingly refreshing. The fig tree being the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not presence with the LORD and eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil can never procure presence. This disobedience in eating the figs stripped them of innocent presence with the LORD. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil concerns conduct, and the knowledge of such can never procure the privilege that innocency enjoys in being acceptable in the LORD\’92s presence. Knowing good and evil did not obtain innocency for them or they would have done so and been guiltless. However, they, after knowing good and evil hid from the object of their desire. Sin entered in. Sin being – – missing the mark. Jesus is the mark, he is the pomegranate tree, he is the goal when one believes who he is and how to have life… The need to have one tell us that the Lord Jesus is this objective is met in this age with the foolishness of preaching. When sin entered in grace did much more abound so that it would be shown that the LORD God favored [grace] Adam over Satan even though Adam had disobeyed the LORD\’92s commandment. The tree of life yields the fruit of life while the tree of the knowledge of good and evil results in death. The tree of knowledge of good and evil can be likened to the branched likeness of the ten commandments that likewise are good and pure but can in now manner give life because of the disobedient nature of the striver. Adam and the Woman meet the LORD once more in the Garden of Eden but it is in the ferocity of the likeness of Genesis 1:2. There is life in verse one but in verse two is death and then after the LORD\’92s makings in the seven days the resurrection of the earth occurs. Now, the Godly ordering is death then life [resurrection] shown from the pattern of the evening and morning of the preceding seven days. Therefore, the LORD God cast them from the garden because had Adam and the Woman returned to eat \
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from the tree of life it would have given them self-attained eternal life that they were no longer worthy of because of their disobedient nature. Only the God-Heads possess the power of eternal life. The natural man sees only the mechanical actions of physical life and thinks this is living and to die physically is death. This is missing the mark. Adams were created to fellowship with the LORD God in His presence – – that is life. Finally, some satisfaction is afforded to Adam and the Woman when after interrogation and honest reports the serpent\’92s beauty and appeal is removed with a curse resulting, evidently, when its ability to travel on its tail is removed.\
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Arms portion of the ASHBEL section\
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The LORD continues to verbally flagellate the old serpent and not without design, Adam and the Woman were present to hear the wonderful deliverance promised in the seed of the Woman. his heel – – joy!- – their savior, is to be Adam in likeness, without his weaknesses, it shall bruise thy head. Perhaps, Abel\’92s beauty was so remarkable that the twin was thought by Adam and the Woman to be the seed person the LORD described and this evoked the evil response of envy that came from Cain. After further consequences of the transgression are stated a wonderful implication of the work of the LORD God is illustrated when Adam and his wife are clothed. The material is symbolic in two ways. Animals are slain for their skins to cover Adam and the Woman and the same material is used to give written account of the preceding happenings and the promise of deliverance in the seed of the Woman as a writing material – the same words that are availed to us today. Magnificent is the thought of the saved standing by faith, clothed in the saving words of God to which they rely each day, lives bound up in the words of the living God. In this act the LORD \
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God showed his grace toward Adam and the Woman – and underneath the everlasting arms of salvation. An intimate examination of the term arms reveals that the Hebrew word for the appendage contains the thought of the arm as extended in sowing, i.e. disseminate, plant, fructify and is a much stronger meaning, in that, the true power of God is in the reproducing of a kind from its planted seed. This is the greatest strength and yet exists in the simple act that the farmer even today participates in; but more importantly, as the Son of God who sowed his seed in the ears of his followers the fruit of the eternal kind is produced. In this act of the LORD God is also defined the requisite of faith. For when they heard the words about the seed it was clear that the appearance of the deliverer was to be in the future. Adam was required to take the words of the LORD God to heart and trust in them – this is the beginning of faith. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And the words that Adam and the Woman heard are the same gospel that the Apostle Paul teaches in his letters. Not only are the naked covered, but Adam and the Woman are conscious of the death of the substituted animals that were slain, that they can never forget, for the hides cling to their bodies and their self-righteous fig leaves withered away and fell to the ground to rot and decay, significantly, never mentioned or recorded as noticed from the Holy Interrogator. Another grisly preaching of damnation and blood. Well, what was the alternative for Adam and the Woman had the LORD God not intervened? These scriptures show, it is God\’92s way, how can the created question his infinite wisdom. The other symbolic perception concerns the skin\’92s likeness to the shape of the ephod of the LORD\’92s Hight Priest described in Exodus 28:6,7,8 in that it is joined together from two parts of like pattern at the shoulders and closed with a girdle [or belt] about the waist. The American natives who utilized the skins of deer and elk for their clothing \
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closed their garment in a similar fashion with the use of two opened skins being fastened with the leg appendages across the shoulders and closed together loosely with large bone taches along each side or with a belt about the waist. In both events the leather clothing requires two animals one for the front and one for the back of the article of clothing. \
The effects of Genesis range from the book itself through out the Bible into the book of Revelation that lastly lauds the tree of life. A mature spiritual life is incomplete without Genesis. Contained in the book is the concept of God having a Son and the various ways he is referred to and identified. The identity of an adversary of God\’92s is sketched. A God-conscious family called the Adams is created from one man called Adam. The tragic circumstances of broken fellowship between the LORD and Adam is recorded. Faith is then established without question when Adam and Eve, for so Adam named her after receiving the LORD God\’92s words of deliverance from immediate physical death, then they are cast from the Garden Temple Sanctuary. \
And so, the combination of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil with the fruit from tree of life, in the order in which Adam and the Woman experienced them and as it could have been carried forward; would have given them self-attained immortality, had not the God-Heads driven them from the garden sanctuary. Their step from the death of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil into the presence of the LORD, which is life everlasting, would have placed them on the same level as The LORD God. In their first condition of pureness to experience the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil and bears self-righteousness and is not the correct order of events in obtaining eternal life. Rather, and as the LORD had told them they did die. No longer able to be in the presence of the LORD because of death and expulsion, they, as the serpent had said became gods to know good and evil. \
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Dead gods. This shows that true life is being in the presence of the LORD God. What a guilt-shock to Adam, to find after speaking face to face for so long with the LORD, to no longer see his LORD comforter. For the holy scriptures nary records Adam ever again being in the presence of the LORD God as at his beginning. Yet Adam and Eve continue to converse with Him in a devise of faith called prayer. And thus, with God consciousness and the knowledge of good and evil Adam is returned to the people of the earth from whence he was taken and commences in a tilling of the soil in which are insects and parasites and the food – – vegetables. Oh, the memory of the delicious fruit of the Garden of Eden held in lofty benevolence by the trees that Adam pruned and kept that now must have haunted the guilt ridden mind of Adam, though he remained in the grace of God\’92s promise of the deliverance from missing the mark, yes sin, of self righteousness brought on by persuaded disobedience in obtaining the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Much confusion arises in the minds of God\’92s children and results in mental disorders; frustration and misunderstanding and is such an ugly devise of the LORD God\’92s enemy perpetuating the unholy path that many continue to seek God-favor [grace] through self-righteousness all their lives and is a labor in vain when grace is offered without mental effort or such laborious good offerings. Yes, their\’92s is faith and in the correct person but sadly misguided because one does not take careful time to ponder the events of these short verses. Then is asked what are all of the Apostle Paul\’92s instructions and requirements of conduct concerning? They are the gentle tauntings of a mature and true heart, spiritual heart, to coax from the youthful life of a believer, actions that proceed from the new creation for the old man, also within, is very ominous against the new heart. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Romans 7:24 For faith in the LORD God\’92s words, as in Adam and the \
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Woman\’92s situation, is the same Gospel as Paul\’92s and is what creates the new person within.\
Finally, it is not that Adam nor Eve would have thought to eat from the tree of life of their own accord, unless they had been accustomed to doing so; rather, the fourth being in the garden who had earlier deceived the Woman, might have bid them and he gained control of their attentions. And the LORD punished. Also, the LORD God knew that the disobedient nature that now inhabits Adam could not be checked with another commandment: so he put them forth from the paradise. Adam\’92s last function in the garden is to name the Woman, Eve. She to be the mother of all living, that is, that has life – – the seed!\
The law, the tabernacle ordinances of forgiveness for sins, in the Israelite economy shown in the scriptures is in no way self-righteousness. It is the magnification of Adam\’92s action exemplified in all of its intricacies. Repentance and restitution were made in the Garden Tabernacle as the same pattern shows in the law and tabernacle its atonements magnifying the Lord\’92s method of salvation through representation. The law of Moses is to show us that we cannot come into God\’92s presence through self-righteousness [acts] because one can not re-enter the garden of graciousness to eat of the tree of life with the fallen nature of the Adams due to the flaming sword that turned every way! Eternal life is restricted from this error. This disobedience took the place of innocence in the heart of Adam and the Woman, forever changing their personalities and, of course, passing the fallen nature on to their children since innocency no longer existed in them. Thereafter, the scriptures relate all that happens to Adams outside of the temple garden of blessings.\
The older son of Adam already burdened with this twin\’92s beauty and parental favor, without doubt identifying him with the message of the seed, \
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finds that even the LORD prefers Abel\’92s offering to his own. Deceitfully, the results of self-righteous seeking, have torn restraint from Cain and he slays his brother. The younger Abel does not rise from the dust to bruise the head of the serpent and the LORD God finds and punishes Cain with worse than physical death.\
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Thrust portion of the ASHBEL section\
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Cast from the presence of his parents and valid altar approach to the LORD God, Cain is thrust eastward into the land of wandering ever for God\’92s blessings. Although left alive his line of descendants are destroyed with the judgment of the flood in Noah\’92s days their days are not even numbered. A question arises as to the reason the LORD God did not punish Cain with death as the Mosaic law, given later, prescribes that penalty and existed in the LORD\’92s heart then. The evidence as to Cain being a saved person is not shown in the record in that he did not present his guilt to the LORD when the LORD sought him out. In addition, he did complain that his punishment was more than he could bear, a thing that Adam and Eve never did.\
Blind to knowing that Abel is not the seed, it would seem, Adam\’92s next son is called — Seth, that is, substitute. For reasons revealed to those who read these records today, at testament to the faithful care that has been given the received text of the Holy Scriptures through the millenniums, the Holy Spirit shows in these simple words, a death – Abel, a life – Seth. And through the records of the Apostles, a death is given and an eternal life is manifested in one person in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Now in Enos, the son of Seth, is shown the conversion of the men of the earth, other than Adams, because men began to call upon the name of the LORD, who also received the \
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LORD just as in the days of the Apostles when Paul turned from his own people the Jews to the Gentiles and found converts. Acts 13:46. It is also, perhaps, an indication that the LORD did not visit upon his Adams, as frequently as in earlier times with Adam and Abel and Seth, his open words of conversation. And so, Adams called upon the name of the LORD for want of his acknowledgement of them. \
Thrust from shadows and dingy corners of the mind are all doubts as to the reason for the Holy Scriptures of the Bible. This is the book of the generations of Adam. Genesis 5:1 This is the begats and begots of the Holy Line of descendants from the first created Adam to the last Adam – – Jesus of Nazareth; for all lines of genealogies are destroyed in the dispersions and holocausts of the Holy line of David to this day. And this one, carefully validated lineage, stands alone sealed in the Lord\’92s resurrection. Wonderfully preserved are the advanced ages of the patriarchs before the flood of Noah\’92s day and even through to Abraham and his grandson Judah are the holy ones ages given. See the Genealogy Chart page104. And from Judah sprang David from a likewise caefully kept genealogy. Through these ages is established the date of Adam\’92s creation – – 4004 B.C. These few words of chapter five verse one also describe the book of Genesis as all records of the individuals in the book are built around the genealogy being identified as with or part of or separate from the seeds holy line.\
In the culmination of times about one thousand six hundred and fifty six years after the creation of Adam the example of Abels violent murder with its confusions increased nearly decimating the LORD God\’92s faith people. A thing nearly carried out with faithless men taking the daughters of faithful Adams to bear their children. [A dreadfully heavy burden that often occurs in the Church age these days, spiritually speaking.] The LORD created of Adam a \
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holy family of people and kept it holy through one man Noah and threatened to make of Moses [one man] a holy nation Exodus 32:10. The LORD God is identified through his actions typical in all ages. His idenitfying trait is to save with one person.\
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Destroy portion in the ASHBEL section\
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And so with one man, Noah, the names of the line of descendants to the Savior is kept from destruction and the method of the LORD God\’92s means of salvation is preserved. These names and the words of Genesis describing the days before the flood are given to us through the devise of a written language and were carried into the ark. These names and terms of action that describe the LORD God are fully listed in the final blessing of Moses to God\’92s people Israel in the close of the book of Deuteronomy. Of the twenty two terms this one, destroy, is descriptive of blood, that is, death. The term is referred to by the LORD God as the penalty for Adam and the Woman should they eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Death is exacted by Almighty God when he has been turned from and the evil mounts up to his knowledge in heaven. It can not be ignored although the penalty of eternal death is most vividly described in The Revelation; yet, some still attempt to deceive themselves that it is a childs story – – fable. God is a worrier by necessity due to the destructive nature of his adversary Satan and is the victor in every encounter and on into eternity. \
An equally important theme is whisked through every portion of the Holy Bible in small hints of flavor such is found in Genesis 6:12. Here, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. indicates that the holy way of faith, described in the Garden passages, had been completely abandoned, not only by \
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the Adams but by their converts. Perhaps this mixing with the people of the earth became especially devastating to the Adams whose earth witness no longer existed. But God looks upon the heart and one man Noah finds favor in the LORD\’92s sight. When Adam and Eve were in the garden all attention was fixed upon these individuals and even after they were exiled from the garden, faith-people [Adams] are the central theme of the scriptures. What must be remembered, as God\’92s terminologies are encountered, is that these persons are \’93faith-children\’94 of the LORD\’92s favored Adam and clothed in his mercy. Faith then becomes the central thought that must be applied to every thought of the LORD when it is found recorded. For example, God states that he will destroy all flesh from all of the earth and all the earth is covered with water. If one understands that God is only interested in people that receive him through faith and that the mass population of Adams had not at Noah\’92s time been dispersed across the face of the earth, it is much easier to see that a local flood that destroyed all, whose witness the Adams had reached, was necessary because corrupted faith had intermingled into the pagan deities that already existed in the rites performed in Sumer upon and around the ziggurats. This condition also existed after the flood in Abraham\’92s time and the LORD solved the problem by moving the Terah family far away from Ur. Man\’92s ways are consistent and God\’92s perseverance is patternable. And so, when the ziggurats, which appear as tall mountains in a very dry flat terrain, become the mountains that the waters covered. The Euphrates and Tigris basin is seasonally flooded as records show in ancient cuneiform documents. It easy to see that the additional deluge of water raised and backed the ark above the ziggurats until it reached the Mounts of Ararat and at plausible time of 1656 years after the creation of Adam 2348 B.C. a time that even archeologist can agree with when the setting is thus understood. Further, the offense in God\’92s \
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ears from the earth came forth around the Garden of Eden region near Ur; specifically around, the once holy, altar worship pictured in Abel\’92s offering [Genesis 4:4] since this observance was the focus of the LORD God\’92s attentions verified as perpetuated through the record of Noah\’92s offering after the flood [Genesis 8:20] and into and past the advent of the Savior to whom the animal sacrifices illustrate. A localized flood concept thus becomes more convincing since the wickedness and violence he would have observed at the holy altar location probably near the then still existing Garden of Eden. The Biblical description of the conditions of the worship at that time is one of wickedness and violence. Wickedness so often referred to in the scripture is – – renouncing the truth after having embraced and confirmed that same truth. Violence becomes an evidence of that retaliation. An earth population at this period in history is projected at ten million individuals. The population of the Euphrates and Tigris basin area, the eastern portion of the land of Eden, then may not have exceeded four million persons destroyed in the flood of Noah\’92s days, along with the Garden of Eden. The Ur of Sumer area being then at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, this entrance to the Persian Gulf has since silted some one hundred and fifty miles south to its present location. The flood of Noah\’92s days back swept the ark from Ur some eight hundred and fifty miles north to rest at Mount Ararat and the waters receded. This destroyed the area the despot people and the animals in the huge basin that is bordered on the east by the Persian mountain range and on the east the Arabian desert. This idea of a local flood is not knew it has been put forth afore, however the restrictions imposed by the scriptures is that the flood covered the earth; whereby our minds assume the whole earth. It is though, the faith inhabited earth that the LORD God is concerned with; for it is that portion to which his term applies, that worships him and the rest of the earth knew not the \
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difference. True worship of the LORD God was then before the flood centralized upon the the planet. What the scriptures slightly reveal is the gradual overspreading of Noah-Adams described after the flood into the already peopled lands. [Genesis chapter 10 and 11] that eventually includes in the dispersion the entire globe whereby true faith belief is gospelized. If this thought is taken in and given due consideration the stepping stone of faith in Genesis 6:12 must not be missed by the reader for it is the pureness of the way of the LORD God\’92s faith-plan that is seen and preserved in the man Noah. That Noah is described in the Holy Scriptures as a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:9 is the description of a saved person after the image of Adam and Eve. First Adam and Eve accepted the LORD God\’92s plan for their personal righteous [just], through faith in the seed, Adam and Eve carefully raised their children in the way of faith as can be seen in the actions of Abel, as Noah instructed his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth [saved by faith in the ark that held them], Adam and Eve continued to place their faith in the seed that was promised them as seen in their naming the third son, Seth, the substitute for Abel [walked] daily with hope in what was promised to them. And Noah in receiving instruction to build the ark took upon himself to complete the labor of faith and was saved and his household. Once shut into the ark the pure faith was safe from the corrupted faith that wailed for salvation as the destroying flood waters increased. After physical death, opportunity for salvation is lost; a most sobering thought considering our fragile existance.\
It is necessary that increasing elaboration is included by scripture concerning illustrations and representations that show to this age the wonderful aspects of the Savior Jesus of Nazareth and his work. That the believer matures as in physical development is not the case; it is rather in \
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revealing revelations that opens the mind of the believer to increased awareness of the God given righteousness that is a gift of God without incurrance of debt to the benefactor. Reconsider Adam and Eve\’92s situation. What could they have possibly given to the LORD after his saving and chastening? – – receive the continuing mercies of God! Daily reading the scriptures opens the door to these wonderful instructions and the heart thereby worships these inferences unrestrained in grand adorations of joy and delights.\
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Alone portion of the ASHBEL section\
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…and all thy house… Here is a clue to the inclusion of the previous scriptures in the delivering vessel. The genealogies of the patriarchs through Adam and the opening seven days in written form later added to by Noah to give the reader the flood account preserved in the ark. A \’93house\’94 is more than the parents and children; it includes the family tree, if one exists, like the LORD God carefully kept his created Adam\’92s to the arrival of his seed Son.\
The likeness of the ark to the Savior is long noted; however, there is an aspect of the ark\’92s configuration that is particularly note worthy, that being the three levels of the construction. The number three is of interest in itself as it is the Biblical number for resurrection – – the third day, the number of the God head, and the number of the patriarchal likeness of the God head Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now Abraham the father, the highest of the patriarchal visage represents the third tier floor of habitation to who especially the Jews and other religious branches claim origin, thus the embracing father of many. This shows the elevated state of being in the upper tier and perhaps housed the birds all preserved in sevens, as the raven and the dove are sent \
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forth by Noah from the upper window once God\’92s wrath was appeased. Isaac the middle level shows the saving person in whom all living are possessed as the Son magnifical. This floor may have held the clean wild animals kept by sevens that parted the hoof and chewed the cud such as the hart and gazelle and goats. Now, the lover level is Jacob\’92s, i. e. Israel, and shows the great teacher of every age the Spirit of God whose movements upon the demise of every heart and mind brings the words of restoration, the light of the LORD God. Herein this level is found the abundance of the larger beasts of burden and labors; perhaps, the and ass, camel and water ox whose additional weight in the bottom of the boat added to the necessary ballast needed to keep upright the ship of salvation.\
Noah\’92s obedience is not from blind fear but faithful observance of his LORD\’92s instructions. And the LORD does not hide from Noah that his destruction is to begin and he shuts Noah in – – preserved from judgment in the saving boat. Should one wish a parallel could be seen in the figure of Noah being the Holy King and his wife the body of his believers and the three sons representing the couples fruitfulness as the earth was overspread with the preserved perfect faith way through Shem, Ham and Japheth.\
Notice that the LORD bids Noah to: Come thou and all thy house into the ark; a distinct indication that the LORD is in the ark beckoning, as Jesus is in the Father and welcomes with the same word – – Come… John 1:38-39, Matthew 11:28, John 21:12. The LORD\’92s instructions are a bit humbling for the clean animals and the fowl are brought into the ark by sevens the male and its female and the fowl, but of the unclean beasts by two and Noah and his wife and his three sons wives by two. The judgment did not right Adam\’92s and Eve\’92s disobedient nature in Noah\’92s house, it did not take away the curse it only cleansed away the violence and evil ways of approaching the LORD God and \
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that for only a time that has not quite been reached to this generation, although it has been 4,348 years since the flood of Noah. The days then must have been drastically violent. Yet in the righteous soul of Noah patience is not lacking nor in his family, which he has governed wisely, as they await through seven days until the flood waters begin. Today, we have hastened our mail and delivery services fantastically and the rest of the world rushes madly about to acquire, but a godly remnant of believers patiently await the return of Jesus of Nazareth.\
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Fountain portion in the ASHBEL section\
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There is no need to explain away to nothing the happenings in Noah\’92s extremely long life time. The events occurred as recorded. Records in cuneiform exist witnessing other more ancient devastating floods. These need not be played down as not to have occurred in order to invalidate the Holy Bible\’92s account when other inundations of this area have been established by archeology. Although, these events are of a considerably more ancient time, it would seem that other individuals have survived in fashion like Noah and his family, records preserved in Babylonian historical texts. The existence of vast reference cuneiform libraries has been established from excavations. These complicated languages are kept to us through baked clay tablets buried in times sand storms and water destruction. That leather parchments were also used by some cultures for writing is undoubted at 2348 B.C.; but, in this area where annual flooding was ritual they could scarcely have survived, unless, God bid one to carry the sacred scripts away to Haran. But it is Noah who at this earlier time of deluge preserves them and his immediate family lifted up above the waters of the fountains of the great deep. the LORD shut him in… the \
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ark. We who are on the other side of the cross rest our hearts knowing the words of Saint Jude in the same book after his name – – Jude :1, … preserved in Jesus Christ,… What a wonderfully short expression to describe the more elaborately recorded account of Noah and his family who were preserved from the judgment of deluge water. Truly, these old covenant accounts illustrate the promises and actions of the Savior. And forty days the inhabitants and their charges remain closed away from the LORD God\’92s violence and destruction in the ark. But it is one full solar year later when the Noah disembarks onto dry land.\
Notice that everything in which had the breath of life died. This breath of life was breathed into Adam when he was created and it was instilled in his offspring [or else it could not be mentioned] and the converts of the people of the earth. The offense was not that they did not have life but that they were not preserving the correct pattern of worship of the Living LORD God and they were destroyed. Noah alone preserved and practiced the correct worship as his offering after the flood indicates.\
Once the offense was taken away from the LORD\’92s ears, things similar to what happened in Genesis 1:2 occur. God made a wind to pass over the earth. The same Hebrew word for God\’92s Spirit is used for the word wind. And after a similar occurrence of destruction. The holy words seem at this point to be a bit more harsh as the wind passes over the earth in this flood whereas in Genesis 1:2 the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Perhaps there was a deeper stir in God\’92s heart at the total destruction of 1:2; whereas, the recovery of Noah and his family still in the ark was a more immediate need and a joy in God\’92s thinking prevailed at this thought for his safety.\
The fountains of destruction close and the water begin to recede and a clue to the identity of a localized flood is hinted at in this way. In the seventh \
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month the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. Then in the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen. Since the ark rested upon the mountains in the seventh month the tops of those mountains were not yet visible until the tenth month, a difficulty arises. These Ararat peaks are impressively tall mountains at 5,122 feet. First, who saw the mountain tops? Noah did not look on the earth until chapter 8:13 when he removed the covering of either the window or of the entire ark. More than likely only the window as the birds would have immediately dispersed when the record shows they left the ark at the same time as the other beasts. It would seem these are the eyes of God that saw the peaks of the mountains of the Ur area where the altar worship had been before the flood that covered those tops fifteen cubits. Otherwise a global flood covered the Ararat mountains to an elevation of 5,150 feet and these are not the highest peaks as Everest tops out at 8,848 feet. This seeming contradiction leans thinking towards the localized flood idea when understood in this way. That so much effort is put into this examination is necessary to establish that the preservation was not only of the person of Noah and his family but of the perfected righteousness that dwelt in Noah. Corrupted worship is the concern and later is the difficulty that caused the Nation Israel\’92s demise when they are sent into captivity. The fallen Adam eventually degenerates into wickedness and God must remedy the problem each time; until, in his Son Jesus, the fountain of living waters, the problem will forever be remedied.\
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Land portion in the ASHBEL section\
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The holy scriptures now adds a new color to the increasingly detailed account of God\’92s Adam\’92s. Noah, after disembarking, builds an altar and \
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sacrifices of the clean animals that were kept in the ark and The LORD smells a sweet savour. The grateful obedience of a righteous soul reacting to the grace of the LORD God is the savour, 1Samuel. 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. But, the darkened shadows of the human heart are exposed in this corner of scriptures when the LORD declares the hopelessness of man\’92s heart that is evil from his youth.\
After the flood the reader is made aware of the diet of the patriarchs. Only the food of the herbs and fruits and nuts, it would seem, formed their diets possibly contributing to their long life spans of nearly a thousand years; along with a more protective environment, perhaps, a canopy of topical atmosphere type. After the flood of Noah\’92s days the Adam\’92s were given the flesh of the clean animals to eat with one reservation. They were not to eat the blood which is the life of the animal with the flesh. Deuteronomy reiterates to the children of Israel. 12:23-24, Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. In other words, the life of these animals that are given for food are not as important as the life of the seed, the Son of God. John 6:53-54, Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life;… In addition a sketch of the violent conditions of mankind on the earth before the flood is included when the LORD institutes moral responsibility concerning the punishment of the murder crime. And in the next sentence instructions to re-inhabit the earth are given. Another indication that the atmosphere may have changed after the flood is shown when the LORD declares the rainbow to be \
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the sign of the covenant with Noah that no other devastation to destroy with water would occur.\
Why did Noah sin so terribly after the flood. Today we are at our wits end with the close of of just one day at work in the office setting with other employees. Consider one year with only your family of five other persons and a hoard of animals to care for, closed into the floor space of a maximum of 67,500 square feet, but only 16,000 square feet was likely to be negotiable – the average size of a modern one level home. Noah\’92s natural stamina must have been tremendous and with regards to the comments concerning Job\’92s patience, incredible. What would be the reaction of any individual saved or unsaved after such an ordeal? Celebrate! But with righteous Noah it was only after giving thanks to the LORD God through altar worship that after a time his natural feelings overwhelm him. Following though, is the very short and admirable blessing by Noah upon his three sons that sets a structure in the later patriarchs, especially, Jacob and Moses.\
And the isles of the Gentiles and indeed all of the globe becomes inter- populated with Adam\’92s and their witness; beginning when they leave the Ararat region and journey south to the land of Shinar [now the Baghdad area of past Babylon]. Here they take upon themselves to imitate the people of the earth who have repopulated the region and again have rebuilt their former ziggurats. And archeology has found that these ziggurats have been recapped over the space of generations. Now the Sons of Adam lift their hearts, out of envy at what they see and attempt to build a city and tower up to heaven, evidence that the imagination of man\’92s heart is evil from his youth. But the LORD God intervenes and the holy ancient language spoken by Adam and that the serpent spoke to the Woman in is confounded into many dialects and their is no interpreter. What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new \
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wine. Acts 2:12,13. Their purpose confounded, God\’92s purpose is all that is left to them and they thus scattered upon the face of all the earth, effectively reproved, to spread the true path of faith.\
During day three of Genesis chapter one God gathers the waters under the heaven of the globe unto one place; much as he will gather his dispersed Jews unto one place before the great day of Jesus the Messiah\’92s return to the earth. And he said let the dry land appear, and when Noah went forth of the ark he beheld and set firm footing upon the dry land his faith rewarded. Consider through retrospect Moses in Deuteronomy 32:7-20, a people whom the LORD God delivered from Egypt into the land promised to Abraham that became children in whom is no faith. And Jesus said, Luke 18:8 … Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? \
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Heavens portion of the ASHBEL section\
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What the preceding genealogies of Noah\’92s other two sons lack in spiritual interest fans from the elder son, [the brothers being triplets] Shem into the most lovely line of faith-people who tenacity cling to their LORD God in faith. Lovely, because in their hearts and especially in their minds, that part of body that is held above the ground in the heaven above the earth symbolically, is the awareness of the ever present LORD God. This makes them heavens themselves and Jesus the glorified Heaven. …the God of our Lord Jesus Christ… …the Father of glory… …gave him to be the head over all things… Ephesians 1:17&22. \
Unlike the patriarchs before the judgment flood who lived, begat their eldest son and died, Genesis 5:3-31; the patriarchs in the holy line of Shem\’92s generations lived, begat his eldest son, lived, and begat sons and daughters \
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Genesis 11:10-32. No account of their death in this record. Of course, this is nearly knit-picking and some might even say attributed to authorship; but my the wonderful illustration of the saving power of God in showing the curse of death upon those before the judgment and the reward of eternal life to those who are saved from the judgment in the savior ark and now Jesus of Nazareth.\
Now much criticism is pointed out concerning the character of Terah and his worship of statues, a practice common in every era among the people of the earth around the ancient city of Ur near where the familywith the holy seed resided. However, Terah\’92s faith is a common type of the faltering steps some take in following the way of the Lord. The ways of the earth are not easily shaken as pressure and influences from outside make a devastating effect upon the fragile faith-being inside. Terah did after all obey and attempt to enter the land of Canaan taking his journey from Ur with all of his living family traveled along the productive Euphrates river to at least Haran, meaning parched. What kept Terah there is unknown but remember he raised his eldest son Abram of whom it is said in the LORD\’92s own words that he is the friend of God. A further disclosure of Terah is seen in his great-grandson Laban, father-in-law to Jacob, who pursued Jacob to retrieve his images that he thought Jacob himself had taken and in doing so receives instructions from the LORD. Then too, Terah is the father of Sarai, Abram\’92s wife, a lady lacking no strength of faith to instill in her son Isaac. The Holy Bible is not a book prejudiced to men only even though the women of the Book are often in the background. The circumstance concerns the promise of the seed being a male person and the expectation, for what little do any have knowledge of what the quality of the terrible loss that Adam experienced in the Garden. All of the memorable women of the Bible are best seen through the colorful eyes of the author of the final Proverb of that book and the character that faith in the LORD produces. \
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And the cost to Terah in not continuing his journey into Canaan is the holy memorandum recording, unlike those patriarchs before him who lived, is that he died parched [Haran] for the words of the LORD God that would have freed him from his vain idols. And all the patriarchs after Terah are recorded by the Bible as having died.\
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Shield portion in the ASHBEL section\
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Except for Cain, who became the rejected elder son of whom Seth was the substitute; all of the patriarchs named in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus, see Matthew and Luke, are the elder sons of their fathers. And so, in the description of Terah\’92s offspring Abram is mentioned first because he is the older and again perhaps of triplets. However, it is the heart that the LORD God judged in choosing Abram over Nahor for he knew from experience that Abram chose the words of God over the little statue idols that Terah and Nahor clung to possess. And when the LORD said to Abram leave your father and his house; he became for God\’92s purposes a new creation nearly separate except from the patriarchs before him because the line had fallen into idolatry. The flood this time was of idols that archaeology finds buried in the ancient cities abundantly. And the ark that floated Abram to safety was his obedience to the words of the LORD. The LORD did not have to see Abram act upon his words because he knew Abram before he confirmed unto Abram a land to faith-live in, a nation for protection to him, blessing, and a renowned name upon earth [and in heaven], plus the authority and power for Abram to give blessing. Thus is passed on in the patriarchs that follow, Isaac and Jacob, and Moses, blessings, upon their children. Genesis 27:1, 48:15-49:27, Deuteronomy 33. When the LORD said, I will show, I will make , I will bless, and make; who can undo a \
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four corned shield of such great immensity as this? and upon Abram\’92s person the shinning of giving blessing. In the days of the sword the shields were made to glitter in reflected light upon the enemy to terrify them.\
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Sword portion of the ASHBEL section\
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This portion is a walking stone unto itself due to its length. If brevity is the more excellent way then the portion Sword marks the LORD God as the Supreme Master of the art. Herein though is the great two edged sword of the LORD ever prepared to defend and divide asunder the joints and marrow. And to guard the way of eternal life from self-righteousness, because at the entrance of the Garden the LORD God set a flaming sword to turn every way to keep the way of the tree of life. Bless it protects, curseth when it defends thee, God righteous Abrams who become fruitful bows unto their God.\
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The [AHIRAM] Section, the name means brother of heights\
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The third son of Benjamin is Ahiram. When Abram\’92s greatest desire to have the heir that is promised to him by the LORD in Haran [seeing that to become the father of many nations requires offspring] the times of life for him and Sarai languishes with out fulfillment. Yet, the man of faith leaves Haran at the LORD\’92s bidding and enters the land of Canaan. There at Bethel, the house of God, the LORD appears to him. John 8:56-58. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. The subject of the LORD\’92s appearing unto Abram was to confirm unto him the land that he now inhabited. \
Abram calls upon the name of the LORD for a child by Sarai for the holy couple was withering in age and his heart puts aside the promise of the land and he goes down into Egypt and fails by Pharaoh to have child by Sarai. Sent forth from the land of darkness where the mind schemes and plots without the words of the LORD Abram returns to Bethel and the altar worship of his patriarch fathers. The failure of Egypt strips away the vail of unbelief and Abraham acts out of faith in sending Lot away from him as he should have done at the first at Bethel. This is obvious when the LORD again speaks to him reaffirming the land but adding the promise of offspring in the form of seed as the dust of the earth in multitude. Also, the cross of our Lord is foreshadowed when Abram is instructed to walk through the land in its length \
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and in its breadth. Now with specific promise of descendants Abram journeys south from Bethel to Hebron, the length of the land of Canaan renewed to him.\
Necessity in delivering his nephew Lot does not overshadow who Abram is when Melchizedek king of Salem [Jerusalem] in blessing Abram upon his successful return Melchizedek is blessed, for in Haran the LORD promised Abram – – I will bless them that bless thee. But the holy record does not say in what way the priest was blessed, unless is implied when the LORD speaks declaring his part in the victory of Abram\’92s action in rescuing Lot, when he speaks to Abram saying I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. If every believer could at the outset get this eternal truth and take it two heart further griefs would be assuaged in the spiritual life. …thy exceeding and great reward And the LORD again confirms to Abram a child from his own bowels when Abram presses the LORD for favor. Unseen to this point in the Holy Bible more elaborate details of altar worship are shown in the actions of Abram in dividing the animals he is instructed to offer. More hidden from our minds is the awful sight of a crucifixion. Is there anything more grotesque than a description of an event similar to the offerings and sacrifices of the Levitical old covenant? Hanging restrained by ropes and nails with bulged eyes and heaving breaths painfully obtained from pushing the body up with the legs, the lungs fill with fluid while peering down at the winter cold ground little more than a cubit from bleeding feet that have a nail projecting through them – – is the man. The shoulder joints are out of joint, while the thorns of a malicious crown blurs the vision and bleeding from the back onto the wooden cross from metal tipped whips slowly take clear consciousness away with the hunger and cold and thirst. All the while the knowledge is still locked inside himself that this righteous being has died for the unrighteous. \
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Time languored and Sarai attempted to comfort her husband with a child from her maid Hagar. The tragic mistake is made into a blessing by the LORD at length, but the matter takes its toll on the couples closeness it is thought, since at Sarah\’92s death they lived in separate tents. Now, at the advanced age of ninety years old the LORD, for the second time, appears to Abram. This is not a vision and it is not an angel as in Hagar\’92s situation; it is the LORD himself, who commands Abram to walk the breadth of the land for he has not done so, because God identifies himself as the Almighty God, for it is the face of the Almighty who chastens. And Abram falls upon his face in not only reverence but to seek mercy and finds that the LORD gives him a new name sounding ever so much like Jesus renaming Peter.\
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Abraham portion of the AHIRAM section\
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…Abraham; for a father of many nations will I make thee. And the promises of God are without repentance for afterwards the man received unto his bosom a precious son whom it seems the LORD names Isaac. Genesis 17:21. With Abraham is established a covenant in the flesh of himself and his male household perpetually. The observance seems to have fallen out of practice until the best known figure after Abraham and before Jesus, named Moses, encounters the LORD concerning his own sons. Thereafter, Moses reinstitutes the covenant of circumcision to the Jacobic descendants of Abraham. As a significance to the church age the thought is concerning the enabled severance of the heart from self-righteousness and from excessive desire for the material things of the world. Phil. 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Romans. 2:29 …circumcision is that of the \
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heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.\
Almighty God appears to Abram, but it is God who …went up from Abraham. How important it is for the reader to examine carefully the holy scriptures that adheres in very truth to the minute. Chastening came in verbal rebuke by reiteration and the hearts of Abraham and Sarah responded in an acceptable manner so that when the interview was concluded it was God that went up. \
After Abraham responded also to the command for circumcision of his household; but, before Isaac is born the LORD appears unto Abraham. This is a third appearance of the Deity to the brother of many nations who becomes, as is seen in the account, an intervening brother to a distressed Lot – – a priestly function. Ten paragraphs are devoted to the deliverance of uncircumcised Lot and his family and much of Abraham\’92s time. And the LORD hears Abraham\’92s intervention and sends angels to deliver the righteous but wayward nephew from the pains of judgment upon others who he is with. Matthew. 24:40,41,42. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Is the account correct? is it true? Archaeology has two cities of the plain on the east of the great deep pit and perhaps they are the doomed cities. The oldest references point to the southern end of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the globe, salt wasted, and unbearably hot – – certainly, the earth\’92s pit of death. Lot lives on but never reunited with Abraham, however there is a glimmer of the genius LORD God. From Lot\’92s tragic error with his daughters two nations are formed and from the one daughter a male child she names Moab. Possibly from the remnant of Lot\’92s faith family a thought of the expected seed propelled the daughters. But of course, a descendant woman of Moab, named Ruth, \
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chooses her mother-in-law of Judah and the LORD God into the land of Israel. She is the mother of the great grand-father of David, the great king of Israel and she is mentioned in the holy ancestors of the Lord Jesus, Matthew 1:5, Hebrew\’92s 11:1,2 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Ephesians 2:5 (by grace ye are saved;). This magnifies the importance of the genealogies that we either laboriously read through or over.\
After the record of Lot, Abraham continues his journey south seeking sanctuary along the desert walls of mountainous cliffs and lodges in Gerar. The significance in applying the meaning of any Biblical name is typified in these three – – Kadesh, Shur, and Gerar; meaning sanctuary, wall, and a lodging place respectfully. In this city state Gerar the king is seduced by Sarah, for in this act she is reproved, as in a similar circumstance when Abraham went down into Egypt. Perhaps, she felt that Abraham was incapable of producing a child with her or maybe the lack of faith was in Abraham or both for they conspired before the king. And so, the weaknesses are open to our eyes as well as the great strengths of faith that are part of Abraham and Sarah and are in the believer of these times as well. For in ancient maturity their great faith is finally rewarded when the portion Abraham closes and the portion Isaac begins with the child\’92s birth. This is fitting with the meaning of the name AHIRAM – – brother of heights.\
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Isaac portion of the AHIRAM section\
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Two or three years after his circumcising Isaac Abraham holds a feast as custom prescribed for the promised son. Abraham seems to still be residing in the land near Gerar called Beer-sheba and the rivalry with the Philistines of \
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whom Abimelech is one begins to fester even into the days when King David finally vanquishes the Philistine foes for the people of Israel.\
Isaac the child the LORD God promises Abraham is finally realized but the seeking is also toward the delivering seed promised to Adam and Eve. The proof that Isaac is not the seed is seen when a substitute ram is given in Isaac\’92s place. Isaac would have had to have possessed the power to raise himself from death: for Abraham would have not stopped in obediently offering up his only begotten son\’92s life, had the LORD God not interposed. In addition, the reward of blessing that the LORD promised to Abraham in that he did not withhold his only son Isaac; a picture of the greatest blessing that should be extended in every prayer to the Deity Father in offering up his only begotten son is revealed.\
At the voice of Sarah Abraham is forced to send away Ishmael and Hagar for offending young Isaac. Abraham when his name was so changed was promised to be the father of many nations and Ishmael through an Egyptian wife so becomes the first. And of a later wife after the death of Sarah a multitude of governments including Dedan and Midian [see Genesis chapter 25]. But now, in this portion of AHIRAM, and the only son of Abraham to receive such a treatment, important fragments of script concerning the promised son Isaac, are given. Perhaps it is Isaac\’92s firmly ingrained Abrahamic maturity pattern that makes his own personality so elusive. Isaac represents the pure bowels of faith of Abraham and the LORD\’92s promise to Abraham stands fast in the unshakable words of the LORD God that he shall become a greater nation than all others that willingly honors their dotting Spirit God and in the Apostles Paul\’92s day known to the people of the earth as the UNKNOWN GOD. It may be that the brevity of the record of Isaac\’92s life is portrait of the short visit of Jesus the Son of God upon the earth. Yet, Isaac \
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lives in our minds in the record of the Holy Words as Jesus lives at the right hand of God in the heavens. Abraham offers up his only begotten son of the promise, of course, speaks of the offering of God\’92s son upon the cross; however, it is the unquestioning obedience of Isaac reckoned from the assuring words of his father that marks the humility readily identifiable as the muted submission of our Lord. Rebekah being brought into Sarah\’92s tent can, with most assurance, glimpse the early churches first shelter under the cove of the nation Israel. However, the hidden emotions of both Isaac and Jesus can be projected from the character of their offerings. In the instance of offerings made with the life of the blood described first in the Holy Word when Abraham divides his earlier animal offering and later provisioned in the book of Leviticus; any willing heart desiring God\’92s path can understand the significance of the certain divisions of the animal. To balance the more grizzly portions of the Livitcal sacrifices, shadows of the Savior exist in non-blood offerings as well. Flour and bread offerings and olive oil and even wine was put upon the brazen altar. \
The human bodies internal organs function in similarities with the human emotions. The heart, for instance, is described adequately by the Bible dictionaries as being the source of the life giving stream of blood that provides strength for the body. Emotions concern conduct: of love, hate, thought contemplations, feelings and affections, pain, despair, fear, God love, self pride, morals and laws of conscience, the soil for the word seeds of God\’92s love, and the dwelling place of the Savior [Ephesians 3:17]. And if it is symbolically all of these things then it is the function of the liver below the heart, being the largest organ of the body, to form the seat for the center of the being. The physical function of the liver along with the two kidneys is to cleans the bodies blood. This makes the liver of critical importance as it sets aside good blood for the body and eschews impurities. Thus, it takes on the descriptive term of \
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reins in Psalm 37:21. On either side of the heart and indeed covering it protectively are the two lungs that receive the wind of refreshing air into the blood stream making true the witness: the life of the flesh is in the blood. Leviticus 17:11. In true wisdom the believer can view the heart as possessing the presence of God and the liver and kidneys as instruments of understanding in delivering the body from consuming internal evils. Job 28:28.\
When Jesus uses the names of the three patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to illustrate life reality; he confirms the triad\’92s place as a body [vine] symbolism for the then yet present nation of Israel. And, in the Gospel of John, Jesus further illustrates when he names the apostles, then disciples, as the branches of himself. Knowing that all scriptures are given by the inspiration of God and profitable… and that the things written before hand are given to us as examples… it is not an unholy thinking to compare this body of three patriarchs to the Lord Deliverer as His great faith is an Abrahamic premonition and his great desire to do his father\’92s will is Isaacian anticipation of the seed and in Jacobian example one who fell from the lofty promised land into unpromised soils of no heavenly promise: but who arose into the promised land in an array of fruitfulness unparalleled in scripture record the father of twelve sons a vivid portrait of Jesus, the Lord of twelve apostles, of whence is the present Church of believers.\
Leaving the starkness of these late evening shadows the holy scriptures draws the reader along the path of Isaac\’92s life when his parents and the LORD God separate from him his enemies, such as the youthful Ishmael. Ever as much the seed of Abraham, but not of the promise as Isaac, Ishmael becomes a great nation through the confirmation of the LORD and prayers of his mother Hagar. Now, a record proceeds of the exemplified life of faith of the patriarch father entangled with the growing life of the son Isaac. Already mentioned is \
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the obedient offering of Isaac. Then follows a disclosure to Abraham of his brother Nahor\’92s offspring including a grand-daughter named Rebekah who later became Isaac\’92s wife. The reason for Abraham\’92s delay in obtaining Rebekah can be understood in Sarah\’92s possessive love for Isaac. Her passing into the bosom of Heaven is presented and the settled love that Abraham had for her is shown in his careful and diligently sought burying place for his wife.\
With Sarah taken from Isaac Abraham calls his devoted servant giving him instructions to seek a wife from his kindred at Haran of Nahor his brother. It is not fantasy to understand this interaction as the fading from conjugal presence by the nation Israel and the substitution of a new wife for the son. Consider the servant of Jesus, Paul\’92s words – – 2 Corinthians. 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.\
A son of forty years suddenly deprived of the life of his father feels the deeply rooted ties that death severs. No less in Isaac does an empty room bare its nakedness than the great loss of his mother Sarah. For those forty years she nurtured in him not only the knowledge of her own beginnings in her father Terah\’92s house in Ur of the Chaldees and later at Haran and her own emotions concerning the journey in the promised land of Canaan. Further, and more importantly, she instilled in the child of promise the faith of the patriarchs. Many kings in Israel after King Solomon became, in the eyes of the LORD God, either good kings or bad kings. Now it is reasonable to assume when a king is involved in the complicated affairs of ruling a multitude of people and even passing judgments for them in the kings court; that the demand of his time and and mental energies consumed any intentions of rearing his own children, multitudinous as they sometimes were although the eldest son as a rule followed in his father\’92s throne. Therefore, into the hands \
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of the queen – – perhaps, and yet more likely, by the house of the kings servants were the royal seed reared. And so, a good king, then a bad king, then a good king begats a bad king thereby does the seed through the throne descend. However, this son Isaac was raised in his mothers tent and remained until the arrival of Rebekah.\
And there is another marriage recorded even that of Abraham the aging prophet of the LORD God. Now whether this is after the marriage of Isaac does not seem to be clear, although the order of presentation requires this understanding; yet, the vigor of the ancient is obvious. Keturah, meaning incense, joins Abraham in giving the man a multitude of sons all of whom he sees to maturity and sends them away from the promised land that is rightfully Isaacs, for all that is of the promise belongs to the Son. Abraham dies at the age of one hundred and seventy five years. The average age of the pre-deluge patriarchs approached nine hundred years; but after the flood of Noah\’92s days this remarkable achievement declines in the individuals when after Heber and through to Jacob the average age seems to be around two hundred years of age. The advanced age of Moses comes to mind in the death record at the close of Deuteronomy 34:7, And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. The natural man and the spiritual being, reside together as illustrated in the death of Abraham when Isaac, the son of promise, and Ishmael, the son of natural desire, come together to bury Abraham beside his wife Sarah in what was later called and even now is called Hebron, meaning fellowship. What a privilege is open for all believers, who insistently maintain their fellowship with the Creator, who when they find physical death or who when they experience their change are in fellowship with their God.\
The expectancy and promise of the seed told in the Garden of Eden \
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continues in Isaac, lone soul recipient of the blessing bestowed by Abraham and seen reflected in the blessing upon Isaac\’92s younger twin son. Lahai-rol also Beer-Lahai-rol, to the living is sight, is a well near where the LORD found Hagar Sarah\’92s handmaid when she had been cast out. With little pondering the soul can see a semblance of bonding fellowship between Ishmael and Isaac when the holy record indicates this spot as Isaac\’92s reside after Abraham\’92s departure. When the war for control with the natural man is won by the new creature with God\’92s weaponry and conversion of attention is swung away from the natural to the heavenly things that pertain to God, a truce of recognition of by-lateral need becomes established in the body, who before possessed only an eye for the physical but now an additional new sight for the spiritual. Thus, the well of him that liveth and seeth me, a likeness of being possessed by Adam and the Woman in their innocence. \
With recognition of the influence that Abraham possessed with the LORD God a record of the children of Ishmael is shown though the holy seed- line did not proceed through this son of desire. Then the generations of Isaac begins and continues to enlarge unto the close of the book of Genesis. Also, this beginning of Isaac begins with a woman – – his wife Rebekah, remarkably Isaac does not stray from Rebekah as Abraham was manipulated; although, it is again seen in Jacob\’92s situation. Perhaps we should take this to understand the tremendous love that the Son of God has for his church. This brief sketch of Rebekah shows an incident that is scarcely understood because it indicates a place where Rebekah fled to question God about the struggle within her body. That a specific place was accomplished to her person is quite drawing and nearly a deception in that the physical could find solace in a specific location and seek God\’92s presence. However the spiritual mind understands that the place was not the objective; rather, a spot where all usual influences and \
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distractions of the physical being [telephone, TV, computer, noisy voices, gabby neighbors and secular reading] are pushed away and quiet moments are sought searching the Holy Bible. Now in Rebekah\’92s instance voice communication with the LORD God seems to have endured even that far from the incident of the Garden likely for the purpose of building the written record that we have today. Had Rebekah referred to the scroll of Adam from Isaac\’92s tent she might also or perhaps did find the births of Cain and Able enlightening since they were of one conception. It is likely that it was both cases. And Isaac was sixty years old when Jacob [yet in the womb] took hold of his brothers heel, and became the heir of the blessings and holy line through which the seed is given.\
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Jacob portion of the AHIRAM section \
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Patterns should be noted and in this luggage of faith as a likeness of opposites is lifted aboard with the expulsion from the LORD\’92s presence of Cain for the safety of Seth whereas with Isaac\’92s son it is preservation of the recipient of blessing that is sent away from his brother in the person of Jacob. For great wrath explodes from Esau that grows into a design of premeditated murder upon his brother Jacob.\
The faith of the father endures to strengthen the son although the son of the blessing is in those days a great distance and a long time away. It is Isaac\’92s presence that Jacob still needs and that he seeks in returning to the land of promise even in Jacob\’92s mature years. Jacob returns because he needs the strengthened faith of his father to see him through, as Jesus sought his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane the small paradise of Jerusalem. Anxious believers return to their minister or Bible teacher each week for the same reason.\
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Hear now, a similar scene is shown comparable to the incident of Cain and Able; that being Esau and Jacob and nearly as long again Satan the elder [his name Lucifer before his demise] tempts Jesus. The record shows about twenty two hundred years from Adam to Jacob and eighteen hundred years plus from Jacob to Jesus. What is fully shown in the Esau and Jacob incident is the unworthiness of the natural man to possess the blessings of the LORD God, indeed the full disregard of the value of birthright. And today the supreme birthright that is in Christ. Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Imagine the personalities of Esau and Jacob both inhabiting the same body. It is no wonder that so many years after the gospel of salvation is received that the new man of faith appears. It has taken the old man that long to mellow to tolerate the new. The curse of God seen in the Garden upon the old has brought it to this position of acceptance but not reception of the blessings of the new man for the old can never put upon itself the new.\
The significance of Isaac\’92s singular existence is confirmed with the appearance of the LORD to him. Receptive without question Isaac never ventures down into Egypt as did his father Abram and later his own son Jacob. But Abraham had dug wells and the Philistines filled them in and the new ones that Isaac dug were fought from them and Isaac makes a peace with Abimelech. Afterwards, Isaac\’92s servants tell him a new well they have dug and it is called Shebah, meaning seventh or an extension of meaning connected with the seventh day could be understood to be rest or peace. At any rate it gives a city its name the familiar to Bible readers Beer-sheba, well of rest. There is another well and in the new covenant Gospel of John 4:13,14 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But \
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whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Rev. 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. Rev. 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.\
The roots of the people called the Hittites begins with the pastorals migration from north of the Black Sea into Antolia [now Turkey] an already populated area south of the Black Sea. This occurs about 2300 B.C. The beginning of the Hittite kingdom became established in a man named Pitkhanas and his son Anittas. By 1750 B.C. they were a strong kingdom from the central Antolia capital Hattusas, nearly centrally located, strategically closer to the Black Sea ports as any military might of the time would be. The old kingdom lasted about 220 years with at least twelve kings with son successors. Their laws seem to be somewhat more humane than other cultures of that ancient time; although, a very strong Hittite empire came into being from 1420 B.C. until it finally became overrun by the People of the Sea [Phoenicians of Tyre, Sidon and Arvad etc.] in 1200 B.C. The Hittite Empire spread south to the Euphrates River [originally Israel\’92s northern border] and on south into and including Syria and Palestine. They also waged successful campaigns against Egypt and Babylon and in one instance destroyed the eastern city. They made use of two wheeled chariots and bows and arrows. Possessing written cuneiform and hieroglyphic languages they amassed a huge clay tablet library at Hattusas and worshiped weather gods and goddesses. These are the children of Heth, Genesis 10:15 and 23:3, who touched the lives of Abraham and Esau and Jerusalem, Ezekiel 16:3, and inhabited the mountains of Palestine, Numbers 13:29. However, it is for the memory of the \
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Hittite named Uriah [the name means, light of the LORD], the son-in-law of Ahithophel, Israel\’92s King David\’92s chief advisor, that the above is presented: for Uriah was the husband of Bath-sheba Ahithophel\’92s grand-daughter. Perhaps this marriage had been for strengthening military ties for King David\’92s army, but it is Uriah\’92s conversional faith, evident when he mentions the Ark of the Covenant, II Samuel 11:11, that is touching. Shamefully, David slays Uriah in a battle at the hands of the enemy and takes Uriah\’92s wife Bath-sheba as his own — the LORD God has judged. 1Kings15:5 Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.\
Having on two previous occasions seen the LORD in visions: Isaac now in his old age, for he had been thirty-seven when he married Rebekah and sixty years of age when the sons were born and the twins were of the age of forty when Isaac called Esau to bless him, Isaac\’92s sight fails him. It is evident from Isaac\’92s comment concerning his delight in the smell of the fields on Esau\’92s clothing that Jacob wore, that Isaac was drawn to the fields. He had been there when Rebekah came to him by Abraham\’92s servant. The arid regions of the south lands that Isaac dwelt in tents is known for its ferocious wind storms. The minute sands can and do destroy the sight. In a spiritual application the example is clear to those who read and hear and see the Savior in the timeless volume — where one pitches their tent of faith can determine the endurance of their sensitivities of God. Remember Lot who vexed his soul with the ungodly and Proverbs 1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not., Proverbs. 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you., Proverbs. 1:33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.\
Without reiterating the family interchange it is fitting to say that the \
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younger son Jacob receives Isaac\’92s blessing; but, at a costly price that he requites throughout his life. Save in the incident with Cain and Able, when Cain is sent away from all Godly blessings and a substitute son Seth [being not only a substitute for Able but a substitute for Cain as well since he was the elder]. Until this time, until Jacob, all inheritance had gone to the elder sons. See Genesis chapter 11:10-27. Triplets had occurred earlier in Genesis 6:10 with the three sons of Noah when he begat [a singular incident] resulting in the brief favorable blessing upon Shem. The elder triplet son of Terah\’92s is Abram, Genesis11:27. Abraham believed the LORD God\’92s blessing, but a clear record of Abraham blessing Isaac is preserved to one brief verse Genesis 25:5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. Isaac\’92s blessing is an edited composite of the LORD\’92s blessing to Abraham and is to be certain a well rehearsed speech. Genesis. 27:28,29 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother\’92s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. Careful examination of Jacob\’92s blessing upon his twelve sons near the close of Genesis shows a perceptive expansion of Isaac\’92s words. Wisely, Jacob obeys his parents and leaves the land of milk and honey to sojourn with his mother\’92s family at Haran. Although outside of the place of blessing Jacob increases in part to his own ingenuity but more through the ever vigilance of the LORD upon his life. \
With Jacob begin customs that are still observed today. When in route to Haran Jacob makes a vow to the LORD in Bethel. The custom of vows was still being observed in Paul\’92s days when such a vow to the LORD brought him to Jerusalem. And again, Jacob when returning to his father Isaac\’92s house is met by an angel and is wounded in the thigh and even today the orthodox do \
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not eat of the sinew of any beast for that cause, since Jacob from then on limped from the sinew that shrank. More importantly than these traditions though is the likeness that Jacob built from twelve sons a nation named Israel and Jesus built from twelve disciples apostles that built a wondrously large church of believers. \
The fall of the elder sons of Jacob from the patriarch\’92s favor may be an implication of distantly past attempts [before Adam] the LORD God made to establish a righteous head upon the earth. Romans. 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Ephesians. 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. These sons of Jacob were in order of their births Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. Reuben went up to his fathers bed to defile himself with his fathers wife, while Simeon and Levi contrived the awful revenge against their sister Dinah\’92s offender. The fourth son of Leah and Jacob, Judah, meaning praise, distinguished himself in delivering Benjamin to Joseph in Egypt showing the tremendous confidence that Jacob held for Judah in allowing his remaining son of his beloved and deceased Rachel to be taken from him. And from this head Judah, the seed comes through the Kingly line of David. \
Returning more specifically to the orderliness of the words of Life; Isaac seeing the wisdom of Rebekah\’92s favor of Jacob he instructs Jacob to depart from them and obtain a wife of Rebekah\’92s family at Haran. The wives of Esau had become burdensome to Rebekah because they were taken from among the idolaters of Canaan. \
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Jacob leaves Beer-sheba, the well of rest, he is alone from his mother and father\’92s councel and his forth-coming vow attests to his new dependence. He spends a night on a spot of the promised soil that is later known as Bethel, the house of God a site of a city at first called Luz, meaning almond tree. The location of this spot is about twelve miles north of Jerusalem on the right hand of the road that leads twenty-two more miles north to Shechem. There is today about five acres of ruins at the knoll that is situated somewhat against rocky terraced hills of pasturable land. The city was watered from four springs and in ancient times a hewn reservoir. Abram twice pitched his tent and built an altar to the LORD at Bethel. Deborah, Rebekah\’92s nurse was buried under an oak of Bethel and here fought the Israelites their second battle upon entering the promised land. The Ark of the Covenant afterwards dwelt in Bethel and King Josiah visited the tombs of the two prophets of the LORD at Bethel. But, Jacob, sleeps with a stone for a pillow and dreams of a ladder reaching up to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Jesus early in the Gospel of John declares to Nathanael: John 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. This the first correct interpretation of a Hebrew scripture scribed two thousand years before the Teacher spoke it. Some looking for miracles might light upon this thought, that like understanding of any of the written words of God brings enlightenment that never a person can tear from the hearer. When Jacob awakens he erects the stone for a pillar, that was not a new custom in that age, but his vow declaring his dependence upon the LORD God was. Then Jacob went on his journey,…\
To examine the scriptures with common sense and extensive detail is to discover the thinking of the author and the Holy Spirit who inspired the \
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writing. But if Abraham represents the Deity Father, and Isaac the Deity Son, it is not an offense to treat the person of the Holy Spirit as being shadowed as Jacob; for this third brother of heights comes down from the Holy Scriptures as the guide to teach. Here in this thought, Jacob leaves his habitation and seeks a wife outside of his abode [the promised land]. The scriptures describe the difficult person of Jacob who\’92s faith is exhilarating but his human qualities are so deflating. None-the-less the Holy Spirit is given from heaven, after the ascension of Jesus back to his Father in heaven, binding believers into one church. Thus, Jacob is revealed as one of the three faces of God in the three patriarchs of Israel\’92s Judaism and the fruitful one who spans the promise of God into twelve heads. This view completes the section AHIRAM, brother of heights, when Jacob leaves the land of promise. \
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The [SHUPHAM] Section, the name means humbly\
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In the section Shupham, outside of his land of blessing, Jacob the supplanter enters a region north of the Euphrates near the city of Haran; where his grandfather Abram had dwelt with his father Terah. His parents Isaac and Rebekah are many miles and the flood, as the rapid Euphrates was sometimes called because of its inundations, west of the well he approached. These were the people of the east that he inquired of, his only armor was the new confidence of a dream and his vow to the LORD. He was sent to find a wife and like his grandfather\’92s servant comes to a well. Here he finds Rachel the daughter of Laban, Rebekah\’92s brother. \
In the course of a month that he spends with Laban we understand that Laban meanders from his nephew the incidents causing Jacob\’92s presence with him, much more the reason for his visit than to just obtain a wife. Now, Laban knows that Jacob can not soon return to Isaac and so he offers him a paying job with the herds and justly at least in his own judgment he deceives Jacob in giving him Rachel\’92s older sister Leah to wife. And Laban, when confronted concedes Rachel, Jacob\’92s beloved, to be his wife as well. Had Laban only one daughter to give to Jacob; it is clear that, through the blessing of the LORD, there were to be still twelve sons of Jacob\’92s loins.\
With patience, a segment of holy scripture telling of the fruit of Jacob should become more significant by carefully discerning the incidents of each birth. Keeping in thought that Jacob represents the face of God that is the Holy Spirit these sons in all of the writings cloaking may be understood to \
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describe the individual traits of the seed, that is, the totally engulfing personality of Jesus of Nazareth that surfaces in the descriptions and his teachings found in the four Gospels. \
In all Leah delivers Jacob and the LORD eight sons [two by her maid Zilpah] and one daughter, Dinah and Leah gives birth first to a son named Reuben.\
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The Reuben portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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Requited by the LORD in opening her womb Leah\’92s first son\’92s name Reuben, means looked or see a son, as first life is presented to Jacob. It is this son upon whom is to be bestowed upon, the LORD\’92s blessing – assuredly, thought Jacob, but it was not come to be, for Reuben defiled his father couch and lost favor. A thought that Lucifer the elder, first held the position of Jesus until his fall from grace is reflected in this example of lost confidence.\
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The Simeon portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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Awakened to the reality that Jacob could never be in love with her, Leah believing she is under the vigilance of the LORD conceives and bears another son Simeon, meaning heard, submitting in longsuffering the desire for Jacob to dwell with her in her tent. This son also looses grace with Jacob along with the third in the same act of retribution.\
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The Levi portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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Strangely, Leah of her own strength and courage vaunts victory in \
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obtaining her husband\’92s presence by conceiving and baring a third son that she names Levi, meaning joined, as a kind of holiness in keeping Jacob for herself.\
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The Judah portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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In the fourth son, for Leah conceives and bares again, she acknowledges the LORD in naming him Judah, meaning praise, showing her magnified joy in giving her husband four sons. But she stops conceiving, significantly, for this son is the beginning of the lion of the tribe of Judah and receives Jacob\’92s blessing at the end.\
Rachel, although the recipient of Jacob\’92s love antagonizes Jacob for children and ultimately gives him Bilhah her handmaid to bare for her. The family trait, or was it that children were so precious in those days, seems to be handed past Isaac into Jacob from his grandfather Abram.\
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The Dan portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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It was humbling for Rachel to present Jacob a son of contrivance but her faith sees in it the favor of the LORD and names the child Dan, meaning dawn or judge [as when the light of morning reveals what darkness has hidden].\
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The Naphtali portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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Admitting the contest with her sister and not entirely satisfied with only Jacob\’92s love Rachel by Bilhah, delivers another son to her husband and her wrath is assuaged into temperance. The child\’92s name is Naphtali, meaning wrestling.\
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The Gad portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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In like manner as her younger sister, Leah strives for her husbands attention by giving him Zilpah her maid making him four wives. In triumph like the exuberance of faith in duplicating Rachel\’92s deed, Leah names Zilpah\’92s child Gad, meaning a troop, seeing that this fifth son to Leah\’92s credit far out-numbered the one of Rachel\’92s.\
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The Asher portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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Importantly, the term conceived is not used in the Record concerning Zilpah, only that she bare a son for Leah to happily present to Jacob naming it Asher. This is a strong indication that the two boys were twins a trait from the fraternal side understandably in the Adamic ancestry.\
The rivalry between the sisters is abased to the petty device of bartering for Jacob\’92s husbandry. \
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The Issachar portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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Yet, curiously purposeful in this situation, the LORD opens Leah\’92s womb and she conceives and gives birth to Issachar, meaning to hire; a reflection upon the means whereby she became pregnant.\
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The Zebulun portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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Thinking that the provision of six sons for Jacob would win him to share her tent Leah herself again delivers a son naming him Zebulun, the Hebrew \
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equivalent of the English word, dwell. And after Zebulun\’92s birth his twin sister is born and her name is Dinah, meaning justice.\
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The Joseph portion of the SHUPHAM section\
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In this final description, in the Shupham [humility] section, of a son of Jacob\’92s, for the twelfth son is born in the land of promise; Rachel is blessed by the LORD after many years with conception and the birth of Jacob\’92s beloved son Joseph, meaning to add, and Rachel\’92s prophesy of that a twelfth son will be added by her, is recorded here in a land not of the promise given to Abraham. \
And so are a substance of the meanings of the eleven sons of Jacob and Dinah his daughter, the fruit of his body outside of the land. \
The difficulties in sustaining four wives must have taxed Jacob greatly during their lives and a gleam of Esau\’92s avenger must have crept up the proud brow of Laban as he saw the strife between the sisters tug-of-war continue. But the LORD did not let Jacob suffer above what he was able to bear and Jacob\’92s own flock increased greatly to the point where envy began to separate the son-in-law and Laban and the LORD spoke to Jacob to return to his father Isaac\’92s tent. \
Josh. 24:2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood [the Euphrates River] in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. Now, they believed the LORD; but, because in the land they lived in on the east of the Euphrates the people worshiped dumb idols, making the practice of true altar worship of the LORD impossible. These idol objects were of human likeness with or without animal features cast of gold or silver \
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more often made of clay or carved stone or wood some only a few inches in height were placed at times of worship in a temple or near a significant pillar. Other idols were of full human form and size or larger and placed in specially built temple buildings. Idolatry clung to the descendants of Terah. Although, in Abraham, whom the LORD God separated into a land west of the Euphrates, the practice did not exist. In the great-grand-daughter of Terah the practice continues when Rachel steals the idols belonging to her father. This error ceases once they enter the promised land and Jacob commands his family to bury the figurines in the soil. Idolatry is still being rebuked in the New Testament with the exhortation in I John 5:21, Little children, keep yourselves from idols.\
After twenty years outside of the promised land of blessing Jacob righteously justifies himself from his father-in-law. That Laban represents the things of this present world can be passably assumed, for after leaving Laban the angels of God meet Jacob. Often in a believer\’92s life there is guilt concerning the hold that this world has upon them. However, as maturity through age increases the experience begins to be understood according to the inward desire that lays hold on the things of God. Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. God understands our humanity! Maturity in the faith causes the believer to continue on into another step of faith, into another spiritual truth about the Savior and his work. The real thoughts of learning are the encounters in the scriptures that thrills the heart and feeds the soul\’92s desire. Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.\
Having been pressed from behind by Laban and ahead by the ensuing \
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presence of Esau, Jacob, through not only concern for himself, fearing that Esau still sought to kill him, but to do harm through envy towards his large family of eleven sons and four wives; must have drawn upon every resource a man of sixty years could have and his faith in the LORD God whom he served with tithes and offerings. Jacob twenty years before at Bethel began with a vow to tithe a tenth of all that came to him. It is not clear what was done with this substance since Tabernacle worship waited some five hundred years to be instituted by Moses. It is evident that these patriarchs were priest-like intermediaries shadows of the Mosaic priesthood.\
Importantly, the LORD God had heard Isaac\’92s blessing upon Esau for when he meets Jacob his substance is such that his fierce wrath has abated towards his brother. Now the meeting of the brothers occurs on the east side of the Jordan before Jacob passed over the Jordan River and reentered the land and the night before the encounter Jacob meets a man whom he afterwards describes as having seen God face to face, the LORD himself it would seem, for the scriptures here do not identify the individual as an angel. Here outside of the land of promise in SHUPHAM, meaning humility, Jacob is elevated from the meaning of his name supplanter [substitute], to the name Israel, meaning prince with God. The wrestling match ends with the disabling of Jacob\’92s thigh causing him to halt or limp the remainder of his life. A short word study shows that the second meaning of the Hebrew word pasch or Passover means to limp or halt. Jacob it appears became the offering substitute for the group who passed over from a former life into the land of Israel and blessings. Jacob needed this encouragement of this encounter with the LORD, for his greatest fear is Esau his brother and he meets him in the way. Jacob\’92s plan of defense lies in dividing, a distinction of the Lord Jesus as he preached for he often divided his audience and today in the same realities by Holy Spirit. Thinking \
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then actions change in the believer individual as the mind of God matures a son of the Living. Still in fear, Jacob does not entirely relying upon his own devise but directs his appeal to the LORD God. David, the second king of Israel nearly always confided unto his LORD before taking decisive actions. Should this not have been so, in that, this same record of Jacob was available to David whose heart was after the LORD God. Esau and Jacob meet after at least twenty years and the holy conversation shows that the former animosity is extinct. Oddly enough, neither son mentions their father Isaac, although Jacob later journeys to him at Hebron. In this subsequent account Isaac lives then and on to become one hundred and seventy five years old. This is an incredible age, whether described in lunar years or solar years. Esau and Jacob bury Isaac in Hebron [fellowship] with Abraham and Sarah\
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The [HUPHAM] Section, the name means protection\
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Here, described in this section is the birth of Jacob\’92s youngest son Benjamin pointedly recorded as a subjective totality, because he too is a representative person as the base meaning of his name signifies – – son; and the God provided protection for Jacob\’92s family in Egypt. The protection is needed from the increasingly evil practices of the inhabitants of Canaan and the seven year drought. Significantly and orderly, all of the sons names are mentioned again in the blessing that Jacob bestows near the close of the book, minus the name Dinah, but adding Joseph\’92s oldest son Ephraim [fruitful] and again, lastly, Benjamin\’92s name when the blessings of Jacob are recorded. This cipher of names when considered from their meanings and clued by the two instances of Benjamin\’92s mention shows a form of description whose favorable distinctions illumine the perfect Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth. Defined by two different examples this section is Hupham, the descending of Jacob and his sons down into Egypt shadowing the manner of the Father Protectorate in sending his Messiah\’92s Maternal parent and her husband down into Egypt to escape from Herod the merciless tetrarch of Galilee, \
Jacob\’92s new freedom to worship is exemplified when he buys a parcel of land and builds an altar unto his God. This he had not done for twenty years east of the flood of the Jordan River; now, not only protected from the ways of the world he had departed from, Jacob became free to openly worship his LORD God in the promised land. With Isaac\’92s blessing Jacob is protected by the shield of vigilance of the LORD God who chose the land of Canaan for his \
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children of Israel whether he was outside or in the land of promise except for this alar act. Jacob purchased a plot of land and builds an altar, David purchased a parcel of land and builds an altar and Jesus purchased souls with his blood from the altar of the cross. Jacob named his altar El-Elohe-Israel, the mighty God of Israel.\
The proceeding events of Hupham unroll in this way. Dinah, the daughter of Leah, Jacob\’92s wife, leaves the tents of her father to visit the daughters of Canaan. This is an innocent enough act in itself; however, outside of the vigilance of the blessed of the LORD God the radiance of the believer is seen by the people of the earth as inexplicable beauty that they are immediately drawn to and wish to interact with. An unholy union follows with Shechem son of Hamor and Dinah the example providing what many of new covenant birth tend to miss; having only drawn from the old testament the ten laws of Moses and choice Psalms. Specifically, the law of Moses forbids adultery, rightly, a charge never brought against or Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry. That is, he never laid with the wife of another man, he being unmarried, to bring this shame upon himself and his Father. However, he was charged with being the son of fornication, the union of two unmarried persons, his mother having married Joseph after her first and holy conception. This last unjust claim is the old testament example of the instance with Dinah and Shechem. This is pointed out as an example because of the explicit instructions of the new council in Jerusalem by James and delivered to the church by Paul in Acts 15:1-[20]-[29]-31. But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. Indeed, these four instructions were superseded only by the Lord\’92s own explicit commandment to \’93love one another\’94 John 15:12&17. Today as then the custom of the people of the earth is opposite to what God prefers \
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for his disciples and when the youths leave the shelter of the elders knowledge and often advice, disappointment and atrocity can follow and sometimes no less than in the instance of Dinah and Shechem. Of course, from the believers point it is a recognizable unbalanced relationship with the Lord lacking in one individual. Yet, to the unbelieving partner the objection is unintelligible nonsense. And to two believers it just plain disobedience to the wishes of the Lord, if they have been instructed or know from reading the sacred text, for the council at Jerusalem formed the definitive foundation stones of the church. Matthew 16:18-20. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.\
With Jacob this tragedy with Dinah was a tremendous loss seeing that the populous of the Canaanite city seemed to be in agreement with some, at least, partial conversion to Jacob\’92s God. In it a great salvation might have been wrought had it not been for the Dinah\’92s brother\’92s unrestrained anger. \
Later, after Egypt and in the land, the tribe of Simeon did not prosper and became engulfed in the land of Judah and of course with Levi the LORD God required that tribe discharge the office of representing Israel at the Tabernacle and Temple in the drudgery of the daily animal sacrifices and offerings although the keeping of the written words was also given into their hands both honorable tasks in themselves; but it was more than two thousand years after Moses gave commandment until all Temple worship was abolished with the foretelling by the Lord Jesus of the destruction of Jerusalem and that by Vespian and Titus of Rome. Should the reader desire to draw a critical eye \
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upon this understanding consider the outcome of Reuben, Jacob\’92s eldest erring son, who should have received the choice blessing but whose tribe inhabited on the east side of the Jordan River. All the while Judah won the honors of Jacob\’92s thoughts and the Kingship of David, the city of Jerusalem and ultimately sprang forth with the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. \
If ever a potters mark was upon any situation that marked a typical characteristic of God; it is in his dealing with Abram and Jacob. Abram\’92s laps of faith that caused him to leave Bethel and wander down into the silent darkness of Egypt was met with his return from Egypt, again to Bethel; where he had been before. With Jacob it is a laps of faith in his two sons that causes the entire family, the larger body of faith, to suffer. From the disaster of Shechem the LORD sends Jacob to Bethel, where he had stopped prior to his leaving Canaan. The name Jacob can describe the individual or his total family unit, just as in the personal name of Jacob – – Israel, Biblically describes the total nation. Jacob is then by this understanding, in the meaning of his name, elaborately described in the personages of his sons. This building of description broadens the understanding of Jacob\’92s person as a parallel holy revealing of the LORD God himself from the first portrate of the seed person not then given.\
So terrifying had been Jacob\’92s dream at the place he called Bethel that twenty years later he gives strict orders for his household to abandon their idols from Padan-aram and he buries the horde under an oak at Shechem before obeying the command from God to proceed to Bethel. Now, what is a house but a residence and this spot where Jacob dreamed the perfect description. On a level high and lifted up stands the LORD God and a ladder reaching from heaven to the earth upon which the the servants of the heavenly house carry their messages. Is not a mansion addressed with steps up into the \
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habitation, and this that Jacob beheld, the abode of the Living God. In addition the LORD God stands, as in greeting and speaks to Jacob of his inheritance. All of these things are found in a house, thus, the name that Jacob gives the spot – – the house of God.\
Following are three persons names significantly placed together – – Deborah, Israel, and Rachel. Again, it would seem that rather unrelated information is provided to the reader, however, consider that Deborah, Jacob\’92s mother\’92s handmaid, a person nearly as dear to him as Rebekah herself, dies and is buried at the house of God. Deborah means, bee. Israel is the name given to Jacob by God Almighty, the name his descendants collectively are known by. And Jacob\’92s beloved Rachel, means ewe. Later, when the children of Israel are brought from Egypt into the land of promise to inherit it is described in the Holy Writ as a land flowing with milk and honey. Exodus. 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites… Certainly this promise indicates prosperity; but here, in view of Jacob\’92s tender feelings toward\’92s Deborah and Rachel, a land of endearment is also indicated. Colosians. 1:13,14 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Echoed again is the power of the seed to overcome; that Adam and the Woman heard of from the mouth of the LORD God in the earlier land of blessing, the Garden of Eden.\
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Benjamin portion of the HUPHAM section\
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Unlike the person he shadows, for the name of God can never change in \
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meaning or power whether mentioned in Genesis or the Revelation, his mother before her death gives Israel\’92s last son the name Ben-oni, son of my sorrow; but his father names him Benjamin, meaning son of my right hand. This right hand of course is Jacob\’92s second wife Rachel who stood at his right hand. The only son born to Jacob who is born in the land of promise Benjamin is again listed in the bestowing of Jacob\’92s blessing upon his sons – – last, lending impressive meaning to the verse: Rev. 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Perhaps in sorrow over Joseph Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin – a son – one like his father. John 10:30 I and my Father are one. John 10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Since he is the first and the last then it is reasonable to think that he is all that is in-between, that is the names of Jacob\’92s other sons. \
With his flock of sons and fat herds of livestock Israel passes from Edar on to Mamre unto the city of Arbah more than twenty years after he left Isaac and Rebekah, although his mother is not again mentioned here as living or deceased, notwithstanding, at the close of Genesis Jacob mentions her as buried with Isaac. Here Jacob finds his ancient father, probably totally blind; and like Isaac\’92s mother Sarah having chosen to be in fellowship with his LORD God. A conversation is not recorded, only that Isaac lives to the incredible age of one hundred and seventy five years of age, twice the age expectancy of today. His sons Esau and Jacob as one, the flesh and the spirit as they might be likened, twins from the womb, bury their father with Isaac\’92s father and mother Abraham and Sarah.\
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A hefty full page account of the generations of Edom, that is Esau, now confronts the reader and somewhat bewildering in purpose because Esau\’92s rejection from the promises of the LORD is clearly stated. However, included is this detailed account of the rulers and dukes descending from the elder son of Isaac. Should Esau continue to be chosen to represent an analogy of the flesh in the spiritual sense it might be recalled that God counts the hairs and hovers in concern for the fallen sparrows. How much more concern for the life of a man or woman in whom he by longsuffering gives longevity allowing for their repentance demonstrated in this display of genealogy. Might also the ancient record have been kept in anticipation of the seed through what ever line, that it might not be lost, knowing the mercies of the LORD God. But at long last, it is clearly seen that the Lord\’92s holy line of faith ancestors is not found, even a grain being in the midst of this long line of names, and yet, it remains in the holy script. And the unnamed descendants of Esau who attended the demise of Jerusalem when she went into captivity are reproved as seen in the smallest of the old covenant books that shouts the loudest reproof at any that make lightness of the children of Jacob – – the prophet Obadiah verse 4, Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. and verses 10-11, For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. and verse 18, and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. It is seen even in this remote corner of the HUPHAM section the dreadful protection that is afforded to the descendants of Jacob by the Almighty God of Abraham, \
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Isaac and Jacob. Further, and more importantly for the present, if God justified those of Jacob, shall he not more protect the beloved bride of his only Son?\
Jacob dwells protected in the land of blessing a clue to the believers rest today – – today, cognizant to all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, indeed rightful heirs to spiritual blessing. Ephesians1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: There is nothing hidden from the receiver who knows where to seek. For Jacob, perfect blessing was in the land and was the land, for there he received the abundance of a second son from his beloved wife Rachel. Had Jacob and Rachel their own choice there would, with Rachel\’92s same fruitfulness, have been only two sons of Israel. But Providence, for the purpose of Biblical example and the abundance of souls promised to Abraham as the sand of the sea, twelve sons complete the bundle of life set for the patriarch Jacob. And what, might be asked, is the Biblical example in providing such a large family? Israel\’92s fruitfulness! For the fruit of the spirit is Gal. 5:22, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,… unto twelve revealings. Today the church has the unequaled inheritance of all spiritual blessings. Now bewilderment strikes its ugly blow – – where are these gifts found and how are they acquired? Without faith it is impossible to please God. As a Jacob re-entered into the land of the Holy Bible, faith, makes all acquisitions through a long walk of diligence: Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. This sounds more like a promise that is of new covenant proportions; but, it is the voice of the same God speaking to Abraham, Genesis.13:17.\
Begins now the account of the person most like the Lord Jesus himself, both in personality and events, that the old covenant presents; at least, in \
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quantity of likenesses for the words concerning Joseph are abundant, like the fruitful bow of a tree that hangs over a wall into the readers heart. And so Jacob\’92s heart did yearn over his oldest son of Rachel, whom he presumed dead and was missing for some twenty years from his fathers presence. And Jesus is the elder son of Mary the beloved of his heavenly Father whom in the time of his earthly works was absent from the Father many years. Now Joseph was seventeen years old and Jacob\’92s favorite son of the twelve and Jacob could not conceal this affection nor did he try but marked Joseph in providing a striking coat of many colors probably, green, red, blue, black, purple and white that undoubtedly could be seen from afar in the field. And it is to the fields that Jacob sent Joseph to learn of his other sons welfare as they tended the flocks. This places Joseph in a position of messenger work that Joseph does not seem to even fit into from the feeling of the presentation and perhaps the youth was released unwillingly from the learning of letters and the reading of scripts in the tent of his father. At any rate, the injury that Jacob feels at Joseph\’92s disappearance would have been multiplied further with this real value that would have kept Joseph close to him, magnified with the loss of Rachel. It is easy to see that Jacob could not be comforted. Having been directed on north past Shechem to Dothan, meaning double feasts, for there are two wells at this point that are on a caravan route that connected merchandise rich Syria with Egypt; Joseph, without doubt, has found the core of his brother\’92s \’93evil report\’94 where he finds them in conversation with the doings of the \’93world\’94 at that time. For these caravans stopped for water, an occasion that at the slow pace of caravan travel, would have been the place of exchanges of news from all quarters of the earth and the current trends of conduct. And envy multiplied in the brothers having been victims of the world\’92s greed there and they rose against this real prophet of dreams that had seen his rightful God given \
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position in the family and they killed him, so they thought, at least he was put away from antagonizing them. But this narrator, who had to have been Joseph, for other than the eyes of God, who would have known the following events, sees the resurrection of Joseph from the pit of death by the hands of the descendants of the other children of Abraham, the Midianites and the Ishamaelites. The Midianites were of Midian a son of Keturah Abraham\’92s second wife. The Ishmaelites were Abraham\’92s wife Sarah\’92s handmaid Hagar\’92s son\’92s descendants from an Egyptian wife that Hagar took for Ishmael, thus they took Joseph to Egypt. The guilty brothers, by consent and act, cannot comfort Jacob who believes Joseph to be dead.\
However, Judah had not been among the conspirators that slew Joseph for he had sought a bride, and it seems lived with his father-in-law away from even his father\’92s tent at Hebron at the time. The appearance of Judah within the account of Joseph is central to the analogy of Joseph. The LORD had not intervened in the affairs that occurred to Joseph but he would not allow Judah to generate an evil lineage for it is through Judah that the Messiah seed is to emerge nineteen hundred years hence. And the LORD slays Judah\’92s sons Er and Onan – – how? and their younger brother Shelah when he is grown Judah does not give to Tamar, the wife of Er, for her to have children. This was the custom then in most eastern countries where the mortality rates of babies and mothers seems to have exceeded. Tamar the daughter-in-law of Judah contrives for the seed that Judah carries and succeeds, nearly to her own destruction; but, twins are born of the single union and it is through one of the sons, Pharez, that the holy line to Jesus of Nazareth is accomplished.\
With the purpose of the interjection of Judah disclosed, Joseph is found during that same time in Egypt, without his coat of many colors that certainly would have lent a degree of influence had he retained it, a slave. A glimpse \
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into the orderly life of early Egypt is given along with the favor he finds and the personal qualities in Joseph that brings him notoriety in the dark country. Even in Egypt the LORD is at least observed and that possibly through Joseph\’92s own testimony. That Joseph was knowledgeable in the way of LORD is indication that early training had occurred to the seventeen year old. With this grace came responsibility in his masters house and the prosperity that is attached to his person through the LORD occurs to what ever he lays his hand upon. Often believers today find prosperity happening in their lives. The events are so slow in happening that they are often overlooked as coming from God and the thanks due to the Provider slack. Truly the words of John the Baptist in the Gospel of John ring true: John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 3:27. This is true with the spiritual gifts and the physical gifts alike therefore both acquisitions are fixed with responsibility. Joseph in these scriptures shows how this affords the holder with unlimited enablement. Of course, having the revelation of his earlier dreams while in his father\’92s tent must have certainly undergirded his mind from despair, the setback that puts him in prison certainly tested his faith in the dream system that the LORD still used to communicate. In the days of the early church Peter saw in a dream the large sheet let down from heaven. This occurrence of valid visions seems to have disappeared with the completion of the written words of the desires and instructions of God in the Holy Bible. Today the church can rest confidently in the complete and authoritative Holy Bible as the crown guide to an obedient and holy life in the Savior.\
Even in prison responsibility is delegated to Joseph and this freedom places him in a position whereby he has conversation with imprisoned servants of the Pharaoh of Egypt. The butler and the cook are possibly over fearful of \
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the occurrence of the sleeping mind. Of course, in jail what other guide could be looked upon even if they did not understand the dream and this is where as in the early church an interpreter was required. But in this case when Joseph, because he is reportedly a Hebrew, meaning one who has crossed over [into a place of blessing], rightly interprets the outcome of the two dreams and the butler lives, not because he is less guilty at offending Pharaoh: but because in the scene next described he is closest to Pharaoh; whereas the cook would have not had ready access to the knowledge that ultimately placed Joseph in the presence and opportunity of the Pharaoh. \
Again Joseph interprets a dream this time Pharaoh\’92s and rightly as any true prophet of the LORD. Good thing too as the price of failure could have meant Joseph\’92s head. However, the LORD has his way in the affairs of state and of men and Joseph is elevated to a position nearly equal to that of Pharaoh himself. Pharaoh gives Joseph the ring from Pharaoh\’92s own hand as token of the authority Joseph then possessed. Interestingly, only three persons, holding Pharaoh as a count, wear rings in the Bible – – Joseph, Haman and Mordecai. Genesis. 41:42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph\’92s hand… Esther. 8:2 And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. The rings were generally signet rings with some sort of emblem of personal identification to verify the Kings authority in making decrees and ordinances, what mark was left on wax seals. And Pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian name Zaphnath-paaneah, meaning sustainer of life; and a wife by which he has two sons. Asenath his wife was the daughter of an Egyptian priest indicating how highly Pharaoh considered the talents and gifts that Joseph possessed. At that time Joseph was thirty years old and in the subsequent seven years he fattened Pharaoh\’92s storage houses with corn and grain.\
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Then in the famine the eleven sheaves and Jacob bowed unto the ruler of Egypt for food to sustain them in years of drought. And thus twenty years after Joseph dreams the event comes to pass. But at first, it is not known to his brethren that they have submitted to Joseph and he mentally antagonizes them. They confess among themselves their sin in transgressing against their brother Joseph those years before, and Joseph, no longer able to restrain himself, reveals his identity. Here the scriptures exemplifies the return of the rejected Lord Jesus to the Jews and they ultimately recognize their rejected Messiah an event that has yet to occur and is further described in The Revelation 14:1, And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father\’92s name written in their foreheads. The agony of Joseph\’92s disclosure reveals the frustrations of being separated from his family, especially Benjamin, Rachel\’92s youngest son. Also is the evidence of Rachel\’92s passing before Joseph was sold into slavery or else he would have inquired of her also. This is a very poignant account of human emotions and interactions indicative of the tender passions of the Lord Jesus. Matthew. 10:31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. Weighty, human, declarations and promises befitting any type of relationship. In addition, it may be that the scene of Joseph receiving his brethren in his own house; may suggest that Ezekiel\’92s new millennium Temple will be complete and the Lord residing, when Jesus is reconciled to his brethren of Israel.\
An understanding of the feelings that the Father has for his beloved Son is best revealed in the Old Testament when Jacob is finally convinced of Joseph\’92s safety at the sight of the wagons that he has sent for Jacob. Here a mourning father receives his son back to life in a figure of thought and the \
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problems of the drought are solved for the children of Israel. Being of advanced age, Jacob himself and probably the youngest offspring, are carried down into Egypt in wagons. Nearly four hundred years later the Egyptian wheels of wagons carry the heaavy gold plated boards of the Tabernacle of Witness that Moses builds, through the wilderness and into the promised land.\
At Beer-sheba, wells of peace, God speaks one more recorded time to Jacob telling him that he will bring them back up from Egypt and that Jacob will die there, for Joseph, he says, shall put his hand upon thine eyes. It is noteworthy that God does not speak to anyone, even Joseph, in the land of Egypt revealing that Egypt represents a place of non-fellowship with the Creator. This is symbolic of the instances when believers fall out of fellowship with the Lord and a hunger for the word of God increases. Accept for the illustration that it represents; this is not desirable nor necessary in the walk of faith, for remember that it is the son Isaac who never went down into Egypt at all and when his son Jacob finds him at the close of his life he is dwelling in Hebron, meaning fellowship. Jacob accepts this, upon the basis of his promise to Jacob that his seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and is God\’92s way of protecting his children [seventy souls] in the infancy of a nation; for when Moses leads them from the dark country, Israel is numbered better than a million individuals. Remember that this decent into Egypt parallels the protection that God afforded to the child Jesus when Herod was the real drought for the Word of the God in the land of Israel. In this way can be seen the representative nature of a people in figure of the later One individual. \
The names and the English meanings of the sons of Jacob along with the description of the actions of the God of Israel, Deuteronomy chapter thirty three written by Moses, sets these things together were realized by Moses who gathered them from the book of Genesis, begins, and this must be understood \
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as only the beginning of, the spiritual form of the living seed, for the person of God is unfathomable. And these seventy names are rehearsed in the scriptures the sons of Jacob and their sons. These are the names that divide the book of Genesis into intelligent and proper forms; save that, of the women [since God described to Adam and the Woman in the Garden of Eden that the seed was to be male – – his heel] and Er and Onan [deceased]. In addition, although they do not effect the structure of Genesis because they are not named in this present list, later in the other books certain further male descendants names are not used since they died in the wilderness journey having to wit not a blessing, as Er and Onan. Here these individuals without blessing can be termed as not children of the faith, that is exemplified by the three patriarchs, as essential to be acceptable in the land of presence.\
The touching scene with Joseph and Jacob can not be more beautifully put and that Jacob sent Judah – praise, the elder son in favor, ahead unto Joseph to let him know of his arrival is the perfect genius of the Holy Spirit both in moving the God fearing and recording the incidents. Hebrews. 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. In this, the nuptial symbolism of priesthood assumed by Joseph is his high office in Egypt and is gratifying to the heart that seeks the innuendo\’92s of the scriptures. Prompting his family about their presentation before Pharaoh that they should reveal their occupations, Joseph procures for them the choicest grazing for Jacob\’92s flocks in Goshen, since a shepherd is an abomination to the agricultural Egyptians. Also, before this interview Jacob is apparently carried patriarchal style in to speak before Pharaoh. Then it is the words of Jacob that confirm the turbulence of his life and the regrettable shortness of the joy that he now enjoys in Joseph\’92s presence, for he is already one hundred and thirty \
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years old, and knows that he will not live into the several hundred years as did his earlier ancestors Noah, Shem and Eber. Understandably, it is Jacob that blesses Pharaoh implying not only Jacob\’92s great material wealth but his Priestly position. God institutes this high position into only one man upon the earth and came into being with the blessing that Melchizedek, priest of the High God, bestowed upon Abraham and was the instance of transferal, in that no other priestly emerges other that of the Jacobic Levi later in Exodus, to assume such a great institution. Of course, this office is ultimately seen in the person of Jesus of Nazareth authorized in the new covenant book of Hebrews quoting Psalms 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, through Abraham. During the years of drought Joseph procures for Pharaoh all the lands of Egypt and those owners as slaves to till his land, all from the interpretation of Pharaoh\’92s dream and Joseph\’92s excellent business skills. This distinction of being the wealthiest man in Egypt and perhaps all of the known earth can be with certainty confirmed from the blessing that Jacob bestowed upon Pharaoh. Genesis. 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis. 28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Note how fitting this latter part of this last verse fits the generations of Noah as they spread across the earth. It is an indication of this happening, due to the unchanging innate characteristics that define the continuing nature of the Living God. And even more in verse14 is the picture of the cross of Jesus in the spreading abroad of that represented sacrifice that blesses the entire population of the earth in all generations. In the old testament the event is hoped for by way of illustrations and in the new \
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testament it is seen and looked back upon, while the believer\’92s heart takes rest in the imminent return of the Lord Jesus to the earth.\
The entry that relates the seventeen year span Jacob lived in Egypt before his death; also, includes the record of a custom that at first see indicates a physical confirmation of agreement first recorded with Abraham seeking a wife for Isaac. The Bible dictionaries relate the act as implying the part of the body representing \’91posterity and vital power\’92 while early commentators imply meaning to the act of circumcision. Sever slaughter in battle is early recorded as \’91hip and thigh\’92 victory. Consideration might also be afford to the thigh as the strength in ones walk or journey in life especially in that by faith. The placing of the hand along with this thought produces a physical record, so to speak, of the walk of faith. Moe pointedly the written account, applicable in Joseph\’92s confirmation to his father, since Joseph and Jacob only could have been conversant to the knowledge of the full happenings beginning with the earlier section titled Jacob. It is significant that this incident is recorded separate, away from Jacob\’92s death and his blessing of Joseph\’92s sons; a space of time that would have been needed for Joseph to write the ancient Jacob\’92s mind on parchment with ink and pen.\
The double-blessing upon Joseph\’92s sons makes clear Jacob\’92s favor of Rachel\’92s eldest son and compensation for what had occurred to him. Jacob\’92s faith is not in question, only that the LORD God had revealed to him Judah\’92s descendants would produce the conquering Savior of the Woman, the scene from the Garden of Eden. Dispite Joseph\’92s fine qualities and that Joseph was the eldest son of Rachel; it was markedly so that sin still dominated in their lives and the serpents head had not been bruised: they still sought in each birth their Redeemer. But of the sons of Leah, Judah had procured Jacob\’92s confidence and the seed\’92s line of descent and the elder-younger [Judah-\
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Ephraim] struggle to be family head begins. Youth is impatient to procure the advantages of maturity and likewise in faith confusion arises until: IIThessalonians 3:5 … the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.\
Now the land of promise that is to be Joseph\’92s happens in his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh means forgetful and is the oldest, while Ephraim meaning fruitful and the youngest, is set ahead of the oldest in preference due to the meaning of their names. 1Corinthians. 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition… This was not just done to Joseph\’92s sons at Jacob\’92s whim but for those who read of them after that spiritual growth and understanding might come. Here, preferred above the forgetfulness of sins covered by salvation, is the fruitfulness of spiritual health, that the man of faith might be full. Gal. 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Later, when Israel enters the land allocation of land is given to Ephraim next to Manasseh, thus giving Joseph a double portion as Jacob designated. Manasseh\’92s tribal land was divided, part on the east side of the Jordan and part adjacent to Ephraim on the west side of the Jordan. Ephraim\’92s population far exceeded the others as well.\
The time of Jacob\’92s departure comes and he blesses his son with prophetic expansions of the meanings of their names:\
Reuben – – [look a son] the first born, of Leah, she said, surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction… Jacob said: my might, the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and power – – lost in his selfish act of transgression against his father\’92s bed. Reuben\’92s portion of land was on the east of the Jordan part of the land of Moab, outside of the designated place of blessing. But of Jesus the true Reuben it is written: …was transfigured before \
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them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. Matthew 17:2 & 8. \
Simeon and Levi – – the second son and the third son [they were not twins] of Leah, she said, because the LORD hath heard…, and, now my husband will be joined unto me… Jacob said, instruments of cruelty are in their habitations [cruel because of how they had been used in a hate crime]. Simeon\’92s small portion of land fell inside of Judah\’92s, Levi resided in every town of every tribe in priestly service, no land was allocated for them as a tribe. John 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. John 14:16,17… And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth;\
Judah – – the fourth son of Leah, she said, Now will I praise the LORD… Jacob said: thou art he, a statement from whom the expected seed came, but he did not look though Judah but into Judah and continued, a conqueror he is and the Septre shall not depart from Judah, an indication of the eternal continuity of the Savior. Matthew. 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. [Shiloh]. Every festival day Israel gathered her sons to Jerusalem of Judah. The Saviors lineage is through Jacob, Israel, his people. He will be a man like any other man but he will shed his blood upon his garments as a crushed grape, but he shall live again as a man that eats and drinks of the bounty of the earth. So is the Messiah of Israel. Matthew. 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\
Zebulun – – the son of Leah, she said now will my husband dwell with \
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me…, Jacob said, he shall dwell at the haven of the sea. His allocation of land almost five hundred years later was along the Mediterranean Sea into the land of the Phoenician city Sidon far north of the north latitude of the Sea of Galilee where much later Jesus dwelt in the small freshwater coastal village of Capernaum where he began his ministry. John 1:38, 39 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.\
Issachar – – the son of Leah, she said, God hath given me my hire, Jacob said, a strong ass…a servant unto tribute. Jesus, laborer supreme, pleasingly and faithfully served his heavenly Father. John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. Concerning the second part of this sentence, the conscientious enquire as to how Jesus is enabled to guide his conduct. The first Adam before his demise, like the Last Adam was created without sin, neither did either do wrong. The new creature [us folks], created in Christ, are the same. But each being, still dwells together with their old man and the new creature and there is a war in which we do both bad and good. The Apostles not only expound the good conduct, but show the way to enablement, allowing one to do the things that please our heavenly Father. Fortunately, while in this deplorable temporary condition God sees only the actions of the Lord Jesus who pleads our case for us. He is the hired, Perfect Attorney. \
Dan – – a son of Bilhah Rachel\’92s handmaid, Rachel said, God hath judged me… Jacob said, Dan shall judge his people, not other than Israelites, and when they continue in sin he shall cause them to fall backward, that is, helplessly unbelieving as punishment. John 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye \
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were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.\
Gad – – a male twin of Zilpah Leah\’92s handmaid, Leah said, a troop cometh, an exclamation of twins, of a gene carried by Jacob. Of Gad Jacob said, A troop shall overcome him but he shall overcome at last. A troop of old sins overcame Simon Peter when he cursed, but Jesus said, Luke 22:31,32 … Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: \
Asher – – the younger twin of Zilpah Leah\’92s handmaid, Leah said, Happy am I… Jacob said, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. This was a northern coastal tribe along the Mediterranean that afforded them the wares and foods of the whole world through the trafficking of the Phoenicians merchants. These people seem not to be mentioned in Joshua\’92s conquering of the land and were not driven out of the land by Asher in the book of Judges and remained, it appears, always helpful to the Israelites. However, as the meaning relates to the Lord Jesus: John 6: 9, 11,12,13 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among… five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Matthew. 5:2,3 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… etc., royal dainties.\
Naphtali – – a son of Bilhah Rachel\’92s handmaid, Rachel said, with great \
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wrestlings have I wrestled [for Jacob] with my sister, Jacob said, Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. The hind, female for hart, is now extinct in Palestine but was then a fallow deer like creature and if like the deer quick and agile and the female protective of her young. This probably most fits Jacob\’92s natural abilities and feelings that he sees mirrored in Naphatali who evidently like his father has good words to say, fitly. This is also like our Lord as he is seen talking with his disciples: John 15:8,9 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.\
Joseph – – the elder son of Rachel, and Rachel says, the LORD shall add unto me another son. Jacob says, Joseph is a fruitful bough, and he did provide abundantly in feeding his family in Egypt. Of the Lord Jesus it is recorded in John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:… Doesn\’92t that not sound much like Joseph, son of Jacob?\
Ephraim – – the younger son of Joseph, Joseph said, For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of affliction. Jacob blesses Ephraim with words of elaboration upon the blessing of Joseph as if he were speaking of Joseph and before the close is again blessing the crown of Joseph. Joseph the father and Ephraim the son; Jesus said, John 10:17,18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. John 15:1,2 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.\
If Mannaseh was present at the table of Jacob\’92s blessings he is \
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purposefully not mentioned and some mysteries remain concerning the scriptures because he is not asked of; but, it is known that the area of land allotted to Manasseh included the fruitful Bashan east of the Jordan and at least part of the Plains of Sharon along the Mediterranean coast north of Ephraim\’92s portion. It is evident that the lack of blessing for scriptural purposes was generously turned about in the allotment by Joshua\’92s. Then to, when the names are applied in the book of Exodus a place for Manasseh is not found. Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. In this instance, do not put something where the spirit has not made space for since it is given of a Mind far exceeding earthly understanding. Of the remaining words of Jacob concerning Ephraim it evident that he sees far into the future upon a person that we know as the Lord Jesus, for no other could fit the splendid frame of words.\
The section HUPHAM, page 32 [of the preceeding book of Genesis], begins with Benjamin\’92s birth and here Benjamin is designated in the son\’92s blessings causing him to be the beginning and the end of the places shown by the names of the sons of Jacob in [HUPHAM].\
Benjamin – – the younger son of Rachel, Rachel said, she called his name Ben-oni, son of my sorrow, but Jacob called him Benjamin. Jacob blessed him saying: With the strength of the powerful wolf, Benjamin shall have control. This was seen in the days of Israel\’92s first king, Saul. In the Lord Jesus this might is evident in his handling of the controlling scribes and pharisees of his earthly ministry, and his re-delegation of the true power of faith to his chosen disciples.\
The words of the Leah and Rachel and Joseph are found in the section SHUPHAM [REUBEN] page 26&27 and HUPHAM [BENJAMIN] page 32 and \
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HUPHAM [BENJAMIN] page 39. \
The remaining scriptures contained in the place, Benjamin, records of Jacob\’92s death and burial. It is ironic to notice that in death Jacob is buried with Leah who all of her life fought her sister for Jacob\’92s presence and that Rachel Jacob\’92s beloved is buried alone far to the north of Hebron in the small town of Bethlehem. In Hebron this day the tomb of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah is covered by a regal edifice of stone, and guarded, being revered by Jew, Christian and Moslem. And Joseph is buried alone further north than Bethlehem in the city of Shechem a city in the land allotted to his oldest son Manasseh.\
The symbolism that gives the steps into verifying that one person can represent the whole people and inversely the whole populous to figure the individual is best seen when Joseph is placed in a coffin in Egypt. This describes the whole of Jacob\’92s loins; held by the instructions of God to Jacob not to fear in going down into the darkness of non-fellowship; that he would bring them up again. In Egypt, under Joseph\’92s protection, they became his guardianship. God did not loose sight of his people there, he just did not desire their attentions outside of the land blessed. Here again this was the like case of Jacob in Padan-aram with his father-in-law, but he prospered there and so did the children of Israel in Egypt. From seventy souls to over one million people, although some of these may have been Egyptian proselytes, so much did the sons of Jacob grow in population.\
The close of the book of Genesis is poignant; for it speaks of the seed promised to Adam and the Woman in the Garden of Eden as having fallen into the black earth of Egypt. The book mentions the sprouting of the children of Jacob and their coming up out of Egypt; but, the book itself closes so tightly about the person of Joseph that the illustration leaves the reader feeling the \
#\
darkness of death inside of the coffin. \
A walk through Genesis that began cautiously with heightened awarness of the covering canopy and halting steps upon cleverly concealed stepping stones of names; ends with a stone that seen from its enormity, is not after all a place to put the foot. It is with much relief The Stone to cast upon, without restraint, ones soul and spirit and all cares. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Matt. 21:44, as true then, at the close of the first time of the Nation Israel, as it is now at the close of the Church age. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ…Romans 13:11-14. \
Even though the ministry and work of the Savior and the apostles understandings and the Holy Spirit are needed to enlighten the deep sayings of Genesis, this majestic masterpiece of literature stands alone in its unique comprehension of the mind of the Holy Creator. I Corinthians 2:9-12 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. \
\
\
#\
The Places \
\

\fs20 the names and words within Genesis with references showing their origins \
\
\
\
\
Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis Genesis \
\
Bela (lamp) Ashbel (flowing) Ahiram(br.ht) Shupham (Son) Hupham (in Egypt)\
Josh. 18:2 Dt. 33:27-29 (Gn.12:4-28-22) Gn. 29:1-33:17 Gn.33:18,49:2-27 \
\
Benjamin Refuge Abraham Reuben Benjamin \
Simeon Arms Isaac Simeon Reuben\
Zebulun Thrust Jacob Levi Simeon \
Issachar Destroy Judah Levi\
Asher Alone Dan Judah\
Naphtali Fountain Naphtali Zebulun\
Dan Land Gad Issachar\
Heavens Asher Dan\
Shield Issachar Gad Sword Zebulun Asher\
(Dinah) Naphtali\
Joseph Joseph\
Ephriam\
Benjamin\

\fs24 \
\
\
As King David of Israel described: \’93the bundle of life\’94 and here the bundle is the sons of Jacob and the seed is within them. 1Samuel. 25:29 …but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God;\

\fs20 \
\

\fs24 #
\fs20 \
\
\
The Messiah\’92s Genealogy\
\
\
\pard\tx560\tx1120\tx1680\tx2240\tx2800\tx3360\tx3920\tx4480\tx5040\tx5600\tx6160\tx6720\pardirnatural\partightenfactor0

\fs18 \cf0 \
\

\fs20
\fs18 continued from first column
\fs20 \

\fs18 Adam 4004 BC\
Seth David — same — David\
Enos Solomon Nathan\
Cainan Rehoboam Mattiatha\
Mahalaleel Abijah Menan\
Jared Asa Melea \
Enoch Jehosaphat Eliakim\
Methuselah Jehoram Jonan\
Lamech Ahaziah Joseph\
Noah Joash Juda\
Shem Amasiah Simeon\
Arphaxad Uzziah Levi\
Salah Jotham Matthat\
Eber Ahaz Jorim\
Peleg Hezekiah Eliezer\
Reu Manasseh Jose\
Serug Amon Er\
Nahor Josiah Elmodam\
Terah Jehoahaz Cosam\
Abram [Abraham] Addi\
Isaac Salathiel Melchi \
Jacob Neri\
Judah Zerubbabel Salathiel\
Pharez Zorobabel\
Hezron Abiud Rehesa\
Aram Joanna\
Aminadab Eliakim Juda\
Naasson Joseph\
Salmon Azor Semiel\
Boaz Mattathias\
Obed Sadoc Maath\
Jesse Nagge\
Achim Esli\
Naum\
Eliud Amos\
Mattiathias\
Eleazar Joseph\
Janna\
Matthan Melchi\
Levi\
Jacob Matthat\
Heli\
Joseph [married] Mary\
*\
Jesus of Nazareth\
the Messiah of Israel\
the Son of the Living\
God\
\
\

\fs24 #
\fs18 \

\fs24 \
page 3483, include with Genesis Compendium\
\
#\

\fs18 \
Index \
\
name or term page where first found,\
other than as headings\
\
Abel 24 Abram 43\
Abraham 19 \
Adam 1\
adams 16\
Adams 15\
adversary 10\
alone 4\
Almighty 31\
altar 29\
animal sacrifices 33\
Antioch 2\
Ararat 32\
Ard 11\
Ark [Noah\’92s] 31\
Ark of the Covenant 60 \
arms 25\
Asher 66\
asteroid 9\
\
Benjamin 8\
Beresheth 4\
Bethel 46\
blessings 16\
blood 20\
bundle [of life] 80 \
\
Cain 24\
caterpillar 6\
Catholic 2\
Celebration 3\
Chief 4\

\fs24 101
\fs18 \
Index, continued \
\
name or term page where first found,\
other than as headings\
\
Christ 38\
Christians 2\
church 3 \
cross 21\
cuneiform 32 \
\
Dan 67\
David 72\
Dead Sea 49 \
destroy[ed] 10 \
deity 49\
Dinah 62\
dinosaurs 9\
Dothan 81\
\
Eden 1\
Edom 79\
Egypt 7\
Enoch 7\
Ephraim 73\
Esau 78\
eternal life 24\
Euphrates River 19\
Eve 26\
Everest [Mount] 39 \
\
faith 2\
Father 5\
Fertile Crescent 20\
fig 22\
firstfruit 4\
flood[s] 8 \

\fs24 102
\fs18 \
Index, continued \
\
name or term page where first found,\
other than as headings\
\
forgiveness 28 \
fountain 37\
Fundamentalists 2\
\
Gad 68\
Garden of Eden 2\
genealogy 6\
Gerar 50\
Gethsemane 57\
God 1\
\
Ham 34 \
Haran 37\
heavens 9\
Hebrew 9\
High Priest 10\
Hittite 59\
Holy Spirit 1\
\
ice ages 9\
idols 44\
Ishamael 51\
Israel 52\
Issachar 68\
\
Jacob 3\
Japheth 34\
Jehovah 4\
Jesus, of Nazareth 1\
Jews 30\
John the Baptist 83\
Joseph 7\

\fs24 103
\fs18 \
Index, continued \
\
name or term page where first found,\
other than as headings\
\
Judah 30\
\
Kadesh 50\
Keturah 55\
King 4\
\
Lamech 6\
Lucifer 10\
land 1\
Leah 62\
Levi 62\
life 6\
Lord 15\
LORD 2\
Lot 46\
Lutherans 2\
\
Matthew Henry 9\
Mediterranean Sea 93\
Melchizedek 47\
Messiah 4\
Methodist 2\
Methuselah 6\
Moab 49\
moon 15\
Moses 5 \
\
Naaman 16\
Nahor 44 \
Naphtali 67\
Nethanael 63\
New Covenant 5\

\fs24 104
\fs18 \
Index, continued \
\
name or term page where first found,\
other than as headings\
nitrogen gases 13\
Noah 29\
\
patriarchs 6\
People of the Book 2 \
People of the Earth 2\
People of the Sea 2\
Peter 48 \
Phoenicians 2\
Protestants 2\
primordial man 9\
\
Rachel 2\
redemption 77 \
refuge 20\
resurrection 23\
Reuben 62\
ring 84\
\
salvation 22\
sanctuary 26\
Sarai 43\
Sarah 48\
Satan 58\
Savior 10\
scriptures 2\
seed 3\
self-righteousness 26 \
Serpent 19\
Seth 6\
Shechem, city 63\
Shechem, person 74\
\

\fs24 105
\fs18 \
Index, continued \
\
name or term page where first found,\
other than as headings\
Shem 34\
shield 21\
Shinar 41\
Shur 50\
Simeon 62\
sins 28\
skins 24\
snake 6\
Solomon 54\
stars 10\
stones 2\
Stone 97\
Sumer 5\
sun 12\
sword 21\
\
Tabernacle 27\
Tamar 82\
testament 29\
thrust 20\
Tigris River 19\
Tree of Knowledge 6\
Tree of Life 6\
\
Ur 19\
Uriah 60\
\
whale 11\
wind 38\
woman 3\
\
Zebulun 68\
Ziggurats 32
\fs24 \
106\
\
\
Glossary\
\

\fs18 Abraham known as the father of faith, actually his life is the more detailed exemplar of the individuals faith. Through the blessing of the LORD God, he is the progenitor of many nations of whom his sons were the beginning. His son of promise is Isaac. Adam The created innocent father, fallen to faith, of all faith patriarchs whose physical being carried the seed of the woman. Their genealogy ends in Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God. See page _ \
adams Termed also, dust of the earth, people of the earth, heathen, Gentiles, all who are not of the direct lineage of Adam to Jacob. They include especially all who are outside of the faith of Israel. \
Adams The created person, including his wife, taken from the dust of the earth that is the people of the earth. \
Almighty A term used with the name God to indicate his chastening person in actions he will take or does take. \
alone A prophetic term taken from Deut. 33:28, Israel shall then dwell in safety alone, to allegorize the Savior while on the earth. Until Jesus allowed, he could not be taken or harmed. See page [a] of Contents this volume. \
altar The earliest forms seem to have been a raised spot of earth with stone partitionings holding in the earth, later squared; that held crossed firewood on its top upon which was placed a substitutionary animal to be consumed with fire. \
animal sacrifices The substitutionary animal by which the wrath of the righteous and holy God was appeased due to the unrighteousness of the person approaching the presence of God or a transgression of His commandments whereby his pleasure was offended; by slaying and burning the animal on the altar. See altar. This foreshadowed the crucifixion of the Son of God, as the Holy Bible reveals. \
Ard Jacob\’92s great great grand son who was the son of Bela, who was the son of Benjamin. His name means, fugitive. His name shows a division in Genesis that indicates the presence of Satan. See page 1 of Genesis, in this volume and The Places page 98. Ark of the Covenant Particularly seen in the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt in the wilderness where Moses oversaw its construction from the heavenly pattern shown to him; it represented the spot of the holy presence of God, in the center of the camp of Israel, inside of the Tabernacle courtyard and specifically in the Holy of Holies inside of the Tabernacle itself, where the gold construction indicated the presence. See Exodus 25:10-22, later II Samuel 6:15,16 and I Kings 8:1-11. \
\

\fs24 107
\fs18 \
Glossary, continued\
arms A term taken from Deut. 33:27, underneath are the everlasting arms, that explains the workings of God and thus his person. Here, the grace of God is shown in his taking action to save, through his physical intervention of Satan\’92s power, by the crucifixion of his Son who died in our place by stretching forth his arms in an eternal act. See page [a] of Contents this volume. \
Asher One of the sons of Jacob born to him of Zilpah. Leah\’92s handmaid. His twin brother is Gad. His name means, happy, and his name is used in the divisioning of the book of Genesis. See page [b] of Contents this volume. \
\
Benjamin The youngest son of Jacob his mother was Rachel who died in giving him birth. His older brother of Rachel was Joseph. His name means, son of my right hand, and his name is used in the division of the book of Genesis. See page [b] of Contents this volume. \
blood See redemption. \
bundle of life A term coined by King David of Israel or brought down from the ancients by David; that describes a full or portion of, the generations from Adam. An example resides at the close of the book of Ruth describing a part of King David\’92s ancestors. See Ruth 4:18-22 in a Holy Bible. \
\
Cain The elder son of twins, born to Adam and Eve; in frustrated anger he slew his younger brother Abel after his own offering to the LORD was rejected. His banished life represents the mercy of God in providing the guilty with all possible opportunity for repentance that Cain seems not to have shown in the Biblical record. Celebration The Biblical word: book, means – – writing and book and celebrate, indicating the eternal life described within the lives of the people of God named in the Holy Bible of which they are a celebration of, faith. \
Chief From the first word of Genesis meaning, beginning or firstfruit, specifically – – first in place, time and rank, i.e. head, chief, captain. The Word\’92s [Jn. 1:1] that is, the name of Jesus before the creation of Adam. \
Christ The Anglicized Greek term for the \’93anointed one.\’94 church Corporally the body of all believers that comprise the worshipers of the Living God as he is revealed in the Holy Bible. Also, used to describe a portion of the above, that meet in a localized assembly. cross A Biblical term applied to the wood of, the altar of earth into which the cross was placed, upon which was placed the living sacrifice of the Son of God, who was judged by God in place of all humanities sins. See altar above.
\fs24 108
\fs18 \
Glossary, continued \
destroy A term found in Deut. 33:27 describing the warrior face of God and his action upon his enemies. As in the days of the flood of Noah when His way had been corrupted. See page [a] of contents this volume. \
deity Biblically any designated supreme being indicated from its greater power thus the weather-gods and fertility-gods. More specifically and truer to the term applied to the person of the LORD God, so the name in the old covenant books and to the name Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit as he is revealed in the new covenant books of the Holy Bible. \
Dothan A caravan passage through the southernly ranging Mount Carmel mountains nearly mid-way between the Sea Coast and the Jordan River, where exist four wells and was a stopping place to water the camels on the trade route to Egypt. Joseph was placed in a pit there by his brothers but was found and delivered into Egypt by the traders Midians and Ishamaelites. Northwest along the mountain range is the town of Meggido and that valley over looked somewhat on the north by the city of Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus. Less than twenty five mile south across the valley is Dothan. \
\
Eden An extremely fertile portion of the earth six thousand years ago [about the time of the creation of the Adam] extending from between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers from the Persian Gulf into the Damascus region and south along the Mediterranean coast along the Nile River to Ethiopia. Called the Fertile Crescent in modern times. Thus the name Garden of Eden near the Sumerian city of Ur at the Persian Gulf river\’92s spillway in those days. \
Egypt Rivaled only by the Sumerians and in development, Egypt is a most ancient civilization whose dated past rests at 5000 years ago along the Nile River. Known as the black country from the rich dark loamy silt that the flooding River each spring deposited on its shoreline; it has been a asylum from drought and famine and politics through the ages. Israel, a few people, prospered into a nation in her Goshen region. Enoch The seventh from Adam this patriarch of the holy seed-line is reportably the excellent scribe of many volumes who was not found for the LORD took him. He did not die but was transformed into condition for lodging in the heaven of God according to the Holy Record and Jewish tradition. \
Ephraim The younger son of Joseph the son of Jacob whose name after which the northern ten tribes of Israel are often referred to as; his name means fruitful and his name is used as a scripture division in the book of Genesis. See page [b] Contents this volume. eternal life To live [in an altered form physically forever] in the presence of God. \

\fs24 109
\fs18 \
Glossary, continued\
\
\
Euphrates River The River parallel to the Tigris River starting northeast from the Persian Gulf it is often referred to as \’93the flood\’94 [from its flooding characteristic] cutting off the \’93region beyond\’94 and where Israel spent seventy years in captivity. Eve The wife of Adam, her names means, life giver, so named by Adam after their fall from God\’92s blessings and after they hear of the seed of the woman that is to be born of her. The name could more likely be understood in this context and referring to the seed person as the \’91life\’92 although she did produce three recorded sons. The ancients knew that the older son carried the see line, some unrecorded way, and the subsequent sons of Adam are not named nor of the later patriarchs. Seth, the third born, was her oldest son after Cain was banished [same as dead] for killing Abel his twin brother. \
\
faith The terms in which God receives communications from those that he hears. The living dead are not heard [the unsaved] and some prayers of the living, in his sight, are hindered. On the other hand: The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16. \
Father The intimate name Jesus used in referring to God. Fertile Crescent See Eden above. \
fig The leaves of the fig tree are those that Adam and the Woman used to cover their nakedness after they disobeyed the LORD in the Garden of Eden; often thought to be the leaves from the tree of knowledge since God replaced them with coats of skins. \
fountain …the fountain of Jacob… A word used to describe the abundance of the land of Canaan but figuratively it speaks of Jesus. See Jn. 4:13,14. The term as a Genesis division, taken from Deut. 33: 28, can be found on page [a] of Contents this volume. means, a troop. His name is used in the divisions of Genesis. See page [b] of Contents this volume. \
Gad The twin brother of Asher Leah\’92s son by Zilpah her hand maid, Jacob\’92s son\’92s name \
\
Garden of Eden The spot is likely near the ancient city of Ur of the Sumerians later Ur of the Chaldeans where Abram and his family migrated from. [ Popular view]. The actual sight is\
Sheckem – in the Promised Land!\
\
God As a Hebrew name it is inclusive of the name LORD [Jesus spoke of him as Father] however, the name is distinct from the Holy Spirit indicating that the mind of God and the mind of the Son of God are the same Holy Spirit showing us the three faces of God. He is of course, the supreme deity that takes victory from the fact of the physical resurrection of Christ. \
\

\fs24 110
\fs18 \
Glossary, continued\
\
heavens The term is used in Moses blessing to Israel but much more significantly foreshadows the work of the Lord in defining his disciples as his heavens that would drop down dew and they have in the form of the new testament scriptures. Since in the holy Bible water speaks of words. See page [a] of Contents this volume. Hebrew The word means, one who has crossed over, indicating an early application of the term likely to have been used at least from the time of Abraham and possibly longer. It was Abraham who crossed over \’91the flood\’92 of the Euphrates River into the real \’91region beyond.\’92 \
High Priest From the time the Priest of Salem, Melchizedek, blessed Abraham the priesthood of the entire earth rested with the blessed descendants of Abraham. The office was formally assumed from the time of Moses when his Levite brother Aaron was installed with vestments as High Priest. This office included all of the actions of a holy mediator between Israel and God. At the time of the Lord Jesus on the earth Zacharius of the descendants of Aaron served as Priest in the temple and it was his son John the Priest who baptized the Lord in the Jordan River. \
Holy Spirit The face of God by whom the church as a body and the individual are sealed from corruption unto the Lord Jesus in the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit functions to comfort and enlighten the believer. Blasphemy against this entity of God is unforgivable eternal damnation as spoken of by the Lord himself. See Luke 12:10. \
\
Israel The name the Angel who fought with Jacob gave to him seeing he was such a strong fighter. The name means \’91prince with God\’92 that is, having power with God. It is also the name given to Jacob\’92s descendants since they became a nation upon leaving Egypt. that most defines the Lord Jesus as the servant of God. See page [b] of the Contents. \
Issachar Leah\’92s son that she presented Jacob, whose name means hired, is the definition\
\
Jacob Supplanter, heel catcher, so is his name and destiny. He is the son of Isaac, a twin of his brother Esau; although they were not alike physically nor mentally nor would it seem in any other way but in the burying of their father Isaac they agreed. His large family became the nation Israel and the people by whom the whole earth is blessed in Christ Jesus. His name also is used in the dividing of Genesis. See page [a] of the Contents this volume. \
Jehovah The national God of Israel, he first reveals himself in the remaking of the earth for the Adams in Genesis chapter 2:4. To Moses he declared \’93I am that I am\’94 in Exodus 3:14. The inference is that God is self existent and can raise himself up if he were to
\fs24 111
\fs18 \
Glossary, continued\
\
be killed, and he did! The name Jehovah means self existent. It is because of the prejudice concerning the Jews in the era of King James of England when the AKJV was translated, that the word is used only six times openly in the text. But the translators, in print, camouflaged the name with the all capital letters of – – LORD. And it is to this name that Jesus reveals himself to his people, John 8:24,25. \
Jesus, of Nazareth The rejected God of the nation Israel. The presented Son of God. The Anointed to be King of Israel. A man acquainted with grief like as we are yet without sin and to as many as would he avails himself to eternal salvation. Jews A name derived from the name Judah, the southern tribe of Israel to which after the captivity of 685B.C. the term was generally applied to all of Jacob. John the Baptist The Aaronic Priest who baptized [anointed] Jesus of Nazareth to be King of Israel. Mark 1:9-11. \
Joseph The older son of Rachel, the son of Jacob, sold into Egypt as a slave, rose to be second King in Egypt thereby saving his entire family by giving them refuge in Egypt. His name means adding and his name is used in the divisions of the book of Genesis. See page [b] of the Contents this volume. \
Judah His name means praise, and it is through this tribe that the Messiah comes for salvation as the seed of the woman. He is the son of Leah and distinguishes himself to his father winning Jacob\’92s blessing. Genesis in this volume page 46. See page [b] of Contents this volume. \
\
King The. \
\
Lucifer Son of the morning, he was created possibly the most beautiful creature in the realm of God, all creation. But at length he becomes eat up with pride and attempts to ascend the throne of God and is cast out and down to the ground in physical death. Unable to raise his body back to life he refuses to give up his soul and spirit in death to God and becomes the rebel Satan – – the adversary of God, to this day inclusive. land The term in Deut. 33:28 that physically describes the land of Canaan as it was received by Joshua, with implication to the Lord being flesh and blood an important factor if one is to be a savior of humanity. Corn and wine. Matthew 26:26,27. The word is used in the division of Genesis. See page [a] of Contents this volume. Levi This son of Leah sins against Jacob and looses his right to the blessing as first son. His name means joined and his tribe is designated to perform the duties of the priesthood in the Tabernacle and Temple worship. See page [b] of Contents.
\fs24 112
\fs18 \
Glossary, continued\
\
life eternal preferred. And that meaning to be acceptably in the Presence of the Living God for eternity. \
Lord Means, master, having power, authority and honor. LORD Same as Jehovah. A text rendering. The name Jehovah means, self existent, I am that I am, of Exodus 3:14. The National God of Israel. Messiah The Anglicized translation of the Hebrew word meaning \’93the anointed one.\’94 \
\
Naaman The brother of Ard and the great great grandson of Jacob, the son of Bela the son of Benjamin. His name means pleasantness and as it is applied to the divisions of Genesis indicates the pleasure that God took in the creation of the Adam on the sixth day. See page [a] Contents this volume. \
Naphtali The son of Belah the handmaid of Rachel Jacob\’92s wife his name means wrestling and the name is used in the divisions of Genesis. See page [b] of Contents this volume. \
patriarchs Biblically, the eldest sons of a family of the Adams, from Adam the man to Judah the son of Jacob. \
People of the Book Those generally found reading the scriptures or related literature that prefer the eternal stimulations to the temporal world. Could be termed \’93heavens\’94. People of the Earth Biblically, adams, dust of the earth, Gentiles, heathens indicating those not of the family of the Adams. See adams above. \
People of the Sea A sea going nation of great might that finally overran the great Hittite Empire, they were effective merchantmen that plied the Mediterranean Sea ports with wares. In the time of King David and Solomon they were they important confederates to Israel. \
Phoenicians The people of the sea. See index. \
\
redemption The act of God that procures for the recipient purchased deliverance from the power of Satan that once held us. That being unbelief, lack of trust in God. The purchasing was executed in the blood of the Savior Jesus for all individuals. Before this offering of his Son, God required a substitutionary sacrifice of animals burnt on the great altar and in which the blood was applied to the mercy seat in the Tabernacle then later in the Temple in Jerusalem. The actual act was accomplished by the Lord Jesus after his resurrection with his own blood on the mercy seat in heaven appeasing the wrath of God, thus making the work of Christ permanent. The back of the ephod garment that symbolizes the skin coat that covered Adam represents the redemptive act of God. See salvation. \

\fs24 113
\fs18 \
Glossary, continued\
\
refuge The word of Deut. 33:27 that shows the provision of God to protect his people. This word is used to divide Genesis. See page [a] of Contents this volume. resurrection The act of God whereby the self existent person of Jesus his Son after confirmed physical death rose again from the dead individuals to become the first to overcome the curse that was effected in the Garden of Eden four thousand and thirty seven years before. This accomplished this promise for us as well, a hope confirmed in every person that trusts the eternal Savior. \
Reuben The eldest son of Leah that should have received the blessing but offended his father Jacob but the meaning of his name is still used to divide a portion of Genesis.\
See page [b] of Contents this volume. \
\
salvation is the protection that guards the saved like the front of the ephod representing the skin of the animal coat that covered Adam. This salvation includes the atonement act evident in the skin of the substitutionary animal that has died its blood shed providing to the saved forgiveness of sins, regeneration [rebirth, new creation], sanctification [set apart from unbelievers to God], resurrection [the promise of]. The coat thus has two sides provided by the death of two animals but the actual process accomplished by Christ was of one death – his providing both salvation and redemption shown as one in that the skins are fastened together over the shoulders and sides. See redemption. New Testament terminology generally does not make marked distinction of Salvation and Redemption rather describing the gift of God simply as salvation although all facets of both terms are confessed. \
Sarah The woman of the Holy Bible who retained her beauty well into seventies was the wife and half sister of Abraham. They had the same father but different mothers. Her life of faith is marked impressively with maintaining her residence, at least after the birth of Isaac, at Hebron the name meaning fellowship. Symbolically, she represents the individual who pays the cost of maintaining their fellowship with the Lord God. Her name means princess and that with her God. \
Satan The name means adversary and of God. His name when he had a body was Lucifer, son of the morning, a created person. \
Savior One who is capable and willing to pay the price of procurement. seed The seed of the woman described in Genesis page 3 of this volume. A male, willing and capable of dealing with the enemy. \
self-righteousness The attempt to attain salvation and redemption through self works. \

\fs24 114
\fs18 \
Glossary, continued\
\
Serpent The animal that God evidently held partly responsible [for allowing Satan to inhabit its body] in the Garden of Eden incident and curses. Generally a term for Satan – – that old Serpent. \
Seth The third son of Adam and Eve his name means substitution, appointed or put in the place of his brothers Abel and Cain. Abel unable to assume the position of elder because of physical death and Cain lost the position because of his hateful slaying of his brother and was banished by God, the same as dead. shield The term used in Deut. 33:29 describes the LORD as this against the enemy. Again God doing the work. See page [a] of Contents this volume. Simeon The second son of Leah born to Jacob he too looses the favor of Jacob, but his name is used to divide the book of Genesis. See page [b] of Contents this volume. sins Misconducts of what pleases God. \
skins Used in the Garden of Eden from animals slain by the LORD God to clothe Adam and the Woman, they represent both salvation and redemption. Stone Often and different ways the term describes the LORD as a sure place that the heart can trust in for security. Also, inferred as the dry land of the third day of the remaking of the earth. \
sword Referred to in Deut. 33:29 as the LORD also that shows the saved that the enemy is a liar [Satan] and gives the saved the high ground [place of prestige] of the enemy. See page [a] of Contents this volume. \
\
Tabernacle The representative dwelling place of God upon the earth among his people Israel. \
thrust The term of Deut. 33:27 that describes the LORD casting out the Canaanites [idolaters] from before the entering Israelites. See page [a] of Contents this volume. Tree of Knowledge The tree in the Garden of Eden that represents the opportunity to attain the favor of God with self-righteousness. It is the law as Christ fulfilled it. Tree of Life The tree of eternal life it represents the LORD Savior in all of its beauty and life giving refreshment. \
\
Ur A now deserted city far from the meandering Euphrates River that deserted her thousands of years ago, it was originally one of a number of city-states in the Sumerian economy. At the time of Abraham it had fallen to the Chaldees culture. In the Sumerian hands who formed it the life was wealthy and intellectual with numerous libraries and an elaborate non-Semitic cuneiform language. \

\fs24 115
\fs18 \
Glossary, continued\
\
\
wind A Hebrew word whose consonants when spoken resemble the sound of the wind it represents. It also is representative of the Holy Spirit. John 3:6,7,8 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. \
Woman The name Adam gives to his mate in the Garden of Eden until they fall from blessing and hear the news of the seed of the Woman, then he names her Eve, the mother of all that is living [the seed]. \
\
\
Zebulun The name of the son of Leah the twin of Dinah, this son of Jacob possesses a very \
interesting name that earns him the distinction of being a name to divide the book of Genesis.\
See page [b] of Contents in this volume. and John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto \
him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come \
unto him, and make our abode with him. \
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\fs20 \
\
\
Scriptures Referenced\
\
book chapter and verse[s] page \
\
Genesis 2:19 5\
5:1 1,17,30\
6:9 34\
6:12 31\
7:1 36\
12:3 88\
13:17 80\
27:28,29 61\
28:4 88\
41:42 84\
\
Exodus 3:8 77\
\
Leviticus 17:11 53\
\
Deuteronomy 12:23,24 40\
34:7 55\
\
Joshua 24:2 69\
\
I Samuel 15:22 40\
15:29 98\
\
II Samuel 22:3,4,5 22\
\
I Kings 15:5 60\
\
Ester 8:2 84\
\
Job 28:28 14\
\
Psalms 37:21 53\
90:1 15\
110:4 88\
\
Proverbs 1:10, 23,33 60\
\
Isaiah 14:12,14,16 10\
28:10 2\
28:13 5\
\
\
Jeremiah 4:23 11\
\
Ezekiel 28:12,13,15 55\
28:15,16 10\
\
Obadiah :4,10,11,18 79\
\
\

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\fs20 \
Scriptures Referenced, continued\
\
\
\
book chapter and verse[s] page\
\
\
Matthew 3:17 91\
5:2,7 93\
5:18 91\
10:31 85\
16:18,20 75\
17:2,8 91\
21:44 97\
24:40,41,42 49\
24:44 97\
\
Luke 10:18 15\
18:8 42\
22:31,32 93\
\
John 1:38 36 \
1:39 39\
1:51 63\
3:27 83\
5:18 78\
6:9,11,13 93\
6:53,54 40\
8:28 91\
8:28,29 16\
8:29 92\
8:56-58 46\
9:41 92\
10:17,18 94\
10:28 4\
10:30,36 78\
12:24 4\
12:49 14\
13:13,14 58\
14:16,17 91\
15:1,2 14,91\
15:8,9 94\
15:12,17 74\
15:16 94\
16:19 14\
\
Acts 2:12,13 42\
15:1-21 74\
\
Romans 2:29 48\
5:20 23\
7:24 27\
10:17 25\
12:2 70\
13:11-14 97\
15:4 72\
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Scriptures Referenced, continued \
\
\
\
book chapter and verse[s] page
\fs20 \
\
\
I Corinthians 2:9-12 97\
10:11 90\
13:8 20\
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II Corinthians 11:2 54\
\
Galatians 3:23 90\
5:22 80\
\
Ephesians 1:3 80\
1:17,22 42\
12:12 62\
\
Philippians 3:8 48\
\
Colossians 1:13,14 77\
1:15-18 4\
3:1 6\
\
\
\
II Thessalonians 3:5 90\
\
II Timothy 3:6 53\
\
Titus 3:7 62\
\
Hebrews 2:1 58,95\
4:12 45\
4:15 70,87\
11:1,2 50\
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I John 1:5 12,70\
\
The Revelation 14:1 85\
21:23 59\
22:1 59\
22:13 78 \
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\fs24 \cf0 A Supplement of Thoughts and\
about Genesis\
\
\
\
These are not an end to the thoughts concerning God and the LORD the Son of God! Taste and determine that the words of God are meat and drink for the soul, unsearchable are its boundaries and beautifully magnifical the Author.\
With the first word of the Holy Bible one is instantly transposed within the grasp of the eternal words of the Living God surrounded protectively by these words as surely as the walls of a house. The structure is the habitation, which represents God. God has always been the habitation for his people. Psalms. 90:1,2 LORD, thou hast been our dwellingplace in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. As long as refuge is sought within, a searcher for the Seed of Life, is protected and secured from the troubled and changing shout of humanity. It is repose where trust is not betrayed and nothing is required. Enjoyable are the comforts of this home; for \
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it provides food for the soul, shelter from the enemy, and more than anything else, a welcome access to the Creator, God Himself.\
Do not understand the ancient patriarch\’92s acts of obedience to the word of God as unintelligently submissive, they understood the terms and simplicity of salvation and redemption – – they were closer to the first acts of mercy. \
Because a portion of scripture is not readily understood, does not mean that blind faith is automatically the alternative. Blind faith is spiritual laziness and apathy. Matthew. 7:7,8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Bethany, the city east of the Mount of Olives, means, the house of creation. \
A question could be put about Adam and the Woman: since they were living and interacting with the LORD in the Garden of Eden in innocence [and the tree of knowledge of good and evil was present] why did they not of their own accord partake of that fruit? Still, understanding that the LORD had warned them from the act – – it was without doubt the lack of need, since innocency provided them access to presence with the LORD. \
The ancients recorded from the simplicity of the incident in the Garden of Eden, fully understood by the participants contributions: while, we must simplify the complexity of the thousands of years of their God-inspired writings to obtain a sound comprehension of the experience of the same interlocution in our lives.\
A close examination of the incident in the garden of Eden shows that the LORD acted in the same manner with Adam and the Woman as he handled Abram to be Abraham. In the first the LORD spoke the words of salvation of the coming of the seed of the woman in the hearing of the three individuals \
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involved in transgression. Of course, the serpent refused to submit to the prophesy of the LORD, whereas Adam and the Woman receiving the message are swathed in the faith-garments of the LORD God\’92s salvation and the garments are exemplar. Each of the ephod shaped garments are made up of two animal hides, making four animals that the LORD slew. Each hide represents two aspects of the salvation that the LORD provides. The skin of the forefront represents deliverance and safety to the wearer. The second skin, forming the back portion, represents redemption, that which severs from the old enemy that is behind the wearer; the concept of which is elaborated upon in the books of Moses especially Leviticus. Salvation comes at a cost, that is, the life of the animal substitutes slain in the Garden incident, but in redemption the application of the blood of the sacrificed is required. This is seen in the first passover when blood was applied to the door post and lentils of the Israelite habitations. Ephesians. 1:13,14 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Notice that Paul places these two concepts in the proper order. The purchase comes first we are bought with a price, the offering of the life of God\’92s Son! 1Corinthians. 6:20 …ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God\’92s. Gal. 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Rev. 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
\fs20
\fs24 Psalm 106:10
\fs20
\fs24 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed \
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them from the hand of the enemy. 1Pet. 1:18,19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: And so, with the curse taken away with a price and a life laid down to return the purchased possession to Him; Adam and the Woman and Abraham are acceptable in God\’92s sight through his salvation, although until after resurrection not presentable to His presence, and are taken away from Satan, the enemy of the LORD God.\
Concerning this Adamic pattern of the salvation of the LORD God in relation to the life of Abraham is seen agreeable in the following manner. Abram hears the words of the LORD to leave that house of his father – – Abram receives these words and acts upon them. James 2:20 Faith without works is dead. Works are what is elaborated upon in the faith of Abraham which brevity has left out in the Adam account showing that God is building a fuller diagram of his workings in those that trust him. This clearly shows that the LORD God has delivered those, who wish to be, in a manner that is consistent with the event in the Garden of Eden with Adam and the Woman. \
\
The Spirit of God moved upon…. indicates control of his judgment of the earth – – he could have left it in that condition. humbling! he rather desired faith-persons to walk with him, so he remade the earth for them to dwell upon.\
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The effects of Genesis range from the book itself through the book of Revelation. A mature spiritual life is incomplete without it. Contained in the book is the concept of God having a Son and various ways he is identified. The identity of an adversary of God\’92s is sketched. A God-conscious family \
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called the Adams is created from one man called Adam. The tragic circumstances of broken fellowship between the LORD and Adam is recorded. Faith is then renewed and clearly defined in Abram as the prerequisite of a worshiper of the true God and the outward workings of faith are illustrated. What a guilt-shock to Adam to find after speaking face to face for so long with the LORD to no longer see his LORD comforter yet continue to converse with Him in a devise of faith called prayer.\
\
The available book is the Holy Bible. Often it is read without knowing how it was written, nor how its components became assembled: yet it is accepted even before it is opened with the highest esteem by the needy, the curious, the critical, and the obedient. However, what The Holy Bible does represent is like the doctors prognosis that a child is to be born seven months hence. There is no evidence save the mothers symptoms – – faith and the diagnosis. That is the Holy Bible; something instead of the projected. A love letter from the invisible God that a person, a seed, he later in the book calls the Messiah i.e. Christ, will present himself to and for Israel and mankind: Galatians 3:14, That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. \
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\
\
Introduction to\
The Six Scrolls of the Patriarchs\
\
Following these few words, are the divisions of the book of Genesis as the scrolls may have been found with Joseph\’92s bones and as the elders would have had approach to the knowledge of their age prior to the Mosaic dispensation. Along with the elders, Moses, having opened Joseph\’92s tomb to remove his bones found six scrolls that were the revealed written truth at that time, concerning God. Very early in history this practice in burials was widely practiced among the Jews and probably still today. Moses drew from these writings the knowledge that was needed for him to write and assemble the four additional books of the Torah, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. \
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The terms generations or these are the generations, are a pattern of trigger words that divide the original six scrolls of Genesis. The divisions of the combined scrolls comprising the book of Genesis, indicated with the names, sometimes spans from one scroll onto another marking absolute the genius of the inspiring Holy Spirit. This remarkable assemblage of common words is so beautiful and embracing that only the reader\’92s lack of understanding casts any shadow of misunderstanding across them. \
Concerning the original script: Ancient Hebrew – predecessor to todays Square Hebrew script. The letters forming the words are of exact simplicity in individual structure, without punctuation – – including periods, without capital letters for sentence beginning or proper names, without spaces between words, and read right to left top to bottom of page. A sample of the script follows representing the first few lines of Genesis. The words are shown with the Square Hebrew spellings, since as all other aspects of the script, the words were probably of basic spelling.\
\
The method of conveyance of the written words from six thousand years ago might be considered after this framework of supposition. In the Garden of Eden the serpent conversed with the Woman in a language common to them both. However, before the Woman was given to Adam, the LORD God gave Adam the task of naming all of the animals. And it relates that the LORD God desired to see what he would call them. Now, to see, could indicate a mental inquiry but it is more reasonable to assume that since the Woman and Adam and the LORD communicated there was not only a spoken language but a written one as well. After all, even the sin-free mind of Adam could not retain \
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the vast list of names that he accumulated in doing the bidding of the LORD God in naming all of the animals. Also, in this region of the east, at that same time, outside of the Garden were the Sumerians who had already developed a complicated cuneiform language. There are in those cuneiform writings of those times indications of Semitic influences, the language so called today. Now with this casting and that the patriarchs carried the language on scrolls through the flood of Noah\’92s days on to Eber it is known that Eber, possessing this knowledge, lived in the area west of the city now called Damascus at a time of about 2000 B.C. At a date preceding 1500 B.C. a sea merchant people known as the Phoenicians, plied their wares about the Mediterranean and into Egypt. There ports of city states were along the eastern coast line as far south and including Tyre. They used a script that they left in every port along the Mediterrainean Sea, that is in form and word definition identical with ancient Hebrew, a name derived from the name Eber – one who crosses over. Of these people King David and Solomon bought building materials and laborers to build Jerusalem and the Temple, confirming an ease of communications. But were these Phoenicians descendants of Eber who begat children after his patriarch elder son Peleg? Probably inter-married, at least, explaining the scripted language they used, but also a Cannanite leaneage in known of them too. Also, the Lord, sent only to the lost sheep of Israel ventured in his ministries: Matthew. 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. Now the time of Moses nears, this 1500 B.C. period, and he being taught in the schooling of the day could have drawn upon Egyptian script or Syrian cuneiform but more likely the Phoenician letters preserved by the Phoenicians and the Israelites. It may be likely that the labors of Egypt stripped the children of Jacob of their skills at the scrolls. The LORD God is not short in his methods. Even some of the Dead Sea scrolls of \
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100 B.C. are written in the same old script. Thus, it is comfortably assumed that all of the book of Genesis came down through five millenniums in this charmingly simple form of recording the thoughts of God.\
Each portion, or scroll as they are titled, contains the name of the patriarch who wrote the section; beginning with Adam, then Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. However, it is the Holy Spirit that has inspired the writers and causes the bridging of the places that are defined with the names of the patriarchs. The scrolls are divided at these chapter and verse numbers:\

\fs20 The Pens of Genesis:\
\
1:1 – 2:3 = Adam\
2:4 – 4:26 = Enoch\
5:1 – 11:9 = Noah\
11:10 – 25:6 = Abraham\
25:7 – 28:9 = Isaac\
28:10 – 50:26= Jacob by Joseph\’92s hand\
\
Compiled by Moses – from the scrolls with Joseph\’92s bones.\
\

\fs24 \
The brevity of the Genesis scrolls expresses more likely the unbound superior intelligence of the individual scribe [sin becoming more of a burden with each generation] and the desire of the Holy Spirit, the true author. With these thoughts, the six individual scrolls of Genesis are presented in the Authorized King James Version without chapter numbers or verse numbers, indeed, absent of all clutterings as Moses may have received them; except they are written in the English language.\
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\fs24 Final and Familiar Comments on \
The Six Scrolls\
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It is not unusual to look at Genesis as a book alone; however, the length of time that it spans, approximately two thousand years, leans toward a compilation of six scrolls. Its beauty is sublime in literature. However, the four books, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, that follow are in parts a relation and pattern expansion from Genesis by the man of God – – Moses. Especially significant is the blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy 33, here the names of Jacob\’92s sons appear and the words that are identifiable from Genesis. Notice the Jacobic blessing of Genesis and the bitter-sweet exhortation of Joshua’s blessing to Israel that begs attentions and is nearly a blessing-curse. \
Approaching this ancient writing, reasonably attributed to Adam, [the oldest of the Holy Biblical collection] the reader may consider the persons who \
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have recorded God’s witness to his excellent creation and works; what mental capacities there were and understanding of the thoughts recorded, what were the conditions they lived in, what instruments they had available; plus, the outside pressures they may have been under. In other words we cannot think that some cumbersome cave person scribbled this first book on a slab of stone then stood back looking at it and commenting to his companion. “Well I don\’92t know what it all means but is sounds good.” Nay, my friend these were not ignorant people of the earth [ignorant of the ways of God]. They were God-conscious-Adams who in his own beginning when God breathed into him the breath of life were mentally capable and taught by the LORD himself. Then you say, “How does this have any validity – this having been taught?” Well, recorded is the time when the LORD came walking in the Garden of Eden. This custom had been preceded by visits in less troublesome times. Like when the LORD bid Adam to name all of the animals. Adam had to have been capable to the task. \
By partitioning the book of Genesis to enliven and make the contents readily comprehendible to our minds, also consider the idea that there was more than one pen used by the Spirit of God to record His creating and his people. Usually, Moses is considered the author. However, the tone and continuity of the text draws us to other personalities. For example, examine Psalm 90 known to be the work of Moses and compare it to the first chapter of Genesis. The terminology is quite different, while the identifiable Holy inspiration remains vivid in both. \
And so, to whom is the first chapter and the first three verses of chapter two to be reckoned other than to the first of the Adam family – – Adam himself. His confidences with the LORD in the Garden of Eden easily make the information available to him if only one knew the means that Adam employed \
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to record the revelation. Digressing a little, remember it is but six thousand and four years ago when Adam was created from the dust of the earth. Science and archaeology and written history clearly show that there were people living in that era, outside of the Garden of Eden of course, in organized communities with speech and writing skills. These people of the earth whether communal or cave dwellers were the first adams, that is red, earthy beings of the original pre-history creation of adams on the sixth day whose religion had become lasciviously polluted. By the late date of 4004 B.C. pure God consciousness had been destroyed from them, causing God to speak of them in such a low term as \’91dust of the earth\’92.\
God therefore, had to create anew God-consciousness into a single person called, The Adam. But the Holy Bible does not clearly, state this because it was something clearly understood by the writer and since lost to our understanding. Genesis chapter five states, This is the book of the generations of Adam… [The Adam]. Afterwards in this family of Adams, notice that God renews his love for the family of Adams that he has created for the Garden of Eden by choosing out particular individuals to keep alive the faith concept such as Seth, Noah, Abraham, Samuel, David, Josiah and finally, The Last Adam – – Jesus of Nazareth, the anointed one of Israel. In this last Adam, to all the people of the earth, the way of faith is offered, whomsoever will embrace Him. This way of seeing the Bible, narrow as it is, resolves into colossal opportunity. He came unto his own. and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: John 1:11,12. Todays people of the earth have the opportunity to possess God consciousness – – new creations. \
And so, Adam was not only capable of writing, but even when he was still dust of the earth. Now he records the animals names for no memory could \
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retain such a vast list and the LORD comes to see what he calls them. And in the quiet guarded comfort of the Garden of Eden God speaks to Adam about \
the creation that He has completed, perhaps the very words that one reads in\
the first thirty-four verses of the book of Genesis. \
Next, a signal occurs in the scripture that rings like a bell, that calls one to lift his foot of faith to a step of higher understanding. Chapter 2:4, These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth… and the entrance of an observer, a third party, not God and not the Adam describing the difficult situation pictured. A person to whom these events have been rehearsed. The Jews, The Adam generation today, they are called, have a tradition that Enoch while on the earth, was a prolific inspired writer and the scriptures show that he was born and begat and lived before Adam died and was taken away from the earth shortly after Adam dies. Remember, this was a family bound together by the enlightenment of God-consciousness. It is rather certain then, that the writer Enoch was much opportune to much of the direct knowledge that Adam possessed of the events described from Genesis 2:4 through chapter 4:26. See the Genealogy Chart above page 104. \
Again, we are taken a step higher into the generations of Adam. However, the observer could not have been Adam nor Enoch for the generations drag us through the pitiful mud of unbelief in the line of The Adams onto the renewed earth inhabited only by Noah, and his three sons and wives. Was it a local flood of the Tigris and Euphrates area of the earth? Probably. The earth is inhabited with too many species of animals to fit into the Ark of the dimensions described in the Holy Words and an event occurring 1656 B.C.; about three thousand six hundred and fifty five years ago [see the Genealogy Chart above] of which no archaeologist confers any evidence of ever occurring at that time. Then again, The Holy Book states that the whole earth was \
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covered with the flood waters, forty-five feet above the top of the high hills. In the low flat plains of the Rivers stated above, a ziggurat typical of that time used for pagan worship would definitely fit the term high hill – – an “artificial mountain.” At Ur the structure was at least one hundred feet tall two hundred and fifty feet long and one hundred and fifty feet wide, made of bricks. It is said of Jerusalem that the eyes of the LORD are always upon the holy city. Consider the care that God had for the welfare of His line of faithful Adams who we know came from this southern area of the two rivers [Tigris and Euphrates]. This is known in that Abram is sent away from Ur along the Euphrates, ultimately, into the land God has promised Abram and his seed. It is reasonable to assume that the whole earth is that particular part where His faith-Adams resided. After the flood the LORD God scatters his faith-Adams into all parts of the earth giving him an effective witness. His attentions are fixed upon people that He can commune with in the fellowship of faith. His Adams are then not concentrated in one area of the earth, as before the flood, but are sent to show the faith-way to all of the people of the earth. One similar example as a nation that rejected Jesus his anointed, the Jews were scattered into every nation on the earth but this was done for unbelief. Whereas, Jesus sent his disciples into all of the earth. \
With chapter 11:10 of Genesis, another announcement of generations begins. This time it is with Shem a son of Noah through to Abram and Sarai his wife. Abram is found first in the scriptures at Ur of the Cahaldees. This city flourished with high levels of education through sophisticated schools and libraries. This available education made Abram quite capable to maintain his Adamic genealogy and record his movements through the leading of the LORD God. And so, the author of this scroll is Abram. The break between pens is evident by the natural change of subject matter mid another thrust of \
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genealogies. \
Now the close of Abram\’92s scroll comes at chapter 25:6, but a break into\
another author\’92s scroll is not quite as evident in tone, since it is Abram\’92s son of promise. Isaac, in verse seven, gives us the age at which Abraham died and where he is buried. Then again, in 25:12 of this scroll a record of generations is given to us – – Ishmael\’92s, followed by the continued promised Adamic genealogy of Isaac in verse nineteen and blessing begins with Isaac passing on the blessing of the LORD to Abraham on to Jacob. \
The sixth and final scroll that comprises the book of Genesis fits so smoothly together with that of Isaac’s that one must think that there was a interchange between Isaac and Jacob once Jacob returned from Padan-aram into the presence of Isaac in the promised land. Here the life of Jacob is rehearsed to us and this information would have been conversant only to Jacob, yet verses nine and ten of chapter 28 nearly melt together where scroll six begins. \
As in preceding scrolls genealogies are presented in chapter 36 – – Esau’s. The record of Jacob’s children begins in chapter 29 and concludes with the birth of Benjamin who is the only of Jacob’s sons to be born in the land. Venturing into allusions concerning the Seed promised to Adam and the Woman by the LORD [Genesis 3:151 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head. and thou shalt bruise his heel,] Jesus was like-wise born in the land promised to Abraham. The name Benjamin means son of my right hand, born to Jacob by Rachel his second wife. Should a reader miss the single thrust of the book of Genesis in the five preceding scrolls, this final scroll of Jacob’s uses the form of the English word son, sons, etc. 142 times. The other five scrolls collectively use the term 159 times. Matthew 27:54 … Truly this was the Son of God. That \
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Jacob used Joseph to pen his scroll is not unlikely in that Joseph’s loss was thus magnified in Jacob and while reunited with Joseph in Egypt much time could have been spent together in this endeavor since some of the information is Jacob’s alone and part Joseph\’92s. With five scrolls and possibly part of the sixth, Jacob takes the Holy records down into Egypt with him and Joseph receives the balance of the information onto the scroll. The scrolls with Joseph’s bones are brought up from the black land when Moses brings the children of Israel into the promised land. That Moses copied the six scrolls into one book is not a dishonor, indeed, the LORD himself may have bid him. Rather, in Genesis, the book of Beginnings, patterns are found with which Moses used to write the four books of the laws of the LORD God and indeed which are applicable to all of the sixty-six books of the Holy Bible. \
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The Song of the Lamb\
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Great and marvelous are thy works, \
Lord God Almighty; \
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just and true are thy ways, \
thou King of saints. \
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Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, \
and glorify thy name? \
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for thou only art holy: \
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for all nations shall come and \
worship before thee; \
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for thy judgments are made manifest.\
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The Revelation 15:3,4\
The Holy Celebration, a countinuance.\
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Although the youth of the writer may be held in contempt, perhaps this crude record of the first breaking of this path through the Holy Scriptures might be tolerated; for it shows the justifications for each step and the beauty of the protected way to the magnifical and living God. \
And so, some space is allowed to elucidate the application of The Holy Celebration to the Holy Bible [the outline can be found ahead of the Moses Torah above as pages [k] and [l], and to the individual books of the Bible. These two pages are set before the four books of Moses as the commentary is extracted from the context of these four books and Joshua included here for referencing with this explanation. Pages [k] and [l] represent the Celebration\’92s structure for all the books of the Bible. The singularness of Genesis is shown in an earlier work Genesis Compendium and reference to that unique and marvelous book can be found therein. \
Exodus 15:17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established.\
Leviticus 23:41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.\
John 12:12-15 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass\’92s colt.\
I\
The Holy Celebration is intended as a guide to keep the believers feet of faith dust free on the stone path of names book by book through the Holy Scriptures. The term \’93celebration\’94 comes from thoughtful examination of the word – – \’91book\’92, in the Hebrew, where it is defined as: writing, book, and celebrate. A most fruitful thought follows: the sacred words are a celebration of eternal life, for it is a living risen Lord Jesus who conquers his enemies in the book of The Revelation. Holding this thought, Exodus through Joshua shows to the reader a situation where the descendants of Jacob\’92s twelve sons taken from slavery in Egypt are led along by their LORD God to a refuge home [Canaan] where the descendants of the twelve patriarchs remain basically separated as twelve separate family units. When portions of Canaan are distributed to the tribal families for them to dwell in this confirmed the LORD\’92s pleasure for them. This reveals the patriarch to land connection that brings forth an understanding that the total whole of Israel is an old testament example of a word-portrait of the seed savior upon whom hope is placed then and now, in that all the twelve sons of Jacob were an expression of Israel\’92s person. The seed Savior is the dry land, he is the Rock [Stone], the solid place; where, out of the waters, constant struggle ceases. This is the perception of the Garden of Eden, in reward Adam and the Woman lived comfortably, without effort, pleasing the Holy Creator, before their demise down to the conditions of faith. Galatians 3:28,29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ\’92s, then are ye Abraham\’92s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. This all shows the relation of the patriarch name to the person of the Savior Jesus. Exploring the designations \
II\
of the boarders of the individual inheritances of the the tribes of Israel once they had conquered the Canaanites, the reader will find that the inheritances were defined by the cities. See Joshua 18:8,9. Again from the Hebrew the word definition of city is: a place guarded by waking or a watch, [by a real person]. Thus, cities existed for habitation only when the guards were awake distinguishing family, especially the seed, from the enemy. This gives understanding to the thought that each child of the Adam family through Jacob that was born was examined carefully to determine if it were the promised seed mentioned in Genesis 3:16; knowing that the family line of Adam would and did produce the promised Savior. Notice in the meaning of the names of Jacob\’92s sons and Jacob\’92s blessing upon his sons, that they are complimentary of Israel, the prince with God. The Holy Spirit the reader Jacob, a prince being mighty and strong showing the parts of Jacob that make him thus from portion of his sons\’92 being, reflected in the meaning of their name. This can be seen as Leah and Rachel name their sons as some retrospection of their own reactions to Jacob\’92s presence with them. Jacob\’92s sons become a celebration of the life of Jacob who is a shadow of the Lord and his twelve disciples who is the life everlasting. Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: In some instances, the extended meaning of a name is more useful to the purpose and is applied; this utilization being proper by way of the similarity to the examples in the dictionary of the English meanings of a word where two or more similar but distinct definitions are given for the same spelling. \
The names of the patriarchs implemented from Joshua 18,19 where a clever pause is taken by Joshua and careful tabulations were made to distribute Canaan to the remaining seven tribes, after earlier possessions by the remaining five tribes is not as clearly distinguished in the book of Joshua, \
III\
may be understood as forming a figure of the seven branched lampstick described in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle of Witness in the book of Exodus; a setting that is to be elaborated upon in the following observations of the compendium. For the present the essential awareness is, in that room, in that world, the only light to be found was from the lampstick. For the body of believers today, the only true divine intelligence is found in the Lord Jesus and reflected from the Holy Bible the substitute for his physical presence. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:103-105.\
The physical pattern of the lampstick of Exodus is a central shaft with three branches growing from each side. The tops of the branches are level with the central vine and each hold a lamp. From pages [k] and [l] the reader will find on page [k] in the left hand column the names Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Israel (Jacob). Adam being the foundation base of the lampstick from where shoots forth the man of faith Abraham up to the first two opposite branches then Isaac his son is the part of the central shaft that rises to the next two opposite branches where begins the growth of Israel (Jacob) that also bears two opposite branches from which intersection the central shaft concludes with the final central branch. This is a total of seven branches to support seven lamps and each bears a name. When the children of Israel enter the promised land and the land is divided unto them in Joshua by a survey 18:9, note that they recorded the survey in a book, that divided it into seven parts for seven tribes that are subsequently listed. It is interesting to note that Joshua was still then aware of the seed line power struggle between Joseph\’92s descendants and Judah\’92s descendants, the distinction being a bit clouded by Jacob\’92s love for Joseph and his high rank in Egypt and Judah\’92s right by default over Reuben, \
IV\
Simeon and Levi Judah\’92s older brothers. Reuben and Gad and one half of the tribe of Manasseh had earlier taken allotments east of the Jordan River while Joseph\’92s Ephraim and one half of Manasseh and Judah had already taken possession of their inheritance in the promised land when Joshua gives instructions. Levi did not receive an allotment as his inheritance was the Priesthood of the LORD. This gives more easily the occasion of the seven remaining tribes to represent the seven part figure that begins with Benjamin corresponding to the right branch [of the lampstick], Simeon next, Zebulun next, and Issachar the central branch, next to it Asher, next Naphtali, and finally the seventh Dan describing the seventh branch. At this point, and perhaps it should have been brought out in the earlier compendium, verses are quoted to establish certain intentions of the Holy Spirit with the understanding that only when the Holy Bible is taken into the heart as being the total expression of the desires of God, i.e. divine authority in its precepts and expressions, can any truth be established for edification of the believer. Those today, as in any generation, taken by the wiles of the Devil, being yet dead in sin, do not hold the Holy Bible as more than any other piece of very fine literature, they seeing not the finger of God upon it\’92s pages. \
So then, the lamp is seen as the words of God and the feet indicate a walk of faith \’93from one truth unto another\’94 but what is the \’91path\’92 or way for faith. Offering is made to the inquisitor that these names, with their valid references above are the path of smaller stepping stones contained within each book leading to The Stone of the Revelation. This might seem curious to title Jesus as the Stone in The Revelation where he is portrayed in holy light. However, consider Reuben the oldest son of Jacob. The name means, son of light. But in Jacob\’92s blessing upon his sons in Genesis 49:3,4 Reuben forfeits his right to the holy line to the seed [being the purpose of God in providing the \
V\
Adam family line to deliver his Son unto the whole of human beings – – whosoever] when Jacob says of him Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel;. Had Reuben maintained his integrity before his father his blessing could have been recorded: Stable as stone thou shalt excel; and the generations of the holy seed would have proceeded through Reuben. Because Jesus is the first born of all creation, the might of God, the beginning of the strength of God, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of the power of God; he alone it is written of: Mark 1:11 …Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Peter, a stone, is a new covenant name that exemplifies this thought of stepping [foundation stones of faith] stones in the names of the son\’92s of Jacob. The Holy Celebration as Guide in the Holy Bible is the pattern of the path of faith that is trustworthy. In the publication of that guide on page [k] and [l] particular references are shown to establish valid the Guide. See above.\
Seeing then the complementary nature of the tribes in the land of Israel with the lampstick of Exodus as portraying the person of the Lord; the names of the tribes are applied to the segmented structure of the lampstick in skeletal family tree form. The names that are not used are no less important than those used; rather, all are necessary to confirm the Lord\’92s genealogy to establish his right to the title of Messiah of Israel along with the miracles and healings reported to us by the Apostles. However, these names that are used are designated by important references as to their locations that occur at the beginnings of certain books where their order of presentation may vary. \
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Intentionally, often, singularly, scripture references are included to remind or show the reader of the analogous nature of the subject being discussed as it is related to the person for whom and of whom the Holy Bible is devoted. The names of the children of Jacob applied to each of the books of \
VI\
the scriptures make a soon familiar and trustworthy guide to keep the faithful heart tuned to this truth that is explicitly given to us in the Book of Luke 24:27&44 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Now at the time of this occurrence, only days after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth, only the old covenant books were available and these are the Scriptures that Jesus referred to and from where the Holy Celebration is received. Genesis is of course is the oldest collection of writings the first dating to nearly six thousand years old. Moses, the seventh author, is the writer who defines the precedents set down by Genesis and each of the following books of the Holy Bible follows the pattern of Moses whose own inspiration is from the face to face encounters with the LORD while the other writers followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit. John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: \
Here in Exodus to indicate the inclusive intention of a name, 1:1 clearly shows that a name of a son of Jacob can be used to embody a number of offspring. every man and his household… And so it is with Christ who embodies all that have received him for they are his mother and brethren. Then in Exodus 1:2 a list of the sons of Israel are given. Note that this list differs in the order of the names from their previous instance in Genesis when Jacob blesses them and even from the list before the blessing when they appear in the order of their births. This is important. The order of the names distinguishes Genesis from Exodus and a new list of their names does not \
VII\
appear in the first chapter of Leviticus indeed nowhere in the book of Leviticus so then the names used for dividing must remain the same as Exodus. This same order of the names remains the same for Numbers and Deuteronomy. Following these differences is essential, since even one name of any of the lists not kept in its proper order would disrupt the flow of the book designated by the list. Mention must be made that the names included in the final words of Deuteronomy where Moses blesses the tribes by name [Deuteronomy 33:6-25] are used to pattern all of the books that follow Deuteronomy. Two peculiarities occur in this sequence and that is only in the book of Joshua where the name Simeon meaning \’91heard\’92 does not appear at all and Joseph is replaced with the names of his two sons. All instructions have been previously given to the children of Israel concerning the activity of possessing the land of Canaan by Moses freeing the Israelites to enter and take their promised home. This seems to be the cause for the place to not appear between Reuben and Judah in the book of Joshua. However, when the place Joseph is expected to appear the two names of his sons take his position as an occurrence peculiar only to the book of Joshua. This makes a total of twelve names to identify the book of Joshua a situation of substitution that also appears when Seth replaces Abel and Cain, only reversed, until in the books after Joshua when Simeon again is found and Joseph resumes his function.\
Of the remaining books after Joshua, Judges through Jude, the names of the sons of Jacob appear remaining in the same sequence as they are found in Deuteronomy. However, after II Chronicles and beginning with Ezra through the books to and including Malachia four terms that describe the actions and thereby the personality of the LORD God are added to the listed names, those being Refuge, Arms, Thrust, Destroy. This seems to be the extending of the plea of the LORD for his people Israel to return their attentions to him where \
VIII\
he can again bless them; the petitions being put forth by the prophets. When God sends his own son after the prophets, Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! six additional places [terms] are added to the list of sixteen: Alone, Fountain, Land, Heavens, Shield and Sword to divide and identify the person of the seed in the four Gospels. That all twenty-two places appear in each of the four Gospels marks an occurrence that has never been established with the four books. A harmony of the happenings in the first three Gospels has long been understood but the path of the Lord in the book of John does not match the first three and the fact has long been pondered. With the identifying of the places within each of the four Gospels comes the \’93harmony\’94 that has long been sought and the places are there and in proper order. This magnifies the image of the moving of the Holy Spirit of God upon the pens of the saints who wrote the records of the appearance of our dear Lord while he was upon his earth and in his world of Israel.\
Notwithstanding, the places, Alone, Fountain and Land are not found but in the four Gospels as they describe the singular person of Christ and his passion. With the blessings of Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 33, page199 of the preceding, [Alone] is described after the term Destroy. The example in Genesis is the flood in Noah\’92s days when one righteous man survived the destruction brought about of God. Noah survived alone his family protected by his righteousness as the faithful today survive in the righteous One, Jesus. The faith of Jesus alone took him to the cross to purchase for all who will believe in him eternal life. His disciples did not understand his purpose, they could not have applied their faith to undergird him through the ordeal. It is \
IX\
then to his day that this term is applied. Not only did Jesus overflow in his sermons and teachings with the words of God; but, physically when he was pierced by the Roman soldier after he had died, out flowed blood and water. John 19;34. Truly, the fountain of the living waters of God. The land is Jesus as he taught, this is by body [bread, made of the corn of grain] and this is my blood, the wine of the Eucharist, of the Lord\’92s supper. These terms appear only in the Gospel records because they apply particularly to the actual offering of the Lord Jesus. In the Gospels with these three places and the other nineteen names and terms the total of twenty two places marks a strange mirror with the twenty-two letter Hebrew alphabet. Truly it is written in Romans 8:28, And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,. And, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema [laid aside – a great curse] Maranatha [our Lord cometh]. 1Corinthians 16:22.\
After the Gospels the names of the sons of Jacob do not change in number or sequence, indeed, from the book of Judges on through the book of Jude they remain steadfast and the terms of the blessing of Moses remain at seven making nineteen identifying places. It disconcerting to think upon the brevity of the the much shorter epistles as to how nineteen places could fit into such small volumes. However, if The Holy Book has been faithfully trodden from Genesis, spiritual sensitivity is so keen that a place does describe as little as only one word of text. Look at the shortest new covenant book, III John 295 words, try and see what the Spirit has prepared so wonderfully. \
The first born of Jacob was Reuben and the first begotten of the dead is Jesus Christ. The Revelation 1:5. This is technically not a place because there are not found in The Revelation places at all since it is as the identifying name Shuham – meditate i.e. the book to meditate in. But, since the unmistakable likeness does exist Reuben is included as the only place in the final book that \
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closes all of the existing words that man has from The Living God.\
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, Colossians 3:23. The Holy Celebration presented with the indicated references is a structure that is faithfully accomplished that embodies the presence of the indications that present the Holy Son of God in all of the glory justly due him, The Lord Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah of Israel. \
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J. E. S. Rev. D.B.S., D.D.\
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XI\
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The Four Books of Moses\
A Compendium\
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by\
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Joseph E. Swearengin,\
Reverend Doctor of Biblical Studies, D. D.\
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begun 7/15/2000\
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Prologue\
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Moses, drawn out as it occurred, from the dark waters of Egypt, from the pains of servitude, from the hands of Pharaoh, from his own people Israel. He stands then, alone in the pastures of Midian being taught humility and patience that brought forth meekness – – Now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3, and that took forty years. And so, Moses as his name means was \’91drawn out\’92 of the waters of the Nile by the Gentile Queen, as Jesus is drawn out of the Holy Words by a predominately Gentile Church. \
Moses the first King of Israel no longer stands alone in the Kingdom of God for in the Gospels he stands with The Messiah of Israel – – on His left. To the right of the Messiah Jesus is Elijah, the fitting position, for it is Moses who represents the law into which one is received [the left hand] and struggles until he learns Christ and it is Elijah who represents eternal life having never himself seen physical death. For these positions James and John, the disciples of the Lord, sought, having not understood that the positions were already filled or did they lack the spiritual maturity to grasp true eternal life that is testified by Moses and Elijah\’92s resurrected appearance twelve hundred years after their removal, and their voices were again heard. And it is not unseemly of all the personages of the Scriptures that Moses and Elijah should be chosen of God for this highest distinction for both stood in the rock and saw the essence of God pass before them a rightful signal to all who read that God chooses whomsoever he pleases to represent him – – and in Jesus of Nazareth is this most significantly drawn, He is the Son of God.\
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Contents\
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name page\
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The Song of the Lamb Cover\
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The Holy Celebration, [k], [l], [m], and pages 49 – 200 first \
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The Holy Celebration, a countenance I – XI\
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Prologue a \
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Contents b \
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A compendium on\
The four books written by Moses\
with the Holy Celebration unraveled 1 \
Exodus Compendium 2\
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Leviticus Compendium 43\
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Numbers Compendium 57\
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Deuteronomy Compendium 85\
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Index 118 \
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Glossary 125 \
Bibliography 140\
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Scriptures Referenced 141 \
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A compendium on\
The four books written by Moses\
with the Holy Celebration\
unraveled\
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Exodus\
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In Genesis the scribes Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob bring the reader to Moses, the seventh author and the most complicated writer of four books, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Exodus, for those who wish to critique the ancients with divisions by authorship or time or content the existing books of perceptions, the Holy Spirit signals wonderfully. Here before the reader is Exodus, wonderfully wrought, resting the desire for magnanimous authorship, distinctly partitioned according to content; divided into two books, one for the law, the other for the expiation of sin against the law, that is, obedience at the Tabernacle of Witness. Only the man that spoke face to face with the LORD God of Israel could have known and understood to write such an actual and symbolic representation of salvation and redemption \
# as God did through Moses with the children of Israel. Not only was Moses the writer of Exodus but he was the savior [salvation] of the children of Israel. At the age of eighty when God spoke to him from the burning bush his life was practically drained from personal natural desire, having fled Egypt and his position there that placed him then as the savior of his people. When he left Egypt to save his own life all of his self-confidence was dashed, seeing that such a position could in no wise after human initiatives be regained; but, God who is rich in mercy called Moses and instituted through him the redemption that is of the LORD for the children of Israel. \
At that time, for any other human being outside of the family of Jacob, to enter into the promises of God they had to by faith in the LORD God submit to the status of proselyte of the Israelites and there were some number of Egyptian converts who left Egypt with Moses. Concerning the method of salvation offered to those outside of the designated family of Adam: before Moses days when the law had been given, consider that the salvation that saved Adam and the Woman from instant and eternal death was no differently received by those who heard the event from Adam, than in the days of the law of Moses, thereafter, and into this very time. The LORD speaks through Hosea in Chapter 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Romans. 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 1Timothy. 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. Ephesians. 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:. And today if we will but pause to remember our own beginning in the Lord Jesus. Although, because the information is not given us about how the beings before Adam approached God, for the Holy Scriptures does not offer it, we do know that God does not change. Hebrews13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, \
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and for ever.\
Exodus, from the Greek exodos – way out, means in English, departure, especially a group. But it is the custom of the Hebrew to label a book with its first words and that affords meaningful divisions and thought. These names the Hebrew title, explained further as the sons of Israel, the expression being the first words of the book of Exodus. The thought verb, came, reflects not only the LORD God wishing to reveal himself to his people outside of Egypt but also that Moses had lived outside of the darkness of Egypt forty years, so to be, in the light of spiritual understanding with his father-in-law priest of Midian; while his people darkened with servitude to the Adversary of God, of whom Pharaoh casts a shadow, lived in the land of darkened waters [a shadow of secular literature and its way of thinking for present day application]- – the Nile River. This thought of dark waters is derived from the annual inundation of the Nile each spring as silted waters from central Africa and Ethiopia were carried down stream and when the waters receded the silt formed the fertile basin where wonderful crops grew that the Israelites remembered and longed for in their arduous wilderness journey. They came out of darkness into the presence of the LORD God. Ephesians. 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. The physical miracles and judgments that the LORD did upon Egypt to deliver his people Israel should be taken more seriously to heart; considering, that greater miracles today [this age] occur when a soul is delivered from the grasp of darkness with a new mind to comprehend the deep thoughts of God.\
A new \’91world\’92 came into being when the LORD delivered Israel, the family, as a group, as a new-born nation. Israel was being freed from the taunt \
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chains of darkness by a man named Moses, but he was not the seed of the woman for he died in Moab. However, God used this one man\’92s faith to deliver over a million people. Ever, the Moses portrayed in the Holy Bible, pictures the blessed Son of God the Savior Jesus. This book Exodus, the writing of Moses, illustrates a two part redemption: one the law and one the service of the Tabernacle of Witness. And so salvation is a person, while redemption concerns the blood of the savior as the commodity by which purchase is obtained, Hebrews 9;22 without shedding of blood is no remission, [of sins – sin is a term meaning, to miss the mark]. The outline of the book [see pages k,l,m of the preceding] shown with the names of the children of Israel states clearly the workings of God and expressly the book of Exodus in this way. Additionally, if the extended meaning of the name Exodus [these trebled land] is applied to \’91these sons of Israel\’92 a euphemism must be assumed because of the seventy souls who went down into Egypt to Joseph, came out to Moses over a million souls; because, trebled means to increase only three fold.\
What the LORD God concluded with Joseph in Genesis he takes up again with Exodus in Moses; providing the backdrop for the scene that was to transpire some thirteen hundred years later with the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth. Joseph the central figure ends in a coffin in Egypt; but, Moses, the new central figure stands before the burning bush that is not consumed, a similarity like him gazing at the promised land from Moab at the close of his life. Here again, the thought offered is death and life, the evening and morning of the day of God: in Genesis it was the first day – light, in the four books of Moses it is the second day – a firmament, life. That is, something solid, a nation of faith people, free to worship and fellowship with the living God where he chose to dwell. And it is a most glorious day unto the LORD when with his marvelous powers he delivers his people, the children of Israel, from the slavery \
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of Egypt into the body of land called Canaan [the word means, submissive]. In our own dispensation we hardly comprehend that these same powers of God have delivered our own souls from the grim grasp of Satan, even though we experience the overpowering relief and joys. Sobering, is that the curse placed in the Garden of Eden is not removed but by physical death.\
The purpose of placing the four books of Moses together as one lamp of the branch Simeon is not only because of authorship but also these books describe the perfect conduct to be in the presence of the LORD God. To think, all that is in these four books was accomplished effortlessly by Adam and the Woman in the Garden of Eden, before their fall from grace. Then again this pattern of conduct is what to examine the Prophet like unto Moses with Jesus being that Prophet and the last Adam.\
Now, the second branch of the Holy Bible into which the Moses book Exodus fits is described by the name Simeon the second son of Jacob by his wife Leah and the name means \’91heard\’92 for Leah said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated. And like Leah, upon the earth the children of Israel have been hated. Exodus 3:7 And the LORD said to Moses I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; Certainly a reason for envy and hatred in the other families of the earth toward Israel when God has chosen them his speckled bird. Jeremiah12:9. As a new born child cries out so did the Father hear his people cry unto him from the dark corner of separation. Symbolically a resurrected life is received, a new nation is born and its delivery and procreation begins in the book of Exodus.\
And the lamp of Exodus, unlike the other three books that follow in the Holy Writ, is divided by the signal of two names: Nemuel, day of God and Jamin, right hand. Herein can be determined the division of Exodus and these \
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with internal scriptural references to substantiate the allegation, even though as will be shown, the two fit usefully like the bee to the clover bloom. Nemuel is seen comprising the portion of Exodus from 1:1 through to 25:9, while Jamin begins with 25:10 through to and including 40:38. The reason for this division may be that the great physical works and miracles, all bestowed on behalf of the children of Israel at one time and unnecessary to duplicate to this day should be given this extraordinary distinction, Nemuel – – day of God. Moses may have pointed the stick but the invisible God did the miracles in those days. And when Jesus healed a child of Jacob or fed the five thousand of Israel did he raise his staff or point a stick? Nay, a greater than Solomon… \
When the sense of Genesis has been taken in, a new life, a new conscience; then the four books of Torah, that is, directions, instructions, the laws of Moses, can be clearly seen as delivered specifically to the sons of Adam through the family line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: those that by exact genealogy were the children of Israel. When Genesis leaves the reader in a coffin in Egypt, Exodus springs forth life through the savior Moses. This new life struggles through deliverance in Exodus as any new born child is born and learns the rules of conduct in the seas of the words of Moses in the books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy that prepares the nation to possess the new garden of God described in the book of Joshua. But for now, Exodus is unrolled before us and the faithful eagerly receive the understanding of their own existence as portrayed by the life of the new nation Israel and this is a new thing upon the face of the earth. Read with the preceding text in Exodus.\
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The section NEMUEL\
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The section Nemuel that is defined and first marks the sections of \
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Exodus is identified or outlined in Genesis 1:6: And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, This is Nemuel, the day of God, when God by his great power put his words into the mouth of Aaron and Moses that they spoke unto Pharaoh and that resound in the midst of the secular world\’92s words ever since, with signs and miracles following. The rest of the verse: and let it divide the waters from the waters. is the section of Exodus designated by Jamin, right hand, and it is the Son who divides the book of Exodus and the words of praise to God from the secular words and the curses of the world upon his name. Continuing the thought of dividing, the presence of the Tabernacle is the figure of the person of the LORD and the dwelling place of the God of Israel, the same LORD God of Adam and the Woman in the Eden Garden, sanctifying of the children of Israel from Egypt and indeed the rest of the world. Internally in Israel\’92s camp this division is signified by the linen curtain of the court that separates the Tabernacle proper from the tents of habitation of the children of Israel. The children of Israel have lived with the envious eyes of the rest of humanities families criticizing their peculiar customs and tenacious interests upon the written words of their Bible; secretly knowing the reproach was the evidence of their obedience to the God, who coddled them through the quiet times and the times of persecutions and to whom they always clung for his deliverance. It is, after all attempts of explanation, the LORD God himself who is the firmament that divides the unbeliever from the believer.\
Unlike Jesus of Nazareth whose personal virtue was unspotted through divine birth, the savior Moses required specific preparations and rehearsals and sanctifications that extended into the preparations of the sons of Aaron for priestly duties. Moses, the son of Adam, needed to be called to service, but Jesus always knew the will of his Father; both were saviors from God, but only Jesus was the seed of the Woman with the power to bruise Satan\’92s head. \
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The names of the sons of Jacob, along with his own, form the foundation structure of Exodus. Each name designated as a \’93place\’94 is found in order as they appear in the opening verses of Exodus 1:2-5 to describe a portion of Exodus that speaks of the divine person of Jesus of Nazareth, the man-child sorely expected by every generation of faithfuls from Adam to Joseph the husband of Mary, the daughter of the Woman, the mother of the Son of God. It had been four thousand and four years since in the Garden of Eden the seed had been spoken of and in Exodus the savior Moses preserves, the family, that is, the holy line, through which the Messiah appeared. \
The names appear spiritually defining the Lord Jesus while spanning across the sectional divisions of Nemuel and Jamin that describe more the content of the book. Significantly, within the name Benjamin, the sectional name Jamin is found. And his section begins on page 72 of the preceding record of Exodus; that is, the right hand of the right hand of the Son, wherein this section the mystical pattern of the Tabernacle is delivered and erected: the Tabernacle representing the divine being of the seed of God and as shall be pointed out the striking resemblances of The Man; where to Moses resorted, even pitching his own tent directly in front of its gate.\
In the words preceding the first place \’91Reuben,\’92 the darkness of Egypt\’92s ways are seen upon the children of Jacob. The slavery of a job, a dominating spose, a cruel government, an unpleasant social situation, a forbidding climate, can cause a cry to heaven such as came from the children of Israel in Egypt. They did not distinctly know they needed a savior but they desired deliverance and that required a savior. It is even in these days the hand of the Prince of Darkeness that lays heavily upon the body and soul causing like cries to be uttered; and God has provided the Savior Jesus who removes the bondage upon the mind of the oppressed, either enabling that one to endure or even to \
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escape physically such cruelty. And when God delivers from, he delivers to – – the mind of Christ, such likeness as found in the reading of the scriptures. Ephesians 4:22-24. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. When the LORD delivered his people from Egypt his intention was to lead them into his Garden Land of Palestine immediately; where, in his presence, the blessing of worshipful fellowship with the Creator Deliverer was possible. This literally occurred when the disciples of Jesus followed him about during his ministry in the land of Israel. \
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The place REUBEN in the section Nemuel \
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Although the section Nemuel begins at the first word of Exodus the place Reuben, behold a son, waits until paragraph five to illustrate the birth of the child Moses whose life most strikingly portrays hereafter, The Prophet to follow, Jesus of Nazareth. Moreover, in Reuben is found the descriptive verse that identifies the section Nemuel in the book of Exodus. Exodus 2:3. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river\’92s brink. Page 50 of the preceding record of Exodus. This shows Moses the person as the firmament in the midst of the water, and later, Jesus the only worthy and capable Savior in a sea of the people of God.\
On page [f] of the preceding outline and text presentation is the Descriptive Outline whereby the first chapter of Genesis gives the central view of the particular books of the Holy Bible with a verse or part of a verse for each. For Exodus chosen is Genesis1:6 And God said, Let there be a \
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firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. is compatible with the same underlined verse above. Called the outline verse of Exodus within the book, notice that the goodly child in the ark is Moses who divides Egypt from Israel – – like Jesus divides the unsaved and saved. \
The rescue of the children of Israel from Egypt began not with The True Reuben, Jesus, who as the Messiah of Israel, was expected by some of his earthly time to deliver Israel the nation from the iron hand of Rome; but, with Moses of whom he was likened. An infant record is kept of Moses and that \
record a symbolized deliverance by an individual of a multitude as Jesus accomplished. With Moses it was to deliver the seed Messiah\’92s blood line from the grasp of Egypt: while, with Jesus it is to deliver all who have faith in him from the power of Satan and sin[s] who holds ones attentions. Satan has never laid down his ambition to be as God, he is only kept from it. Moses declares to his people his position as deliverer for them and is rejected Exodus 2:14; while, Jesus declares his Deity when twelve years old in the Temple and this he proves in his ministry that he is the Prince of Israel and, he is rejected. Moses forty years after his rejection is received by his brethren; while Jesus has yet to return and be received by his brethren, as in the scene with Joseph and his family in Genesis. The years are fast approaching to this event.\
This place designated by the name Reuben that simply means, behold a son, vividly fits both the person named and the person eclipsed, the first is Moses and the last Jesus. Now when Moses is born in Egypt in times of \
trouble his deliverance comes from the hand of his mother. And the second verse [underlined] that describes the child Moses, alas, describes the children of Israel that had grown so much in population that they could not longer be hid. God had to do something with his people. He could no longer hide them in Egypt.\
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Jochebed the mother of Moses makes for him a bulrush ark. It is not a vain theft of time to reflect upon the meaning of the name of the mother of Moses: for it gives a hint of what the grandmother of Moses was thinking when she named Jochebed, which is a fragment of thought as small as an archaelolgist\’92s bead dropped millenniums ago and recently rediscovered, that is held to the light and the dust of unbelief brushed away. The meaning could describe the general attitude of faith that the general population of the children of Israel possessed or perhaps it was only the hopes of the small \
remnant of believers that rehearsed the promise of the LORD to Jacob to bring them again from Egypt. At least, it is the thought of one person thirty two hundred years ago that magnifies her God, for the name Jochebed means, Jehovah her glory. [The translators of the KJV version of the Bible have translated the name Jehovah as LORD, save in six instances in our old covenant records: more recent interpretations have neglected this distinction and show the word Lord in every instance]. This ark that Jochebed makes reflects the same care that was given to the construction of the Tabernacle where be the Shekinah of God resided. Let there be a nation of Israel and the glory of God divide it from all of the other nations of the earth, a point of over statement, but the depiction remains true enough.\
Nursed by his mother and delivered to the courts of Pharaoh where the daughter of Pharaoh named him Moses, perhaps as much for Jochebed\’92s suggestive influence as for her own manner of salvation, and the child grows to manhood, The Acts 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. In Egypt the superior opportunities for the finest education of that time were only rivaled by the educators of Sumer whose culture had been overrun by the Babylonians who adapted their cuneiform writing system in the southern Euphrates River basin. \
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At the time of Moses in the area called today Turkey the aggressive culture of the Hittites flourished, a people with a Semitic written cuneiform language. Indeed, the inscriptions preserved today of these cultures are witness to the diligent applications of those scholars. More importantly, a People of the Sea, as they have been called, carried in their knowledge and practice their Phoenician language. A twenty-two letter alphabet nearly identical to the ancient Hebrew script was deposited on plaques of stone and metal, visible yet in the museums, about the Mediterranean and African coast lines. In the days of Moses about 1200 B.C. the ports of Egypt were busy with Phoenician merchant trade ships. That Moses was skillful in the use of words is witnessed by the quote of the martyr Stephen. It is also thought that the deeds Moses performed during his first forty years, were as a general of Pharaoh\’92s army, a post that required the skillful use of words. \
Then why when speaking at the burning bush did Moses confess that he was not eloquent but of slow speech and of a slow tongue. Perhaps he referred to the complicated Egyptian language that he had learned as he grew up. Or possibly to the lack of having been raised with the knowledge of the scrolls of the ancients that comprise today the book of Genesis. But then again how did he communicate with the Midianites to whom he fled, that he married and lived with for forty years, who likely did not speak the Egyptian tongue as they were of the loins of Abraham Genesis 25:2 and spoke Hebrew. Or in the presence of the LORD did he recognize that though he had a thorough knowledge of the world, lacked in knowledge of the ways of God and confessed? \
The actual attainment of Moses\’92 education can only be guessed at by the outside cultures that interacted with Egypt either in trade or in war: the Phoenicians and Ishamaelites in trade, the Hittites and Assyria in war, the \
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Midianites seem to have kept to their own. Then there were the many city-\
states of Canaan who in Abraham\’92s days had become confederate. The Ethiopians were only one more culture, either with to barter or battle. And Mycenaean Greeks dominated the eastern Mediterranean from 1400 B.C. The invasion of Canaan by Israel is thought to have taken place about 1250 B.C. by historians and 1400 B.C. by Bible scholars: either date not distracting from the impact of Moses being the man to portray the place \’91Reuben\’92 whose true honor belongs to Jesus of Nazareth but for whom Moses is the reflection of his time. \
During his time of rejection Moses joins himself to a Midianite priest \
named Jethro who gives him his daughter Zipporah to wife. Although the Midianites origin is from Abraham and thus Semitic a later account Numbers 12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman, shows clearly that he had married an Ethiopian woman. Two possibilities opportune as explanation. Perhaps when in the court of Pharaoh, and as some suppose, Moses had been Captain of Pharaoh\’92s army against Ethiopia where he had taken a wife of those conquering exploits and she had also fled with him to Midian or she had remained in Egypt and reunited with Moses when he returned to face Pharaoh. This posture would then make Zipporah the Midianite his second wife and mother of his sons of his exile whose name reflect his feelings of those forty years. Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh: Exodus. 18:3,4 Further a possibility exists that, Zipporah\’92s mother, wife of Jethro her father, could have been Ethiopian. It would be worth the effort of words to note that the Ethiopian although as dark complexioned as any natural African has distinctly Semitic facial features.\
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Some have even surmised that Elihu in the book of Job was Moses by a \
Midianite surname and participated and wrote the book of Job while he was in exile, even though the personality of Elihu seems a bit more ardent than Moses.\
While most of the actions of Moses can evident the Prophet of whom he spoke, the final incident in the place Reuben page 50-51 speak of a man with all of the frailties of the first Adam when Moses encounters the LORD at the burning bush. Comparing the identity of Jesus it is immediately seen when he is baptized and the voice from heaven declares him the Son of God, but there \
are no objections, no disclaim of honor onto another. Jesus begins going about his Fathers business. However, the idea of the meaning of the name Reuben illustrating the Lord Jesus shows itself clearly as Moses was the prophet who spoke with the LORD face to face and Jesus the Son who declared himself one with his Father. In both instances, it is the thought of having life, that first light being from the presence of the Living God. \
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The place SIMEON in the section Nemuel \
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After forty humiliating years of exile the once prince of Egypt, Moses, now an inquisitive shepherd stands barefooted upon Sinai\’92s holy ground his eyes are fixed upon the stony earth out of fear that is soon to be turned into trust in his God. This trust is created in Moses through the words of the LORD. The miracle of the burning bush, a shadow of the Savior Jesus, a picture of Israel, a lampstick likeness, was to get the attention of Moses, forever. Since Adam, it is the conversation of revealing in words that the LORD has used to create faith, that finally brings Moses into submitted trust. Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. #\
While Moses had been in exile the oppression of Egypt upon the children of Israel had amplified and the LORD continues, speaking on the level at which Moses had been thinking when he had fled from Pharaoh: and I have also seen the oppression… and proposes to send Moses. Rightly, Moses responds as the rejected deliverer, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, but the LORD assures his presence with him. Whereupon the true brilliance of the mind of Moses is revealed: And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me \
unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? because he could not convince them himself forty years before. Now, the near balance of the place Simeon is devoted to the response of God to this singular question of Moses and it is extremely important to keep this in mind as it is read. Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations… As if to further remind God of the previous denial Moses states that they will not believe me… Moreover, Moses is still standing barefooted on the soil of Sinai before the bush that is not consumed by fire speaking and being spoken to, quite a sight to a cognizant observer who recognizes that Moses must be convinced that he will succeed. To assure him and the people he is sent to, the Lord performs significantly four miracles, that is, a physical evidence of the spoken words and particularly in this instance individual alphabetic letters. It is certain that the language being used in the conversation was Ancient Hebrew the twenty-two letter alphabet that holds pictorial meanings for each of the letters. This representing is not closely \
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recognized with the modern square Hebrew alphabet. However, recalling that Moses posed the question of the name of God and the need for proof that he is sent by the LORD notice that both of the comments of Moses are solved in this next series of manifestations. Here the LORD spells out his name, with four consonant letters that are shown by the four miracles that occur. Now the name of God is I am indicating he is \’91self existent\’92 that being the meaning of the four letter word being spelled out, indicating the power of resurrection. This name is interpreted in the KJV by the four capital letters LORD. Only in \
six instances in the Bible does this name appear \’93Jehovah\’94 and that appears as the deviate spelling of the name.\
Refer to the text of Exodus of the preceding, pages 51 and 52 for the following explanation:\
To show the proper spelling of the letters of the name group of sentences that describe the four miracles are paragraphed together. The first, beginning with the words of the LORD: What is that in your hand? accounts to us the rod to snake – – a real wooden rod that the LORD made to be a snake. The significant term here is hand and it appears four times in the first miracle. That the Egyptian enchanters cast a ridged snake on the ground to crawl, has long been known as their illusion. But that Moses feared to touch the serpent attests to its reality. Now hand is the pictorial source for the Hebrew letter \’91yod\’92 that is the first letter of the name, indicating enablement to do work, i.e. the work of God: as Jesus, the man without sin, is the person enabled to die for our sins. And the LORD God confirms Moses to show this sign to the Israelites to show that Moses was indeed sent from the LORD.\
Now had they not believed this first miracle, the LORD gives Moses a second sign for them to believe Moses. The first is a miracle, but this second is a miracle that is a sign, of warning if they do not believe, that represents the \
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second Hebrew letter \’91heh\’92 whose pictorial illustration is literally \’91window\’92, as a picture that is beheld from another dimension outside of the window, thus the term \’91behold\’92 the second letter of the name appears twice. Often on pottery chards and in records outside of the Holy Scriptures just these two letters represent the LORD seed \’91Ja\’92.\
The third Hebrew letter \’91mem\’92 is defined: as any liquid, and here the words water and blood appear three times in a sign that Moses is to perform before the unbelieving needy. …thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour \
it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. 1John 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ;\
Most irritating is trying to relate to your small child some very important matter and wrapped up in their self-concerns their words interrupt bringing righteous anger against them because they need the information that is unfolding to them. And Moses interrupts the LORD but the LORD even in his righteous anger turns about a miracle that is a sign of the fourth letter \’91heh\’92 [with the same meaning as the second letter] when Moses \’91sees\’92 – – \’91beholds,\’92 used three times, his brother Aaron coming from Egypt unto him. And Moses as God, will put words in the mouth of Aaron and he as a prophet is the spokesman for Moses, as Jesus is for his Father the Word.\
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\’a0foot note from Genesis text:\’a0 In the original, the pictorial ancient Hebrew language, God spells out his name, letter by letter in conversation and demonstration in the following four signs.\’a0 The name YHWH means – self-existant,\’a0 i.e. Iam that I am.\’a0 But here when he gives his name to Moses the LORD he spells it YHMH.\’a0 Here in the first sign:\
[Y]4 = hand, four times – underlined.\
[H]2 = window, i.e. to see, to behold, twice in the second sign.\
[M]3 = water or any fluid (blood), three times in the third sign.\
[H] = window, i.e. to see, to behold, twice in the fourth sign.\
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foot note cont\’92d\
Had the third letter been [W] = a peg, nail, sure place, as is the spelling today, this early spelling contains the suggestion that the Person YHMH has blood.\’a0 Whereas, the current spelling YHWH contains no blood.\’a0 A wonderful symmetry of our Savior, who became flesh and blood but now His blood is shed to deliver us and is ever alive, the sure place, to put our trust.\’a0 The spelling may have changed in the days of King David and his great son Solomon, in as much as revelation and confidences were bestowed from the LORD upon them both – they being a Scriptural illustration of the Father, Son relationship.
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The LORD is severely demanding of his servants, more than we know, as is shown at the encounter at the inn when Moses had been negligent concerning his two sons. Hearing is relatively easy, doing is the miracle that God accomplishes in a believer. In the Gospel of John chapter 4, Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob\’92s well it is an alarming account of the keen perception that the Lord Jesus possesses and is perhaps a glimpse into the like \
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encounter we each shall experience at the White Throne judgment of Christ. The Revelation 20:11. \
Meaning \’91heard\’92 the place Simeon records the remarkable interchanges between the called, Moses, and the LORD God, the singular revealing that has been clouded with secrecy unto this day. Spiritually, the representation of Simeon changes little throughout the books of the Bible. John 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak \
these things. Here in this verse is the patiently enduring Prophet, the perfect Listener, who delivers the words of his Father. \
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The place LEVI in the section Nemuel\
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Remarkably, the name Levi means \’91joined\’92 and as the account begins Aaron, the third descendant from Levi, the beginning of the active priesthood, is joined to Moses, his younger brother, in the wilderness. This act of tenderness has an underlying meaning relating the nature of holiness. Aaron leaves Egypt to find Moses in the wilderness. Moses in the wilderness with his father-in-law\’92s flocks from Midian is made aware that he is sought by Aaron. The two meet in a place separate from either\’92s existence and those influences. Not only are they separated from their worlds but most importantly the LORD God has set them apart from their brethren for His purposes.\
The two true Levitical Priests of the High and Living LORD God stand before the Egyptian God-Priest Pharaoh. They are as holy in the Egyptian court as they were in the wilderness; their fearlessness is the evidence of their confidence in what they know to be true. And it is the Levitical Priesthood that performs the initiative of the catastrophes of God upon Pharaoh to release \
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his people. Indeed, the entire place of LEVI begins with Egypt and ends with Egypt\’92s demise, a very weighty amount of the book of Exodus.\
When Jacob went down into Egypt unto Pharaoh he and his family became the responsibility of Pharaoh. When the LORD asks for the release of Israel Pharaoh refuses and ten plagues are released upon Pharaoh and they are freed from the bondage of Pharaoh. When after their release Israel becomes the responsibility of the LORD God he imposes upon the children of Israel the ten commandments; thus, assuming responsibility for a people, a family really, \
that he identifies with, supposing that they would understand how much different they would be from other family nations upon the earth. As it has been taught, ten is the Biblical number for \’91responsibility\’92 and is well illustrated in this scene.\
To explore each of the plagues is less needful to this commentary of places; than seeing that they all fit within Levi. Momentous to the then new nation Israel is the LORD establishing their own holiness that begins with the first passover that leads them across the Reed Sea. Yes, the more accurate rendering of the Hebrew word is \’91reed,\’92 a body of water whose edges were filled with the plant that was used in the making of papyrus pages. Before they had been laborers – – now, on the other side of the Reed Sea they become scribes and scholars of Genesis and the four books of Moses that he provided. This was not because the LORD wanted a nation of intellects but because he wanted them to know and understand Him and to worship Him. He wants and demands our attentions too.\
This abundant time that was suddenly thrust upon the children of Israel must certainly have contributed to the murmurings and troubles that Moses and the LORD God endured from them; but, it does not excuse. Imagine after being brutally driven to produce bricks daily for Pharaoh\’92s projects, in a matter \
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of days to suddenly have nothing at all to do but cook dinner. They were wealthy by the booty of the Egyptians, who it appears paid them to leave, and even so after their tremendous offering of materials to build the Tabernacle. Among the writings that existed at that time the scrolls of the book we call today Genesis would have been available to them and it is probable that there were few copies until Moses had completed the benevolence of his four books. Undoubtedly, Levitical scribes were from the start busy copying onto new scrolls. It is most strange of all of the activities described by the Holy Bible \
least related is the important task of providing new copies of the early Holy Words, although later, Jeremiah and Baruch present a compelling scene.\
With the loss of all of the first-born of all living from the family of Pharaoh to the first born of Egypt\’92s cattle, Pharaoh sends Israel away out of his country. The children of Israel escape unscathed and abundantly wealthy when the Angel of the LORD, the Angel of Death, passes over their homes where the blood of the Passover lamb has been applied to the door lintel and casings at the instruction of God. This was to indicate that a substitutional death, the lamb of God, has already occurred by faith for them. It is especially fitting that this record is supplied in Levi for it is this tribe in Israel that attends to the sacrificial offering to God for the people first in the Tabernacle worship and later in the land the Temple worship in Jerusalem; when a lamb per family every man according to his eating [Exodus 12:4] was slain to implement Israel\’92s delivery from Egypt and commemorate Israel\’92s sacred holiness to their Just God the LORD. \
What the children of Jacob had received by the word of the LORD to Moses and Aaron by words, by hearing, addressed to Pharaoh they now saw with their eyes. In the sea of words from the Reed, Pharaoh and his entire army of modern weapons and mobilizations are covered and destroyed; a grand \
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gesture of the LORD to Israel that says: I have spoken and so it is. Sadly, when the laws were given and in our own lives, when we are commanded to love one another; this unmatched act of the LORD is forgotten – – . Proverbs 3:1,2 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.\
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The place JUDAH in the section Nemuel\
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It is Moses, after more than forty years of silently yearning over the children of Israel for their freedom, with pent up compassions and desires of retribution for them that causes the emotions of praise to shout forth from his mouth to the LORD God who with His singular strength and enablement to free his people. Surely written by Moses but taken up by the children of Israel the song is found in part in Psalm 106:9-12. It is sung unto the LORD their deliverer who after hearing his words see his deliverance and desire upon Pharaoh declare the LORD their God to be a man of war. This is like saying. the seed of the woman shall bruise Satan\’92s head. In this instance the Satan\’92s head was Pharaoh. From the sorrows of Egypt to the undoable joy of deliverance, the place Judah rightfully takes his place of \’91praise\’92, as the name has its meaning.\
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The place ISSACHAR in the section Nemuel\
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Mildness, tenderness, softness, the terms for gentleness that describes a servant concerning his own desires for himself that he lays aside to be the hired servant of another. This is the place Issachar where the man Moses who portrays Jesus in his humility, merge in character. Moses leads his people three days journey into the wilderness and there is no water. The people \
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already forget the strong hand of the LORD of whom they so recently sang, and murmur against Moses for it is he who has talked them into leaving Egypt. The only response is Moses praying unto the LORD who shows his mercy upon them. Moses leads on: they have no bread the LORD gives them manna an omer [five pints] each day per man, they want water and the LORD gives them water from the smitten rock, a type of the Lord Jesus, they fight with Amelek the enemy of the LORD and persevere, but it is Jethro the father-in-law of Moses who offers his counsel of relief of the judiciary burden of a million people and the return of his sons and wife, and Moses leads the children of Jacob into the wilderness of Sinai. Of the hired servant, Moses, consider: what were his wages? That he was as a king, indeed Israel\’92s first, could have been the motivation or was prestige the reason or fame or was the continual interaction with the living God his only reward. Surely he read from the scrolls with Joseph\’92s bones Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. \
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The place ZEBULUN in the section Nemuel\
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Exodus 3:12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And this token, that was previously promised to Moses, assuredly bolstered Moses confidence and is seen by the reader-observer as Moses went up unto God in the Mount Sinai. Before this, it is recorded that they journeyed from location to location but now they encamp before Sinai – – they dwell there, which is the meaning of the place Zebulun, \’91dwelling.\’92 They remained encamped there many days physically \
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and the yet devout Jews remain encamped in the laws of their God unto this day. But the Hebrew Jesus who always did the will of his Father had the laws dwelling within him. \
Had it not been enough for all of the miracles of plagues and physical wonders that the LORD performed to deliver his people, the LORD God confirms his servant Moses unto the people by coming to Moses in a thick cloud upon Mount Sinai and they heard the voice of the LORD speaking to Moses and they believed and feared to go near the presence of God begging rather that Moses speak for them. And they promised in a vow, that bears a faint echo of Jacob\’92s voice, to do as the LORD commands them. Immediately, so that the minds of the people would not be idle and that they would be holy for his presence; God gave unto Moses the commandments that we call the ten, plus, to enlighten their minds and encourage them to occupy the land of Canaan that he had promised, Moses further, delivers the ordinances by which they are to dwell in the land of his promise to Abraham. This all was intended by the LORD to bring his people into spiritual meekness created by the humbling effects of receiving his caring instructions. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.\
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The place BENJAMIN in the section Nemuel\
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In this tidy bundle Benjamin is the word picture of the God of Israel, the LORD God, no longer in shadows of burning bushes or hidden in clouds and pillars of fire and smoke nor in likenesses of men like Joseph or Moses; but, the true figure of the pre-incarnate LORD. The place Benjamin begins with Moses and mentions many of the other holy fathers in Israel; yet, in thirty-four \
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words of one sentence all the beauty of all that exists is seen by Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu [Aaron\’92s two sons] and the seventy elders who Moses had appointed to relieve the burden of judicial duties. Exodus 24:10,11. And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.\
But Moses, at the command of the LORD, spends forty days and nights in the presence of the glory of the LORD in a thick cloud and devouring fire upon the top of Mount Sinai. Now Jesus after his baptism by the Priest John the Baptist also spent forty days in the wilderness of Judea, the reality of the shadow cast by the willing servant, the law giver, Moses. Now the lawful confession of the Savior Jesus the Messiah of Israel is: My Holy Father is my only God; my hands have never shaped any likeness of any of the creation of my Father; the heart of my tongue is forever held from speaking vanity of the name of the LORD God; I have labored when my Father created and do keep the holy rest of the sabbath and in my heart; I do always those things that please my Father and into the hand of my trusted disciple have I placed my mother; I have healed the sick and lame and caused the blind and deaf to hear neither has a hair fallen from those that my Father has given me for I came to seek and to save; wisdom is in my heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul and discretion preserves me and understanding keeps me to deliver me from the way of the evil man and the strange woman; sound wisdom is with me and I walk uprightly keeping the paths of judgment and preserving the way of his saints by understanding righteousness and judgment and equity; I have desired nothing of my neighbors for all things are delivered into my hands by my Father. And when the LORD had given Moses the law on the stone tablets \
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and commandments he asks, through Moses, of the children of Jacob, a love offering of materials. \
A transition occurs in Benjamin exemplifying the place Benjamin, the son that is loved, like unto the Son of God. Passing from Nemuel, the day of God, that includes the grand deliverance of the people of God and the giving of the law and commandments of God that describe in Jesus his saving purpose and ability and his personality that is the positive reflection of the ten commandments: Psalm 139:13,14,15 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother\’92s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. It is here, page 72 of the preceding text, that the reader is translated into the section Jamin, that means right hand, describing the rightful position of the Son of God, revealing symbolically the beauty of the the LORD God of Israel in the Tabernacle of Witness of his presence in the midst of the camp of the children of Israel. While Nemuel describes Moses \’91the son\’92 delivering his people; Jamin is filled with the Tabernacle that personifies Jesus the Son of God. To abbreviate: Nemuel – God doing and Jamin – the person of God. These sections could have been two exalted books in themselves; but the person of God is not separate from what he does or can accomplish, for all things are possible with God and so we have one book, Exodus.\
Jamin in the book of Exodus. Genesis 1:6 … and let it divide the waters from the waters. Page [f] of the preceding text. With Jamin justly illustrated as the Tabernacle this thought of \’91dividing\’92 is consistent with what the presence of the Tabernacle in the camp of Israel accomplishes. Pitched in the center of the tents of Israel as they camped and leading them as they travel it \
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is the presence of the LORD God with the family of Israel that distinguishes it from all other nations; thus, \’91dividing\’92 Israel by favor. For those of the Church Paul writes: 1Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? \
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The place Benjamin in the section Jamin\
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Remembering that we are still in the place Benjamin, son of my right hand and that from: The Revelation 1:5. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and \
dominion for ever and ever. Amen., we have access as priests into the holiest of all places upon the earth the written, symbolic and mystical presence of the LORD God, Jesus the Messiah of Israel. The Gospels record wonderfully the ministry of our Lord but his inner exquisite beauty can only begun to be comprehended in the words that follow in Jamin and begins at his essence, at the mercy seat, the Shekinah, as the Jews describe him, at his heart, as it really exists in the invisible heaven of which the Tabernacle is the shadow of Jesus. Outward from this priceless piece of furniture for it was built of pure solid gold two and one half cubits by one and one half cubits [3\’92-9\’94 x 2\’92-3\’94 w/ 18\’94=1 cu., although, 27\’94 is the Egyptian cubit that some claim was used] with two Cherubim of beaten gold to cover the sparkling god plate of the mercy seat. Gold, ever since the Mercy Seat, speaks of the presence of God and since God looks upon the heart, so we, as imitators look upon the heart of the LORD God between the Cherubim above the shimmering mercy seat. As priests, we have come with the blood of The Revelation1:5 and so properly and legally \
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before his presence and to look upon the remainder of the Tabernacle; and forbid if for some unfathomable reason, one should want to take leave of their attentions from the Glory of Israel at the eminent entrance to his Divine Presence. The nature of heaven itself should not be questioned with this wonderful description of the earthly habitation of God. The One LORD God rested, for that is what a seat is for, upon the one viable golden mercy seat upon the earth. He is covered with the two Cherubim of his Presence and two is the number of confirmation. This is seen when God often repeats verbalizations in increments of two. Then it is the sum of the dimensions of the seat two and one half and one and one half totallying four, that shows him to be the God of the four corners of the earth; that nearly completes the vision of the glittering mercy seat. Nearly, because with out this following none could appear before the Living God. It is the shed blood of the Son of God that is sprinkled upon the mercy seat that has made propituation for sin and even at this moment allows this privilged glimpse. \
Now, the mercy seat was place upon and covered a crowned wooden chest two and one half cutits long one and one half wide and one and one half tall made of a variety of wood called acacia [shittim wood in the KJV]. This tree is not large by todays examples; but, retains the kingly appearance of its relative, this countries honey locust even with the same sharp and formable thorns. A dense wood it is quite heavy. The chest was covered with solid gold with four golden rings in the corners and two gold covered wooden poles to transport upon the shoulders of the Levitical priests [possibly twelve in number representing each tribe in Israel]. No one was left out by representation and neither are we of this age in Christ Jesus our representative to his Father and our Father.\
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Because of the closing of the place Benjamin, page 81 of the preceeding \
Scriptures, the record of the Tabernacle and its furniture appears to be as the LORD related the pattern to Moses while on the Mount of Sinai. For again at the place Asher Moses gives the reader a nearly identical reaccount. This first \
enumeration can be understood as the visage enjoined by Moses with the LORD God atop the Mount, the fire for light, with the closeness of the cloud permitting confidentiality between Him and his servant Moses recording the words we read and from forms of the visible pattern that was shown Moses of the Heavenly Tabernacle, that hints of the likeness of this revealing: …and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. 24::10 Exodus 25:40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shown thee in the mount. \
It is no wonder that the LORD was forty years in preparing the heart of Moses into unparalleled meekness; for any other would have been lifted up to pride, seeing the Creator of the hidden Heaven would reveal himself in such an overt way to a single mortal and over another period of forty years until the death of Moses. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Zechariah 9:9. Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; records Moses in his final scroll to the peculiar treasure Israel whom their LORD God chose for the purpose of providing a Savior to all of the families of the earth. Placed inside the golden chest were the stone tables of the ten commandments, Aaron\’92s rod that budded, the scrolls of the ordinances Moses provided and Genesis and the golden pot that held a portion of manna.\
Reluctantly turning from The Throne of the presence of commune observe the second piece of furniture called the table of showbread. Immediately, the \
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Gospel of John comes to mind in the sixth chapter particularly verse fifty one, John 6:48-51 I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down \
from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the\
bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world., and in the feeding of the multitudes of bread that is broken by and off from the Bread of Life. His blood upon the mercy seat, his flesh upon this table of showbread, one can scarcely miss the implications; however, by the time Jesus was given them the children of Jacob still could not get it even though he told them and they did not believe him. How privileged we are to have this old covenant \
illustration to bolster the witness of the Son of God himself and show the twelve loaves representing each of the tribes of Jacob symbolizing that none are left without the comfort of a savior in the Kingdom of God. Built of acacia wood and covered with gold the crowned table of showbread sat opposite the solid gold lampstick.\
We have been looking into these pieces of furniture with the eternal light of the LORD God that emanates from the mercy seat Throne that is first mentioned; but now, a glorious light that illuminates the natural eye and the holy room it occupies comes to us by way of the words. And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: Exodus 25:31. And it continues with the delightful pattern of seven lamps. Now for the lamps to put forth light the LORD specifies olive oil, something that today is more commonly substituted with vegetable oil for cooking purposes. Olive oil not only is useful for giving light but was then used to anoint the body for refreshment and moisture, cooking and for the healing of open wounds, to anoint the dead for burial, and rituals such as anointing the head of a King. The lamps on the lampstick were the \
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receptacles for holding the olive oil like Christ is the receptacle for the Holy Spirit of which oil always speaks in the Holy Scriptures. Isaiah 53:5 But he \
was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the\
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. \
Particularly concerning the word bruised in the verse above the subject of oil is examined below on page 34 & 35 of this commentary.\
As has been pointed out by the late and noted Bible Teacher Llwellyn Thompson the dimensions of the Ark of Noah and the dimensions of the Tabernacle are strikingly the same, a subject that is extremely interesting but will not be handled herein as the rhetoric is lengthy and belongs to someone else. Nonetheless, the building that housed the above furniture is also representative of the Lord Jesus from its portability, as a human being is mobile, and by its appearance through the colors that are specified by Moses. The immediate interior as we began with the furniture continues in account to build a symbolic picture outward from the Ark, now with the tent which is white linen with embroidered figures of cherubim, scarlet, blue and purple encasing the heart of the Tabernacle with the same colors that are found within the rib cage of the living person. With a final outer covering of richly tan antelope skins, indicative of the near eastern oriental complexion. The front of the tent showed a partial covering of black goat hair woven curtain that hung doubled [two cubits wide – three feet] down both sides with a two cubit lintel of black curtain along the top of the four square east end of the tent. This is representative of the hair of The Nazarite whose bearing is described in Numbers 6:5. Between the earth and the bottom of the golden boards of the structure on the north and south and west sides of the tent the silver foundations of the golden boards of the structure could be seen but the tent coverings hid the boards from sight both inside and outside. Covering the \
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five golden pillars of the east side and entrance is the scarlet, blue and purple [flesh colors] curtain covering the entrance. This is as if to say, the face of the \
tan body by which we have entrance into the private things of God, and that being through his words. An emblematic symbolism that somewhat \
enigmatically escapes the first reading is because of the vivid complexity of the entire structure and tent. Indeed, so detailed is the description of the Tabernacle as a whole, that one cannot miss the great love that God has for his Son by the dotting The Revelation that is given to Moses.\
The superstructure of the tent is many large boards, probably nine inches [one span] in thickness and twenty seven inches wide and fifteen feet tall of hollow structure, like a persons lungs, of acacia wood and covered with gold. Forty-eight specified boards of this description weighing four hundred pounds each have a combined weight of 19,200 pounds. Each time Israel moved, of the forty times in the wilderness, the tonnage was transported by wagon, two oxen each of four wagons to carry the boards, bars, pillars and sockets, etc. [Numbers 3:35- ]; while the furniture was carried upon the shoulders of the Levitical priests. The carrying of the precious pieces identified Israel with their LORD God and is symbolic of the holy credentials of Jesus of Nazareth.\
Not only does the division of the book of Exodus occur in the necessary lengthy place Benjamin but the descriptive verse that is identified by Genesis as Jamin in Exodus appears here also. Exodus 26:33. And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. Page 74 of the preceding record of Exodus. This is a more significant verse than even this underlined indication presents, for in the Tabernacle structure two rooms are formed dividing the Golden Throne from the table of showbread and the lampstick. Now in the larger room that houses \
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the table of showbread and the lampstick there is light and food for the ministering priests who entered daily; but in the most holy room of ten cubits \
by ten cubits by ten cubits that is ten three times, for resurrection of responsibility as the numbers represent respectively, it was the duty of the \
High Priest, the single representative of all the people the person with the power of all of the children of Israel to present himself before the mercy seat to make yearly reconciliation [once a year, because God sent his Son once to make restitution for all], and that not without the blood of the substitutional sacrifice, to make restitution and to commune with the Living LORD God of Israel, Abraham, Noah, Enoch, and Adam. Some view this holiest room as being pitch dark because the light of the lampstick was without the vail. Rather by another it is perceived, while the LORD was with Israel, as filled with the lustrous light of the LORD God. 1John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.\
Most solemn in its appearance and position the great altar of judgment is now presented. It is placed outside of the Tabernacle in front of the face of the structure and is constructed of acacia wood covered with copper. It is a translational adjudication that the KJV gives us the word \’91brass\’92 when for that time and by the literal interpretation of the Hebrew, \’91copper\’92 is the more accurate term and in all Biblical implications indicates judgment. Its position is significant because it represents what Jesus was sent to perform as the will of his Father and was ever the center of his thought and actions and he knew, the final step of his earthly ministry. The four corners of the altar with its horns of strength speak of the great power the act of sacrifice has for all of the four corners of the earth, five cubits long and five cubits broad showing God\’92s grace that being the number representing divine favor that is grace, and is \
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established forever by the act of the cross that the structure portrays, and three cubits tall indicating the hope of resurrection, the number three, in the \
very article of furniture that encompasses substitutional death. Importantly, and not readily perceived, is that the shape of the altar is like the sides of a \
box without top or bottom. The purpose is to allow for the center to be filled with soil so that the hand of man has not come upon design of the offering. This sense is seen in the instructions for an altar built of stone. Exodus 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. In this instance the stone contained the mound of earth upon which the sacrifice was made. The holy instruction of the Bible teacher is employed in this understanding after careful confirming studies. Obviously, the altar speaks of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross the conception and institution which is of God alone.\
There is described in the place Benjamin after this the enclosure of the Tabernacle by a curtained courtyard, that set it aside, making it holy, that is sanctified from the camp of Israel, where it sat the center. Oh, that our own minds could be set upon God continually and he become the center of our consciousness and motivations. But, we must attend to our jobs for our family necessities and are fortunate indeed if we devote ten percent of our time to the Creator.\
Because of the work of the Son of God the Holy Spirit is given. John 16:7&13 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; The Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: The pure oil for the lamp of Truth to burn always in the Tabernacle is extracted \
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then, as now, by laying the still green olive, just before it becomes fully ripe and black, upon a slanted surface with grooves until all the very light oil by \
gravity is extracted, like during the ministry of Jesus; then, the olive is sent to the stone to be ground and the remaining heavier oil is obtained, that which is \
after the death and resurrection of Jesus.\
Where Genesis has identified the seed as the Son; Exodus describes the glory and beauty of the Son by the clothing of the High Priest and the office. All aspects are spiritual representations and it would require at least a full volume to fully discourse. What is not typical of the Lord here though, except in negatives, is that Aaron and his descendants of Priests had to be consecrated for the office of the High Priest. Hebrews. 4:14,15. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. The first High Priest of Israel Aaron married, Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon of the tribe of Judah a tantalizing twisting of the line of the kingship into the line of the priesthood of Israel. \
When the priests offered only the most holy [without blemish] animals upon the altar it is the lamb that is offered both morning and evening each day that John the Baptist referred to when he spoke to his disciples: John 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! The number of the lambs that were offered over the years was phenomenal. Approximately nine hundred and five years from the time of Exodus chapter 29 until II Kings chapter 24 when the Babylonian captivity began and Temple worship ceased in Jerusalem, at least 643,130 lambs had been offered at the daily rate of two. This offering resumed seventy years later with the return of \
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the remnant of Israel at some rate that is not fully known over the five hundred and fifty years until this The Revelation cry of John the Baptist. Because every Israelite knew the significance the promise of the seed to Adam and the Woman, personified in the lamb of Moses books; the repetition of the offerings, had numbed their senses, and they would not give up their place in Israel\’92s society to bow the knee to the illegitimate carpenter\’92s son from Nazareth, a city well outside of Jerusalem the seat of scriptural knowledge, they would not believe the Priest John son of Zacharias. Is this in itself not \’93fair warning\’94 in our own days of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ? Even we who are worth more than one half a shekel, after the weight of the shekel of the sanctuary, of more value than a sparrow, much, much, much more – – the shed blood of the Lord Jesus who redeemed us: The Revelation 5:9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;. \
Between the face of the Tabernacle and the Great Altar sat an object that is best described in its symbolism by Jesus. Matthew 23:35. … unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. This was a man who\’92s words were the words of the LORD unto disobedient Israel who would not hear [II Chronicles 29:20], slain in the spot of the Tabernacle setting where the laver stood, that held the water from which was drawn for the priests to wash. Water always speaks of the words of God. Does it not cleanse the heart to read from the Bible in the morning and by evening after the job to feel the need to return to cleanse oneself again from the Word of God!\
Exodus. 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, \
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written with the finger of God. Imagine what any archeologist of any age would feel to touch or even see these totally irreplaceable stones that Moses carried \
down from Mount Sinai. Of course, they represented the truly open heart of the LORD God that he was revealing to his people for they were written: Exodus 31:18 … with the finger of God. Exodus. 32:15,16 …the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. The tables themselves are a picture of Jesus, in that, all thoughts that emanated from him were the mind of God written as it were upon, graven into – – earth, that is Adam a very real and human being. But the people for whom the tablets were prepared had rejected patient waiting for their God and turned to play, entertainment. This is the essence of rejection and the stone tablets – – \
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The place DAN in the section Jamin\
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– – and Moses cast the stones from his hands and the tablets were broken because the covenant had been broken. 1Corinthians 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. But Israel had not humbled themselves and waited upon their LORD God the seed. This act of Moses, at seeing the people of God in lust and idolatry, is righteous judgment as the name Dan means, judge. The judgment was harsh by todays standards, humbling, but these people were in the very presence of the Living God and he demands holiness from his people because he is holy. Leviticus 11:44,45 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of \
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Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Luke 12:14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? …\
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The place NAPHTALI in the section Jamin\
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As the representative of the people to the LORD God Moses offers himself again to the LORD God to make amends for the children of Israel. His actions are the continuation of the struggle to appease the wrath of God for a guilty people. This is the Naphtali, wrestling, that accompanies every soul that receives God on his terms and becomes a new creation within the old person and this is the wrestling of God over the old person for the new creatures attentions. The old person is brought under control by the new man, in a word temperance, to apply the term from this present age. Whereas, the latter is one person the new Nation Israel is one and so the symbolism to one body. If part of the people sinned all of the people suffered judgment as in the later Diaspora of the nation. In this instance, the Tabernacle of the Presence of the LORD God was transposed to outside of the camp of Israel for they were not worthy of His presence. This became true in the Apostle Paul\’92s days when the Jews would no longer hear him and Paul turned his ministry unto the Gentiles to gain a reception.\
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The place GAD in the section Jamin\
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Moses appeases the LORD God by the application of his own faith to allay the sin of the people. Exodus 33:18 And he [Moses] said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. This is the personal request of the man who had already stood before the burning bush and received the Tabernacle and law and \
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ordinances; but, now in an intimate conversation, Moses wants to see – – the face of the LORD God. Exodus 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. Moses saw the face of the LORD \
in the Tabernacle by its symbolism; however, his desire is so deep that the loss of the material earth is ignored, he was in substance asking to die. \
During the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth there were those such as the disciple Matthew, who left his job immediately to follow Jesus with only the presence of the face of Jesus and his request. It is a type of death but also a very literal one also, for when the disciples became converted and became Apostles a very distinct \’91death\’92 is indicated. This is not because the rigors of daily life have necessarily wearied the individual but that the presence of the LORD is so magnanimous and impelling and even for those today who receive the scriptures such as the Gospel of John 1:34-39 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. \
Moses, in two consecutive sessions, had been a total of eighty days upon the Mount of Sinai without food or water and he wrote upon stone tablets the covenant, the ten commandments, the man of tremendous faith sustained physically, miraculously, by the presence of the LORD God.\
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The place ASHER in the section Jamin\
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There are yet in these late years people whose faces shine at the mention a single scripture or upon emerging from their \’91closet\’92; but Moses this man of God had to vail his face, because it shone, to talk to the people of Israel and he \
delivered unto them this second time the tablets of the law covenant and the pattern of the Tabernacle. This presents to the reader the tremendous joy that was in the heart of Moses and therefore in the people to do the task set before them, to build the Tabernacle and keep the ordinances that maintained fellowship with the living LORD God of Israel. The place Asher, meaning happy, is entirely the record of the pattern of the Tabernacle as it was given to the children of Israel by Moses for them to build and for the LORD God to inhabit and was to bring perfect peace to them by covering their sins. There are some particulars that are more detailed in this account, to our pleasure; however, there is the description of an additional piece of furniture called the altar of incense that sat before the vail of the most holy place within the Tabernacle with the table of showbread and the lampstick, that is described here in Asher rather than in the first account Benjamin, because it pertains to the people and the intercession of the priest as the figure of prayer – – throughout and to the end of the Holy Scriptures – – prayer. The Revelation 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. Built of acacia wood also, it was covered with gold and two golden rings so that it could be carried on two gold covered poles by the priests. Although, it represents the figure of the LORD himself as does all of the pieces in the holy place, it is a function figure of the LORD, rather than a representation of his person as the table of showbread and lampstick serve. Thus, it is here [recorded in Asher] and not there [recorded in Benjamin], and in this dispensation, the Lord Jesus \
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is there [Heaven] and not here [upon the earth]. The shift of thought is to say that in the place Benjamin the pattern of the Tabernacle is a record given to Moses from atop Mount Sinai [a type of Heaven Moses ascended into], while the record of the Tabernacle in Asher is the actual construction of the Temple Tent upon the ground beneath Mount Sinai [the earth]. \
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The place JACOB in the section Jamin\
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In the opening verses of Exodus where the names of the places are listed in the proper order as they occur in the books Exodus through Deuteronomy: we find that the place name Jacob is found following the place name Asher and preceding the place name Joseph. In verse five the loins of appears with Jacob\’92s name and at the place JACOB we find linen breeches of fine twined linen and is the signal for the beginning of the place Jacob. Those persons out of the loins of Jacob are covered, again representatively as it is the priest who wears the breeches, with linen that speaks of moral purity such as is found in the impeccable person of Jesus of Nazareth who is our righteousness.\
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The place JOSEPH in the section Jamin\
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The clue to the beginning of the place Joseph is in one word used twice – – his. Found in Exodus 40:18 it is one of the most explicit intimation that the Tabernacle is symbolic of the personification of the seed of the woman, the son, a Prophet like unto me, the Lord Jesus. What joy must have welled up in each heart as the Tabernacle was reared up. What goodness flowed from the heart of the newly created nation to provide such a grand structure to house their God the LORD which satisfaction is confirmed when Moses could not enter the \
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Tabernacle for the presence of the cloud of the glory of the LORD within. And for all the camp of Israel to follow the Tabernacle by sight was the evidence of the presence of the LORD God in a cloud by day and fire by night upon the \
Tabernacle. When the Tabernacle moved the camp of Israel moved and the way was led by the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant of their LORD God.\
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Leviticus\
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Moses carefully documents the ordinances that the LORD has given to him in the Mount of God in Exodus and we have before us in the book of Leviticus those words that were given to him when the LORD dwelt in the Tabernacle among his people. Leviticus is the English title; but, the meaning of the Hebrew title is used to define the book – – to call out. And that meaning reflects the source of the words that Moses has recorded. The book is quite simple in construction concerning the places, there are thirteen, as in Exodus; however, there is only one lamp, Jachin, the third son of Simeon, his name means, established, to wit, the offerings. Collaborating the preceding text of Leviticus with the commentary may prove worthwhile in seeing the paralells with the person of Jesus Christ to whom all of the scriptures point. \
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The place Reuben in the section Jachin\
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Although Moses is the great Reuben of Leviticus the LORD presents the representative offering as the more pointed Reuben-place for the book. In this same verse, underlined in the preceeding Scriptures page 91, Leviticus 1:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. and is the book\’92s descriptive outline as defined in Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament…, page [f] of the Descriptive Outline also with the preceeding text. The wonderful likeness of the \’91firmament\’92 that divides the waters is descriptive of the representative \’91offerings\’92 that divide the words of the judgment of God from the words of the grace of God: and there must necessarily be something in between. For the words of the judgment of God have spoken the curse upon Adam and the Woman which divided God and Adam as much as the difference between the Darkness of night and the Light of day. Without the offering there could be no reconciliation and the LORD God had to provide [the seed] that Perfect Offering of his Son Jesus ultimately, but until that earthly life and offering, the substitutional offerings are prescribed in Leviticus. \
There are in Reuben: the burnt sacrifice of the herd, his offering of the flocks, the burnt sacrifice of fowls, the meat offering, the oblation of the firstfruits, and the sacrifice of the peace offering. These are symbolic in their differening disposition of species that fully describe the span of the feelings of Jesus Christ in his offering of himself upon the cross. Moreover, the blood of the offering is either evidence of life or of death, according to whether it has been shed indicating death or not shed and whole in the person indicating life. The evidence of the offered sacrifice was the sprinkled blood upon the four \
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corners of the great altar and upon the mercy seat inside of the Tabernacle. In this dispensation the blood of Jesus upon the four corners of the cross and on the mercy seat in heaven is the expiration of sin, the curse, and the reconcilitation in Jesus Christ to the living God.\
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The place SIMEON in the section Jachin\
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Simeon begins at this point due to the nature of the sentence that declares that the children of Israel be spoken to by Moses. This infers and requires that they must patiently forebear in listening, hearing, the words of Moses; hearing, being the meaning of the name Simeon. Simeon exemplifies the many conditions of offences against the holy LORD God that had to be constantly maintained [reconciled] for the LORD to remain in the Tabernacle\
among his people Israel with sacrifices. As our living Priest, Jesus does always those things that pleases his Father and that requires him to listen, hear, the voice of God his Father. \
The closing paragraph of Simeon and the opening paragraph of Levi are excellent examples to show the prophesy of a place and the actual beginning of a place in the Scriptures. The paragraph in Simeon describes the proceedure for sanctifying the priests; while the first sentence in Levi shows Moses actually doing the sanctifying.\
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The place LEVI in the section Jachin\
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To be joined [Levi] to the LORD God of Israel the priests themselves had to become holy, for their God and our God is holy. This was accomplished after the proper sanctifications subscribed to Moses who anointed Aaron and \
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who offered acceptable sacrifices for their sin. [Jesus did not need this sanctification except as accomplished by the priest John the Baptist for a witness to the people of Israel, for he was already holy.] Thereafter these practices of sanctifications were performed upon the new priests by their predecessors in order that they could be the acceptable mediators between the children of Israel and the LORD God. These ordinances were carried out with exactness to every detail, for a mistake would cost them their lives. See Nadab and Abihu Leviticus 10:1,2. and consider, Hebrews 2:1-3 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of\
reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; And so the place Levi magnifies the consecration of the office of the Priesthood to the LORD God of Israel. Everything that Aaron became by the consecration, Jesus already possessed. Hebrews 4:14,15 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. \
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The place JUDAH in the section Jachin\
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Because the Holy Celebration is a guide, all of the implications to the identity of Jesus and the facets of his personality are not explained by this commentary in all of the place that is designated by the name; rather, a glimpse only is provided into the unfathonable riches of the Holy Scriptures \
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that comfort the heart. The treasured joy is to first see the likeness to our Lord from the descriptions in the four Gospels.\
Judah meaning praise describes this portion because it is the day after the priesthood was officially instituted in Israel and with the sin offering, the LORD was to appear to Israel. This in itself reflects the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene and his disciples after his death on the cross and the implication of the fire from the LORD from within the Tabernacle in the unseen suffering that the Lord Jesus experienced on the cross. As the Lord expressed it: John 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. \
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The place ISSACHAR in the section Jachin\
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Now the name Issachar means, hired, in the sense of a faithful servant and again the perfect likeness of Jesus of Nazareth. From the Gospels, the reader can see the Lord going about his ministry and observe the people who follow him. Peter for one, who in The The Acts of the Apostles reveals his past manner of living in accordance with Moses precepts: The Acts 10:14, But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. These were the faithful believing that gathered willingly to him, who Himself, parted the hoof and chewed the cud. Implying that his foot print was one that identified his walk of faith as well as the physical and his mind was fully involved in ruminating about the things of God in the scriptures as part of the digestion process by which the spiritual life is sustained. This produces a wonderfully gentle person for the Lord to be worshiped by and for him to use to reproduce their kind, in a spiritual sense.\
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The place ZEBULUN in the section Jachin\
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When Mary brought forth a son and called his name Jesus she performed all of these things as they are described in this place Zebulun, see Luke 2:21-24 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. It was from that time that it can said that the Lord dwelt [Zebulun] among his people. Even \’91tabernacled among his people\’92 has been applied to Emanuel – God with us. Concerning the disease leprosy this is everything that was not like the Lord; for in all ways Jesus was spiritually sensitive to his Father. Leprosy is a disease that effects and destroys the nerve endings of the body and when the spiritual insensitiveity of the Nation Israel reached epidemic proportions the LORD God sent them into captivity to be healed of their disease. That is, he put them without the camp. The Acts 28:27,28 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. It is evident that this leprosy and uncleanness was of great concern due to the great lenght of the discussion. Gal. 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be \
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tempted.\
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The place BENJAMIN in the section Jachin\
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The problem with lauding the Lord Jesus Christ is the limitation of adjective and explicative expressions. However, the place Benjamin sets a precedent of procedure that was devoutly followed through the centuries by Israel\’92s priests and is seen in the Gospels with the father of John the Baptist and explained in the book of Hebrews. This practice was a demonstration of the actual act that was to take place after the crucifiction of Jesus and after his resurrection, but before his presentation to his disciples. John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. This statement is indicative of a task that he necessarily had to perform of the most holy nature that is thought to have been the presenting of himself with his own shed blood to sprinkle upon the Mercy Seat Throne of God in the Heaven for a witness to his Father that restitution for sin had been made and Satan\’92s head had been bruised by the seed of the Woman. That the Hight Priest, in this first instance, Aaron was only to enter the most holy place once a year represents the singular and final act of the Lord Jesus the Son of God for all times and all persons, displaying the great love that the Son has for his Father. That the place Benjamin represents the Lord Jesus is clearly seen as Jesus is today seated on the Throne at the right hand of his Father – – Benjamin meaning, son of my right hand. \
Concerning the scapegoats representing both the death and resurrected life of Jesus is easily seen and the representations in the other offerings as well, and additionally in the place Benjamin is an explicative of blood with the \
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revealing verse: Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that make an atonement for the soul. So closes the place Benjamin in the section Jachin, meaning, to establish, in the book of Leviticus.\
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The place DAN in the section Jachin\
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The LORD God brings judgments to bear upon the children of Israel at the outset of the place Dan. With Egypt behind and Canaan ahead the LORD uses the situation to magnify his ordinances and laws that they are to do because they are his people and must learn humility in his presence for he is with them. Jesus gives his disciples his commandment of the new covenant: John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. and in The Acts of the Apostles four other commandments are established by the Apostles of the Lord: The Acts 15:6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. The Acts 15:19,20 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. The latter meaning, the eating of blood. And the LORD God adds many ordinances for living in the land of Canaan, that he gave them to possess and his Presence was there upon their entrance and by doing these things were they sanctified. John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.\
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The place NAPHTALI in the section Jachin\
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Naphtali, meaning wrestling, presents the reader with a puzzling set of additional ordinances that at first seem to be for all the people, but with careful attentions shows to be for the Priesthood. The tribe of Levi is the tribe that is to minister to the LORD God for the people and particularly the descendants of Aaron are the priests who are closer with frequency to the Presence of the God of Israel. Therefore, with this responsibility and privilege comes greater responsibility in self-control and temperance and so the need for the presented ordinances. During those days, only months before, these same people were slaves to daily labors in Egypt – – making bricks. This makes the wrestlings with the children of Israel that the LORD had, to do his will, more understandable seeing old ways must be put aside. However, consider Moses, who in his ministry to Israel as prophet made one error in striking the stone twice instead of once as the LORD had instructed him and this is the sin that he died for, although his death was some thirty eight years after the incident. Luke12:48 …For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:… \
Replacing all of the hard labors of Egypt the LORD God sets feasts, vacations, and many of them through the year, to honor his person that was to be manifested as the seed of the Woman, the Son, the Prophet, the High Priest, the Lamb, – – Jesus of Nazareth: Leviticus 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. John 12:12,13 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm \
trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of \
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Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. \
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The place Gad in the section Jachin\
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Of all of the duties of the priests in the holy place of the Tabernacle concerning the offerings given by the faithful people, none is more touching than of the pure olive oil and fine flour. The presence of these two provisions is described as perpetual in statute and in the person of the Lord Jesus. The life of the lamp was the olive oil. In Jesus is the Holy Spirit. John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. … the bread for a memorial… of fine flour baked with salt and frankincense [the frankincense magnified the flavor or the bread] set before the LORD continually. Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. Hebrews 7:24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.\
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The place ASHER in the section Jachin\
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Leviticus 26:5 … and dwell in the land safely. What peace of mind this must have brought to the children of Israel when the LORD God brought them from slavery and was giving them a land to possess of their own. The stipulations were set forth by the LORD God while they remained still in the wilderness: those being that they do the LORD\’92s statutes and keep his judgments. This must have presented the children of Israel with quite a bit of difficulty. It was at least the third generation after Jacob and probably none of them had ever seen the promised land and they had been reduced from guests \
to slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh ruled them with the laws of Egypt and he was \
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considered the God of Egypt. Hope sometimes endures even in ignorance when the foundation of faith has been laid in the heart and it is obvious from the account that Jacob had taught his sons clearly the promise the LORD had made to him and Abraham, that Canaan would be their dwelling place. Nestled in the beginning of the place Asher is a bit of information that is the basis for all of the actions that the LORD takes concerning the people he has chosen. Leviticus 25:23 … for the land is mine;… Ezekiel records of Jerusalem in the time of the millennium Temple Ezekiel 48:35 …and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. And if a person sought the LORD God of Israel He is found in the land of Canaan. Later the Psalm states: Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. It is safe to assume that here again the LORD is speaking concerning the hills of Canaan. All of this domain the LORD God gave for a possession to Israel and the commandments and judgments. For we of this dispensation our inheritance is: Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: and the condition is John 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. God does not change, the pattern for Israel is the same as for the Church this very day. This is our peace that passes all understanding. John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. And it is in this way that God establishes his people; Israel with their promised land and the Church with all spiritual blessings.\
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The place JACOB in the section Jachin\
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While the places with the names of Jacob\’92s children defines the spiritual \
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\’93windows in heaven\’94 [II Kings 7:19] that show the personality and goodness of Jesus; the place Jacob here is rather to set a money valuation for a living person for substitutional dedication to the LORD God. This allowed the individual to go his or her way once their money had been dedicated, or the dedicated animal to be retained by the owner and the money to go to the LORD God at the Tabernacle into the hands of the Levitical Priests. \
Jephthah\’92s vow unto the LORD in Judges concerning his daughter may have been regarding this precept, in that, Jephthah designated that she would be given to the LORD, something that could not be taken back, like the burnt offering after it had been offered, and he did not designate an estimation for her as is seen in the place Jacob. Seeing that she was his only child and dedicated to the LORD Jephthah would have no grandchildren by her and so ended his lineage and he sorrowed and she and the daughters of Israel. In addition, the Nazarite vow of Numbers 6:2-21 should be considered concerning the young maiden. Plus, the grave realization that the LORD God had never commanded the sons of Jacob in the law of Moses to sacrifice their children is of considerable weight and it is discussed particularly in Jeremiah 7:31. \
Of course, the price of silver for a person is a picture of the money Judas Iscariot received for betraying the Lord Jesus. Matthew 27:3. As if to \’91add insult to injury\’92 to unbelief, the close of the place Jacob is concerned with the setting apart [sanctifying] of a field. And the money that Judas cast down in the Temple that he received for the betrayal was used to purchase the potters field. Matthew 27:7.\
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The place JOSEPH in the section Jachin\
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Naturally, in the generation of children even apart from those of Israel \
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and in these late days before the Lord returns, the first child is the choice, the most set upon, the most hoped upon, and often the most loved of any offspring. In the heart of its parents, even when offenses have come by the child the deepest emotions they have are reflected in Jacob\’92s blessing upon his eldest son Reuben in Genesis 49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: Therefore, it is the firstling of the beasts that the LORD God mentions in the place Joseph that pleases him to be devoted to him. And if the first line of this place Joseph were to be personified to define the regard that the Father has for Jesus it can be read: Only the firstborn son, which is the Father\’92s firstling, no man shall sanctify him; he is God the Father\’92s. John 2:24,25 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. As Joseph was the firstborn of his mother Rachel, Jesus is the firstborn of his mother Mary and the goodness that is seen in Joseph is magnified in Jesus of Nazareth. And although the accusation against Jesus is recorded in the fourth Gospel, the response of Jesus is most solemn. John 8:41,42 … Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.\
For a recently delivered people Israel who had formerly been subjected to harsh slave labor, the shock of becoming abundantly wealthy with much time on hand the instructions to perform any task for their Deliverer must have endeared the book of Leviticus to them; and is possibly a reason why this least read book in Christian groups is in the orthodox Jewish community the first that is taught. In the courtyard before the Tabernacle and later the Temple the proper method of substitutional sacrifice for remission of sin and sins and \
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presenting freewill offerings to the LORD God were performed by Levitical priests following the instructions Moses recorded in Leviticus describing substitutional sacrifice as the remedy for sin, allowing acceptable fellowship with the LORD God. \
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Numbers\
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The place REUBEN in the section Zerah\
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Beginning immediately with the place Reuben the LORD speaks to Moses two years after Israel has left Egypt. Moses is again the Reuben, the favored son to behold, that is most like our Lord Jesus for it is ever Jesus to whom God speaks and he to his disciples. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, \
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Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. John 1:38,39.\
Numbers 1:17 And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names: This quote best states the basic principle of applying the names to a portion of scripture that has in it the pleasant features of the Lord Jesus Christ. A question to ask the heart is: Have I taken The Man unto myself who is expressed by the name Jesus?\
It is in this way that the LORD God begins to prepare his people for war that will win for them the land that their God has promised to them from the inhabitants, the Canaanites, who had corrupted their way before the LORD so terribly that his hand, the warriors of Israel, were used by God to destroy the corruption. One of the abominations of Canaan was the sacrificing of small children to their god called Molech, the worship of which and practice of passing the first born child through fire carried over into the lives of the Israelites, when Israel did not utterly destroy them and ultimately one of the causes of Israel\’92s overthrow. It is very simply the rejection of life.\
By the close of the place Reuben Moses has taken the poll of that tribe by number to designate those men able to go forth to war. Later, another great man of Israel, King David, takes count; but, and even though he is also a conduit for the word of the LORD God, his action was in error. The regard that the LORD had for Moses is exceptional and his influence exceeded only by that of the Lord Jesus himself.\
The name of each tribe is given along with the head of each tribe at the time the count was taken. However, the order of the names to designate a place remains the same for Numbers as they have been for Exodus and Leviticus. Like Leviticus Numbers is undivided with Zerah, meaning dawn, as its lamp. This palm size receptacle that was placed upon the top of the branch \
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Simeon on the lampstick in the Tabernacle; held the valuable olive oil that causes the light of Numbers to shine so brightly from its reading. Being about the same length as Exodus the book is considerably longer than Deuteronomy. The subjective theme is the walk, faith-conduct, of the people of Israel and covers the full thirty eight years that the faithful spent from camp to camp, until the faint hearted unbelieving brethren had died. The cause of that judgment by the LORD upon the military eligible men is also described in the book. The beauty of the design of The Holy Celebration in showing the characteristics of the Lord Jesus overcomes conservative conjectures as to authorship and intent of the Holy Bible, making clear that The Holy Celebration is a see as vivid as any seer or prophet could perceive.\
Surprisingly, the subjective contents of the book of Numbers is perhaps the basis that the founding fathers used to establish the Constitution of the United States of America in this way. Going into the account is an\
established leader Moses and subordinate Aaron, president and vice-president types, Moses at the urging of Jethro had designated \’91judges\’92 to hear the grievances of the people to lighten Moses responsibilities. Exodus 18:19-25. In the book of Numbers, the second paragraph, specific \’91senators\’92 are named for each of the twelve tribes and if Aaron is counted the \’91head senator\’92 of the tribe of Levi then thirteen tribes. The \’91representatives\’92 may be seen as derived specifically from Exodus18:21. Deuteronomy provides the idea of a written remembrance, when Moses reiterated the ordinances and laws to the people of Israel before his death, thus embodying the same authority as Moses. This understanding reflects the function of the Constitution of United States as – – the law of the land. \
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The place SIMEON in the section Zerah\
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The dawn of hearing describes the place Simeon because it is the awakening of the people that they must conquer the promised land when the men between the ages of twenty to fifty are numbered by Moses. The Hebrew names Zerah means dawn and the name Simeon means hearing – – like the term God means Divine Being as an identifying definition. Being numbered as a warrior has a significance to the individual that gives him or her identity with a total power that is greater than the solitary person. The many local churches along the highways entitle the name of Jesus although details of their charters may vary this conformity is because they have \’91heard\’92 the words of Jesus the Messiah and John the Baptist. And the content of the place Simeon continues on, for our pleasure, to enjoin the sight of Jesus from the ancient Holy Scriptures. If the reader can with patient enduring continue through the many difficult readings of the old testament books the reaping of eternal benefits will enhance Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.\
Numbers 1:53 But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. is the book\’92s outline verse. This verse properly defines the portrayal of the book of Numbers. \
1John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Simply, the thought is that of \’91having a shield between.\’92 The Levites pitched their tents round about the court of the Tabernacle placing them between the people and the presence of God within the Tabernacle. This verse [Numbers 1:53] is the outline verse for Numbers and \
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is identified on page [f] with Genesis 1:7, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so., of the Descriptive Outline. The waters above the firmament describe the words of the LORD God, while the firmament speaks of the Levites and more precisely the Lord Jesus, and the waters below the firmament are the children of Israel and of course us folks who entrust our hearts daily to the Savior Jesus in reading and meditations of the Holy Scriptures.\
Notwithstanding, every man [the individual] shall pitch [his tent] by his own standard. Need it be mentioned that the \’91standard\’92 of each local church that is passed by along the highways entitle the name of Jesus; although, details of their charters may vary this conformity is because they have \’91heard\’92 the words of Jesus the Messiah and John the Baptist. And the content of the place Simeon continues on, for our pleasure to enjoin the sight of Jesus from the ancient Holy Scriptures. Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.\
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The place LEVI in the section Zerah\
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Joined to the dawn of the Nation Israel\’92s morning is Moses and Aaron who are \’91joined\’92 to the presence of the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is called Israel [the prince with God]. Whom the LORD God joins himself to, he identifies by genealogy, and no less specifically with Moses and Aaron than with the Lord Jesus. Here in Numbers the brothers are identified as the descendants of Jacob into three identifications of office that are each held rightfully by the Savior Jesus. Moses is the Prophet, King, type; while, Aaron is the High Priest who formally begins the priesthood between the children of \
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Israel and the LORD God. This position is one of activity, typical for the Church today: Hebrews 4:14 -5:4 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without \
sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. While the priesthood of the Lord Jesus is established in that way, the Prophet and King offices are established in two genealogies: one in the Gospel of Matthew to confirm Kingship and the other in the book of Luke to verify Jesus as the Prophet of whom Moses foretold. The Kingship of the Lord Jesus is set in Matthew 1: from Abraham to King David descending to Joseph the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus. The Hebrew word for prophet is, naw-bee, to bubble forth, i.e. to utter a communication (from God), as one source states, as is evident from Adam\’92s communication – – Genesis 3:20. And Adam called his wife\’92s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. And, indeed, she is the mother of the living Savior in whom we have life everlasting. Luke\’92s genealogy begins with Jesus the last Adam and continues form Mary through the generations to Nathan, the brother of King Solomon also the son of King David, and on through the generations before to the first Adam the Son of God. Thus, in establishing the office of prophet by genealogy the origin of Jesus is established the Son of God and confirmed in the Gospel of John. \
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This, from the beginning, was the purpose of the LORD God in establishing a family of created Adam\’92s to ultimately deliver to all the families of adams upon the earth the Savior. Without question, this is the holy \’91joining\’92 [Levi] of mortal man to God.\
The space of this place or any other application of the name heading to a designated portion of scripture can be fully examined for the similarities and symbolisms that identify and elaborate the person of the Savior and his work on the cross and is a wise investment of time that undergirds and uplifts the soul to reverence and love for and to the Creator. However, the books that could be written are prevented by the lack of faith toward the validity of the Holy Scriptures or lack of time or just plain old \’91sin\’92 that hinders the seekers way. But what in brevity is shown by this commentary, hopefully, will encourage and direct the potential disciple to his master as in: John 1:38,39 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,)\
where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.\
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The place JUDAH in the section Zerah\
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Although this place may seem to be a random remnant of non-related scripture is really very endearing and purposeful; relating pictures of our frailties and magnifying the strength of God. For the disciples of the Lord and todays disciples of Jesus, the difficulties of conversion are: discovery, learning, obedience, witnessing, relating, asking hard questions, and bewilderment at \
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the fate of our King. Is this line of encounters any different than the dealings that presented the LORD God in dealing with his rebel nation Israel as he attempted to bring them into his promised land for them? As Israel did, we the tend to forget the feelings of God and drink from our own pool of bitter waters. These reasons and the remedy of the illnesses of the place Judah show the reader the unmistakable intent of the Holy Spirit to bring joy and praise to the heart of the understanding.\
Separating the lepers from the assembly is as wise as keeping a child with the mumps home from school. Leprosy is a disease that affects and destroys the nerve endings of the body extremities, leaving the body open to serious decay and injury. The disease pictures unbelief in the faithful person or persons of God who have not cared for their faith and have become insensitive to the love of God, that is, his very words. This unbelief is contagious and needs to be checked in this manner to keep it from infecting the whole close knit congregation that travels to its destination or enjoys the security of fellowship. The other examples of missing the mark [sin] are in Nadab and Abihu, Korah, Dathan and Abiram and on through the Bible outside of the books of Moses, showing the mortal weakness of sin which doth so easily beset us,. But: Luke 17:12-15 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,…\
Concerning the unfaithful woman in this place Judah, great carefulness should be employed, as she is the bride of the LORD God gowned in her wedding clothes and jewels, she is Israel and she can be todays Church if such \
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warning can be endured. Or she is the unfortunate woman who meets her Lord. John 8:3-12. And the illustration continues: Israel has borne her iniquity in dispersals and holocausts for these many generations; should not the Church be less mindful to heed the descriptions in The The Revelation concerning her own spiritual conditions. \
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The place ISSACHAR in the section Zerah\
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The name Issachar means, hired, indicating a servant, concerns in very heart the Nazarite vow described in this place. That Jesus fulfilled this picture is unquestionable for when he did touch a dead body they came to life and when his mother and brethren came to tell him of Joseph\’92s death, the husband of his mother Mary, the alienation he demonstrated toward them indicates his devotion to his Father. Luke 8:20,21 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it. And because of the scriptures of this Nazarite ordinance, again his mother and brethren understood as times before. John 2:4,5 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. Without such familiarity with the old covenant scriptures some new covenant incidences are difficult, if not impossible, to correctly comprehend.\
Notice that the sum of all of this concerning an individual separated to the LORD shows a tremedously gentle person entirely sensitive to God. Following carefully the law of the Nazarite and comparing these new covenant verses, consider…\
Numbers 6:13 …when the days of his separation are fullfilled: Mark 11:15 \
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… and Jesus went into the temple, … And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. Because he is the true vessel of God. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? … And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him:… Thus making him the, …one he lamb of the first year without blemish…, Numbers 6:14. And Jesus became the sin offering for all others, he himself being without sin (blemish). Mark 14:1,21,22,24,29 After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. …The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him:… …And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. … But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father\’92s kingdom. And the heart of Jesus is the breast and the strength of Jesus the heave shoulder being symbolically in the holy requirements the portions that belong to the great High Priest of our profession. Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.\
Numbers 6:23 …On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel… Matthew 5:3-12. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are \
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the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness\’92 sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:.\
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The place ZEBULUN in the section Zerah\
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We are in this dispensation not asked to offer wagons or oxen or gold or silver or flour or oil or incense nor bullocks or rams or lambs or a goat for the sin offering as the princes of the tribes of Israel did. However, Paul urges submissiveness: Romans 12:1,2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. In this way, the dedicating of the bronze altar in Numbers in the place Zebulun, that signifies the cross of Jesus Christ, becomes our own dedication with the same willingness that is displayed by the princes of Israel. For we have first viewed the cross of Jesus in the altar of the Tabernacle in Numbers and found it to be the right and only way that God has provided to approach the living LORD God in the Tabernacle of witness in the wilderness. And that the sacrifice of those animals that was then acceptable has given over to: 1Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. Hebrews 13:15,16 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: \
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for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. This is what is expected of the believer, the disciple, the servant of the Lord Jesus as he or she Zebuluns [dwells] in the person of the Son of God and enjoys the freedoms of fellowship with the true Creator who promised to Adam and the Woman that her seed would make possible. We have only dull awareness of what Adam lost to temptation and are only urged into the rewards of Christ\’92s passion by his Apostles. And so, let us love one another, the commandment of Jesus to his disciples, and honor the instructions of the Apostles in The Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols [other gods], and from fornication [premarital fidelity], and from things strangled [diet], and from blood [diet]. And these five things are in no way as heavy as the burdens of the Tabernacle that Israel bore nor more difficult than the ordinances Moses instructed them; but, Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.\
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The place BENJAMIN in the section Zerah\
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As the brothers of Jesus questioned him in rebuke, as David was berated by his brothers as a youth prior to his slaying Goliath, the lonely figure of Moses the man of God withstood the charges of his older sister and older brother and his uncles and various others of the tribe of Levi from which he sprang. As a beloved son, Moses retreats from self-defense and is ultimately justified by his Father the LORD God. Miriam becomes the figure of the late Nation Israel when Jesus heals the ten leprous Israelites. Luke 17:12-14 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which \
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stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. \
However, more important than the illustration of false charges against Moses is the startling contrast of the conduct of a faithful servant and the chaos of faithless consultants. The latter being the ten heads of the tribes who searched out the promised land and Caleb and Joshua who brought back the favorable report. This place Benjamin needfully emphasizes, by difference, this important, all important devotion of love. There is the point in some dedicated lives when an unspoken point is arrived at when the person says in his\
or her heart: this cause, this job, this country or this person is the single thing in life for which I would, if it were required, give my life for. The love of a servant is difficult to define. It begins with birth. Moses was born of the tribe of Levi, with rightful claim to the citizenship of Israel a child of the LORD God, his calling at the burning bush and the many miracles he was enabled to perform certainly endeared the LORD God to him and motivated his passion. But that is not apostleship; although, he spoke with the LORD God face to face as a man speaks to his friend. Exodus 33:11.\
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The place DAN in the section Zerah\
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And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Jude 22,23. This seems to be the proper spirit that Moses displayed when as intercessor he entered his plea in behalf of the entire congregation of the children of Israel. Of the other judgments, Dan means judge, that the LORD brought upon his disobedient people this one causes the most interest. For \
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how was the LORD to preserve Moses to begin his new nation, yet destroy all of the remaining people as one man. Disease, famine, the earth open and swallow them all, would they all fall in battle? But Moses, wise in judgment understood the heart of the LORD and deferred the honor that would have been his and negotiated their release from certain death, although, all that had rebelled did die in the extended wilderness journey of thirty eight years. It was a trip that should have taken little more than two years for Moses to receive the Tabernacle and ordinances and set in place organizational procedures and the journey itself, but it lasted forty long years for Joshua and Caleb who through their faith in the promise of the LORD entered the land.\
Touching the sin-unto-death offense that Moses committed in smiting the rock to bring forth water for the congregation and emitting the offense. Though Moses lived another thirty eight years his most ardent wish, to enter the promised land, was denied him and his punishment was death. There was no offering for Moses sin, the responsibility that he bore far outweighed the temptation he gave in to and no offering could be made to reconcile the transgression. The missing of the mark [sin] that Moses committed was in failing to see that the rock was the Savior of Israel who was to be smitten [crucified] only once. \
Off reconcilable offenses however if the transgressor did commit the sin again then he was still responsible again for the same offering as at the first. The nature of ignorance is similar to the attitude of a humble she goat that is docile and amiable and aimless and so is well-suited to remind the offender of the nature of his sin. Now if this seem to any to be withal fitting consider the more excellent way: Hebrews 10:10-18 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can \
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never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. \
Now, should other sins that were committed in the congregation in this place Dan seem to be harshly judged, remember that the LORD God was just forming his new nation Israel and the old things that he had winked at before when they had multiplied in Egypt must be put away from them if Israel were to prosper into a very long existence as a holy nation unto their God. For the disciple in any age, the example of their Master is the law and the foundation and for the martyrs who died early in the Church age who are the stones upon which the Church is built and enjoys her freedoms, but not many in these final years of the Church deliver up their lives from this world for their Lord. II Timothy 4:10. Paul well advises in: Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. It is questioned at least in the hearts of unbelievers and even by some \’93church go-ers\’94 why anyone should continue to read the Holy Scriptures every day. They are the persons who continue humbly each day to return home from work to their wives, whom after the space of many years they have become either very tired of or wonderfully comfortable with. And so, if we render unto in one case, should it seem a light thing to become intimately familiar with the Lord Jesus who has given himself for us that we can be with clear conscience in the sight of our Heavenly Father, eternally?\
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The place NAPHTALI in the section Zerah\
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The wrestlings with the flesh are no where more evident in the scriptures than in Naphtali which takes up six pages of text. In our own lives we experience years of turmoil and anguish and famine away from the Holy Words and never ending spiritual highs and lows like a roller-coaster ride wanting to please the Lord who gave himself for us. Moses was broken by the trials against his person and leadership to the point that he died for an error provoked by the people of the LORD God and never entering into the promised land the goodness of which he must have greatly desired. In figure he died for the congregation of Israel. But as a true man of God he accepted the judgment against him that reminds the spiritual mind of the words of Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:…\
Now the name Naphtali means wrestling. In Leah and Rachel\’92s case it is for it is for dominance but if it is within a person it is called temperance or self-control or moderation etc. If it concerns the appetite the struggle for selfcontrol is difficult because there lacks other than motivation a helper who can effectively curb appetite. But with God all things are possible and so he has provided the Holy Spirit to such a task in the believer-disciple along with the Holy Bible proclaiming the death of the old man and the victory to the new man which after God is created. Even so the discipline is never ending until death parts the old and new and the new is joined to a new resurrected body when the last trump sounds.\
In the camp of Israel Moses represents the new man and Korah and Dathan and Abiram the old man and the wrestling match is displayed in the place Naphtali. As in the old testament so in the new, the new man ultimately \
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prevails but only after the LORD has been consulted. It is worth to mention that King David except in the matter of Bathsheba always consulted the LORD his God before he made a campaign or entered a battle or built a Temple to his God. We should do no less in the wars we fight within ourselves seeing that the struggle is the Lord\’92s in the first place. Notice that after Korah and Dathan and Abiram have been dealt with, the Lord in this long place Naphtali added ordinances, a reminder of the responsibility that being one of the children of God exacts. The Acts 5:, Ananias and Sapphira.\
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The place GAD in the section Zerah\
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From the song praised faith of Moses, through the hard fought wars and battles of faith, to the zealous faith of Phinehas the grandson of Aaron this place Gad describes, the LORD God as the rewarder of all who with him see through his war with the results of the actions of his adversary, who before our times planted the temptations in the ancients of the faith. And though these scriptures vividly describe the great triumphs, it is in the Gospels that the real victory of faith that presents itself in the Champion of Princes, Jesus of Nazareth, that gives life and warms our hearts and encourages.\
When Jesus had healed many times he declared that it was your own faith that had healed but it was the personal faith of the Son of God who saw ahead the certain death upon the cross and with unwavering fortitude continued on his way up to Jerusalem and laid down his own life in our place upon the altar of the cross despising the shame for truly it is written: Galatians 3:13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: and that is the end of everyone who does not take upon them the way of God. And \
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in the book of Numbers Jesus is the true Gad with the troop of faithful to overcome the adversary of his Father.\
There are many who declare that salvation is not of faith but of knowledge. If not outwardly then inwardly and in great error and personal tragedy they think this. Nowhere does the Scripture show that before the burning bush that Moses with position and power could have delivered the people of Israel from death in Egypt to resurrected life in Canaan, though he tried. But it was his faith in going, after the LORD had instructed him, that ultimately brought Israel in orderly fashion and faithful devotion to the shore of the River Jordan before the promised land. Today it is this same faith that brings the believer-disciple to open his Holy Bible daily aware that God has some good thing to encourage him and strengthen him; and that is the faith that the Lord Jesus established for us. The believer part is that which daily needs the words of God and the disciple part is the part that hears and sees Jesus in the Scriptures, and the servant of the Lord that has left the patterns of unrestricted worldly behavior and taken up the path of the way of God that the Master has kept record for them to live by. That makes them dead to the temporal world but ever so alive to the Father in Heaven. Thus in our lives we have a crucifixion to despise also, but that life and sometimes its people is lost and a new more enduring one is found along with the host of God both in this world and the one to come.\
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The place ASHER in the section Zerah\
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Matthew 10:29-33. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many \
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sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.\
The people of Israel that are counted in the place Asher in the book of Numbers are the ones who have endured the thirty eight years in the wilderness while the unfaithful have fallen. These persons who are counted and the cipher shown in the Holy Scriptures are those who have not denied the LORD God and those who denied to follow the LORD God have fallen in the wilderness denied entrance to the promised land. The eternal Word of God records them, a fitting reminder as the Book is read of the care the Lord Jesus lavishes upon his disciples. Some might question in their hearts concerning the extremity of the choice of the word lavish; however, a disciple learns how to spend more and more time observing their Master and that expansion of time is when the abundance of Jesus the Messiah comes into them in the way of knowledge and spiritual insights. An old saying states that \’91the more one knows the more one seeks to know more\’92 a fitting human weakness of the mind that would seem to fit discipleship wonderfully. John 14:26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. \
In the touching confidence of the immediate events preceding the death of Moses a similarity to the event of the crucifixion of our Savior is shown. Moses is instructed to get up into the mount Abarim, meaning regions beyond, and is to die. The concern of Moses is who will lead the people of Israel. Two things can be stated at this point, besides that Moses pictures the Lord Jesus going up to Jerusalem, the cross, and his death. In this illustration two men are needed to describe what Jesus did by himself. Moses describing death and \
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Joshua showing the resurrection in that Joshua, meaning savior, gives the spirit to Israel in his closing speech and in this way the correct spirit of the illustration is shown. Joshua is the risen Lord who after his ascension gave the Holy Spirit recorded in the Book of The Acts. This may be one of the happiest events in the scriptures illustrating the work of the Lord Jesus.\
Whereas Moses delivered the will of the LORD God from face to face counsel them unto the people, Joshua was to seek the will of the LORD through Eleazar the High Priest who filled the office after his father Aaron. This was accomplished through Urim in this account but there was also available to them Thummim. See Exodus 28:30. It is thought, that white and black stones were placed inside of the breastplate upon the heart of the High Priest. The white stone, the Urim, meaning lights, indicated a \’91yes\’92 answer and the black stone, the Thummim, meaning \’91perfections\’92 when a question was posed to the Priest he would extract from the breastplate a \’91yes\’92 or \’91no\’92 answer, his hand having been guided by the Spirit of the LORD. In the account concerning Joshua and Eleazar the Thummim is not mentioned because the answer concerning Joshua was a \’91yes\’92 answer only, as the record shows and he being the figure of the Lord Jesus. In the age of the Church, here a comprehensive term, we have the revealed truth about God and the examples for proper conduct in His Presence contained In the Holy Bible: Genesis through The Revelation entire revealed truth is contained for those of his faithful disciples of today who wish to be led with the correct knowledge of God by the Comforter. It can be a dangerous thing to stray from the Holy Bible for such guidance.\
One might ask how the LORD God considered the burning of the offering a \’91sweet savor\’92 that pleased him. The answer is so simple that the great technical minds of these late days refuse to consider at all the wonderful \
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simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. Each offering represents a different facet of the Lord\’92s work on the cross. The record or rerecording of these offerings is in this place because of the use of Joshua in the above illustration to represent the Lord Jesus.\
Observe the offering of two lambs each day, about nine in the morning and about three o\’92clock in the afternoon, which by the way indicates when John the Baptist told his disciples to Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. The Lord\’92s ministry began when the Scriptures report that John spoke and the time John spoke was during or near after the offering of the morning lamb when the smoke of the offering was rising into the sky above the magnificent Temple of huge hand-cut stones that Herod had constructed around the post captivity Temple built by Zorobabel Matthew 1:2, the same Zerubbabel Ezra 2:2 about 516 B.C. Incidentally, some of the stones in the wailing wall built by Herod and possibly reused from Solomon\’92s weigh as much as seventy tons, some being forty feet long. \
Returning to the offering of the two day by day lambs, approximately six hundred forty three thousand one hundred and thirty lambs were offered in this one ordinance from the time Moses began the perscription on the bronze altar of the Tabernacle, until in 586 B.C. Judah was carried away to Babylon and altar worship ceased. Resuming seventy years later when they returned with Zerubbabel at the Persian Cyrus\’92 decree, until in 70 A.D. when Titus the Roman left none stones one upon another of the Temple structure and mount nor Jerusalem standing at all. The Roman garrison plateau alone remained in tact [The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot by Dr. Ernest L. Martin]. The total lambs offered during that time were approximately four hundred twenty seven thousand seven hundred and eighty yearling lambs. To say that the disciples of John the Baptist knew what John was referring to is an accurate statement \
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seeing that by about 40 A.D. more than one million lambs had been offered with the knowledge of every holy Israelite that the substitution would be turned to the bruising of the heal of the seed in Genesis 3:16. \
The lamb of the morning offering was brought from the Temple flocks and herds and was an animal without blemish, that is, no moles or broken bones with all four legs and hooves and properly covered with wool and not more than one year old. These were singled out by the Temple shepherds from birth for this purpose. To pause a moment to reflect upon the purpose the LORD God has in mind, both in the act and in recording the offering consider that the lamb was substitutionary, represented death for the life of the Nation Israel (the world, God recognized) and was typical of the True Lamb that was to follow and became indeed, Jesus of Nazareth. We see a mute offering led to the slaughter, innocent of any cause of the action, and unobjecting. Once inside the Temple area proper it was led to the north side of the Great Altar. Here the lamb was slain, the details are shown below. There were large stone tables in the courtyard proper that held the slain animal where the flaying [skinning] and other dismemberment and of the entrails took place. The sacrifice had been placed upon the tables by the busy priests dressed in white linen robes and white linen ephods with a white linen belt and white linen bonnet shaped flat on top with supporting sides to hold it on the head. The elders of Israel or the High Priest had before when at the Altar laid hands on the head of the lamb to signify the transmittal of the sins of the Nation into the lamb but also conveying to the same hands an ointment of lanolin from the wool. How appropriate that the victim blesses his assassins. The specific \’91lanolin\’92 that Jesus left on the hands of the Sanhedrin were the words of his response to their inquiry of his person – – Mark 14:61,62 Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I \
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am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. It is highly possible at this time and surely in the latest times before the destruction of the Temple trumpets sounded to notify that the next act of sacrifice had indeed occurred. The priests took the lamb and with a knife to the throat made one downward thrust that severed the jugular artery. The lamb became unconscious about two minutes later, a bit longer for a larger animal. The issuing blood was caught in a golden bowl by another priest who delivered the filled bowl to the High Priest who then dipping his finger into the blood sprinkled each of the four horns of the four corners of the Great Altar. During this time of slaughter, and in those late times, especially, the Great Hallel Psalms 113-118 was chanted by the Levites with the reiterated response of Psalm 136, For thy mercy endureth forever, after each verse. Then in silence. The remaining blood was dashed into a drain at the foot and near the corner of the Great Altar where it flowed out through a conduit into the Kidron valley about eighty feet below the court yard floor\
into the Kidron valley. The lamb was then, if not already, placed upon one of the stone tables of the Temple courtyard only yards from the entry to the Temple and flayed and: \’93All this had to be done in orderly manner, and according to certain rules, the apostle adopting the sacrificial term when he speaks of rightly dividing the word of truth. 2Timothy 2:15. The inwards and the legs having been washed, and dried with sponges, the separate pieces of the sacrifice were brought up by various priests: the calculation of the Rabbis being, that in the case of a sheep or a she-goat six priests carried the sacrifice, one more the meat-, and another the drink-offering (in all eight); while in that of a ram twelve, and in that of a bullock four-and-twenty priests were needed for the service. Next the sacrificial salt was applied, and then the pieces were first confusedly thrown and then arranged upon the fire.\’94 The Temple by Alfred \
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Edersheim page 117. Especially specified in the book of Numbers is the burning of the fat that included the fat tail as the tail of the lambs had not been docked shortly after birth as the practice is today. The wine of the drink offering symbolic of vigor and refreshment, the oil symbol of the richness of the Holy Spirit and the flour ground into refinement the symbol of the main stay of life are each part of the offering each morning and evening along with the lamb and is eloquently informed Psalm 104:15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man\’92s heart. This bread constitutes the meat offering (food offering, non blood type) mingled with olive oil. An out of print encyclopedia The People\’92s Bible Encyclopedia, C.R. Barnes, states: \’93In presenting a meat offering the priest first brought it in the golden or silver dish in which it had been prepared, and then transferred it to a holy vessel, putting oil and frankincense upon it. Standing at the southeast corner of the Altar, he took the \’93handful\’94 that was to be burned, put it in another vessel, laid some of the frankincense on it, carried it to the top of the Altar, salted it, and then placed it on the fire.\’94 The wine, Numbers 28:7. … in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the LORD for a drink offering. The High Priest having ascended to the Holy Place atop the Great Altar upon the most holy soil of all the earth save that in which was the Cross of Christ, faced the burning offering, a priest standing at the south east corner of the altar handed up to the High Priest a golden cup with the strong (fermented) wine, upon which he held it out at arms length but not higher than his golden crown and spoke the blessing of the wine; whereupon he poured the wine unto the LORD onto wood that splashed into the soil, upon with the fire of the burning lamb. Besides the actions of these offerings there is to the senses, the odors of the burning meal and oil and frankincense the smell of burning wood the burning flesh the warmth of the \
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altar fire, if one dared close to the sacrifice, the crackling wood fire, the sound of the bare feet of the priests upon the smooth stones of the courtyard who silently went about their tasks only the faint brushing of their linen garments to be heard, the sound of the water from the laver being poured for the priests to wash at, the sight of the smoke of the transformed sacrifice as it rose into the clouds. \
The salt is included with every offering by instruction: Leviticus 2:13 … with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. And to draw again from C. D. Barnes \’93The salt of the sacrifice is called \’91the salt of the covenant of thy God,\’92 because in common life salt was the symbol of covenant. The meaning which the salt, with its power to strengthen food and preserve it from putrefaction and corruption, imparted to the sacrifice was the unbending truthfulness of that self-surrender to the LORD embodied in the sacrifice, by which all impurity and hypocrisy were repelled.\’94\
Our Lord Jesus spoke of salt in this revealing way: Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. His audience were the children of Israel and true report of history shows what the foot of men has done to the Jews. This warning spilled over into individual lives and for these dwindling years of the Church special note needs to be taken from history\’92s example.\
Now then, the full intent of all of this ordinance was to propitiate an appeasement of the offense that the Nation had given against the LORD their God for that morning and again for that evening and gain His Divine favor, that is His grace. The offenses were from the beginning when being lead from Egypt: murmurings, complaints, incidents of unbelief and challenges of the authority of Moses such like things that continued until Jesus of Nazareth. \
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This intent of the offering is no different in the address that John the Baptist gave to his disciples than it is to any who secretly or openly seek to be just before the Loving Living God. John 1:15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.\
And when the perfect lamb of God, …as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:26-28, (also, the Hallel or at least part was sung by the Lord and his disciples), became not only the Passover lamb (a similar ordinance from the one above) who died in place of the eldest of every family of the departing Israelites from Egypt, but the lamb of John the Baptist who took away the sin of the world of the Nation Israel. And we the body of believers, the Church, got in on the peace of that salvation through faith in the same Lamb. Can there be any more reason for happy hearts in the ranks of believers than in their Savior Jesus the Lamb of Israel.\
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The place JACOB in the section Zerah\
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From the time in Genesis when Jacob is sent away from his father\’92s tent and he sleeps near Bethel seeing in his dream the ladder set up to heaven with the angels of God ascending and descending upon it and awakening he makes a \’93vow\’94 unto the LORD. Here in Numbers the vow marks in the descendants of Jacob a family tradition that is allowed and defined by ordinance of the LORD God. The vow defines the beginning of the place Jacob, the name meaning supplanter, because to trick God by making a vow to the LORD and not \
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keeping it is a serious offense against the LORD God. The LORD God will not be supplanted, the very thing that his adversary Satan attempted. But, the place Jacob identifies the Lord Jesus in an instance that is not as easily identified. Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. From that very instant the happenings of the only true Passover could not be reversed. Jesus had commited himself into his Father\’92s wishes and he himself having sweat the blood of extreme anxiety before, would not change his Vow to His God and our God. And what glory is he honored with in the obedience can not be equaled. Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; Ephesians 1:20-22 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Colossians 1:18-20 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. Incredibly, in a fragment of a sentence the vow of all times is recorded and we are the recipients of the benefits for eternity.\
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The place JOSEPH in the section Zerah\
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The care that the Lord Jesus takes for his \’93little children\’94 far exceeds the picture that is set forth in the place Joseph concerning the children of \
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Mannaseh and in that way honors the extreme magnificence of the Son of God. Again, the goodness of Joseph designates the Holy Son Jesus and the short description of the place describes the minute detail of the care that was taken with Joseph\’92s oldest and perhaps his favorite son and his offspring. Romans 8:14-17 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. \
The book of Numbers, indeed all the books in the Holy Bible, can be examined in this manner to receive the richness of the person of Jesus of Nazareth; conceived, born, offered and raised to the extreme position that the Son of the Living God had with the Father before the world of Israel came into existence. Of the wanderings of the children of Israel it can be said that their difficulties and provings and blessings can only be the examples of our own struggles to maturity in the faith.\
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Deuteronomy\
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Deuteronomy is to the four books of Moses what the Constitution of the United States of America is to her citizens. It is the record of the rights, by birth, of the descendants of Jacob, called Israel, to their LORD God. Rather than being a summary brief, reiteration of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, written by Moses, it is in reality the \’93Constitution\’94 of the spiritual nation Israel. From the personal point of view of Moses it has been called his \’93farewell speech or parting sermon\’94 but no matter what label or definition is attached it shows his great love and concern for his people that he led, the children of the LORD God, now a nation and prepared to enter the land \
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promised to Abraham for his descendants. A vignette of the coming of age of the nation Israel prior to their crossing the Jordan River can be seen in Psalm 106; but, the lengthy view of their leader Moses is contained in his book of Deuteronomy. And the alluding to of the Messiah whom Moses expressly points to as the Prophet is, with the awareness of Moses for who could have spoken face to face with the God of Israel and not found in God the subject of his unending love – – His Son, found in the identifying \’93places of the names of the children of Jacob.\’94 \
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The place REUBEN in the section Shaul\
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These are the words that Jesus spake unto his disciples on the night he was betrayed: The Gospel of John beginning with chapter 13:33 through to chapter 17:26 should be read here to fully realize the picture of Jesus who the man Moses portrays. The similarity is extraordinary; there are rehearsals of the coming events in the Savior\’92s destiny, a retelling of his instructions, predictions of their actions and reactions, prayer and blessing for them, and most importantly his commandment. This differs little from the lengthy dissertation that Moses leaves behind in this writing of his that ends with the magnificent blessing that forms the structure pattern for all the Holy Scripture books.\
This is the early Reuben, a man approved of God with signs and wonders, the man named Moses, who in Deuteronomy, before his death, speaks to his disciples for the final time. But first, a new leader for his disciples is chosen, Joshua, who is confirmed by Eleazar, the High Priest of the LORD God. And he presents Joshua to the congregation and Moses lays his hands upon him to confirm that this new leader is to be obeyed as Moses was fully accepted, \
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thereby endowing Joshua with the life of leadership. The vision of this scene is sparkling clear, when Moses had finally delivered his speech and because his voice could not be heard by two and a half million people [although most assuredly his immediate audience were the seventy judges under him], he hands to Eleazar the High Priest the scroll of Deuteronomy; then begins with the same staff that he had seen turned into a snake at the burning bush his climb up mount Nebo to Pisgah. The name Nebo means a beautiful house made sure while Pisgah, a part or piece i.e. a place. The eyes of his disciples with the seventy elders and Eleazar and Joshua follow the familiar figure that they had so very much learned to entrust their lives to as his form disappeared from sight, for he ascended to his destiny alone.\
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The place SIMEON in the section Shaul\
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The Holy Spirit continues to move the hand of Moses in this place also designating shortcomings and events in the early history of the nation Israel that shows the total lack of the confidence of faith towards their LORD God that is is so abundant in the picture of Jesus of Nazareth that is given us in the Gospels of the new covenant. In the closing verses of the place Simeon, meaning heard, Moses with remarkable patience and longsuffering towards his brethren graphs into their memory the condemnation that the LORD God laid upon him because of their constant complaining that provoked him to err and the words from his hidden feelings that rarely he spoke, strike though the air before the congregation of the children of Israel: Deuteronomy 3:26 But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me:… John 11:41-43 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast \
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heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. The significance of this portion of the Gospel of John lays not only in that the Father always hears his Son but is in the outcome of the scene in John when Lazarus comes forth, John 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. This is what Moses was doing in his speaking to the children of Israel by rehearsing all of the journey from the Reed Sea to that day of his death. By showing them themselves, both in unbelief and their faithfulness, Moses was removing the grave clothes of their death in Egypt, raising them up into life, removing their grave clothes, thus preparing them to enter into, lively in faith, the land he had promised them. Combining both of these examples then prompts a response for the disciples of today that takes away the heart of unbelief unbinding the man of faith, allowing him to speak of his Lord and enabling service to Jesus in what ever way that they are led; whether it is the ministry or as a Sunday school teacher or church school instructor or any field where the shedding of the old life must be left behind to accomplish the service of the Lord. Unbelief is a terrible hindrance when the vitality of capable faith wishes to serve. James 5:16 … The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. \
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The place LEVI in the section Shaul\
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Those of Israel at the time that Moses spoke to them are the ones of Israel who as Moses states being those who did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive … this day. He also noted those during the thirty-eight years of \
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wandering who did not cling to the LORD God and died. John 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. This begins the conscious step into serving the LORD their God just as the disciples prior to the passion of the Lord Jesus began to learn. It is the joining [Levi] of the people of Israel, who have in essence asked for [Shaul], to be united with their God. John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. The children of Israel were about to be honored by possessing the land that had been promised to them by obeying the statutes and commandments Moses had given to them from the LORD their God. John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. If an identification is sought to define the term LORD God, consider that the Son of the Father and the LORD God are the same acknowledgments of the faces of the Divine Being. And the mechanics of how the joining is accomplished is further described in the statement by Jesus in, John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. Which delivers us to the word that the example of the of the position of the children of Israel represents to the reader since the new covenant Scriptures were written and that being that ye may live. To them it meant being in the presence [that being the life] of the LORD their God in the place where He chose and that being the promised land they were being prepared to enter. With the disciples the rehearsal by the Lord Jesus varied little from the old covenant scene: John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. The life of the leader was upon the death of Moses, present in Joshua, the name means \
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savior oddly enough; the symbolism showing death in the person of Moses the law giver, and life in the possessor Joshua: both portrayals the same in the eternal being of Jesus of Nazareth.\
The brother of James named Judas, a disciple also being the Lord\’92s half brother, whether a son of Joseph or a younger son of Mary the Lord\’92s mother; takes a step further as Moses had done and Joshua was about to do, he inquired of Jesus in the record of John 14:22,23 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. It is in this answer that Judas becomes a disciple with a message, that is, a servant and that message is delivered by him in the most holy way to all who take up the small epistle that precedes the The Revelation named after him Jude. The message is quite simple but essential to all who love God – keep my words John 14:23 – and – Keep yourselves in the love of God Jude :21. Moses goes on in this place Levi to describe the consequences in his prophetic manner of their abandoning the statutes and ordinances of the LORD God. The application to our own lives is hardly necessary for the return of the Lord for his Church is closer than when we first believed – – beware! The step from discipleship into service can be one of instruction as in the case Judas or one of the burden of a heart perhaps to simply inquire – – Have you read the Bible today?\
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The place JUDAH in the section Shaul\
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It is difficult not to notice the many words of praise and understanding in the place Judah because of the joy that those words create. Directly, this \
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sense of the meaning of Judah, praise is brought out near the close of the place. Page 176 paragraph 2 line fourteen of the preceding Holy Bible: Deuteronomy 10:20,21 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. However, before these defining instructives the LORD God is heralded above the statutes and ordinances that Israel is to strictly adhere to. He is presented as the jealous God and the ten commandments rehearsed to Israel because the LORD desires the attentions of his people. The laws and the Tabernacle worship were to maintain the purpose of clearing the conscience of the nation and the individual. This cleansing of the conscience is in the new covenant removed by the offering of the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth in one final offering of the Lord Himself. How can more praise for our Father be any more fully realized?\
Moreover, the reason that the LORD God did all of the wonderful deeds that he performed for Israel is shown. Deuteronomy 7:8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers,… With Moses the LORD made servants of Israel to honor him, and so it is with Jesus who made of his disciples Apostles, special messengers, who gave us the written New Testament and testifies of his Father in like manner: John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father\’92s commandments, and abide in his love. 1John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Here before the great congregation of Israel, nearly three million persons, Moses confides in the privacy of the wilderness the love that the LORD God has for them, his family of people, and Jesus in privacy declares the intimacy of his Father\’92s love to him \
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and to those that are his disciples. Jesus did not declare his love to the audience of all the nation and the Romans and the mixed nationals of the market places: rather, in quiet recluse, as it were in the upper-room closet of Roman occupied Israel, a conquered nation only permitted to govern itself in limitations of authority, to the humble of the humiliated, God sent his Son. And we got in on His salvation by the compassion of Jesus through his disciples made Apostles, special messengers, who gave us the New Testament.\
Perhaps more revealing than this is the description of Moses of a physical filling intended to show the spiritual needs that Jesus himself was the subject of. The LORD God feed the children of Israel in the wilderness with manna. This significance is shown by the Lord Jesus in wonderful examples when he came to the disciples upon the water, when he feed the thousands of the multitude who followed him and to his audience in the synagogue at Capernaum John 6:30-35 They said therefore unto him, What sign showiest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. And at the close of the discourse: John 6:66-69 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.\
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Many who devotedly follow Jesus never come to grips with the spiritual aspects of their faith concerning the understanding of John 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. Rather, their difficulties remain connected with the physical aspects of living, rather than grasping that the physical presence of Jesus is his flesh and of his blood is testified in the words that he speaks [in the scriptures]. There then is little spiritual growth and what service they are able to perform the joy thereof dwindles in them. The spiritual growth that begins at their creation of the new man continues by acquiring one spiritual truth after another and if a truth is rejected or ignored the process is stunted by, in reality, a rejection of truth. This does not mean that the person then becomes unsaved; it is though, a point of stumbling or rather a halt in spiritual growth that can take several years to come to terms with. This may have been the case with Mark the author of the second Gospel, who became the cause of the break between Barnabas and Paul. For later Paul states that Mark would be profitable to him and subsequently to the Church at large through his Gospel after his name whose faith is sparked and sustained by the pointed truth of Jesus the Messiah found in Mark\’92s writing. \
Notice in the place Judah in Deuteronomy that Moses mentions the manner in which the ten commandments were recorded upon the stone tablets by the finger of God. No less important, John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. is the method that God used to guide the new testament authors pens to record the specific things that best fit our spiritual needs. Obviously, not all of the miracles and words of the Lord could be recorded, but those that specifically praise Jesus as the Son of God, thus bringing bountiful joy to the \
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heart, are shown.\
A later prophet Micah eloquently pleas for his LORD: Micah 6:8 He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? while Moses has stated pointedly: Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,. It is true that the busy lives of these late days require much and the valuable one half hour or hour that a person should spend reading from the Word of God in their closet each day, walking from one truth into the next miracle Jesus performed or commandment he gives, is rare. Deuteronomy 10:21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee… \
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The place ISSACHAR in the section Shaul\
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Possessing [the land] is not at all what it first seems to be, when in fact not like what we are used to hearing or reading in sermons and commentaries. Meditating upon this place Issachar, the name meaning, hired, the reader, whether attempting to be an observer or voluntarily a disciple, notices the possessing of the land is not just for the children of Israel, but even more importantly the land was being cleansed of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites all nations whose religious practices were decadent, whom the LORD God had judged unfit not only to contaminate his people Israel but unfit for His presence in the land he had promised Abraham to his descendants. This possessing that Moses, in Deuteronomy, prepares the children of Israel for accomplished not only a place for them to dwell but for their LORD God to \
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reside and fellowship with his people securely. This is true of the present day situation with the Lord Jesus to his disciples. The closet, the \’91hiding place\’92 the quiet retreat, a space of time for the heart needs to be set apart with the Savior becomes like the gentle Lord himself the promised land.\
Now, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God for if the proper thought has been exercised of the position that the nation Israel was in at the time of possessing, the reader will see that the nation, the people of Israel, were prepared beyond the position of discipleship to carry out his desire for them to conquer the land across the Jordan River. To do this they needed the sermon of Moses to prepare them for the task set before them. The following of Moses had come to an end; now they were as servants of the LORD to enter and conquer the promised land. And so, as servants and more specifically \’91hired servants\’92 there comes recompense for the labors: Deuteronomy 11:4 I will given unto you the rain… for corn and wine and oil and grass for their cattle for food that they would eat and be full. And to his disciples Jesus promised: Luke 18:29,30 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God\’92s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. Now we know that these things happened unto the disciples who after the Lord\’92s passion became Apostles and even in these days under certain circumstances. However, then the foundation of the Church required the strictest perfections to build upon; just as the very severe punishments upon the children of Israel is observed as their nation was being formed during the wilderness years. During these last times before the Lord\’92s return what form then does the service to God take? Hebrews. 12:28-13:6 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For \
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our God is a consuming fire. Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. \
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The place ZEBULUN in the section Shaul\
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In Egypt the very meek children of Israel cried [asked for, (Shaul)] unto God to deliver them from the extreme harshness of Egypt. This implies that they wished to live elsewhere, the very provision that the LORD God expressed to Abraham that he would give to his descendants and that they knew about. This place Zebulun is easily identified by its definition, to dwell; seeing that it is found four times in this rather short place. Three times, dwell refers to the children of Israel, but once and the final time it regards the LORD God and the place where the name of the LORD God was to dwell. John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.\
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The place BENJAMIN in the section Shaul\
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The place Benjamin may be considered from this advantage: the name means, son of my right hand, mediating the thought of the son of Rachel or to apply the meaning of Rachel, ewe, it would thus be – – son of the ewe. Now Rachel was the younger beloved wife of Jacob who gave Israel a son that Rachel \
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had initially asked for [Shaul] of the LORD God in her struggles with Leah, her sister, also the wife of Jacob. To continue the meaning of the name Benjamin it is clear to see that the conveyed thought is \’91son of the ewe\’92 or \’91Son of the Beloved\’92 as any ewe of the flock is considered for her reproductive ability. To believe this meaning then becomes obvious Jesus the Savior is \’91the son of the beloved\’92 that the place is intended to portray and the references in the place Benjamin that touches the subjects: of burnt offerings, of vows, of diet, of the substitutional dwelling of Israel, of idolatry and its practices, of proper diet, of the tithe, of brotherly treatment, of Passover, of the feast of weeks, of the feast of Tabernacles, of the sanctity of the altar that holy piece of ground, of the priests as judges, of the king and his copy of the law, the allotment to the Levities, and the integrity of the Israelite with the LORD his God; these being the projected proper conduct and love that the Prophet of Israel was to possess and that undoubtedly points to and distinguishes above the most brilliant minds of all the centuries of Israelites the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The Gospels faithfully show the superior intelligence and mind centrality of the Son of Love; for God is love. \
Deuteronomy 18:3,4 And this shall be the priest\’92s due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him. Referring to the descriptive outline page [f] of the preceding scriptures that shows this particular verse in all of Deuteronomy to image that of Genesis Genesis 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. The explanation accompanying this marriage of verses is substantially verified when it is realized that within the nation Israel, under the Mosaic statutes, there existed one tribe, Levy, that stood between \
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the other Israelite tribes and God and the very best that the Israelite possessed in his yearly increase was to be given to the Levite as their rightful and illustrative portion. [This as seen in Genesis as the function of the firmament in dividing the waters which were above, the clouds, from the waters below, the seas; with an atmosphere, the air we breath.] What appropriate was given to the Levite then became in like heavenly. The terminology is fittingly applied to all places of the earth as being below Jerusalem the city of the Great King, whence city all must go up to for approach. The evening being the crucifixion of Jesus and the morning his resurrection shows the most heavenly work that has ever been accomplished.\
The following meanderings of verses shows fully the unity of fellowship with God whether it is for the reader, the disciple or the servant that the place Benjamin elaborates and the Father desires – – But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. … as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. 1John 1:7, Galatians 5:25, John 13:34, 2John :6. \
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The place DAN in the section Shaul\
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Deuteronomy 18:15. The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; To use a term that does not superceed the outline verse in the previous place Benjamin but rather magnifies the term Heaven as it appears in Genesis 1:8 \
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reference is made to the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15 as the heavenly seed who would assumed the position of Prophet to whom Moses referred. This is of course Jesus of Nazareth a man approved of God by miracles and wonders and signs, Acts 2:22, who further than Peter describes, performed the office of the Prophet. Luke 21:5,6 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. This combination of verses the one from the previous place Benjamin and from this place Dan establishes the office of Priest with the position of Prophet to the Lord Jesus to whom all honor both in heaven and on earth are due.\
Although not mentioned in the place Benjamin but used as exemplar in the commentary on the place Benjamin was the term \’93Prophet\’94 that marks the beginning of the place Dan which means judge and not prophet but judging a the function of the Great Prophet that Moses told about, also a function that Jesus showed when he cursed the cities of Carazim and Capernaum. Matthew 11:21-24 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. The emphasis the Lord places upon Capernaum is due to that being the north westerly Sea of Galilee coastal city where Jesus began his ministry and kept his home.\
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The very large portion of Deuteronomy that is weighed unto the place Dan is balanced by the exemplars of the conduct that the children of Israel were to show unto the LORD their God shown in its plan as particular and exact demeanor they were to take when once they had won the land for the LORD. Each commandment can be applied to the person of the Lord Jesus or for the profit of the reader, his own conduct in reading the scriptures that define the person of Jesus of Nazareth. This is wonderful exploration of the scriptures that opportune is not to be marred by this commentary. The compendium is only a pencil sketch of what is awaiting the inquisitive for the Holy Bible is an exquisite oil painting of magnificent proportions and beauty. Compelling though, is an italics of wonderful proportions (for the tree of the field is man\’92s life) describing as mind pictures it the field where stood the cross of Jesus and he upon, acquiring eternal life for the reader and indeed all of the earth\’92s peoples. Truly, Jesus is the eternal life for every man. \
The closing paragraph of the place Dan sums the definition-description of a humble servant and closes with what the people of Israel were to be thereby – – holy – – unto the LORD their God. The reader may search the paragraph and their own soul in this place of Dan concerning the shadow of the Servant who loves his God.\
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The place NAPHTALI in the section Shaul\
\
As upon entrance into the courtyard of the Tabernacle the altar is presented first, before the warnings of Moses the Holy Spirit places an altar that the children of Israel were to build upon the soil of promise. Deuteronomy 27:5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. A very interesting \
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sight has been found in recent years [1983] on Mount Ebal in the holy land and was excavated revealing a structure of unworked stones and over four thousand Levitical clean animal bones burnt thereon. The spot is determined the place that Moses spoke of here in Naphtali of Deuteronomy and that Joshua built, that is recorded in Joshua 8:30,31. That the LORD and Moses put this record of the altar in this place in the scriptures is concurrent with the mercy of the LORD God in providing a way for sin, that he predicts, to be expiated – – upon the altar. And typically in the Church today is the reality of that very shadow: 1John 2:1-3 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 1John 3:13-17 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world\’92s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? \
While on the other bank of the Jordan River rests the rewards of the performance the perfect pattern of the law, that is the irreproachable heart of the Savior and he being Jesus the Messiah. Jesus upon whom the eyes of the disciple have been fastened marks with the application of the words of God the spear thrust of such that overcomes and in he victoriously. The disciple founders as during the days and nights when the disciples of Jesus lamented in unknowns as he lay in the tomb, how to continue the struggle they began with \
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their Savior Champion whom they have lost sight of for a brief time. But when Joshua arises to lead the people of Israel across the Jordan the agony of struggle is forgotten and the joy of service is hardly noticed, until the actual labor begins. This is the manner in which we should approach the places. Exercise forebearance, put first our thoughts upon the likeness that the place represents, the being of Jesus and our own maturity will follow along. An art teacher once demonstrated that in order to cut with a utility knife accurately along a pencil line on a poster board the cutter should watch the line a few inches ahead of the blade as it is drawn across. It works every time even without a lot of practice and so does keeping ones eyes fastened on the Lord. For Peter it was when he saw the great waves of the crashing sea about his feet, for he had taken them from Jesus, that caused him to founder. It is the hand of Jesus reaching to the reader in such a case that keeps one from loosing footing and the Holy Celebration pointedly helps in the sea of Holy Words. It is Jesus who is the Naphtali of the Scriptures. It is Jesus who like Jacob successfully wrestled, only he with the deadly adversary of God.\
2Timothy 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica;. The Apostle Paul here tells in his epistle of a man, the companion of the physician Luke the author of the Gospel, and his tragic departure from the faith of Jesus the Messiah. This is the New Testament illustration of an evil person a son of Belial [worthless], in the old of course who is Satan. This is the very thing that Moses stood and warned Israel of so poignantly of with descriptions that we now recognize from history as having happened to the children of Jacob. The warning to Israel is shadowed in the book of The Revelation concerning the seven churches near the opening of the book. These are somber cautions that can not be missed in todays world when we note that in England herself only two percent of the \
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population attends church and the same condition exists in the Scandinavian countries.\
Perhaps these signals are found last in the place Naphtali to impress upon our minds the great importance of remaining in the faith of the Holy Bible and in forbearance pliable to the Holy Spirit who comforts us. Moses continues to say though his speech closed: Deuteronomy 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;…\
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The place GAD in the section Shaul\
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When Gad was born Leah named him Gad saying, a troop cometh, the name meaning troop. What was obvious to her was that he was a twin first born twin brother to Asher; but, the name troop in Deuteronomy here defines the nation of Israel to whom Moses delivered the contents of the book of Deuteronomy and at the conservative estimate a \’91troop\’92 of two to three million people that the LORD God through Moses had moved some eight hundred to one thousand actual miles to Mount Nebo or about three hundred land miles from Succoth in Egypt to Mount Nebo near the east bank of the Jordan River. Considering all of the problems Moses and the LORD encountered during this trek, none could be more daunting than gaining three million individuals consent considering the then tremendous amount of uncertainties. Imagine the terror of Moab when Barak looked upon the camp of three million people organized for war and the LORD God of Israel who had done all of the tremendous miracles upon Egypt as their Head. Indeed, \’93a troop cometh.\’94 And we who wait for the return of the Lord Jesus need not think that he is unaccompanied nor alone at the right hand of God the Father for he is the God of hosts, i.e. a multitude of the heavenly host. He is the God a troop of \
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faithful believers who love him. And Jesus is, The Revelation 1:5 … the first begotten of the dead, and our hope 1Thessalonians 4:16,17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. We are not alone who are his disciple and serve him though we like Elijah [I Kings 19:18] may feel so. Romans 11:2-4 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Yes, the true Gad will appear and, Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.\
This should place in the faithful heart a song as Moses provided unto Israel as the place Gad states; but, is the subject and content of the following place Asher the twin brother of Gad. Notably the subject of the next-to-the-last paragraph concerns the very subject that often is overlooked but of the greatest comfort to the inquisitive heart and is best quoted: Deuteronomy 31:24-26 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. The authorship of the law can not be disputed neither the means by which it is preserved unto us, to the \
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praise of the marvelous glory of God.\
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The place ASHER in the section Shaul\
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More than any other old testament person Moses represents one who has done, Micah 6:8 … what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? And as Moses had delivered the law unto the Levites he symbolically fulfilled his ministry of forty years that was preceded by forty years in the court of Pharaoh and forty years in exile. Those eighty years are not though, years without his personal relationship with God. In Pharaoh\’92s presence the scriptures record that: Exodus 2:11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren,… It is sure that his mother had nursed him for the daughter of Pharaoh and probably helped raise him even to maturity considering the above act. This nurturing would have included the teaching of the child Moses of his God and of his descent from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Of the forty years of exile it is stated in the Holy Record that his father-in-law Jethro was a priest of Midian, Exodus 3:1, most certainly Moses dwelt there in the fellowship of the fear of God. But now at the age of one hundred and twenty years of age\
the LORD his God tells him that he is to die, and he is happy, else he would have not written the song that is transcribed to us in the place Asher indicating that their was peace between Moses and the LORD his God though Moses must have dearly longed to enter the land of promise.\
\’93The music of the period is thought to resemble the Arabic melody: The music to which these songs were sung is irretrievably lost, but it was, no doubt, very similar in character to that of the Arabs at the present day. While the music of the temple was probably much more elaborate, and of wider range, \
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both in notes and expression of feeling, the popular song was almost certainly limited in compass to a very few notes repeated over and over in long recitation or ballads. This characteristic of the performances of Arab minstrels of today. The melodies are plaintive, in spite of the majority of them being in major keys, owing to the 7th being flattened, as in genuine Scots music. Arab music, further, is marked by great variety and emphasis of rhythm, the various kinds of which have special names.\’94 James Millar from The international Standard Bible Encyclopedia volume IV page 2831. It is also interesting to note in examining the Hebrew texts that the song is arranged in two vertical columns with a phrase on the left column corresponding to the one in the right column as an answer type or restatement of the left column. In the English the two are shown as one sentence. \
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example:\
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\
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Deuteronomy 32:1. Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. \
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Deuteronomy 32:2. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon\
the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: \
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Deuteronomy 32:3. Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.\
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Hebrew text arrangement:\
\
1.\
Give ear, O heavens and I will speak; and hear, O earth the words of my mouth.\
2.\
My doctrine shall drip as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew,\
as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:\
3.\
Because I will publish the name of the ascribe ye greatness unto our God.\
LORD:\
\
This arrangement is constant throughout the song of Moses as it is found in the place Asher, even consuming the entire place. This brings to mind the night in which Jesus was betrayed and just before they left the supper. Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. The author\’92s teacher, now with the Lord, once confided privately how wonderful it would be to hear the voice of the Lord Jesus singing that evening. More than likely the song was the Hallel [praise] that included Psalms115,116,117 and118. The Psalms 113 and 114 were sung earlier in the meal of the Passover those included comprising the entire Hallel.\
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The place JACOB in the section Shaul\
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It is fitting and orderly, as is the manner of the Holy Spirit, to designate for this place a person whose name is synonymous with the nation of Israel; who as the children of Jacob, who is called Israel, now a nation as the sand of \
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the sea for multitude standing at the feet of Moses heard the man of God speak the blessing upon the twelve tribes of the new nation according to the names of the sons of Jacob. The custom of blessing which began with God in 1:28 of Genesis and carried through the Adamic line of the elder-son-father notably with Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from whom as the father-god figure that the LORD made Moses the blessing upon the nation is given us. Beautifully, the authority given to Moses to perform the blessing is shown in the first paragraph. …Moses the man of God…\
REUBEN is the oldest of Jacob\’92s sons, his name means behold a son and appears in every book in the Holy Bible where the places of the Holy Celebration are observed and idenifyingly so even in the only book not to contain places, the book of The Revelation. This is significant, for Jesus, the oldest son of Mary and the only Son of God is the subject of every of the sixty-six books of the Scriptures and he the true Reuben in whom all of the Fathers trust and our confidence is placed. Blessed is His name. To Reuben he gives the blessing of \’93life\’94 John 1:4 In him was life; … John the Apostle wrote concerning Jesus.\
With JUDAH the tribe from who the Lord Jesus sprang Moses declares Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah. Now Simeon is not named in this blessing but the meaning of Simeon is heard. It is not coincidence that when the tribes settled in the promised land the tribe of Simeon\’92s portion was within that of Judah, it not being a particularly large tribe. And Moses states: and bring him to his people, John 1:11 the Apostle declares: He came unto his own,… Obviously the blessing reveals the prophetic nature of Moses.\
Of LEVI, meaning joined, the blessing of Moses includes the instruments of the priesthood, to whom the duty was let, the Thummim and the Urim [perfections and lights, respectfully]. These were used, it is thought, to \
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determine the will of the LORD God to the priest, but it is to Jesus that the Apostle John refers: John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. The perfection of God is eternal life and the light of lights is the Savior Jesus who revealed the will of his Father. 1Timothy 2:3,4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.\
It is difficult not to think of the Apostle Paul when the name BENJAMIN appears in the text, Benjamin who was beloved son of his father Jacob, all that Jacob possessed of his beloved wife Rachel when Joseph was taken from him. It is Saul of Tarsus, later Paul, who the Lord Jesus chooses in place of Judas Iscariot and whose true heart only Jesus fully understood to whom the Lord reveals His person and workings. And it is this burden that was laid between the shoulders of Paul the Benjaminite to provide the new testament Scriptures that we have today.\
The older son of Rachel is JOSEPH and receives as from Jacob so with Moses the greater portion of attention in blessing, this due to the prophetic nature of the benefactors in seeing that Joseph represented the seed and Prophet that was to follow them all. As a tribe Joseph represents his sons Ephraim and Manasseh who in the dispersal of the land were two separate tribes and by counting Levi provided thirteen total tribes. Thus, is seen the double portion that was Joseph\’92s by Jacob\’92s blessing. In counting the number of the Lord\’92s disciples after his resurrection and the Apostle Paul we find that the addition of Matthias an election by the disciples to replace Judas Iscariot The Acts 1:15-26 we find thirteen disciples of the inner circle with our Lord Jesus. The very real new testament Scripture that accompanies our Savior and reflects the like blessing of Joseph is found in Ephesians 1:17-23: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of \
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wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.\
The tribes ZEBULUN and Issachar curiously are placed together here in the same sentence and in Jacob\’92s blessing in Genesis in the same order. They are brothers the sons of Leah, Zebulun being Dinah\’92s twin brother and in the land their portion of inheritances are adjacent with Zebulun having a portion of sea coast on the west between the old city Acco to the north and Mount Carmel to the south coved gracefully and the nearest to a natural harbor along the Mediterranean coast line. Mount Tabor is at his east boarder. The Megiddo valley forms a large part of the apportionment and is overlooked by Nazareth on the north central. The Carmel mountain range is its southern boarder. The ancient trade routes were through Zebulun, thus forming a comfortable allotment where dwelling, the names meaning, in the tent or house would seem rather to be the blessing for Zebulun but it is in Zebulun\’92s going out [whether from the tent or from the land into the sea by ship is not clearly stated, that Moses gives his blessing or is it in going out to war that he means. For the Lord Jesus, it was going out from his home in Nazareth to Capernaum to begin his ministry that could be viewed as going out to a war of sorts – – of the heavenly nature although for Jesus it did cost him his life.\
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ISSACHAR has a portion whose northwest corner is nearly at Mount Tabor the line taking off to the shore of the Jordan River mostly easterly; while somewhat south westerly from Tabor the boarder between Zebulun and Issachar ends together at the inheritance of Manasseh. The section of land that is Issachar and nearly the acreage of Zebulun but more of a proper square has the River Jordan as its eastern boarder. One of his cities is the town of Endor where much later the necromancer brought up from death, for King Saul, the spirit of Samuel in the Holy book with his name. To this all Moses adds the blessing of being in their tents: an attitude of rest and freedom from strife. It is strange that the \’93hired\’94 [Issachar] is given the pleasant blessing of rest, not what one might think that a servant would inherit. The remaining of the blessing may concern the Mountain of Gilboa in Issachar where Saul and his sons fell in battle against the Philistines and the blessing is closed with treasures hid in the sand a statement not unlike the new testament verse Ephesians 1:3 … who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places… sand and places being, \’91people\’92 – – wherein God has chosen to dwell.\
With the blessing of GAD comes really a blessing upon the LORD God himself for being the provider of the good fortune of expansion which might be better understood as symbolically as the strengthening of the faith of the believer as he possess the Lord who has graciously received him. 1Corinthians 3:5-7 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.\
The brevity of DAN is striking and in its illusion to a lion\’92s whelp and interesting in that in Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion\’92s whelp: the blessing of \
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Jacob. What can be said of this obvious contradiction but that the symbolism stretches into two offices of the person for whom they represent and that being the Lord Jesus the Messiah. The one is to the Kingship of Israel\’92s Messiah, Judah, and the other in Dan is to his station as Judge and that of all of the earth. The characteristics of a lion\’92s whelp are that the whelp still dwells in the den yet hunts abroad, representing a quirk of thought whereby Israel is the den and the Church are those whom Christ has gathered from abroad. The People\’92s Bible Encyclopedia has the \’93Figurative. The Scriptures abound in allusions to the strength, courage, cruelty, and rapicity of this beast. His royal attributes made him an emblem of Christ (Rev. 5:5).\’94 \
NAPHTALI is a strange blessing of difficult perception, unless the position of the inheritance portion to Naphtali is examined. The west of the Sea of Chinnereth [Galilee] and south along the west of the Jordan River is this description, a place with two distinct features one present at the time of the blessing of Moses, being Mount Tabor whose height overlooks westerly the Megiddo valley and is near the three corner boundary mark of Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali. The other feature is along the coast of the Sea of Chinnereth and is a city that did not begin to exist, as far as is known, until the second century B.C. and that being the city of Capernaum where Jesus kept a house and began his ministry returning there always from his journeys except, of course, the last journey that took him to Jerusalem where the great wrestling [Naphtali] took place in the Garden of the Olives, where the Colossal Tree sweat blood and not oil. This part of the blessing is only possible because of the prophetic office that the man of God, Moses, held.\
Whereas Naphtali was inexplicable, ASHER is purely clear, pleasantly read and comprehended to all who know the enduringly joyful saving grace of the Lord Jesus. This is the final son of Jacob to be blessed by Moses. This \
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part of the blessing of Moses concerns the twelve tribes described by the twelve sons of Jacob and has shown the clear proportions of our Savior Jesus. \
An abbreviated compression of these names by their meanings might be joined in this manner to honor that holy person they portray: Behold the Son of God and praise and hear, those who are joined to the LORD God, those who are righteous and lively that are the loved of your Father to whom He adds, all heavenly gifts in dwellings of rest for his faithful, who judge their ways; who can not be judged except holy and blessed with favor and joy of the Savior.\
The following part of the blessing of Moses extols the person of God as he acts and labors and so reveals a caring God who not only delivers from evil but nurtures the new life. Particularly, it reveals the nature of his mercy for those who are his, who have set their trust upon him to deliver from the press of his adversary into his divine presence and in the instance of Israel about to cross over into their promised inheritance, essential for their confidence and the blessing that reveals the balance of the pattern that is characteristic of the books of the Holy Bible that follow the book of Joshua. Joshua is a book describing a point of arrival and the application of certain revealing words of this blessing does not begin until after the possession of the land, which is what Joshua describes. For Israel, into the land of promise and the presence of the LORD God and for the illustrative purposes of the Church to carry into the succeeding books, growing spiritual growth of the development of a believer and the full revelation of all that concerns the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ; except that, there is no single book of the sixty-six books of the Holy Bible dedicated entirely to the description of God as \’91The Head\’92 the sense for which is contained in the Hebrew of the first word of Genesis.\
The first sentence illustrates the usefulness of the meaning of Biblical names as the name Jeshurun means, upright, referring to the nation Israel, \
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then attentively poised upon the words of Moses. They had been through many cleansings of unbelief in the camp and the burials of all of the ones who had rebelled against entering Canaan thirty-eight years prior. They were in the eyes of God his righteous nation. We today need to consider what marvelous salvation that the Lord Jesus has procured for us and be likewise attentive to the words of God.\
Referring to page 199 of the preceding text of Deuteronomy there are ten words underlined of the continued paragraph, briefed here in this unwinding. These words are essential to the searcher who wishes to know that their God offers: \
REFUGE, is the first and God presents himself working to afford himself as a shelter from the secular world, from the evil spirits, from our own inventions. It is no wonder that those like Simeon and Anna, Luke 2:25&36, departed not from the Temple of their God in Jerusalem and we from our Holy Bibles when such a just and righteous God makes himself thus a haven. ARMS follows with eternal strength to save, to undergird, to lift up into the heavenly realm, what ability the child of God entirely lacks. \
THRUST, Deuteronomy 7:20 Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. Joshua 24:12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. Do we know any other that perform such a thing? DESTROY is the most misunderstood of the descriptives due to its connotation to dominate, an occasion that finds much comfort to the intrusive judgmentalist heart whose intents are to preeminence. 3John :9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. If on the other hand we understand that it is God who says \
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\’93Destroy\’94 we see from the Scriptures those instances when God did destroy as with the flood of Noah\’92s days, the enemies of Israel, and today the intentions of Satan against us. Paul used his Apostolic authority: 2Corinthians 13:10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction. \
ALONE. This term could easily apply to the nation as the LORD God would view them once they possessed the land, a people separate from all others because they were His chosen nation. And it also applies to the Lord Jesus as he walked the earth the only holy person truly acceptable in the sight of the Living God. \
FOUNTAIN speaks of the numerous seed of the people of Israel, while in expectation we see Jesus the greatest orator of the flowing words of grace and truth. \
LAND presents the bountifulness of the promised possession Israel was about to enter and land represents the Lord Jesus as he eulogizes himself with his disciples at the last supper – – bread as the corn — wine as the wine. \
HEAVENS is a word of interesting proportions able to describe the literal sky and the people whose head inhabits the sky. We often do not acknowledge the immediacy or closeness of the expanse labeled heaven and so miss that the individual believer is the actual inference. A persons mind when dedicated to the Lord is especially synonymous with heaven as position and attitude indicate; of course, acknowledging the supreme heaven as Jesus himself, fully and always aware of his Father. \
SHIELD is perhaps more readily seen as the LORD spoke to Abram that He was his shield, Genesis 15:1, thus to his offspring as well. Often the believer or even servant of the Lord Jesus who is lax in familiarity with the \
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scriptures misses: Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. \
SWORD is an worthy depiction of power as any who has taken one in hand will say. It is the heft of the weapon and the thought of what can be done with it to overpower that makes it so impressive and the Holy Spirit has chosen the symbol for the \’91word\’92 of God excellently. \
These are the important words to the pattern of the Holy Celebration, not because some wise mind chose them out but because the Holy Spirit has placed them there and they fit consecutively into each book to identify as holy each designated book as they apply. Rather, it could be better understood that the books are built around these central columns of \’91places.\’92 With these ten terms added to the twelve names there becomes twenty-two places total, the same number of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. \
Now all twenty two of these names and terms are applicable to each of the four Gospels, because they appear to show only the time when the Lord Jesus was physically present on the earth. After his ascension alone, fountain and land do not apply because his body is in heaven and not upon the earth – – yet, for the second time. From the foregoing text page [m] shows the places that are appropriate for each of the sixty-six books. The final words of this place JACOB is high places referring to the enemies of Israel. Applied to the mountains of the land Israel was to conquer it can also be seen as heavens, this thought referring to the head of the enemy as can be seen in ancient depictions of a king with his foot upon the neck of his defeated enemy, and our great God given ability as the sons of God over the powers of darkness.\
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The place JOSEPH in the section Shaul\
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Minus the aggravations and responsibilities of governing, the truly good and faithful man of God, Moses, takes leave of his people and ascends to his God the LORD. The final paragraph of Deuteronomy can not be equaled in eloquence, but can be today amended – – Deuteronomy 34:10-12 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel. \

  • – with: I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, …and thou shalt call his name JESUS: \
    Deuteronomy 18:18, Matthew 1:21. \
    \
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    \
    Index\
    \
    \
    \
    a\
    Abihu page 25,46,64\
    Abiram page 64,72,73\
    Abram page 23, 115\
    Abraham page 2, 24, 33, 53, 61, 62, 86, 94, 96, 106, 108, \
    acacia page 28, 30, 32, 33, 40, \
    Adam page 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 33, 36, 37, 44, 62, 63, 68, 108, \
    Adversary page 4, 73, 74, 83, 102, 113, \
    Africa page 4,13, 14, \
    Alone text page [m], page 77, 86, 103, 104, 115, 116\
    altar built of stone page 34\
    altar of incense page 40\
    Amelek page 23\
    Amminadab page 35\
    Ananias page 73\
    Ancient Hebrew page 13, 16\
    Angel of Death page 21\
    antelope skins page 31\
    Apostles page 39, 47, 50, 68, 69, 91, 92, 95, \
    Arabs page 105\
    Ark of Noah page 31\
    Arms text page [m], 114\
    Asher text page [m], page74, 75, 103, 104, 105\
    \
    b\
    Babylonian captivity page 35\
    Barnabas page 93\
    bars page 32\
    Baruch page 21\
    Bathsheba page 73\
    behold page 10, 11, 16, 18, 77, 99, 108, 113, \
    Belial page 102\
    Benjamin text page [m], page 9, 25, 26, 27, 29, 32, 34, 40, 41, 49, 50, 68, 69, 96, 97, 98, 99, 109, \
    Bethsaida page 99\
    blood page 5, 11, 21, 27, 28, 30, 33, 36, 44, 45, 49, 50, 66, 68, 79, 80, 82, 83, 93, 98, 112, 112, 118, \
    boards page 31, 32\
    branch page 6, 51, 58, \
    brass page 33\
    burning bush page 3, 38, 69, 74, 87, \
    \
    c\
    Caleb page 69, 70, \
    118\
    Index\
    \
    \
    camp page 8, 26, 72, 103, 114, \
    Canaan page 6, 14, 50, 53, 58, 74, 94, 114, \
    Canaanites page 58, 94\
    Capernaum page 92, 99, 110, 112\
    Carmel mountain range page 110\
    Cherubim page 27, 28, 31, \
    children of Israel page 3, 33, 38, 40, 44, 45, 46, 50, 51, 52, 60, 61, 66, 69, 81, 84, 87,88, 89, 92, 94, 95, 96, 100\
    Chinnereth page 112\
    Chorazin page 99\
    Church page 27, 53, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65, 71, 76, 81, 82, 83, 88, 90, 93, 95, 101, 102, 103, 110, 112, 113, 114\
    coffin page 5, 7\
    Colossal Tree page 112\
    Comforter page 34, 75, 76, 93\
    commandments page 24,50\
    Constitution of the United States of America page 59, 85\
    copper page 33\
    Creator Deliverer page 10\
    Cross of Christ page 80\
    cuneiform page 12, 13\
    \
    d\
    Dan text page [m], page 37, 50, 69, 71, 98, 99, 100, 111, 112, \
    Dathan page 64, 72, 73, \
    Deity page 11\
    Demas page102,\
    Destroy text page [m], page 58, 64, 66, 70, 114, 115, \
    Deuteronomy page 2, 7, 29, 59, 85, 87, 91, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 103, 104, 106, 114, 117,\
    Diaspora page 38\
    Diotrephes page 114\
    Dinah page 110\
    dispensation page 6, 40, 45, 53, 67, \
    \
    e\
    Egypt page 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, \
    Eleazar page 76, 86, 87, \
    Elijah page 104\
    Eliezer page 14\
    Elisheba page 35\
    Emanuel page 48\
    Endor page 111\
    Enoch page 2, 33\
    ephods page 78\
    119\
    Index\
    \
    \
    Ethiopia page 4, 14\
    evening page 5, 35, 36, 80, 81, 97, 98, 107\
    Exodus page 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 25, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 43, 58, 69, 76, 85, 105, \
    \
    f\
    firmament page 5, 8, 10, 11, 44, 61, 97, 98\
    five golden pillars page 32\
    four horns page 79\
    Fountain text page [m], 115, 116, \
    frankincense page 52, 80\
    furniture page 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 40\
    \
    g\
    Gad text page [m], page 38, 52, 73, 74, 103, 104, 111\
    Garden of Eden page 6, 9\
    Garden of the Olives page 112\
    Genesis page 2, 112, 115\
    gold lampstick page 30\
    Gospels page 27, 47,49, 73, 87, 97, 116\
    Great Altar page 33, 36, 45, 78, 79, 80, \
    Great Hallel Psalms page 79, 82, 107, \
    Great King page 98, \
    \
    h\
    Heavenly Tabernacle page 29\
    Heavens text page [m], page 35, 46, 62, 106, 107, 115, 116, \
    heh page 18\
    High Priest page 33, 35, 78, 79, 80, 86, 87\
    Hittites page 13, 94\
    Hivites page 94\
    Holy Bible page 5, 21, 59, 72, 74, 76, 84, 91, 100, 103, 108, 113, 114, \
    Holy Spirit page 2, 31, 34, 52, 64, 72, 76, 80, 107, 116\
    Holy Words page 21, 72, 102, \
    \
    i\
    I AM THAT I AM page 16\
    Isaac page 2, 7, 16, 61, 105, 108, \
    Israel page 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35,36, 37, 38, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 78, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100,102, 103,104, 107, 112, 113, 115, 116, 117 \
    Issachar text page [m], page 22, 47, 65, 93, 94, 110, 111, \
    120\
    Index\
    \
    \
    j\
    Jachin text page 91, page 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54.\
    Jacob page 2, 52, 53, 54, 55, 61, 82, 83, 85, 86, 96, 97, 102, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 116, \
    Jamin text page 49, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 26, 27, 32, 37, 38, 39, 41, \
    Jehovah page 12, 17\
    Jeshurun page 113\
    Jesus page 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, \
    John the Baptist page 25, 35, 36, 46, 49, 60, 61, 77, 82\
    Joseph text page [m], page 5, 9, 11, 23, 24, 41, 55, 62, 65, 83, 84, 90, 109, 116, \
    Joshua page 7, 69, 70, 76, 77, 86, 87, 89, 90, 101, 102, 113, 114 \
    Jethro page 14, 23, 59, 105, \
    Judah text page [m], page 22, 35, 46, 46, 63, 64, 77, 90, 91, 93, 108, 111, 112, \
    Jude page 69, 90\
    \
    k\
    Kidron valley page 79\
    Korah page 64, 72, 73\
    \
    l\
    lamb page 21, 35, 36, 39, 51, 66, 67, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, \
    lampstick page 15, 40, 59, \
    Land text page [m], page 4, 5, 6, 10, 14, 18, 21, 24, 37, 50, 52, 53, 58, 59, 60, 64, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 85, 88, 89, 94, 95, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 105, 108, 109, 110, 111, 113, 115, 116, 117 \
    lanolin page 78\
    last Adam page 6, 62\
    laver page 36, 81\
    Levi text page [m], page 19, 20, 21, 45, 46, 51, 59, 61, 68, 88, 90, 109\
    Levitical Priests page 19, 28, 32, 54, 56, \
    Leviticus page 2, 37, 43, 44, 46, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 58, 81, 85\
    life page 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 15, 21, 30, 39, 44, 47, 49, 50, 52, 58, 62, 65, 69, 73, 74, 78, 80, 81, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92, 95, 100, 101, 103, 104, 108, 109, 110, 113, \
    Lord page 16, first time used in text \
    LORD page 3, first time used in text \
    LORD God page 2, first time used in text \
    \
    121\
    Index\
    \
    \
    m\
    Mannaseh page 84\
    Mark page 93, \
    Mary page 65\
    Matthew page , 36, 39, 52, 62, 66, 67, 68, 74, 77, 81, 82, 99, 107, 117 \
    Matthias page 109\
    Mediterranean page 13, 14,110\
    Megiddo valley page 110, 112\
    mem page 18\
    mercy seat page 27, 28, 30, 33, 45, 49, \
    Messiah of Israel page 9, 11, 60, 61, 75, 86, 93, 101, 102, 112, \
    meat offering page 44, 80, \
    Midian, [Midianites] page 4, 13, 14, 15, 19, 105, \
    Micah page 94, 105. \
    millenniums page 12\
    Miriam page 14, 68\
    Moab page 5, 103\
    Molech page 58 \
    morning page 561, 77, 78, 80, 81, \
    Mount Tabor pasge 110, 111, 112, \
    Moses page 2\
    \
    n\
    Naphtali text page [m], page 38, 50, 51, 72, 73, 100, 101, 102, 103, 112, \
    Nahshon page 35\
    Nazarite page 54\
    Nebo page 87\
    Nemuel text page 49, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26 \
    Nile River page 4\
    Noah page 1, first time used in text\
    Numbers page 2, 7, 14, 31, 32, 33, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 65, 66, 67, 74, 75, 80, 82, 84, 85, \
    \
    o\
    obedience page 2, 8, 46, 63, 83, \
    oblation of the firstfruits page 44\
    olive oil page 30, 52, 59, 80, 107, 112\
    ordinances page 24, 29, 39, 40, 43, 46, 50, 51, 59, 68, 70, 73, 90, 91, \
    \
    p\
    Passover lamb page 20, 21, 51, 56, 82, 83, 97, 107\
    Paul page 27, 38, 67, 71, 93, 102, 109, 111, 115, \
    peace offering page 44\
    People of the Sea page 13\
    Perfect Offering page 44\
    122\
    Index\
    \
    \
    Phinehas page 73\
    Perizzites page 94\
    pillars page 24, 32\
    Pisgah page 87\
    place page 8, 9, 10 , 11, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 80, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 109, 112, 116\
    plagues page 20, 24, \
    Presence page 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 50, 51, 52, 60, 61, 76, 89, 93, 94, 105, 113\
    Priest John son of Zacharias page 25, 36, 46\
    Prince of Israel page 11\
    Prince of Darkeness page 9\
    Prophet page 6, 10, 15, 18, 19, 29, 41, 51, 59, 61, 62, 86, 90, 94, 97, 98, 99, 104, 108, 109, 112, 117\
    proselyte page 3\
    \
    q\
    \
    r\
    Rachel page 55, 72, 96, 109, \
    redeemed page 35, 55, 72 ,96, 109\
    Reed Sea page 20, 88, \
    Refuge text page [m], page 114, \
    remission page 5, 55, 71, 82\
    resurrected page 6, 49, 72, 74\
    Reuben text page [m], page 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 44, 55, 57, 58, 86, 108\
    River Jordan page 74, 111, \
    Rome page 11\
    \
    s\
    sacrifice page 3, 33, 34, 44, 45, 46, 48, 54, 55, 56, 62, 67, 68, 70, 71, 78, 79, 81, 83, 97, \
    salt page 52, 79, 81\
    savior page 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 25, 29, 30, 61, 62, 63, 70, 75, 76, 82, 86, 90, 95, 97, 101, 102, 109, 113, \
    salvation page 2, 3, 5, 12, 29, 46, 48, 74, 82, 92, 114, \
    sanctifying page 8, 45, 54\
    Sanhedrin page 78\
    Sapphira page 73\
    Satan page 11, 83, 115, \
    scapegoats 49\
    scrolls page 13, 21, 23, 29, \
    123\
    Index\
    secular words page 4, 8, 114\
    sees page 18, 74, \
    seed page 5, 8, 9, 11, 18, 22, 35, 36, 37, 41, 44, 49, 51, 68, 78, 99, 109, 115, \
    Semitic page 13, 14\
    Shaul text page165, page 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 94, 96, 97, 98, 100, 103, 105, 108, 116, \
    shekel of the sanctuary page 36\
    Shekinah page 12, 27\
    Shield text page [m], page 23, 60, 115, 116, \
    Sidon page 99\
    silver page 31, 54, 67, 80, \
    Simeon text page [m], page 6, 15, 16, 19, 43, 45, 59, 60, 61, 87, 108, 114, \
    smitten rock page 23\
    sin page 2, 5, 11, 17, 27, 28, 35, 38, 40, 45, 46, 47, 49, 51, 55, 56, 60, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 70, 71 77, 78, 82, 83, 98, 102, \
    sin-unto-death page 70\
    sockets page 32\
    Sodom page 99\
    sparrow page 35\
    speckled bird page 6\
    strong (fermented) wine page 80, 95, 97, 115, \
    substitutional death page 21, 33, 34, 44, 54, 55, 56, 97, \
    Sumer page 12\
    supplanter page 82\
    Sword text page [m], page 14, 114, 116, \
    synagogue page 92\
    \
    t\
    table of showbread page 29, 30, 32, 40\
    Tabernacle of Witness page 2, 5, 8, 9. 12. 21, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 52, 54, 59, 60, 67, 68, 70, 77, 91, 97, 100, \
    Temple page 11, 21, 27, 35, 36, 53, 54, 55, 66, 73, 77, 78, 79, 99, 105, 114, \
    Temple flocks page 78\
    Temple shepherds page 78\
    temptation page 68, 70, 73\
    The Head page 30, 58, 78, 83,113, 110, 116\
    The Holy Celebration page 1, 46, 59, 102, 108, 116, \
    Thessalonica page 102\
    The Throne page 29, 49, 62, \
    Thompson, Llwellyn page 31\
    Thrust text page [m], page 20, 79, 101,102, \
    Thummim page 76, 108\
    Turkey page 13\
    Tyre page 99\
    \
    \
    124\
    Index\
    \
    u\
    unclean page 47, 48, \
    Urim page 76, 108, \
    \
    v\
    vision page 23, 28, 87, 96, \
    vow page 54, 65, 82, 83, \
    \
    \
    \
    \
    \
    w\
    white linen bonnets page 78\
    white linen robes page 78\
    wilderness page 4, 19, 22, 91, 92, 95\
    windows in heaven page 54\
    \
    x\
    \
    y\
    yod page 17\
    \
    z\
    Zacharias son of Barachias page 35\
    Zebulun text page [m], page 23, 48, 67, 68, 96, 110, 111, 112, \
    Zerah text page121, page 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 65, 67, 68, 69, 72, 73, 74, \
    82, 83, \
    Zipporah page 14\
    Zerubbabel page 77\
    Zorobabel page 77\
    \
    \
    125\
    \
    \
    Glossary\
    \
    \

\fs20 a\
Abraham page 2 – descendant of Adam who became the progenitor of the nation Israel\
acacia page 28 – s species of tree related to the honey locust of the USA, dense and thorny\
Adam page 2 – the first created of a family line from which sprang the Savior of the earth\
Adversary page 4 – Satan the enemy of God, formerly a man who did not give up his spirit and soul at death when he tried to take the Throne of God\
Alone text page [m] – a term defining our Savior when he ministered on the earth, found in Deuteronomy 33: 28\
altar of incense page 40 – a piece of furniture of the Holy Place of the Tabernacle that Moses built. of the three described it sat before the vail covering the Holiest Place where incense was burnt thereon representing the prayers of the saints\
Amalek page 23 – a very ancient nation that has perished, probably by the hand of Israel \
Ancient Hebrew page 16 – a script of 22 letter alphabet of abstract form progenitor to the square Hebrew alphabet of today\
Angel of Death page 21 – the angel from the LORD God who destroyed all of the first born of Egypt as the last plague upon Pharaoh, which death the Israelites escaped with the blood of the passover lamb\
antelope skins page 31 – a covering made of these skins for the tent of the Tabernacle, \’91badger\’92 skins in the AKJV\
Arms text page [m] – a term describing the undergirding that the LORD God provides to his people, also indicates the great sacrifice of Christ on the cross when he stretched forth his arms, Deuteronomy 33:27\
Asher text page [m] – the eighth son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah\’92s handmaid, a twin of Gad. his name means \’91happy\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
\
b\
Babylonian captivity page 35 – in 586B.C. all of the in habitants of Jerusalem and the tribe of Judah and Benjamin and Simeon were taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoikim King of Judah was carried captive to Babylon. Seventy years later according the the prophesy of Jeremiah Judah returned to rebuild the Temple and reinhabit Israel under King Zerubbabel of Judah\
Barnabas page 93 – a Levite of Cyprus he laid the money value of his life at the feet of the apostles and joined with Paul in missionary work. he split with Paul over an argument about Mark and took Mark with him to Cyprus.\
bars page 32 – the connecting structurals of the Tabernacle boards placed horizontally to them. they were made of acacia wood covered and with gold.\
behold page 18 – what Moses did at the \’91burning bush\’92 on Mount Sinai\
Belial page 102 – a Hebrew word meaning \’91worthless, reckless, lawless\’92 i.e. useless to God.\
Benjamin text page [m] – the twelveth son of Jacob by Rachel, he is the younger brother of Joseph, his name means \’91son of my right hand\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
blood page 5 – the body fluid that defines life and death. without blood \’91death\’92, within the body \’91life\’92, but is used of sacrifices upon the mercy seat of the Tabernacle to indicate the price of offense against the Holy God has been paid. all blood sacrifices of the Holy Scriptures point to, in symbolisms, the single sacrifice of the precious blood of the Savior Jesus Christ.\
boards page 32 – the vertical wall structures of the Tabernacle that held the tent coverings, they were made of acacia wood covered with gold and weighed probably about 400 pounds each, there were 48 of these 27\’94 wide and 9\’94 thick and 15 feet tall.\

\fs24 126
\fs20 \
\
Glossary\
\
\
branch page 6 – in the Tabernacle a part of the lampstick that held a lamp for burning for light. it also refers to a section of the Scriptures by a designated name. see pages [k] and [l] of the included text \
brass page 33 – a term applied to certain articles of the Tabernacle especially the Great Altar that would have been better translated as \’91copper\’92 as the Hebrew word indicates.\
burning bush page 3 – the object upon Mount Sinai, an ordinary bush evidently until the LORD God descended upon it obtaining the attention of Moses. this must have been a strange sight indeed to see a green shrub aflame seemingly indefinitely that did not consume the moisture of the plant. the sight has been likened to the nation Israel, the lampstick of the Tabernacle and to Christ himself rightly, indicating figuratively eternal qualities.\
\
c\
Caleb page 69 – a patriarch of the tribe of Judah who came out of Egypt with Moses, his name means \’91dog\’92 he along with Joshua brought back to Moses a good report concerning the land of Canaan as spies, and endured the 38 year hardship of funerals finally entering the promised land obtaining a generous inheritance, Numbers 13:6, Joshua 14:6,7. \
camp page 26 – in the four books by Moses a term used to describe the tent encampment around the Tabernacle of Witness of the children of Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan. can also describe a group of believers in the LORD God \
Canaan page 14 – the Mediterranean coastal country on the east side of the sea where lived seven nations whom the LORD God rightly condemned and disposed by Israel for His seat and nations inheritance.\
Canaanites page 94 – a nation of people known by that name who lived in the above land \
Capernaum page 92 – a small coastal city along the northwest shores of the Sea of Galilee, founded probably in the second century B.C. , best known for its partly restored synagogue of the 4th or 5th century era the edifice faced Jerusalem, it was always a small fishing village with archaeological evidences to the presence of Peter\’92s house, but should best be recalled as having been the city where Jesus began his earthly ministry and kept a home. for this lack of response to him the town received the most sever judgment by the Lord – – And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. Matthew 11:22- uninhabited for centuries the city is a historical site in Israel. \
Carmel mountain range page 110 – south of Tyre the mountain range juts into the Mediterranean. in the other direction the ridge slopes into the land of promise southearly with the Megiddo plain on the north and reaching down some 40 miles to Dothan a place of four wells where Joseph was sold into slavery at the caravan trade rest.\
Champion of Princes page 73 – a name taken to exalt the person of the Lord Jesus Christ\
Cherubim page 27 – angelic creatures associated with the immediate presence of the Living God, there description may be found in the book of Ezekiel chapter one. \
children of Israel page 3 – a Biblical term referring to the offspring, both immediate and distant, of Jacob son of Isaac who is the son of Abraham, \
Chinnereth page 112 – the Sea of Galilee in Israel\
Church page 95 – referring to the total body of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ when it is capitalized, and when not to a local assembly, most often.\
\

\fs24 127
\fs20 \
Glossary\
\
\
Colossal Tree page 112 – a term of enlightenment when the location of the Savior, on the night he was delivered to the Sanhedrin, in the Mount of Olives when he prayed. the symbolance being that the olive trees when dead ripe drip with oil from their \
fruit while the tormented Lamb sweat blood. a touching picture of the great Tree of faith. \
Comforter page 76 – the Holy Spirit, John 14:16\
commandments page 24,50 – generally understood as the ten commandments, the orthodox Jews have elaborated on many more than just the ten from the writings of Moses. the law made Israel guilty because it is impossible to keep all of the ordinances without infringing upon and or contradicting another of the laws, thus the Tabernacle system freed their conscience from errors of transgression against the law and their God.\
common page 47 – any animal or food not designated by Levitical ordinances as permitted by the LORD God to be eaten.\
Constitution of the United States of America page 59,85 – the law of the land\
copper page 33 – an element metal used with tin or zinc to make brass \
Creator Deliverer page 10 – the LORD God from whom Moses received instruction\
Cross of Christ page 80 – howbeit the altar upon which Christ was offered\
cuneiform page 12 – a stylus written language upon wet clay invented by the Sumerians of the lower Euphrates basin before the time of Abraham. it was non-Semitic and very elaborate with over 1000 individual characters and adopted by the Babylonians for their Semitic based language.\
\
d\
Dan text page [m] – the fifth son of Jacob by Bilhah, Rachel\’92s handmaid, his name means \’91judge\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
Deity page 11 – the expression of the understanding of a superior and Holy Being who to whom worship is given\
Demas page102 – a man from Paul\’92s missionaries who leaves the faith for material things \
Destroy text page [m] – a term describing the action of the Holy God against his enemy. Deuteronomy 33:27. it is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
Deuteronomy page 2 – the fourth book written by Moses the man of God\
Diaspora page 38 – see Babylonian Captivity, same as. \
dispensation page 45 – Webster, the mode of God\’92s dispensing mercies (e.g. Mosaic, Christian) Biblically more comprehensively Patriarchal, Mosaic or Jewish, Christian. methods or schemes by which God provides for man\’92s salvation, i.e. management – economy. \
\
e\
Egypt page 3 – an ancient nation found wealthy by the inundations of the Nile River along which the country is established Ezekiel 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. these words of God are past the indignation against Egypt then was for 40 years but the passage makes aware that preeminent strength of Egypt\
Eleazar page 76 – the third son of Aaron, the father of Phinehas\
Eliezer page 14 – the second son of Moses, Exodus 18:4 …for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
\fs24
\fs20 \
Emanuel page 48 – the name of the seed of the Woman meaning \’91God with us\’92\
Enoch page 2 – pre-flood patriarch who did not see death but was taken away from the earth by the LORD\

\fs24 128
\fs20 \
Glossary\
\
\
ephod page 78 – a covering garment worn over the top of the priest\’92s robe that was fastened at the shoulders for sleeveless garment that may have symbolized the skins that Adam and the Woman wore after their fall, the linen garment was fastened to the body by a belt also of linen. \
Ethiopia page 4 – a nation of Africa of black people known for their ferociousness on the \
battle field. there were of them represented at Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit fell upon the congregation of apostles and believers. Acts 8:27&37\
evening page 5 – in the record of Genesis when God restores the earth from judgment [G1:2] in seven days. each of the six days is concluded with evening and morning that at first seems backwards but when the full healing of the passion of Jesus is understood evening is seen as death and morning as resurrection.\
Exodus page 2 – the first book of Moses, is records the extraction of Israel from the grips of Egypts Pharaoh.\
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firmament page 5 – in the second day in Genesis it is what God establishes to divide the waters, a poignant picture of Christ who divides the heavenly words from the secular words into a book called the Holy Bible.\
five golden pillars page 32 – At the entrance of the Tabernacle covered by the multi-colored covering were five supporting columns to hold the tent aloft. they were made of acacia wood and covered with gold.\
four horns page 79 – in conjunction with the Great Altar of copper, four horns representing the strength of the sacrifice, especially in the retributions for the nation of Israel, and in a more comprehensive consideration the whole of the four corners of the earth in the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. when the sacrificial lamb was killed blood from the animal was sprinkled on these four horns, and upon the cross by the Great High Priest of our profession. \
Fountain text page [m] – a term describing the water of the promised land to be given to the descendants of Jacob, and symbolically to Jesus as he appears at Jacob\’92s well in John 4:6 and John 7:37,38 Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.. Deuteronomy 33:27. it is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
frankincense page 52 – a milky white resin of pungent balsamic odor that is gathered from the limbs and trunks of a pierced small tree of Arabia and vicinity that was gathered for use in funerals as incense and in the Tabernacle for the special incense that was compounded for that purpose to burn upon the altar of incense. its function intensifies the compounds odor.\
furniture page 31 – in the Tabernacle four pieces made of acacia wood and covered with gold, with exception of the lampstick that is made of pure gold, representing in the order they are presented: the presence of the LORD- the ark, the lampstick – sight [light of the world], the table of showbread – the body of the LORD, the altar of incense – the prayers of the High Priest Jesus. and the wine for drink – not an article of furniture is outside poured out upon the great altar like the blood of the Savior. \
\
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Gad text page [m] – the seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah\’92s handmaid, a twin of Asher. his name means \’91a troop\’92 an illusion to faithfuls, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
Garden of Eden page 6 – the promised land to Israel is like this garden of Genesis was, a place where dwelt the presence of the LORD God.\
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Garden of the Olives page 112 – the Mount of Olives in other places of texts, this was the often resort of Jesus and his disciples, who without their knowledge of his thoughts must have looked west some 1200 yards across the Kidron valley to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem knowing his and later their fate. Jesus was taken from his freedom in this garden to his fate and when he returns to the earth the second time not meek and mild but in all power and strength his feet will set first upon this garden where the trees that yield oil are so much like the Savior who yielded the Holy Spirit. \
Genesis page 2 – the first book in the Holy Bible with the authorship of six patriarchs: Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.\
Gershom page 14 – the eldest of Moses two sons his name means expulsion for said Moses,
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\fs20 I have been a stranger in a strange land.\
gold lampstick page 30 – at the lamps upon the top of the branches this piece of furniture of solid gold stood 5\’92-3\’94 and had originally, as the LORD\’92s had shown Moses, sat with its stem into a hole of a smitten rock of flint; but as the builders rejected the stone that followed them, replaced it with probably some sort of gold base. It had seven lamps upon seven branches the center one which represents the true vine of Jesus the Messiah. The spiritual lamps of palm size held olive oil for fuel and linen wicks for the flames. the linen is reportedly from the used linen garments of the priests, the High Priest\’92s robe probably preferred. no need to polish this object it reflected all of the Holy Light for the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. \
Gospels page 97 – the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; which new age covenant did not really begin until the Holy Spirit was given in the book of The Acts.\
Great Altar page 80 – made of acacia wood it was like a box with no top or bottom designed to be filled with soil from the spot it was transported to because no tool could come upon the work that the LORD God was to do for Israel and ultimately the whole earth. The wood was covered with copper and the instruments of the service were of copper also, speaking of the covenants but still articles for the altar are the copper bowls that returned from the Babylonian captivity Ezra 8:27 …and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.\
Great Hallel Psalms page 79 – During this time of slaughter, and in those late times, especially, the Great Hallel Psalms 113-118 was chanted by the Levites with the reiterated response of Psalm 136, For thy mercy endureth forever, after each verse. And sung at the last supper of our Savior.\
Great King page 98 – the person of the living Lord Jesus Christ the office he is anointed to hold and will install to when he returns to the earth.\
\
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Heavenly Tabernacle page 29 – Hebrews 8:2&5 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. … Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown to thee in the mount.\
Heavens text page [m] – a term describing the persons who served the LORD God and the dew which are the Holy Scriptures that we read today that they wrote down at the bidding of the Holy Spirit. [see Jeremiah 36:4&28] but of course the Lord Jesus is the heavenly Heaven. Deuteronomy 33:27. it is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible\
heh page 18 – the second and forth Hebrew consonantal letter of \’93the name\’94 Jehovah – LORD in the KJV and the I Am that I Am of Exodus. See pages 51 &52 of preceding text.\
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High Priest page 35 – an office held by a designated person to be mediator be tween a righteous God and man. This office was held by Aaron the brother of Moses until he died and his son Eleazar took his position and that pattern continued. His service was in the Tabernacle and later the Temple, he being the only person alive on the earth that could enter the Holiest Place where the LORD God dwelt between the Cherubim and that only once a year and then not without the blood of the sacrifice. \
Hittites page 13,94 – a militant civilization of the area now called Turkey whose capital was near the Black Sea they garrisoned the land of Palestine and did war with Egypt and Babylon. They were fierce warriors but not without compassion and had a written Semitic cuneiform language which many tablets have been unearthed at the site Ugarit. The language disappeared about 1200 B.C., but some documents and records in the script record legal actions of Abraham and Jacob. One of King David\’92s soldiers was a Hittite. \
Hivites page 94 – probably not militants they people were from the northern part of Canaan and were one of the seven \’91Canaanite\’92 kingdoms Israel overcame in the Land. \
Holy Bible page 5 – a collection of 66 books of Holy Scribes found to be the revealed words of God a work covering nearly six thousand years it contains the most beautiful truths and Psalms ever written to honor the Living God, the Lord Jesus Christ.\
Holy Record page 105 – another term for the Holy Bible\
Holy Spirit page 2,80 – one of the faces of the one true God, the other two being the Father, and the Son \
Holy Words page 21 – a name for the Holy Bible\
Holy Writ page 6 – also a name for the Holy Bible\
\
i\
I AM THAT I AM page 16 – \’93the self-existant\’94 God as James Strong defines the Hebrew. See page 51&52 of the preceding text also the terms \’91heh\’92 \’91yod\’92 and \’91mem\’92. Jehovah, LORD in the KJV.\
Isaac page 2 – the son of the Patriarch Abraham\
Israel page 2 – the name means Prince with God a title Jacob received when he wrestled with the Angel at his reentrance into the promised land. \
Issachar text page [m] – the ninth son of Jacob by Leah, his name means \’91hired\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
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j\
Jachin text page 91 – a son of Simeon he is found in Numbers 26:12. He is the third listed son and so becomes the definition of the book of Leviticus; seeing that the first two names Nemuel and Jamin define the book of Exodus. the name Jachin means \’91established\’92 being that Leviticus does establish the more exact laws and ordinances and sacrifices that need to be known for the Tabernacle worship to proceed. \
Jacob page 2 – the grandson of the patriarch Abraham and son of Isaac. he is called Israel and so the name of the of his offspring nation that followed him. \
Jamin text page 49 – the son of Simeon he is found in Numbers 26:12. He is the second son listed son and defines the second portion of the book of Exodus. the name Jamin means \’91right hand\’92 which describes the Son of God, that being his position next to his Father, and the symbolance to the Tabernacle structure that is described in that section. \
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Jebusites page 94 – the people who at the time of the possession of Canaan by Israel inhabited the city of Jerusalem. they were not successfully driven from the city and in David\’92s day still a problem to the tribe of Judah in whose portion the city was located. \
Jehovah page 12 – in the KJV it is glossed with the English word LORD. the name means \’91self-existant\’92 a concept not of only eternal nature but with the implications of resurrection. however, the Hebrew spelling is not congruent with the passages in Exodus where the LORD God from the burning bush spells out his name. see pages 51 and 52 of the preceding text of Exodus for that explanation. \
Jeshurun page 113 – the title seems to refer to Israel although Moses\’92 pleasure in the LORD God is well evident.\
Jesus page 2 – the name of the Savior means savior and he is Jesus of Nazareth the man approved of God and received back up into heaven to his Father. He was born in Bethlehem of Judah lived in Egypt for a time and grew up in Nazareth of the tribe of Zebulun. a view of Megiddo is presented south from Nazareth.\
Jochebed page 12 – the mother of Moses she also helped the daughter of Pharaoh raise him.\
John the Baptist page 46 – the son of the priest Zacharius he prepared the right way for the coming Savior Jesus of Nazareth, whom he also baptized. He was imprisoned and beheaded in Moab formerly the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben. the Lord\’92s \
eulogy of him leaves nothing more to be said. Matthew 11:17-19.\
\
Joseph text page [m] – the eleventh son of Jacob by Rachel, he is the older brother of Benjamin. his name means \’91adding\’92 and is nothing short of the security that he provided to his father and brothers and their families, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
Joshua page 7 – one of the spies along with Caleb who brought back a good report of the land of Canaan to Moses and was in fact minister to Moses. he was chosen by the LORD God to lead the children of Israel into the promised land and does so admirably. the sixth book in the Holy Bible it is detrimental to the structure of the Holy Celebration.\
Jethro page 23 – a priest of Midian he was the father-in-law of Moses\
Judah text page [m] – the fourth son of Jacob his name means \’91praise\’92, and is the favored of Jacob to be the head of the family of Israel when this three older sons loose grace with Jacob. and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
Judas page 90 – not Iscariot he is the Lord\’92s brother and brother to James a book of the Holy Bible is written by him the book of Jude that sits in front of the unveiled book of The Revelation. his message is Keep yourselves in the love of God… verse 21. \
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Kidron valley page 79 – the name means \’91dusky or gloomy\’92 and is in the dry months dry itself although deep in its base is the Gihon Spring whose waters King Hezekiah brought underground to inside of the city walls. It divides the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives across which Herod had built a Roman bridge of arches for the red heifer to be brought into the Temple area. \
Korah page 64 – a rebel against Moses he was destroyed by the LORD for his trouble dying in the wilderness never even seeing the promised land.\
\
l\
lamb page 21 – the sacrifice instituted at the rate of two a day one in the morning about nine o\’92clock and the other at near 3 o\’92clock an appeasement for the nation of Israel. to this offering John the Baptist referred when he directed his own disciples to Jesus of Nazareth. \

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lamp page 6 – there were seven of these that set upon the lampstick; they were made of gold, each about the size of a man\’92s palm that held olive oil for the flame to light the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. \
lamp of Truth page 34 – refers to the lampstick in the Tabernacle. \
Land text page [m] a term used in Deuteronomy 26:28 it refers to the fertile land of Canaan with its produce of corn and wine but in shadow also speaks of the Savior and his reference to his body being bread and his blood wine. it is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
lanolin page 78 – the residue from living wool produced by the animal that softens human flesh and complexion, it is used in ointments and cosmetics.\
last Adam page 6 – refers to the Lord Jesus Christ and his purpose as Savior.\
laver page 35 – the container made of the mirrors of the ladies of Israel meaning it was the finest copper available that held the water from which the priests drew for cleansing the sacrifice. \
Leah page 103 – the first wife of Jacob and the physical mother of six of Jacob\’92s sons and one daughter Dinah.\
Leprosy page 48 – a disease that causes damage to the nerve endings causing damage and loss of fingers and limbs and the discoloration of the skin, it represents spiritual insensitivity in the believer.\
Levi text page [m] – the third son of Jacob he looses his favor with his father when he with his brother Simeon slays his sister\’92s lover and their whole city whom, she is to marry, Jacob not knowing of their plan. yet, the tribe of Levi is chosen to minister and be closest to the LORD God in the Tabernacle. his name is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
\
Levitical Priests page 19 – the men of Levi chosen by the LORD to minister to him in the Tabernacle and in the copying of the Holy Scriptures.\
Leviticus page 2 – the second book written by Moses it contains the ordinances and laws to fulfill the priesthood and effective intercession to the LORD God for Israel. \
life page 5 – true life is being acceptably in the Presence of the Lord Jesus.\
linen breeches page 41 – the under garments of linen worn by the priests\
Living God page 15 – the active Deity who intervenes and saves and nurtures his people.\
Lord page 3 – the term Adoni meaning a superior or over lord\
LORD page 12 – the English term for the name Jehovah\
LORD God page 2 – Jehovah the Deity \
\
m\
Mannaseh page 84 – the oldest son of Joseph the son of Jacob.\
Mark page 93 – the author of the book bearing that title in the new testament.\
Mary page 65 – the mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.\
Matthew page 39 – the author of the book bearing his name he became a disciple of Jesus and after the Ascension and apostle of the Lord.\
Mediterranean page 13,110 – the large body of salt water that the coast forms the west boundary of the land of Israel. \
mem page 18 – the third consonantal letter of the name Jehovah according to the understanding from page 51 and 52 of the preceding text. \
mercy seat page 27 – the solid gold plate upon the top of the ark of the Covenant it is set with gold two cherubim on each end with their wings on high they form the seat for the presence of the LORD God of Israel.\
Messiah of Israel page 11 – like the term Christ it means \’92anointed one\’92 which thing John the Baptist did concerning Jesus of Nazareth.\
meat offering page 44 – a non-flesh offering of meal or baked flour for the Great Altar\
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Midian, [Midianites] page 4,14 – as a nation little is known of these people other than from the Holy Bible. perhaps they were nomadic. there was a religious structure though as Jethro the father-in-law of Moses was a Priest. Moses took a wife Zipporah who was a Midianite. \
Micah page 94 – best remembered of the minor prophets for the lovely compose: Micah 6:8
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\fs20 He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?\
millenniums page 12 – a one thousand year period of time\
Miriam page 68 the older sister of Moses and a leader of the women of Israel\
Moab page 103 – the descendants of Lot by his daughter they were deposed by Israel and Reuben took possession of the area but by the time of Herod the land there is again called Moab. the name means \’91from father\’92\
Molech page 58 – the god of the Canaanites who as a burnt offering gave their oldest child the practice was later taken up by Israel in the Hinnon Valley south of the city Jerusalem.\
morning page 5 – in the record of Genesis when God restores the earth from judgment [G1:2] in seven days. each of the six days is concluded with evening and morning that at first seems backwards but when the full healing of the passion of Jesus is understood evening is seen as death and morning as resurrection.\
Moses page 2 – one of the most unusual men in history falling short only to the Savior Jesus Christ he was born of the tribe of Levi, raised in the courts of Pharaoh, fled prosecution in Egypt to Midian where the LORD God finds him at the age of 80 tending his father-in-laws flock. perhaps the meekness of Moses was inherent and not learned in sight of the preceding facts, but it is the LORD who chooses him and he leads the three million or so Israelite refuges to the shores of the Jordan River where he installed the new leader Joshua and Moses dies in Moab. He is seen again though some 1200 years later in glorified presence with Jesus and Elijah and the voice of Moses is heard again by the startled disciples James, John and Peter. \
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Naphtali text page [m] – the sixth son of Jacob his name means \’91wrestling\’92, and is the son of Bilhah, Rachel\’92s handmaid. His name is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
Nazarite page 54 – Numbers 6 …when either a man or a woman shall separate themselves…unto the LORD God, is best understood by that portion of scripture. \
Nebo page 87 – in Moab where Moses viewed the land of Canaan and died.\
Nemuel text page 49 – the son of Simeon he is found in Numbers 26:12. He is the first listed son and defines the first portion of the book of Exodus. the name Nemuel means \’91day of God\’92 which describes the extrication of Israel from Egypt.\
Nile River page 4 – from Ethiopia, the blue Nile and the White Nile from Africa joining at Khartoum charged the mighty life giving muddy black waters of the River Nile. inundating each spring the waters left their fertile silt to be farmed another year. the waters rage is tempered now with dams yet the river is still the strength of Egypt. \
Numbers page 2 – the third of the books written by Moses this is a grand virtuoso of words concerning the history of Israel, but there is a caution for the reader in 16:47 it is the word plague and the meaning of the Hebrew word is a \’91trip of the foot\’92 sublime warning in the life of any believer. the foot has to do with faith.\
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obedience page 8 – not blind but willing obedience to the word of God\
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oblation of the firstfruits page 44 – the Hebrew word is \’91korbawn\’92 something brought near \’91the altar, near the LORD\’92\
olive oil page 30 – the rich and useful oily fluid from the fruit of the olive tree. it is used for anointing the body healing wounds, cooking, and light. it symbolizes the Holy Spirit.\
ordinances page 50 – not laws per say rather guidelines for conscientious living in the place where the Lord has put those that are his.\
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Passover lamb page 82 – when the Angel of Death smote all of the first born in Egypt the blood of the Passover lamb was placed on the lentil and door posts of each Israelite dwelling so that the Angel of Death would Passover those homes of lives who trusted in the LORD God. \
Paul page 93 – of the tribe of Benjamin a stick pharisee he was converted to Jesus and became the Lord\’92s Apostle to the Gentiles by which the Church greatly prospered.\
peace offering page 44 – not a sin offering it was more of a fellowship offering [with God] and of three kinds: thank offering – for prosperity, votive offering – the asking for of a blessing, freewill offering – the desire of thanks. \
People of the Sea page 13 – the Phoenicians who were merchants of the seas including all of the Mediterranean the coasts of Africa and possibly the coast of India, carried a written language that was quite similar to ancient Hebrew, and possibly helped preserve the language thereby for it was in use by them when the Israelites entered Canaan.\
Perfect Offering page 44 – this is the inestimable offering of Jesus the Messiah of Israel upon the cross of Rome by the hand of the leaders of Israel by a plan only God could have devised by knowing the hearts of men who incredibly the Lord died for.\
Perizzites page 94 – perhaps the earliest inhabitants of the lowlands of Canaan who dwelling in unwalled towns and engaging in farming and animal husbandry. \
pillars page 32 – the pillars of the linen curtained courtyard that compassed the Tabernacle separating the camp of Israel from the immediate presence of the LORD God. These were made of acacia wood covered with copper with silver foundation bases. \
Pisgah page 87 – a spot in Mount Nebo where Moses viewed the land of Canaan and was buried by his LORD God.\
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place page 9 – a term applied to the structure of the Holy Celebration where a part of a section of scripture is designated by a name or term from the book of Deuteronomy 33 see page 198 and 199 of the preceding text and page [k] and [l] and especially page [m]. the names are the sons of Jacob there are twelve and tenterms that are defined in Deuteronomy 33. The book headings are designated by branch names also [7] of Jacob\’92s sons determined from the book of Joshua 19:38and the grand-children of Jacob whose names are used are from the corresponding [7] sons and are found in Number 26. These names of the grandsons help understand the movement of each book and are labeled \’91lamps\’92 at the books\’92 heading. \
plagues page 20 – a trip of the foot [faith] take heed.\
Presence page 28 – after reading of Adam and the Woman in the Garden of Eden before the fall, the most desired position a believer could imagine, that could possibly occur to them is to speak face to face with the Lord Jesus and behold his person, that which is our hope.\
Priest John son of Zacharias page 36 – John the Baptist\
Prince of Israel page 11 – he who has strength with God\
Prince of Darkness page 9 – the adversary of God, Satan\
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Prophet page 6 – the person Moses foretold Israel of being the seed of the Woman in Genesis 3:16 built upon with the terms Son [from the begats], refuge, arms thruster, Destroyer [of the enemy], alone [Gods], fountain, land, shield and the sword of the spirit from his mouth, to savior like Moses and priest like Aaron and the Prophet, all in one person and possible because the LORD God is providing him. \
proselyte page 3 – a non-Jewish convert to the Jewish faith\
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q\
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r\
Rachel page 109 – the second wife of Jacob, thus his right hand was her place\
redeemed page 35 – being freed from the bondage of sin and not without the shedding of blood, thus the passover lamb\
Reed Sea page 20 – translated Red Sea in the KJV this is a more accurate understanding seeing that the shores of that body of water were lined with the plant to make papyrus\
Refuge text page [m] – a term describing the person of God inferring the externality of his grace towards Israel and their well placed trust. Deuteronomy 33:27. it is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible \
remission page 5 – simply the taking away of sin so that one is not held responsible\
resurrected page 49 – the act by our Lord which establishes the evidence of eternal life through faith in the report of the Scriptures.\
Reuben text page [m] – the first son of Jacob by Leah his position as head of the tribes was deferred when he offended his father. his name means \’91see a son\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
River Jordan page 74 the beginning of this freshwater river is north and east of Damascus in the Lebanon Mountains. the water pass east of Mount Hermon and flow south into an expanse called the Waters of Mermon from which the waters flow in stream south again into the Sea of Galilee. Leaving in stream again the Sea of Galilee the more renowned portion of this Jordan River forms the division to which the east side children of Israel camped before being led by Joshua to conquer the west shores land of Canaan. John the Baptist witness to and baptized Jesus of Nazareth in its waters just north of where the river ends in the pit of salt called the Dead Sea.\
Rome page 11 – the city was founded by Romulus in 753 B.C. most of the known world was conquered this pagan city from what is now Italy and the Caesar ruled from Rome with such lower local officials like Herod over their conquered provinces. Always the province contained occupational troops especially at the hot spot of Jerusalem. Occupying and draining the provinces produce for Rome yet not \
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quite starving the people they ruled with an iron hand. in about 20 B.C. in Italy along the Appian Way 20,000 recaptured rebel slaves were crucified at one time. the then claimed temporal authority of Rome was taken away when in 1871 A.D. Italy was united under Victor Emmanuel and Rome was made the capital. \
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sacrifice page 67 – the idea of the term is the giving of a worthy portion of one\’92s possessions and increase to a person to whom favor is desired and reverence is due – God. in the first Biblical example Cain and Abel offered sacrifice. the term is most associated with the animal sacrifices of Leviticus although nearly any food offering was accepted, indicating food as life giving. substitution is the Mosaic precept of thought in the animal sacrifices where the blood of the animal is place as evidence and for appeasement from a Holy God. \

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salt page 52,81 – the mineral and food it symbolized hospitality and goodness.\
savior page 3 – a position first given to Moses in relation to the nation Israel who was the shadow the the seed Savior Jesus of Nazareth savior of the world of Israel but rejected his salvation act accomplished the salvation of the nation awaits full restoration upon the Messiah\’92s return.\
salvation page 3 – simply, the idea of safety, deliverance, ease, soundness – both physical and spiritual.\
sanctifying page 45 – to set apart from the secular and sinful, as Holy like the LORD in the Tabernacle was sanctified by the Court Yard that surrounded it.\
Sanhedrin page 78 – the law and justice council of the Jews to set certain ordinances and to hold judiciary court. the Judean eleven member court that heard the case against Jesus had no judicial authority over or to even detain Jesus as long as he stayed in Galilee. they had to refer any case with the sentence of death to Roman authority, thus Jesus was referred to Herod and Pontius Pilate.\
Satan page 11 the adversary of God, and the meaning of the term \
scapegoats 49 – in Levitical ordinance in the goat sacrifice that was spared from death and let go free into the wilderness. see Leviticus 16 or Numbers 29\
scrolls page 21 – \’93rolls\’94 of bleached \’91Levitically clean\’92 animal skins used to keep written copies of the Mosaic Law and other Scriptures.\
secular words page 8 – any writings other than the received text of the Holy Bible\
sees page 18 – understandings, visions so to speak gained from reading the Holy Scriptures\
seed page 5 – the term used from Genesis 3:16 used by the LORD to define the Savior and his actions against the \’91Old Serpent\’92\
Semitic page 13 – a term derived from the name Shem one of the sons of Noah from which the genealogy line of the Messiah is preserved and refers more specifically to written languages with Hebrew as the foundation.\
Shaul text page 165 – a son of Simeon he is found in Numbers 26:13 He is the fifth listed son and so becomes the definition of the book of Deuteronomy. the name Shaul means \’91asked for\’92 indicating that perhaps the final speech of Moses was in fact requested by the people. he is the grandson of Jacob \
shekel of the sanctuary page 35 – an increment of weight of silver. not until the era of Simon Maccabaeus B.C. are Jewish coins verified and then one called a shekel, of silver\
Shekinah page 12,27 – also Shechinah, not used in the Holy Bible but later used by the Jews and Christians to speak of the Divine Presence of God especially between the cherubim upon the mercy seat of the Tabernacle.\
Shield text page [m] – a term describing the person of God inferring the supreme protection afforded towards Israel justifying their well placed trust. the term is first spoken of by the LORD to Abram Genesis 15:1, from Deuteronomy 33:29. it is a place [see \’91place\’92 above] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible \
Sidon page 99 – a Phoenician city north of Tyre along the Mediterranean coast Christ speaks better of her from his reception there than of his home city of Capernaum Matthew 11:22,23 \
silver page 54 – the precious metal used as the huge base foundations for the Tabernacle boards, Exodus 26:19-\
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Simeon text page [m] – the second son of Jacob by Leah, his position as head of the tribes was deferred when he offended his father in the matter about Dinah. he looses his favor with his father when he with his brother Levi slays his sister\’92s lover and their whole city whom she is to marry Jacob not knowing of their plan. his name means \’91heard\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
smitten rock page 23 – the rejected rock that \’91followed\’92 Israel in their wilderness journeys and is the same that was to be used as the base for the Tabernacles lampstick. it \
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was this rock that Moses smote twice marring the picture of Christ having died once for all.\
sin page 63 – simply \’91to miss the mark\’92\
sin-unto-death page 70 refer to the dissertation on page 70 of the compendium\
sockets page 32 the foundation bases cast of silver probably weighing about 117 pounds each there were a total of 96 castings see Exodus 26:19\
Sodom page 99 – a city whose location is long lost but recently thought to be located east of the Dead Sea near the south end of the Salt Sea. It was destroyed by prediction from the LORD to Abraham. Lot also resided there before the destruction.\
speckled bird page 6 – referring to the nation Israel among the many nations of the earth as being favored above them all by the LORD God. Jeremiah 12:9. \
Stephen page 13 – after Christ, first martyr of the Church\
strong (fermented) wine page 80 wine a term used to describe fresh juice of the grapes and other fruits when fermented the Holy Bible refers to the fermentations as in this way\
substitutional death page 34 – the sacrificial animals of Leviticus were used as substitute for the death of the offerer against his sin. then Christ is our substitute having paid the price for our sin and sins\
Sumer page 12 – a state city of the Sumerians an advanced civilization who developed the cuneiform written language which system was adopted by the Babylonians. Ur of the Chaldees from where Abram came was a Sumerian city at the start.\
supplanter page 82 – translated \’91Jacob\’92 in our Bibles it means one who takes for himself that of another \
Sword text page [m] – a term describing the person of God inferring the supreme power afforded towards Israel by the LORD, justifying their well placed trust, from Deuteronomy 33:29. it is a place [see \’91place\’92 above] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible\
synagogue page 92 – a word of Greek origin meaning of \’91an assemblage of persons, the first traces of them come from the Maccabean period\
\
t\
table of showbread page 32 – the article of furniture in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle where the showbread representing the body of Christ to the Christian Church was ritually placed. it was made of acacia wood and covered with gold. its place was along the north wall of the Holy Place opposite the the lampstick.\
Tabernacle of Witness page 2 – the edifice that sat in the middle of the camp of Israel in their wilderness journeys where the Presence of the LORD dwelt. see the second part of the book of Exodus of this preceding text under Jamin Benjamin page 72\
Temple page 53 – the structure of which there were three, while Israel remained a nation in ` the land, the first was Solomon\’92s the second Zerobbabel\’92s the third built over the top the the post Diaspora era was built by Herod and is the Temple where Jesus sat with his disciples and taught. none are left standing after Titus removed all of Jerusalem save for the Fort of Antolia where the present Moslem Dome of Rock is sited. Ezekiel in his excoriate concludes with the description of millennium Temple when the Messiah rules the earth from there.\
Temple flocks page 78 – the sacrificial animals were kept solely for the purpose of offerings in herds and flocks by Temple shepherds and guarded closely.\
\
\
\
The Head page 113 – a term not bound in the Holy Bible as referring to God where an entire book is devoted to his description as such, although Ephesians offers the term four times, Ephesians 1:22, 4:15, 5:23, 23 \
\

\fs24 138
\fs20 \
Glossary\
\
\
The Holy Celebration page 59 – a presentation of scripturally confirmed references, of a guide by names of the patriarchs, using the meanings, to form a structure of text divisions. The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. Psalms29:7\
The Throne page 29 – not often considered in this term but the mercy seat upon the ark of the covenant of the Tabernacle [later Temple] where in the old covenant the LORD God of Israel dwelt and today in the Heavenly Tabernacle Lord Jesus Christ presides from.\
Thrust text page [m] – a term describing the person of God inferring his action in extricating the enemy from his presence and from his people afforded towards Israel by the LORD, justifying their well placed trust, from Deuteronomy 33:27. it is a place [see \’91place\’92 above] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible\
Thummim page 76 – literally \’91perfections\’92 also an object thought to be a small black stone that was placed in the breastplate of the High Priest along with a white one \’91the Urim\’92 to determine the will of the LORD God when by divine guidance the priest drew out one or the other, black for \’91no\’92 and white for \’91yes\’92\
Tyre page 99 – a Phoenician city not far north of Mount Carmel on the Mediterranean coast where King Hiram reigned in the days of King David and Solomon who furnished cedar wood from Lebanon\’92s mountain forests for the Temple and David\’92s and Solomon\’92s homes. \
\
u\
unclean page 47 – concerning Levitically acceptable animals those other than parted the hoof and chewed the cud were not to be eaten by the Israelites. \
Urim page 76 – literally \’91lights\’92 also an object thought to be a small white stone that was placed in the breastplate of the High Priest along with a black one \’91the Thummim\’92 to determine the will of the LORD God when by divine guidance the priest drew out one or the other, black for \’91no\’92 and white for \’91yes\’92\
\
v\
vision page 28 – the most explicative example is that of Ezekiel the first chapter; but today is restricted to insights and understandings from the writings of the Holy Bible that being the total revealed truth concerning the Living Divine God.\
vow page 82 – literally \’91promise\’92 Jacob may be the most memorable demonstration in the Holy Bible Genesis 28:20-22. \
\
\
\
\
w\
white linen robes page 78 – the clothing prescribed by Mosaic ordinance to be worn by the Livitical priests for performing their duties of the Tabernacle and later the Temple.\
wilderness page 22 – the \’91bewilderment\’92 that accompanies the early years of salvation where the believer wanders until faithlessness is put away and he can inter into the scriptures in true light of their meaning. the area of the Sinai peninsula where Israel wandered for 38 years while the unbelievers died before entry into Canaan\
windows in heaven page 54 – 2Kgs. 7:2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
\fs24
\fs20 Is the reference for the understanding that the places represented with a name in the Holy Celebration are windows to see into that particular portion of scriptures to see the many faces of the Savior Jesus Christ to whom the scriptures point to. \
\
\

\fs24 139
\fs20 \
Glossary\
\
\
x\
\
y\
yod page 17 – the first consonantal letter of the name Jehovah according to the understanding from page 51 and 52 of the preceding text. \
\
z\
Zacharias son of Barachias page 35 the father of the Priest John the Baptist\
Zebulun text page [m] – the tenth son of Jacob by Leah, his name means \’91dwelling\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
Zerah text page 121 – a son of Simeon he is found in Numbers 26:13 He is the fourth listed son and so becomes the definition of the book of Numbers. the name Shaul means \’91dawn\’92 indicating the grandeur of the future of Israel as described in the book of Numbers. he is the grandson of Jacob\
Zipporah page 14 – the Midianite wife of Moses who gave him two sons Gershom and Eleazar\
Zerubbabel page 77 – the King of Israel who came back to Jerusalem after the 70 year deportation to Babylon, he began building the post Diaspora Temple the second one.\
Zorobabel page 77 – the Greek to English translation of the name Zerubbabel being a translation of the Hebrew spelling.
\fs24 \
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
\
140\
Bibliography\
\
\
\
The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, Benjamin Davidson\
\
\
The Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible, from the received text\
\
\
The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, James Strongm S.T.D., LL.D\
\
\
The Interlinear Bible, Jay P. Green, Sr.\
\
\
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia ,James Millar from volume IV page 2831\
\
\
The New Brown – Driver – Briggs – Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon, Francis Brown, D.D., D.Litt.\
\
\
The People\’92s Bible Encyclopedia, C.R. Barnes\
\
\
\
Roget\’92s Thesaurus, Jack Luzzatto and Loy Morehead\
\
\
\
The Temple , by Alfred Edersheim page 117\
\
\
\
The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot , by Dr. Ernest L. Martin\
\
\
\
Unger\’92s Bible Dictionary, by Merrill F. Unger\
\
\
\
Webster\’92s Dictionary, second edition, Noah Webster\
\
\
\
141\
Scripture References\
\
\
page\
a\
Acts 2:2 99\
Acts 2:17 34\
Acts 7:22 12\
Acts 10:14 47\
Acts 15:19,20 50, 68\
Acts 28:27,28 48\
\
b\
\
c\
Colosians 1:18-20 83\
Colosians 3:23 XI\
I Corinthians 3:5-7 111\
I Corinthians 3:16 27\
I Corinthians 11:24 37 \
I Corinthians 16:22 X\
II Corinthians 13:10 115\
\
d\
Deuteronomy 3:26 87\
Deuteronomy 7:8 91\
Deuteronomy 10:12 94\
Deuteronomy 10:20,21 91, 94\
Deuteronomy 11:4 95\
Deuteronomy 18:3,4 97\
Deuteronomy 18:15 29, 98\
Deuteronomy 18:18 117\
Deuteronomy 27:5 100\
Deuteronomy 31:24-26 104\
Deuteronomy 34:10-12 117\
\
e\
Ephesians 1:3 53, 111\
Ephesians 1:17-23 109\
Ephesisans 1:20-22 83\
Ephesians 2:8 3\
Ephesians 4:22-24 4\
Ephesians 6:16 116\
Exodus 1:4 16\
Exodus 2:3 10\
Exodus 2:11 105\
Exodus 3:7 6\
\
142 Scriptures References \
page\
\
Exodus 3:12 23\
Exodus 15:17 I\
Exodus 18:3,4 14\
Exodus 20:25 34\
Exodus 24:10;25:40 29\
Exodus 26:33 32\
Exodus 31:18 36\
Exodus 32:15,16 37\
Exodus 33:18 38\
Exodus 33:20 39\
Ezekiel 48:35 53\
\
f\
\
g\
Galatians 3:28:29 II\
Galatians 3:13 73\
Galatians 5:25 98\
Galatians 6:1 48\
Genesis 1:6 8,26\
Genesis 1:7 61\
Genesis 1:8 97\
Genesis 3:20 62\
Genesis 15:1 23\
Genesis 49:3 55\
Genesis 49:9 111\
\
h\
Hebrews 2:1-3 46, 71\
Hebrews 2:17 66\
Hebrews 4:14,15;-5:4 35, 62\
Hebrews 7:24 52\
Hebrews 9:22 5\
Hebrews 10:12 83\
Hebrews 10:10-18 70\
Hebrews 10:31, 38 II\
Hebrews 12:28-13:6 95\
Hebrews 13:8 3\
Hebrews 13:15,16 67\
Hebrews 14:14,15 46\
Hosea 6:6 3\
\
i\
Isaiah 53:5 31\
143\
Scriptures References\
\
page\
\
j\
James 5:16 88\
Jeremiah 12:9 6\
\
Job 13:15 72\
John 1:4 52,108\
John 1:7 61\
John 1:11 108\
John 1:15 82\
John 1:34 39\
John 1:36 35\
John 1:38,39 58, 63\
John 2:4,5 65\
John 2:24,25 55\
John 6:30-35 92\
John 6:56 93\
John 6:66-69 92\
John 8:28 19\
John 8:41,42 55\
John 11:41-43 87\
John 11:44 88\
John 12:1 51\
John 12:12-15 I, 51\
John 12:14 75\
John 12:25 89\
John 12:26 89\
John 13:34 50, 34\
John 13:35 50, 53\
John 14:19 89\
John 14:21 89\
John 14:22,23 90\
John 14:23 24\
John 14:26 93\
John 15:10 91\
John 15:14 53\
John 15:16 VII\
John 167&13 34\
John 16:21 47\
John 17:12-15 64\
John 19:34 18\
John 20:17 49\
John 25:31\
I John 1:5 33\
I John 1:7 98\
144\
Scripture References\
\
page\
\
I John 2:1,2,3 60, 101\
I John 3:13-17 101\
I John 4:6 91\
II John :6 98\
III John :9 114\
Joshua 6:48-51 30\
Joshua 18:19 III\
Jude :21 90\
\
\
Jude 22, 23 69\
\
k\
\
l\
Leviticus 1:2 44\
Leviticus 2:13 81\
Leviticus 11:44,45 37\
Leviticus 17:11 50\
Leviticus 23:40 51\
Leviticus 23:41 I\
Leviticus 25:23 53\
Leviticus 26:5 52\
Luke 8:20,21 65\
Luke 12:14 38\
Luke 12:48 51\
Luke 17:12-14 68\
Luke 18:29,30 95\
Luke 21:5,5 99\
Luke 22:1-24 48\
Luke 22:42 83\
Luke 24:27&44 VIII\
\
m\
Mark 1:11 VI\
Mark 11:5 65\
Mark 12:27 III\
Mark 14:1, 21-24,29 66\
Mark 14:61-62 78\
Matthew 1:21 117\
Matthew 5:3-12 66\
Matthew 5:13 81\
Matthew 10:29-33 74\
Matthew 11:21-24 99\
145\
Scripture References\
\
page\
\
Matthew 11:28 68\
Matthew 23:35 36\
Matthew 23:37 IX\
Matthew 26:26, -28 52, 82\
Matthew 26:30 107\
Micah 6:8 94, 105\
\
n\
Numbers 1:53 60\
Numbers 6:13 65\
Numbers 6:14 66\
Numbers 6:23 66 \
\
\
Numbers 12:1 14\
Number 12:3 a\
Numbers 28:7 80\
\
o\
\
p\
I Peter 2:24 67\
Philippians 3:21 104\
Proverbs 3:1,2 22\
Psalm 50:1 53\
Psalm 104:15 80\
Psalm 106:9-12 22\
Psalm 119:103-105 IV\
Psalm 139:13-15 26\
\
q\
\
r\
Revelation 1:5 27\
Revelation 5:9 36\
Revelation 8:3 40\
Revelation 15:3,4 cover\
Romans 8:14-17 84\
Romans 8:28 X\
Romans 10:17 15\
Romans 11:2-4 104\
Romans 11:29 3\
Romans 12:1,2 67\
Romans 15:4 61 \
146\
Scripture References\
\
page\
\
s\
\
t\
I Thessalonians4:16,17 104\
I Timothy 2:3-4 109\
I Timothy 2:4 3\
II Timothy 2:15 79\
II Timothy 4:10 102\
\
u\
v\
w\
x\
y\
\
z\
Zechariah 9:9 29\
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147\
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\
\
Joshua\
Compendium\
\
\
\
Joseph E. Swearengin,\
Reverend Doctor of Biblical Studies, D.D.\
\
\
begun 2/3/2001\
\
Prologue\
\
The extreme brevity of the commentary concerning the book of Joshua allows for a very small work in comparison with the larger volume of the observations concerning the four books of Moses and perhaps not obliquely, considering the leadership that the one concluded the other assumed, still must be recognized as a new step of faith for the new nation Israel. However, the book of Joshua should not be approached lightly, and no less examined than any or all of the preceding four books of Moses; in fact, if one is to follow the thoughts and intents of the Holy Spirit in providing the Holy Bible it is essential to consider not only the colorful conquest of Jericho, that it is most remembered for, but now with the dispersion of the places of the names of the sons of Jacob in the book of Joshua the accomplishments of the shadowed Son of God succor by the words that play their scenes upon the pages.\
In the orderliness of the books of the Holy Scriptures, this is the first title that is represented by the name of a Person and his name is quite unique. Mentioned in Numbers 13:16, it is Oshea meaning, deliverer, then changed by Moses to Jehoshua [Joshua] meaning, Jehovah-saved, the words nearly exact in sense of definition except in the latter it is the God of Israel, Jehovah, that is the savior; taking away the thought that the person Oshea was the deliverer of the new nation of Israel. Whereas, the name Jesus fits his person and task. The custom begun by Moses is observed by Jesus the Savior when Jesus renames his disciples such as Simon – – Cephas [Peter].\
Savior is the literal meaning of the Holy One\’92s name, Jesus. This gives the comprehensive relationship of thought that the names Joshua and Jesus delivers and in their respectful offices both saving one nation from the secular wilderness; that pattern which is not unlike the godless world that Jesus draws us from and into his marvelous presence. \
a\
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Contents\
\
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name page\
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\
\
\
Prologue a\
\
\
\
Contents b \
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The Book of Joshua [text], pages intro & 201-205 first\
\
\
The Joshua Compendium 1 \
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Illustration 32 \
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A Supplement of Thoughts 33\
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Index 36\
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\
Glossary 39\
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\
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Scriptures Referenced 43\
\
Bibliography 4\
\
b\
\
\
\
Joshua Compendium\
\
\
Emerging from the tribe of Ephraim the man Joshua magnifies Jesus who sprang from Israel. From fruitfulness [Ephraim] came Joshua. From the holy nation of Israel [Prince with God] came Jesus [Savior from God]. From the construction of the Holy Celebration, page [k] of the foregoing text, one new branch of the structure begins having the name Zebulun, meaning dwelling, is shown. The book of Joshua is the first book of the branch that defines the spirit of wisdom, that is to fear or trust God for spiritual well being; which, is the reason that God is sought us out when we were hungry and aimless and without hope in the world. But now as servants by the close of the book of Joshua: 1Thessalonians 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: and 2Thessalonians 1:4,5 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may \
#\
be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: having conquered in the affliction the promised dwelling for themselves having been directed by the LORD God who is our rest and comfort and Psalm 90:1 Lord, thou hast been our dwellingplace in all generations. \
Today much of our suffering is undetected because it is separation from hearing the words of God, yes, just plain \’91ain\’92t got time to read the Bible,\’92 and it reeks its toll upon our hearts and souls and minds to the extent that the people of God who would be quiet servants confide to psychiatrists the things that are dead to God anyway [the old man], in efforts to obtain stabilization in their lives, because they have forgotten the precepts from the beginnings of their new life in Christ. The Church suffers from ignorance of the words of God without sensitivity to the damage that is done to it daily. A thorough examination of all of the facets of the things that lack in either the Church as a whole or in an individual can be gathered from the conditions of the seven churches in the book of The Revelation and is an excellent guide to for conscientious. Don\’92t be fooled by the guffaws of the secular world our Lord cometh IICorinthians 16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. And Jude :14,15 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.\
Now these are hard things to embrace and this book of Joshua is a violent account but remember the Adversary of God that old Serpent Satan is a violent enemy of our God. Perhaps, the book of Job is more familiar or look and see, that it was Satan who caused the physical maladies that engulfed Job, it will only take ten minutes to read the first two pages of Job.\
#\
But the physical is not the underlying difficulty, it is the resistance to the term spiritual \’91servant\’92 that causes the reluctance. One either serves one master, or the other, and it is Jesus Christ who has purchased us for himself. We are, indeed, like Job in between an argument of Satan and God and this instance there is no middle ground, one or the other has control of our thoughts. Titus 2:7,8 In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. This shows a person who essentially is a minister but any without that heavy burden could easily give themselves to the \’91pattern\’92 that is described by Paul and in overcoming the powers of darkness would be a \’91servant\’92 of Jesus the Messiah of whom the man Joshua presents a shadow.\
Note that Joshua and the people of Israel are considered as one, as the LORD God addresses them in the first sentence of the book. This is like we are in Christ Jesus only God only can look upon the righteous Lamb who stands between the Living Holy God and we who yet inhabit mortality. It is enough then to understand that to continue with the Savior is to be his servant whether as a minister or as a housewife or laborer or as in the instance with Joshua as warriors that do battle against the enemies of the LORD and illustrate the nature of our own warfare to have our dwelling in Christ. James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.\
\
The place REUBEN in the section Sered\
\
Using the literal meanings of the names in the above heading a preview of not only this place is established but for the entire book of Joshua. \
#\
[Reuben], Look a son, coupled with [Sered] tremble, glimpses the sense of what follows. As it were Moses, a god unto Aaron, at his death designates to his office, Joshua, at whose feet the enemies in the promised land did exceedingly fear and quake. Odd as it is the LORD God did not instruct Moses to name one of his sons as the new leader of Israel, Gershom or Eliezer. But of course, they were the sons of Zipporah, the Ethiopian woman, and the earlier contempt from the camp concerning Zipporah [Numbers12:1] would certainly have overflowed upon the sons also. Moses must have realized this before hand and prepared his sons and himself for that time, for not even a hint of objection nor inquiry to the LORD God is found in the Holy Writ from the man of God as the life of leadership was handed over to Joshua, a minister of Moses.\
Joshua 1:8 or from the preceding text page 201, line 15,16,17, 1st paragraph, of [REUBEN]: This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. And when Joshua has good success then the people of Israel have good success, seeing from the opening verse that they are bound together by the words of the LORD God. The simplicity of the \’91do\’92 is so simple that the heart questions and attempts to find more \’91do\’92s\’92; but there are none and Joshua is thus prepared because he has faithfully followed his spiritual teacher Moses in receiving the ten commandments and as his minister in the preparations of the scrolls of the law that Moses presented before his death.\
On that certain day, in the city of Nazareth where he had grown to manhood, in the synagogue where he had attended and like other occasions when he had read from the scrolls there, except that his earthly ministry had \
#\
then begun, Jesus found the place where he chose to read in the scrolls and he read. The example is terrific, since the Word of God opened the writings, having been the person who gave the words to be written therein and so knew the words to be read, then how can we who still looking into the glass darkly refuse to console ourselves in the Savior by reading from the Holy Words. We refuse good success in our spiritual lives and our earthly happiness and hope in his imminent return. A disciple watches his master and learns while a servant watches and does as he has been taught. Joshua instructs his people. They in turn bow to the commands of Joshua and he encourages them. John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father\’92s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. \
\
The place [ ] in the section Sered\
\
Simeon has not a spot in the book of Joshua as in the books before, but does resume his place and character in all of the books that follow. This occurrence or rather nonoccurrence can be attributed to the demeanor of the book of Joshua. The nation Israel camped on the east side of the Jordan poised to enter the promised land had previously and thoroughly been purged and instructed by the LORD through Moses and in the opening of Joshua the new leader at the close of the place Reuben gives his encouragement. There is now, no place nor need for, the hearing of instructions. The time to act to \’91do\’92 has arrived. The servants of the LORD God emerge from the unholy mass that were brought out of Egypt to conquer their inheritance given them from the LORD God. Hebrews 4:9-11 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of \
#\
God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.\
\
The place JUDAH in the section Sered\
\
On the day before Israel enters the land Joshua designates two men to spy out the city of Jericho before they officially enter the land to dominate for the LORD God and themselves the occupants of this first city Jericho. Joshua is to be praised for his candidness in choosing only two men, Moses committee of twelve feel much short of the expectations of the LORD. Located some two miles west of the River Jordan, the rivers green basin lay flat rising gradually and interrupted by the city mound of Jericho before the higher beginnings of the rising mountain range that eventually approaches Jerusalem. But for now the two men, one mentioned in Matthew 1:5 named Salmon the son of Naasson of the tribe of Judah, advent possibly the oldest continually inhabited city of the east, perhaps from 9000 B.C., not even rivaled by Damascus of Syria. Pent up faith of thirty eight years of restraint sends them undaunted to their task where they learn that the reputation of the LORD God of Israel in delivering them from Egypt has preceded them. And it is the faith of one woman at her inn that saves not only the two spies but herself and her entire family from the judgment of the LORD God upon the unbelieving in the LORD God of Israel who tremble [Sered] behind the massive walls of the city of Jericho whose stones formed, as it were, the enclosure of the altar of smoking sacrifice soon to take place. The outer wall of the city was formidable six feet thick on the edge of the city mound. An inner wall a space of some fourteen feet set as wide and some 30 feet tall. There were houses built over the space \
#\
between the walls that rested on the walls tops as a crown to the city. This may account for the report of Rahab\’92s house being on the cities outer wall enabling her to afford the spies an escape route. It is the praise of faith [the Judah of belief] that is in Joshua of the tribe of Ephriam of Joseph, that has initiated the LORD\’92s two servants into action. \
Now of this interaction with Rahab in saving the spies there comes a later union of Salmon and Rahab who become the ancestors of David the great King of Israel and thus ancestor to our own Lord Jesus. Faith can do wonderful things in the lives it touches and it takes such a small amount. These words from Matthew show the stated example: Matthew 17:20 … for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Modern day Jericho is located further east towards the Jordan River from the mountain based older Jericho that Joshua was about to deal with. And so the spies return good report to Joshua: 2:24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us. From a seemingly small matter such grand things came forth and in our own lives also.\
\
The place LEVI in the section Sered\
\
And Joshua rose early in the morning;… Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week,… Although the verse from Joshua and the verse from Mark speak of differing events the representation is purposeful and the enlightenment compelling. It is only in the resurrected life that possession begins to take place; whether for the nation Israel as they cross the Jordan \
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River, created new after the multitudinous deaths of faithless in the wilderness, or in the believer at the close of each of the four Gospels in this closing age of the Church.\
More confusing though, having understood through the Holy Celebration: the symbolisms of the names to Jesus Christ, the examples of Israel in the believer\’92s life in Christ, the conversion from disciple to servant, and now in this book of Joshua the mandate of faith; for the believer-servant today – – what is there to possess? since the pattern of the nation Israel marks example to todays believer. Consider first the goodness of the inheritance of the promised land to the new nation Israel, a land of corn and wine, a land flowing with milk and honey, the land of blessings. Then: Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. An interesting occurrence happens in the Holy Bible before this quote from Matthew. The phrase Come unto me is found twenty times beginning in Genesis. Were it not for the multitude of words before Matthew the meek and lowly Messiah should have been identified by this terminology alone.\
But, again the unsettling question today is: what is there to possess? The heart yearns to hear his words to hold Jesus by the feet to thrust our fingers into his hands and his side and lean upon his breast at meal; but in all of the diversities of the vast world it is empty of any sort of thing like Jesus offered and that which is before the believer only tells of the words that he spoke to someone else two thousand years ago. There are shadows of Jesus in this minister or in that church-goer or in that Bible-teacher in that religious novel or in a Bible commentary; but, even then those shadows become easily obscured and the desire intensifies to personally possess the Lord Jesus. \
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The answer is before us. Alas, these long years of now and then reading the Holy Bible, the truth descends upon our heart and mind like an avalanche of revelation – – The Holy Bible, is the true and accurate revelation of Jesus Christ. After cursing the long wasted years of searching blindly, we plunge our attention into the Holy Book and find that what we thought we knew does not quite match what we read. Perhaps, because it was something someone told us or we read from a devotional or because we did not quite recall it correctly. Possessing means becoming familiar with the object of our delight. Long ago we vaguely remember that Sunday School teacher or a friend or Pastor who urged us to read the Bible daily and now the reason is clearly seen. We have a friend who is closer than a brother if we let him be – – by reading a portion of the Scriptures each day and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us of our Savior we possess the promise. Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. \
In this place Levi, meaning joined, enlivens to us, is the showing of the place where the LORD God was to dwell which would belong to the nation Israel and a kindred with the soil of their inheritance from the LORD began and cannot be undone either in the heart of the Jew or in the intent of their LORD God. It had been forty years since the waters of the Reed Sea had parted for them and they had crossed dry shod into the Scriptures of Moses. Now with the flooded Jordan River before them again the waters part and about three million people cross into the river plain on the west side of the River Jordan. It is a large green plain that they passed through to reach their camp and there were symbolic gestures made with stones during the crossing. And Joshua was magnified in the sight of the children of Israel as Moses had been during his life time. We need to consider carefully to understand that the Jesus of before his crucifixion was \’91the Moses\’92 who kept and, indeed, was the \
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perfect embodiment of the law. But it is to the resurrected Jesus, the living Savior, that we need to apply our spiritual sensitivities and see him as Joshua; because, it is the Lord Jesus that shall soon return for his beloved Church, it is he to whom we will become joined at the last trumpet sound and that for eternity.\
The man Joshua meets the Captain of the host of the LORD in the place Levi. Here he bows before the image of the person to whom he challenges at first. This time God speaks face to face with a man other than Moses when at other times it is the word of the LORD by which God communicates with Joshua and is thus joined to Joshua for the battles that are ahead for the children of Israel. Noticeable is the shortness of the encounter that brings the scene to the same point of Moses at the burning bush where Joshua is commanded to remove his shoes from his feet because the presence he experienced was with the Holy one of Israel. Due to the nature of the situation the Captain stood ready with drawn sword indicating again that the time for hearing [Simeon] was suspended and the time for action was immediate. Joshua receives his instructions and the assault upon the land of promise begins at Jericho. \
There are no horses or chariots or battering rams or engines of war to hurl stones as with the armies of the people of the earth. Present though and to the horror of the inhabitants of Jericho is the Ark of the Covenant covered with: Numbers 4:5,6 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil, and cover the ark of testimony with it: And shall put thereon the covering of badgers\’92 skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. The Ark was the very private part of the presence of the LORD God with Israel and it was never uncovered and open to even the eyes of the children of Israel other \
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than the Levite priests who ministered the sanctuary. No, the battle of Jericho was the LORD\’92s as he had promised Israel the inventions of man were not needed to intensify the fear upon the other inhabitants of the land of Canaan. And in the believer we are at rest to know that the war inside of us is the Lord\’92s and all of our efforts are unnecessary having read of the example set in the book of Joshua. But we agonize still to know the semblance of the many cities conquered by Israel to the fortresses of sin [Jericho] in our own lives and we slough off to read this wonderful book filled with the many victories of faith. Matthew 10:33,34 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.\
It must be remembered that the accounts of destructions in the book of Joshua came upon Canaan because of the righteous judgment of the LORD God as he earlier states to Abram: Genesis. 15:13-16 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. The Amorties inhabited Canaan.\
The call to holiness was so greatly important to the nation of Israel that when only one of the men disobeyed an order the whole of the nation suffered. In the congregations of the Lord today this is mostly missed even when the blessing of the Lord is lacking and there is no understanding of why, because the Old Covenant examples have been shoved aside as not applying to the New Covenant Church. God has not and does not change and the requirements for \
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approaching him are no less demanding today than in Joshua\’92s days. This is shown clearly in the assault upon Ai, meaning heap, a city east of Bethel perhaps not far from where Jacob chose a stone for his pillow and made his vow when he fled from Esau his brother. \
Practically though, how does this apply to a local congregation? Well, the local congregation is a group who have come together to serve the Lord their Savior with prayers and songs of joyful thanks and outreach. To serve him better one mind of many is essential as most begin their mission. But as time goes on and new generations grow into the church the former treatises are given less consideration by some and some stray away or do not prepare their hearts to holiness properly as Achan [the name means, troublesome] sinned in the close of the place Levi. The verse in Leviticus for Israel, is brought up to memory: Leviticus 11:45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. And to the church in the book of 1 Peter1:14-16 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. The city of Jericho, meaning fragrance, shows the success of holiness while the defeat of the city of Ai shows the lack of the devotion to the Holy God. The fragrant Jericho fortress of ones heart could be: Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. \
However, the closing thought in the place Levi concerns the putting away of sin that spoiled the holiness of not only the individual, but in the illustration of Achan, spoils the holiness of the entire camp of Israel. The penalty is sever as all that is Achan is destroyed. Today, with the flesh already judged, Ephesians 2:3-7, the meek and lowly Savior has made a way for us that \
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is no less abolishing: 1John 1:9-2:2 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: \
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The place BENJAMIN in the section Sered\
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The beginning of the place Benjamin is not so much a newness of thought but the conclusion of the matter in Levi that prevented Israel from continuing on to possess. And so, the LORD God demonstrates his great love and instructs his nation, once again cleansed, to take up arms and continue against Ai. Thus, the beginning of the son of Jacob\’92s right hand, speaking of the right hand as the working part of the body by which the sword is held and possession is accomplished. Benjamin is a very long place as far as the amount of words, compared to the other places, and this is so because it is the Son of God who has wrot salvation for his children and the picture before us is vivid. Remember the instructions concerning the construction of altars Deuteronomy 27:5 – – that they were to be built with a surround of stones upon which no tool had been used. We can do nothing to add to the work of Jesus Christ our Savior. We struggle for Christian understanding and maturity when we do not have to and unwittingly bar the realizations that show us his unfathomable love; when by reaching into the Holy Bible [receiving] all spiritual blessings are ours already – such as innate happiness. \
The servants of the LORD God take the city of Ai destroying all remembrances of the old Canaan to make way for the new life of Israel. And \
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found first as an instruction and here as the real event: Joshua 8:30 Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal, A very interesting site has been found in recent years [1983] on Mount Ebal in the holy land and was excavated revealing a structure of unworked stones and over four thousand Levitical clean animal bones burnt thereon. The spot is determined the place that Moses spoke of in Naphtali of Deuteronomy and that Joshua built that is recorded in Joshua 8:30,31, paragraph 3 at the bottom of page 208 of the Joshua text going before this. A solemn witness to the faithfulness of Joshua to his LORD God through the instructions of Moses.\
The city-states [kingdoms] confederate against Joshua join forces. Whether it was the added pressure upon the leader of Israel or even if that event is chronological order is not known from the Scriptures; however, Joshua makes his only error of his career by letting his people make a league with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan a mistake that was warned against Deuteronomy 7:2, and for which Israel suffered for afterwords even though the Gibeonites became Temple slaves to gather the wood and draw water for the Israelites Tabernacle worship. A type of thorn in the side, so to speak, and in the days after King Saul, David the Great King of Israel was compelled to deliver up seven of Saul\’92s relatives to appease the Gibeonites wrath. 2Samuel 21:1-9. \
Instructed of the LORD to proceed to war against the inhabitants of the land Joshua spoke to the LORD in the form of a quote from a book that is otherwise lost to us named Jasher, the name meaning book of the righteous. It is quoted again in 2Samuel 1:17,18. Evidently a book of odes in praise to theocratic heroes it was known to the very godly ones of the Israel, it is thought the scroll was lost during the captivity. The existence of Jasher embellishes the concept of the book of Genesis being a collection of scrolls and \
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others that were taken up from Egypt by Moses along with the bones of Joseph. The sun stood still in the sky, a phenomenon that astronomers have verified, when the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man. \
Gilgal seems to be the place of the permanent camp of Israel some two million people who stayed in camp, although the warriors of the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan joined with the nine and half tribes on the west side of the Jordan River leaving their families to tend their inheritance there. From Gilgal Joshua launches a campaign against thirty one city-state kingdoms that carries him into his very late years, for he was a very old man when the LORD instructed him to divide the land for inheritance unto the tribes of Israel. Of the cities that Joshua conquered Hazor is of particular interest. The only northern city destroyed by fire in Joshua\’92s campaign it was the strong central power for many cities about it to whom Jabin the king of Hazor sought help against Joshua. In the book of Judges Deborah and Barak deliver the city again to the Israelites who then hold it until the captivity. Solomon fortified the city and levied a tax upon it. The cities location was lost until in1926 when Garstang discovered the 900 by 450 meter tel [mound]. A team of archaeologists from the Hebrew University began excavations of the site in1955. Then the Rothschild Expedition at Hazor led by Israel\’92s Yigael Yadin during 1956 through1959 brought to light for the first time since Joshua the ashes of his destruction of the city. The father of archaeologist Yigael Yadin, from the Hebrew University, was instrumental in obtaining the beginnings of the Dead Sea Scrolls as they began to be found by a Bedouin shepherd in1947. The fascinating part of the Hazor episode is the meaning of the name coupled with the function that it held in the Canaanite society. Hazor means, enclosure, village, that is a secure place and was then the center for many lesser cities who looked to it presumably for guidance and leadership. \
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The illusion is to \’91security\’92 the aurora that we \’91modernites\’92 surround ourselves with. We have the convenience of city living at or nearby, populous for if nothing else, the feeling of safety and the greatest for last in the list the hollowed \’91insurance\’92 made fast to us by laws of the land. But when Jesus enters the picture of our lives our temporal \’91security\’92 is shown for what it is – – temporal, while the promises of Jesus Christ surpass death itself and the insecurity of this life is shown for what it really is and we then rest our confidences upon our Savior. Now the other things are still in place but our attentions and confidence is transferred to the eternal promises in which we place our hope.\
The other cities, Makkedah, meaning herdsman\’92s place – – Libnah meaning transparency, whiteness – – Debir means sanctuary, place of the oracle – – and Ai means heap – – are the major cities in the place Benjamin that Joshua conquered and with some inventful insight can show the workings of the old heart of the servant whose new home is in the Lord Jesus where after thirty-eight years of wandering is grateful and anxious to inhabit. It seems strange that only Gibeon of the peace loving Hivites, as fearful of the Israelites as Rahab told, resisted by making peace with Joshua. Thus it is that the war in ourselves to inhabit Christ continues when we make peace with old habits.\
Thirty and one kings of the cities that Joshua conquered are listed; perhaps, we should be so lucky to have as many close acquaintances as that when we meet the Lord for him to replace with the holy host that are his, if that is the true understanding of the listing of these important but contemptibly ungodly rulers. When the labors of these wars were accomplished by Joshua the LORD God instructed him to divide the land west of the Jordan River unto the nine and one half tribes. Reuben, Gad and one half of the tribe of Manasseh had their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River and \
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had been allotted to them while Moses had yet lived. While at Gilgal Joshua is approached by the tribe of Judah and Caleb in particular who was one of the two spies of the twelve that Moses sent, Joshua being the other, who gave a good report concerning the land of Canaan. He asks for his inheritance and so follows the inheritance of the entire tribe of Judah that is notably described and a short interim concerning the wonderful bequeath to Caleb\’92s daughter. Notice that the portions include the names of the cities that included within the individual allotments. The meaning here is clear, for a city is often named after a man and is also a waking, a place that is guarded by watch. From this definition comes the term place that is applied to the names of Jacob\’92s children It would seem that at that same station of Gilgal, Joshua designated Ephraim\’92s and the remaining one half of Manasseh\’92s inheritance. These are the two sons of Joseph who is blessed by Jacob with a double portion of inheritance thereby. This also balances the fact that Levi did not obtain an inheritance but the LORD was his inheritance thus still giving twelve separate inheritances of division to the land of promise. As the commentary continues in the Holy Celebration [the previous text] Ephraim is the next place and Manasseh follows to form what would otherwise be one place, Joseph, and here in the book of Joshua, where Simeon is not utilized as a place, retains the blessed number of twelve places. This peculiarity is particular to Joshua, while the other following books in the branch Zebulun include the name Simeon but only the name Joseph, his sons being inclusive, from then on in the other books of the Holy Bible where the son\’92s names are utilized.\
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The place EPHRIAM in the section Sered\
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Should brevity become the succession of the Compendium; then the \
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place Ephriam is the instance to use the mask. However, in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit does in fact use that device to sprinkle the secrets of faith laden words to nourish the heart and calm the desperate spirit throughout the length. Here it could be said accurately that Ephriam is the shadow of the goodness of the Lord Jesus through the name\’92s meaning, fruitfulness. If the wonderful works of faith that are described in the Gospels do not convince the doubting mind of the fruitfulness of the Lord Jesus then the magnitude of two thousand years of ever increasing conversions to the faith must. \
The proportions of the lot of Ephraim is in the heart of the land neither bordered by the Mediterranean Sea nor the River Jordan with Shiloh and Mount Gerizim and Mount Ephriam enclosed within. The lot formed nearly all of the northern border of Judah\’92s allocation almost competing for prominence in a predictable way because of the misunderstanding of Jacob\’92s blessing where the designation of the family head is nearly unidentifiable between Joseph and Judah and it could be supposed that when the rift between Israel and Judah did occur after the death of Solomon it had ready roots.\
Of the many cities of Canaan these many were by todays definition small unwalled villages where perhaps some Canaanites were yet living that had not been driven out, but where Israel settled in side by side being the conquerors. Such was the case of Jerusalem, in the lots of Judah and Benjamin, the Holy City of the Great King being on the same boarder of each tribe. At the time the homes were built of undressed stone, some may have been plastered, and with log ceiling beams that had carefully crossed branches and then brush to hold up a soil partition from the rain which was packed tightly so the water would run off. In the larger homes a well was found in the courtyard formed by two sides of one or two story buildings tied together with walls with a front and back entry. Outside tops reached the top story and roof where cool breezes \
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might be sought. It was upon such a roof where Rahab hid Joshua\’92s spies when they searched Jericho. With the exception of Hazor where the siege Joshua waged was severe and he burned the city, probably little repairs were needed for the Israelites to immediately occupy their new homes. And in the cities\’92 surrounding fields were the spring plantings the herds of sheep and goats and cattle.\
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The place MANASSEH in the section Sered\
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Refuged with the tribe of Ephraim in his lot in some of his cities were remnants of the one half tribe of Manasseh, Joseph\’92s older son. On Ephriam\’92s north boarder spreading from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River was the remaining one half tribe of Manasseh and within the lot is the city of Shechem where Joseph\’92s bones are buried. The name Manasseh means, forgetful, because said Joseph, Genesis 41:51 … For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father\’92s house., by his wife having given him a son. Is this any more like the feelings of the Lord Jesus, who endured the toil of the cross and the hammerings of the Jews he preached to, that he might rightly feel that way and where today he is seated on the right hand of God? And since we are seated with Christ, Ephesians 2:6, how can we not detect this joy of thought that proceeds from the Savior and in our own lives feel contempt towards our own mortality seeing the promise of God in Jesus that is our hope in these last years of the Church age.\
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The place ZEBULUN in the section Sered\
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The first sentence of Zebulun, being Joshua 18:1 And the whole \
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congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. is the application verse that defines the overall picture of the book of Joshua as it is seen from the Descriptive Outline found in the first chapter of Genesis which is: Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place,… The spiritual parallel of the verses is clearly seen. Remember also, wherever the whole congregation had been since the Tabernacle had been made in the wilderness for worship of the LORD God of Israel, the Tabernacle was the center of the camp. Israel was not known without the Presence of the LORD and indeed it was a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the God of Israel as unrepentant Canaan had found out – – too late. Kept at Gilgal during the campaign the Tabernacle was moved to Shiloh and set up and remained there throughout the epoch of the book of Judges. The name Shiloh means both a man\’92s name Genesis 49:10 \’91tranquil\’92 [the Messiah] and a \’91place of rest\’92 and is centrally located in the land of Canaan in the inheritance of Ephraim. Shiloh is about twenty air miles north of, Jerusalem where central worship moved to through the reigns of King David and his son Solomon the final resting place of the Tabernacle as a whole and Temple worship were finally established. \
This outline verse and the next sentence of that verse: And the land was subdued before them. pointedly marks the gudgeon of the book of Joshua. That the verses are together is like the brilliant fireworks that lightens the sky of the place Zebulun and the book of Joshua. Zebulun means dwelling and is as fitting a name as Shiloh meaning a place of rest. For it is in this place Zebulun that the seven names of Jacob\’92s son, who have not received their inheritance, are given in distributing their portions of the land, by which the seven divisions of the sixty-six books of the Holy Bible is revealed.\
To put this disclosure together three verses are useful. They are: \
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John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;\
The Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. \
A name is of course a word to and we clearly see the importance of its meaning as the child is born and Leah and Rachel name the twelve sons of Jacob. Only seven of the sons names are found in the place Zebulun because they are the ones singled out as having yet to receive their inheritance – – Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan. By carefully singling out the spirits that are described in Isaiah the reader will find seven spirits which are compatible with the names of the seven tribes of the place Zebulun. The seven lamps shown in The Revelation are compatible to the earlier vision of the Lord of the same book chapter 1:12,13 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, The design of the lamp of the Tabernacle described in the book of Exodus shows a lampstick with seven lamps upon the tops of the seven branches. Using the names in the order that they appear in Zebulun makes the Son of man the Issachar branch of the lamp that also being the central shaft. The Authorized King James Bible, for definitional purposes calls the lamp the candlestick when it could have been translated more accurately \’91lampstick\’92 since the lights on top of the branches were not candles but lamps fueled by olive oil. The difference is admittedly a bit picky but all to be the candle wax is just a solid form of oil. All of this ado bring us to a well known and favored verse: Psalm \
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119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. speaks particularly of the lampstick of the Tabernacle.\
To build a little more of the image that is beginning to appear of the spiritual lampstick of the books of the Holy Bible the central shaft described as Issachar sprouts from the intersection of the two branches adjacent to it and the continuing downward section down to the next two branches taking the name of Issachar\’92s father Jacob [Israel] to the intersection of the final two branches being a continuation of the central shaft with Jacob\’92s father Isaac from which the central shaft continues downward with Isaac\’92s fathers name Abraham as its designation into a stone flint base that is identified as Adam [earth, ground] he being the Son of God. An illustration is included after the compendium to visually facilitate the understanding.\
Numbers 26:53 Unto these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. Now the lamps with their oil for burning are the sons of the men mentioned as representing the branches and are thus the grand children of Jacob. The names of the offspring of the seven sons are found in Numbers 26 and are only those who did not die in the wilderness journey. noted Numbers 26:12,13 and 26:23,24 and 26:26 and 26:38,39,40 and 26:42 and 26:44,45 and 26:48,49. In this way each of the sixty-six books of the Holy Bible are designated by a name for each book or a group of books, the grandsons name representing the lamp container and oil itself and the book of the Holy Bible being the wick that burns with holy brilliance in the eyes of the reader. And so: Psalm 29:7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.\
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The place ISSACHAR in the section Sered\
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The land of Canaan is secured by Joshua and it is Eretz Israel, the land \
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of Israel, the promised land, journeyed through by the benefactor Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The twelve tribes receive their inheritance by twelve tribes. Receive, is a Biblical term that is exemplified here in the book of Joshua and used specifically in the new covenant. John 1:12,13&17 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The example is vivid. The LORD God promised the Israelites the land of Canaan that the LORD showed to Moses from east of the Jordan River. The Israelites in turn had to enter and possess, conquering by believing the promise. Jesus is that same illustrated promise and he is acquired by the same method. And by doing so the the reward is far more beneficial than that of the servant [Issachar, hired] – – to them gave he power to become the sons of God… Not only an inheritance is received but a new person is born [again] who is called a son of God. 1Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. \
Now having provided new life, new lands, Joshua is instructed to provide six cities of refuge, three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west side of the Jordan River where a murderer might flee to escape the avenger, generally a relative of the victim, and find sanctuary there among the populace of that city. Enforcement of the Mosaic law was within the heart of each Israelite to do justly. The text names these six cities, a map from any Bible Dictionary will show the locations by the names of the cities. For we of \
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the present dispensation: Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:… But the objection arises, I haven\’92t killed anyone! However, Romans 3:23 and James 2:10 leads us right back to and the refuge that he has provided: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;, and the hope set before us. \
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The place GAD in the section Sered\
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The troop [Gad] of Levi [joined] approaches and does not tremble [Sered] but believes the promise: Josh. 21:2 … The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle. What does this contribute to the life of a son of God though? Consider, that the \’91troop\’92 is like the faith that grows daily from the Holy Words in the heart of the son who is \’91joined\’92 to God by the miracle of a new birth with new desires and motivations that are from the Creator.\
And the tribe of Levi was issued certain cities within the other twelve tribes, Ephriam and Manasseh forming the double portion of Joseph\’92s making twelve tribes and freeing Levi to serve the LORD, with inheritances of cities and tribal portions of land. These designations can be followed clearly and need not be reiterated by these comments. However, this is a fitting place to point out that the tribe of Reuben with his inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River, in the place of the Moabite nation which was east of the Dead Sea, is the country where John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod. John the Priest, of the course of Abia of Aaron, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Savior Messiah of Israel, dies in the least preferred \
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side of the Jordan River away from the City of the Great King and away from the Great King himself, in humility that is not even described, and dying the death of a criminal, in the rejected tribe from being the recipient of the Son of God, in the lot of the tribe of rejected Reuben. How can we today mourn and complain in our Christian lives when the blood of martyrs is no longer required and we read of the man who is least in the Kingdom of God in all of those ways, yet Jesus has declared: Matthew 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: Now the dividing and portioning of the land is complete with the tribe of Levi taking their cities and the place Gad closes appropriately: Joshua 21:45 There failed not aught of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass., to which we today take up these words into our hearts. Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: this is the Churches inheritance.\
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The place DAN in the section Sered\
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With the name Dan meaning, judge, it is impossible not to recall the resounding voice of God: Genesis 18:25 … Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? and The Revelation 20:11,12 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Of course, it is Jesus the Son of God who will sit upon the great white throne to make all that is just to come to pass \
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upon those who live in his sight and to those who are dead in his sight. If that sight of this scene does not cause the righteous to tremble [Sered] then there is nothing that shall, until that time when there will be no choice but to stand before the Judge of all, in humility.\
A happening occurs in the final departing to their tents after the land of Canaan is secured by the twelve tribes. An altar, a great altar to see is constructed by the two and one half tribes whose inheritance is on the east side of the Jordan River, innocently it is finally determined but to the near destruction of those tribes who reveal their true intents. Perhaps, it is to this word intents that we should apply this incident: Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had no thought to disobey the LORD their God, but to put up a remembrance by sight to their God. The sin would have been to offer a sacrifice upon that altar rather than the Brazen Altar at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. It is well if our own intents of our actions should be examined in this life in respect of: 1Timothy 5:24,25 Some men\’92s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.\
\
The place NAPHTALI in the section Sered\
\
That we see the true Naphtali as Jesus the Messiah is most important; as he is the Naphtali who has procured, through his wrestling with the Adversary of God, eternal salvation for us. Vital to the servant, become son, is the knowledge that while Christ has procured eternal salvation and the new \
#\
life, he is seated [at rest] and the holy mission he assigned is fret with the adversities of the enemy of God, requiring of the receiver selfcontrol and soberness. For God …will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. ITimothy 2:4. Seeing that we were first born into the slavery of the Adversary; but born again into the sonship of the Living God the old Serpent does not give up easily what is now turned over to the Lord Jesus Christ through his enablements. Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Including that high place on our shoulders. So that the Gospel of the Savior can offered to be grasped by all through the labors of the servant-sons.\
Joshua 23:6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; And so what does Joshua caution the Sons of Israel with: Joshua 23:8 But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day. Saying this, he tells Israel of his decease in a peculiar way that is a contrast to what Jesus tells his disciples. Joshua tells of his death and Jesus tells of his resurrection from death. Which is prophetic like Joshua who tells Israel what will happen to them as a nation – – and all that Joshua said of Israel came to pass, the mark of the true Prophet in Israel.\
\
The place ASHER in the section Sered\
\
Of this final place Asher meaning, happy, we expect to find peace: in the land of Israel, with God and from Joshua who gathers once again the elders of Israel and their heads and for their judges and for their officers. This last time, for Joshua is near to die, and perhaps it is to his home at Shechem in \
#\
Ephriam that he delivers his final speech. The peace that Joshua delivers is conditional upon the conduct of the sons of Israel. He begins reviewing the history of the nation and its humble beginnings with Terah at Ur of the Chaldees. Most revealing is an expression that concerns their past history but also throws light upon a future event in the days of the patriarch Noah namely the flood of those days. It is the term \’91flood\’92 that is understood to mean the River Euphrates that yearly overflowed its banks and upon occasion the whole valley between the Tigris and Euphrates inundated and can be understood to cause all of whom the LORD God was concerned with to be covered with water sending the frail vessel of salvation northward to the feet of the Ararat Mountain range. Not to begin a disputation though the Euphrates did flood and it is to this flood that Joshua refers concerning the early patriarch father of Abraham. Rehearsing the deliverance from Egyptian slavery and victory over the Amorites, the Moabites, and Balaam, on the east side of the Jordan River he very conveniently for scholarship purposes names the seven nations of the land of Canaan, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittities, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, whom were also subjugated by Israel with the help of the hornet sent ahead upon the enemy by their LORD God. The warrior-God of Israel is very shrewd and resourceful to have helped his people in such a way. With the seven evil-spirit-gods of these nations destroyed from the land the LORD God of Israel had place to dwell in anticipation of his Messiah for Israel a promise given to Adam and the Woman long years before whose person, the seed, is expanded more fully in Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; \
Joshua shows them the wonderful peace that they possessed and the \
#\
new life they had and delivers the mode of their conduct. This responsibility like the meaning of the name Shechem, shoulder, is what they and we are instructed to put our shoulders to: serve the LORD God whose name in our days is the Lord Jesus Christ. And Israel put away the gods they had taken to themselves and promised to serve the LORD God. Often mentioned in the old testament Scriptures are the false gods that were worshiped by the people of the earth in those days. It is Jacob\’92s wife Rachel who stole her father\’92s idols where the remembrance of these gods in small clay statuettes is revealed. Baal is the evil god of the Canaanites, and Molech to whom horrid rites in offering live children to fire are attributed in the Hinnom valley south of Jerusalem attested to in the days after Solomon by the Israelites. The same rites that were being conducted in the days when the LORD God brought destruction upon Canaan by the hand of the Israelites; but, who became entangled themselves to their own present demise.\
We see clearly that Joshua is the author of the book known by his name because it very clearly states it. This stone Joshua raised up under the oak is like the great Stone of promise to Israel that he would raise up from them a Prophet like unto Moses. The great oak is the nation Israel. And Jesus did become a witness to Israel that they had indeed denied their God. Mark 7:8,9 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. \
Whereas Moses is called the man of God, Joshua is described as the servant of the LORD a mute testimony to the intentions of the book of Joshua that introduces us into the habitation and service of the people who the Holy Creator chose to bring to the whole earth His promised Savior – – Jesus of \
#\
Nazareth, raised the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the admirable Joseph son of Jacob, Joshua dies at the age of one hundred and ten years old and the final testimony concerning the faithfulness of the children of Israel is that they buried the bones of Joseph in Shechem and Eleazar the son of Aaron they buried in mount Ephriam. Whereas the inhabitants of Canaan had trembled [Sered] in fear at their fates, Israel now trembled happy [Asher] in their inheritance from the LORD their God.\
From the book of Joshua the reader is carried into the rest of the books of the Holy Bible by way of the Holy Celebration, showing in the next six books of this same branch Zebulun [dwelling], see page [k] of the preceding text, displayed with twelve places in each book. The place Simeon reappears in each and the comprehensive name Joseph retakes his place. It is not until the book of Ezra in the branch Issachar [hired, i.e. servant] that the number of places increases to sixteen when four of the terms from Deuteronomy, page199, begin to be applied and the particular designations of those terms can be found as they apply to each book on page [m] of the preceding text. See page [m] of the preceding text]. The weighty value by which the Holy Celebration is constructed is accounted to these first six books of the Holy Scriptures the Holy Spirit not sparing in his designations to certain parts of each that as a whole form the true Light of the Holy Bible – – John 1:4,5 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 1John 1:5-7 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. \
#\
2John :7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.\
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. \
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. \
\
#\
\
\
A supplement of Thoughts:\
\
In the earth today there is narrow a space of any country where the heart of faith may flourish freely save the precariously perched nation of the United States of America. Unmentioned in the scriptures at all we of this fine country have a refuge for this sacred freedom that the Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood for all to have, who would. \
\
More than any other Old Covenant book, archaeologists refer to Joshua for the names and locations of ancient cities. Yet, a greater value is derived from the long lists of names and cities that make the book unique from all others. Herein is the entrance of the people of the seed of Abraham and Sarah into the land promised to Abraham by the LORD God wherein the revered God of Israel, Jehovah, would dwell with them. Not since the Garden of Eden had the LORD proposed such intimacy with his Adams.\
\
Because Simeon remains in the background in the book of Joshua we find him Joshua 19:9 Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them. \
\
Joshua is to Deuteronomy what Genesis is to Exodus and absolutely necessary to the life of the son (Israel) in having been provided a sanctuary for guarded comfort for the purpose of acceptable worship.\
\
In all ages when one man of God\’92s voice ceases, whether by death or \
#\
choice the LORD has prepared the heart of another to continue His work. But, in the latter case extreme caution must be employed in the light of Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. \
\
The Holy Celebration is not as complex as it first appears in fact it is very simple to the point of becoming obvious but it is this quality of pointing at each instance to the Lord Jesus Christ that makes it effective to instilling the Life into the reader.\
\
Genesis creates the need [a fallen Adam] for deliverance that is found in Exodus while with Exodus is provided the proper place [the Tabernacle] for the descriptions of Leviticus to occur. And the travels and trials of the delivered life are recorded in Numbers; while instructions for the delivered to inhabit a symbolic dwelling are delivered by Moses in Deuteronomy. Joshua is possessing that dwelling place called the Lord Jesus Christ.\
\
Numbers: Moses prayed and healed Miriam. Jesus came healing Israel. \
\
Genesis – the Head [Father]\
Leviticus – called\
Numbers – speaks\
Deuteronomy – savior speaks\
Joshua – possessing a place prepared for you\
\
The Holy Celebration is not an end it is a guide and encouragement to \
the readers of the Holy Bible to continue…\
34\
Psalm 17:1 Hear the right, O LORD,…\
\
Psalm 17:15 \
\
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: \
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, \
with thy likeness.\
\
35\
\
\
Index\
\
page number\
a\
Abraham 22, 23, 28, 33 \
Achan 12, \
Ai 12 13, \
Amorites 11, 27, 28, \
Asher 21, 27, 30\
\
b\
Benjamin 13, 16, 18, 21\
branch 1, 17, 18, 21, 22, 30, \
\
c\
Canaan 6, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 23, 26, 28, 29, 20, \
Canaanites 18, 28, 29, \
Captain 10\
Church[es] 1, 2, 11, 12, 19, 25, \
\
d\
Dan 21, 25, \
\
e\
Ephriam 1, 7, 17, 18, 19, 24, 28, 30, \
Eretz Israel 22\
\
f\
\
g\
Gibeonites 14, \
Gilgal 15, 17, 20, \
Girgashites 28\
Gospel 8, 18, 27\
\
h\
Hazor 15, 19, \
heart 2, 16, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 33, 34, \
Hittities 28, \
Hivites 16, 28\
Holy Celebration 1, 8, 17, 30, 34, \
\
i\
Isaac 22, 23, \
Issachar 21,22, 23, 30, \
\
\
\
36\
Index\
\
page number\
j\
Jacob 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, \
Jasher 14\
Jebusites 28\
Jericho 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 19, \
Joshua 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34 \
Judah 6, 7, 17, 18, 33, \
\
k\
kingdom of God 2, 25, \
\
l\
Levi 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 17, 24, 25, \
\
m\
Manasseh 16, 17, 19, 24, 26, \
mansions 5, \
Messiah 3, 8, 20, 24, 26, 29, \
minister 3, 4, 8, \
Mount Ebal 14,\
\
n\
Naphtali 14, 21, 26, \
Nazareth 4, 30,\
new man \
\
o\
old person 2, 15\
\
p\
Perizzites 28, \
Prophet 29\
\
q\
\
r\
Reuben 3, 4, 5, 16, 24, 25, \
The Revelation 2, 21, 26, \
righteous 1, 3, 11, 13, 14, 26, \
\
s\
Sered 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 17, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30\
Shechem 19, 27, 29, 30, \
\
37\
Index\
\
page number\
\
soul 2, 26, 34\
structure 1, 14\
synagogue 4\
\
\
t\
\
u\
\
v\
\
w\
wisdom 1, 21, 28, \
\
x\
\
y\
Yigael Yadin 15\
\
z
\f1 \

\f0 Zebulun 1, 17, 18, 19, 21, 30, \
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38\

\fs20 \
\

\fs24 Glossary
\fs20 \
\
\
a page\
\
Achan 12 – his name means \’91troublsome\’92 the son of Carmi of the tribe of Judah he stole a wedge of gold, the accused thing causing the defeat at Ai. all that was Achan was destroyed by Joshua to appease God and finally defeat the city of Ai \
Ai 12 – the Canaanite city near Bethel where Jacob used a stone for a pillow when he fled from Esau his brother. \
Amorites 11 – a eople of Canaan at the time of Joshua who were from the upperlands eveidently of the northern part of Canaan who dwelt in the mountains their name was sometimes used synominously with the name Canaan \
Asher 21 – the eighth son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah\’92s handmaid, a twin of Gad. his name means \’91happy\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
\
b\
Benjamin 13 – the twelveth son of Jacob by Rachel, he is the younger brother of Joseph, his name means \’91son of my right hand\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
branch 1 – in the Tabernacle a part of the lampstick that held a lamp for burning for light. it also refers to a section of the Scriptures by a designated name. see pages [k] and [l] of the included text \
\
c\
Canaan 6 – the Mediterranean coastal country on the east side of the sea where lived seven nations whom the LORD God rightly condemned and disposed by Israel for His seat and nations inheritance. \
Captain 10 – the LORD God of Israel who met Joshua shortly before Israel entered Canaan with a drawn sword to reassure Joshua that the battles were the LORD\’92s \
Church[es] 1 – the total population of believers in Jesus the Son of God, when the \’91c\’92 is not capitalized the term means a local assembly \
\
d\
Dan 21 – the fifth son of Jacob by Bilhah, Rachel\’92s handmaid, his name means \’91judge\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
\
e\
Ephriam 1 – the youngest of Joseph\’92s sons he received Jacob\’92s blessing in place of his brother Manasseh. the name means \’91fruitful\’92, he wass born to Joseph in Egypt \
Eretz Israel 22 – a Hebrew word that means \’93land\’94 thus the land of Israel\
\
f\
\
g\
Gibeonites 14 – the people of Canaan who made peace with Joshua, probably Hivites a nonmilitary type people who became servant to the Tabernacle and Temple as wood and water bears. \
Gilgal 15 – a place not far from Jericho where Israel encamped after entering Canaan \
39\
Glossary\
\
page\
\
Girgashites 28 – a people of Canaan the name of whom is about all that is known of them from the Holy Bible\
Gospel 8 – I Thes. 4:14. Christ died for our sins was buried and the tird day rose again. Paul\’92s gospel!\
\
h\
Hazor 15 – a northern Canaanite city of great power Joshua burned it with fire the only city to meet that fate in the Israelite campaign of Canaan \
heart 2 – the center of man\’92s desires naturally described of the \’91old man\’94 Jer. 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? \
Hittities 28 – a militant civilization of the area now called Turkey whose capital was near the Black Sea they garrisoned the land of Palestine and did war with Egypt and Babylon. They were fierce warriors but not without compassion and had a written Semitic cuneiform language which many tablets have been unearthed at the site Ugarit. The language disappeared about 1200 B.C., but some documents and records in the script record legal actions of Abraham and Jacob. One of King David\’92s soldiers was a Hittite. \
Hivites 16 – probably not militants they people were from the northern part of Canaan and were one of the seven \’91Canaanite\’92 kingdoms Israel overcame in the Land.\
Holy Celebration 1 – a structure of patriachal names of Jacob\’92s sons and grandson used to describe and divide the Holy Scriptures in spiritual divisions rather than by chapter numbers and verse numbers. It forms thereby a reading Bible. \
\
i\
Isaac 22 – the son of the Patriarch Abraham \
Issachar 21 – the ninth son of Jacob by Leah, his name means \’91hired\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
j\
Jacob 12 – the son of Isaac, the gransson of Abraham, he had twelve sons \
Jasher 14 – a book of antiquity of odes thought to be lost while the children of Israel were in Egypt it is quoted in the book of Joshua
\fs24 10:13
\fs20 …So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. \
Jebusites 28 – the people who at the time of the possession of Canaan by Israel inhabited the city of Jerusalem. they were not successfully driven from the city and in David\’92s day still a problem to the tribe of Judah in whose portion the city was located.\
Jericho 6 – the east entrance to the Holy City of Jerusalem, it is approached from the Jordan River Valley. its names means \’91fragrant\’92 and it is called the City of Palms perhaps the oldest continually inhabited city of Canaan over 9000 years it is older than Damascus \
Joseph – the eleventh son of Jacob by Rachel, he is the older brother of Benjamin. his name means \’91adding\’92 and is nothing short of the security that he provided to his father and brothers and their families, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible.\
\
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40\
Glossary\
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page\
\
Joshua 1 – one of the spies along with Caleb who brought back a good report of the land of Canaan to Moses and was in fact minister to Moses. he was chosen bythe LORD God to lead the children of Israel into the promised land and does so admirably. the sixth book in the Holy Bible it is detrimental to the structure of the Holy Celebration. \
\
Judah 6 – the fourth son of Jacob his name means \’91praise\’92, and is the favored of Jacob to be the head of the family of Israel when this three older sons loose grace with Jacob. and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
\
k\
kingdom of God 2 – the rule and throne of the world which the Lord Jesus Christ will assume from Jerusalm upon his return as the anointed King of Israel. \
\
l\
Levi 7 – the third son of Jacob he looses his favor with his father when he withhis brother Simeon slays his sister\’92s lover and their whole city whom, she is to marry, Jacob not knowing of their plan. yet, the tribe of Levi is chosen to minister and be closest to the LORD God in the Tabernacle. his name is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
\
m\
Manasseh 16 – the oldest son of Joseph the son of Jacob. \
mansions 5 – Rev. 21:10-12
\fs24
\fs20 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
\fs24
\fs20 John 14:2
\fs24
\fs20 In my Father\’92s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.\
Messiah 3 – like the term Christ it means \’92anointed one\’92 which thing John the Baptist did concerning Jesus of Nazareth. \
\
Mount Ebal 14 – a mountain in the valley of Shechem [see that name] where Joshua builded a great altar\
\
n\
Naphtali 14 – the sixth son of Jacob his name means \’91wrestling\’92, and is the son of Bilhah, Rachel\’92s handmaid. His name is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
new man – Eph. 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. \
\
o\
old person 2 – see above \’91new man\’92\
\
41\
Glossary\
\
page\
\
p\
Perizzites 28 – perhaps the earliest inhabitants of the lowlands of Canaan who dwelling in unwalled towns and engaging in farming and animal husbandry. \
Prophet 29 – the person Moses foretold Israel of being the seed of the Woman in Genesis 3:16 built upon with the terms Son [from the begats], refuge, arms thruster, Destroyer [of the enemy], alone [Gods], fountain, land, shield and the sword of the spirit from his mouth, to savior like Moses and priest like Aaron and the Prophet, all in one person and possible because the LORD God is providing him.\
\
\
q\
\
r\
Reuben 3 – the first son of Jacob by Leah his position as head of the tribes was deferred when he offended his father. his name means \’91see a son\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
The Revelation 2 – The book written at the bidding of the Lord Jesus by John the Apostle revealing Jesus the Son of God and the events yet to happen to the earth is the last book in the Holy Bible \
righteous 1 – being acceptable in the presence of the Holy God through the Savior who procured eternal salvation and is our righteousness therefore we are acceptable in the Beloved \
\
s\
Sered 3 – the first born of Zebulun the son of Jacob his name defines the thought of the book of Joshua, his names means \’91 tremble\’92\
Shechem 19 – the description as C. D. Barnes records it in The People\’92s Bible Encyclopedia : \’93The situation of the town is one of surpassing beauty. It lies in a sheltered valley,protected by Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north. The feet of these mountains, where they rise from the twon, are not more than five hundred yars apart. The bottom of the valleyis about eighteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, and the top of Gerizim eight hundred feet higher still. The site of the present city, which we believe to have been also that of the Hebrew city, occurs exactly on the water summit; and streams issuing from the numerous springs there flow down the opposite slopes of the valley, spreadingverdue and fertility in every direction. Joshua gave his farewell speach from this place.\
soul 2 – that part of the creature that perceives its surrounding especially God\
structure 1 – the net of patriachal names that divide the Holy Bible by those meanings of the names of the Holy Celebration [see that name above]\
synagogue 4 – a word of Greek origin meaning of \’91an assemblage of persons, the first traces of them come from the Maccabean period.\
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42\
Glossary\
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page\
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t\
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u\
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v\
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w\
wisdom 1 – Job 28:28
\fs24
\fs20 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. \
\
x\
\
y\
\
z
\f1 \

\f0 Zebulun 1 – the tenth son of Jacob by Leah, his name means \’91dwelling\’92, and is a place [see \’91place\’92 below] in the Holy Celebration structure of the Holy Bible. \
\
\

\fs24 43\
\
\
Scriptures Referenced\
\
\
\
page\
\
II Corinthians 16:22 2\
\
Ephesians 1:3 25\
Ephesians 1:6 27\
Ephesians 2:3-7 12\
\
Genesis 1:9 20\
Genesis 15:13-16 11\
Genesis 18:25\
Genesis 41:51 19\
\
Hebrew 4:12 26\
Hebrew 4:9-11 5\
Hebrews 6:18 24\
Hebrew 10:38 34\
\
Isaiah 11:2 21,28\
\
James 2:10 24\
James 4:7 3\
John 1:12,13&17 23\
John 6:63 21\
John 14:1-3 5\
John 14:6 31\
John 14:23 31\
I John 1:4,5 30\
I John 1:5-7 30 \
I John 1:9-2:2 13\
II John :7 31\
\
Joshua 1:8 4\
Joshua 2:24 7\
Joshua 8:30 14\
Joshua 18:1 19&20\
Joshua 19:9 33\
Joshua 21:2 24\
Joshua 21:45 25\
Joshua 23:6 27\
Joshua 23:8 27\
Jude :14,15 2\
\
Leviticus 11:45 12\
44\
Scriptures Referenced\
\
page\
\
Mark 7:8,9\
Matthew 10:33 11\
Matthew 10:37 12\
Matthew 11 :11 25\
Matthew 11:28 8\
Matthew 17:20 7\
\
Number 4:5,6 10\
Numbers 26:53 22\
\
I Peter 1:3-5 23\
I Peter 1:14-16 12\
Proverbs 18:24 9\
Psalm 17:1 35\
Psalm 17:5 35\
Psalm 29:7 22\
Psalm 90:1 2\
Psalm 119:105 22\
\
The Revelation 4:5 21\
The Revelation 1:12,13 21\
The Revelation 20:11,12 25\
Roman 3:23 24\
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I Timothy 2:4 27\
I Timothy 5:24,25 26\
I Thessalonians 1:6 1\
II Thessalonians 1:4,5 1\
Titus 2:7,8 3\
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45\
\
\
Bibliography\
\
\
The Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible, from the received text\
\
\
The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, James Strong S.T.D., LL.D\
\
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The Interlinear Bible, Jay P. Green, Sr.\
\
\
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The People\’92s Bible Encyclopedia, C.R. Barnes\
\
\
\
Roget\’92s Thesaurus, Jack Luzzatto and Loy Morehead\
\
\
Unger\’92s Bible Dictionary, by Merrill F. Unger\
\
\
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Webster\’92s Dictionary, second edition, Noah Webster\
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46\
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The Gospel of Mark \
a Compendium\
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written by:\
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Joseph Edsel Swearengin,\
Reverend Doctor of Biblical Studies, D.D.\
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May 22, 2004\
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Contents (a]\
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name page\
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Preface I-a thru III-c\
Introduction – long, but necessarily 1-30\
Prologue I-II\
The Compendium, The Places, the divisions: 1\
Reuben 3\
Simeon 5\
Judah 7\
Levi 9\
Benjamin 12\
Joseph 16\
Zebulun 24\
Issachar 27\
Gad 29\
Dan 31\
Naphtali 35\
Asher 37\
Refuge 40\
Arms 42\
Thrust 43\
Destroy 44\
Alone 46\
Fountain 49\
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Contents [b]\
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Land 64\
Heavens 85\
Shield 89\
Sword 91\
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Index 94\
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References 106\
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Glossary 107\
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Scriptures Referenced\
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Preface\
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Embracing the only power of God, whereby a person may be saved eternally, we have this most precious Holy Bible. Whether, shadowed as in the Old Covenant books or openly revealed in the four Gospels of the New Covenant, it is the Gospel of the Seed of the Woman [Gen.3:15] and the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John or the Gospel that Paul preached, it is- still the same message that the LORD God spoke in the Garden of Eden – the Gospel of the Seed of the Woman; to where one must put trust to obtain presence with the Living God. For we are spoiled from His presence by the Woman and Adam but reconciled by faith in the God News: The Gospel of Expectation [Genesis 3:151, the Gospel of Presence [Jesus upon the earth], the Gospel retrospect [today’s same faith news in the Seed of the Woman].\
Entering the pages of the Gospel of Mark the reader should consider the connecting ligament between Malachi and the Gospels is a man whose name is John the Baptist. He is an old Covenant prophet, as has been pointed out by other readers, for he introduces and proclaims the old good news given to Adam and the Woman in Genesis 3:15 of the Gospel of the Seed of the Woman, into the then present God news that the Savior Seed is presented of and to Israel as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin the nation Israel – their Messiah, \
Jesus of Nazareth. The whole populous of the earth is. not presented with the \
I-a\
Son of God until a man named Saul [Paul] is called by the Lord Jesus to be the Apostle to the Gentiles [Acts 9:15,161, and, Peter is given the revelation to do so, see Acts 10:9-19. This does not predispose that Gentile proselytes to Judaism were not received into the new fold as with the Ethiopian eunuch and Cornelius, found in The Acts of the Apostles.\
The extreme beauty of The Gospel of Mark is the Hebrew custom of identifying the contents of a volume by the first word or thought in the opening word or words. Here in the Gospel of Mark is all of that and purpose set before the reader. “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;” Yet, this Gospel, for there were many see Luke 1:1, was not meant for the eyes and hearts of Israel but for the hungered souls of the Gentile converts to the new sect of Judaism and specifically for the missions of the Apostle to the Gentiles, for Mark was Paul’s minister always returning to him and with Paul in his final trial of faith [Acts 13:51. Mark brought back to Paul what Paul could not see was Mark’s purpose in leaving the first Missionary journey at Perga of Pamphylia, a written account of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Written for the most part without much reference to old Covenant Scriptures that a new group of Gentile converts would not be familiar with and thus unencumbered with them, so that a comfort of tangible conveyance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would remain in their possession after the Preacher Paul had resumed his journey missions from them. An early date [between 48 AD, Ist mission and 51 AD, 2nd mission] for Mark’s writing of the Gospel is easily seen as he returns to Antioch but is rejected by Paul for the follow-up mission back to Pamphylia. A supposition can be drawn that at least a \
preliminary of the Gospel of Mark was with the minister when he approached Barnabas and Paul to travel with them in the second missionary journey.\
These thoughts then perspective the pattern of purpose of all the \
II-b\
Gospels. Matthew written for the Jewish heart with all of its proofs and references to old covenant writings and the Lord’s sermons – Mark the streamlined gospel [a bit better than half of the words of either Matthew, or Luke and not approaching the 18,658 words of the Gospel of John], The Gospel of Mark, as above is written for the Gentile mind and heart, while Luke is addressed to a proselyte Theophilus and includes the sensitivities of a gentile yet the careful expletives of the old Covenant scriptures. The Gospel of John with all of its breadth, and length, and depth, and height gladdens the hearts of devout scholar or mystic. The warp cords of Matthew and Luke with the woof yarn of Mark and the heavenly blue of the bordering of the Gospel of John makes a fabric cloak of comfort not afforded to the infant church and which we today should be most grateful, and reminds of the cloak of the Apostle Paul and the archive of books and parchments it conveyed to Rome.\
Perhaps, least preferred of the gospels, because of its crisp preciseness, is John Mark’s: yet, it was written first of the Gospels and still preaches and teaches to the hearts of believers today simply and pointedly long after the sounds of the words of the Great Apostle Paul have fallen silent and the author John Mark’s decease.\
The Gospel of Mark (English translation KJV in its evolved format is composed of sixteen chapters, six hundred and seventy eight verses, fourteen thousand nine hundred and forty nine words, with five thousand and seventeen of those words being the Lord Jesus Christ’s. Minus the clutter of numerals discussed below is, a more comfortable reading presentation in the the Holy Celebration and these following comments. Should there be any repetition of thought in these materials but remember that the opening of the New Covenant books is marked by four Gospels each purposefully repeating the account of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.\
III-c\
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Introduction\
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From the Ascension into Heaven of our dear Lord Jesus Christ about 29 A.D. then to 96 A.D. (about the time of the gathering of the “tarry” of Saint John) the age of the living Apostles is presented throughout The Acts of the Apostles and Epistles of the New Testament, some sixty seven years. The accounts are vivid, poignant and useful. Yet, the conditions of the parting paths of three of the Apostles (Barnabas, Paul and Peter] forms a bit of bewilderment to the readers mind, seemingly a schism of sorts for that time period in the early church and today; should one ponder, before reading on into other particulars . However, the Holy Spirit intended the two incidents for our learning that we might be fully furnished in our own efforts for the Lord Jesus Messiah. The “departing” occurs in two parts at the same location, Antioch of \
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Syria, within the northern reaches of the designated “Land” of Israel. It is of\
interest to note that the Apostle Paul was born and raised outside of “the Land of Israel” in Tarsus of Cilicia, some one hundred and fifty land miles north and west of Antioch and more than five hundred land miles from Jerusalem. Familiarity with the Gentile interactions of society, not encountered to that degree in the Land, made Paul well fitted to the task that the Lord Jesus sends him forth to accomplish [Acts 9:15,161 – Apostle to the Gentiles. Not defined as such at that time the Godly Orthodox Jew began his education when family wealth permitted at the age of five in the home reading the scriptures. Prayers certainly existed from the Psalms, however, the Mishnah [second century AD and Talmud 11th Century AD were yet to exist and the further education of the time was the oral instructions of additional customs of the teachers and Rabbis and Scribes of the Temple and academies such as the Beth Hillel or Beth Shammia and as in Paul\’92s case the renowned Gamaliel. Though residing outside of the Land, Paul was indeed educated [brought up] in the scriptures and traditions of a Jew in Jerusalem with fiery devotion, and since he was of the tribe of Benjamin Temple service was not required of him and he returned to live at Tarsus prior to his conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.\
To continue with Paul and other of the Sons of God it must be remembered their statements of their own self-righteousness previous to their conversion to Jesus Christ. Note that Paul states “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God,” Peter is recorded as confessing “for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” Acts 10:14, and Paul stating his adherence to the “perfect manner of the law” (of Moses]. This is typical of the zeal of the Jew whose sight is set on pleasing the LORD their God. They were \
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taught from small children to God-consciousness and so their magnifications into adulthood. These like the rich young man who addressed Jesus knew they were righteous in God’s sight because while the Temple in Jerusalem still stood with its offerings and ordinances their sins were taken away with various offerings and confessions to the High Priest. In this way and for those times prior to the advent of the Savior Jesus Christ they were correct and perfect with the God and so “the perfect manner of the law.” This is the attitude of those who waited expectantly for the appearing of the “Seed of the woman,’ and in His disciples who found no disappointment in the fulness of those times.\
The Acts of the Apostles [ 13:13, 15:35-411 records the event of the\
proposal of Saint Paul to Barnabas to take a journey to revisit the converts of their first missionary efforts and concerns the author of the the gospel that this paper addresses, Mark [John, John Mark, Mark, Marcus]. Looking at the event in The Acts 15: 36-41…. the recorder of the book of The Acts of the Apostles is the beloved physician, Luke; also, author of our third gospel the Gospel of Luke, who it is, and without doubt, guidance from the Holy Spirit that led him to follow Paul in his missionary journeys for we have those acts of Paul recorded for us. What we do not have, other than through traditional [non-canonical] works, are the travels of the other twelve Apostles who most certainly received their instructions as Barnabas, Paul, Peter or John by revelation or from the Apostolic Council (Church] in Jerusalem. What a wonderful thing it would been to have had a “Luke” with each of the twelve as Israel and the earth’s population became the recipients of the God news of the Savior Jesus and his new covenant with man. As it is, we have but glimpses of them in the scriptures.\
Now, Barnabas, a man familiar with the ministry of Jesus and specifically “sent” with the message of grace, (see Acts 11:22, 13:1-3) “and a \
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good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith” is thus portrayed. When at Lystra Paul is called “Mercurius because he was the chief speaker” and by like description we understand that Barnabas was of sturdier physical build due to them calling him Jupiter. Barnabas is also referred to as Joses [Acts 4:36-371. Concerning his linage he was a Jew, a brother to Mary [Mark 15:471 uncle to John Mark son of Mary and of whom the later pages will make more specific reference, and a Cypriot Jew, of the city of Salamis [later Famagusta, today Ammokhostos] along the east coast cove of the island. It is thought that in former time the city was plenteous of Jews and the home of Barnabas and to where Barnabas and John Mark resorted after the dispute with Paul at Antioch. Although his birth place and home is Cyprus, being a Levite required Barnabas to live at Jerusalem for intervals of perhaps a month or more at a time to perform Temple duties. Me thinks of the warm haven of Mary Mark’s home where he likely lodged in the highest city of the earth and his sister, as in the days of their youth, fed and comforted him; as likely she lavished upon her Savior Jesus when he visited Jerusalem and slept in her olivet garden. This placed Barnabas at the center of where all information and news concerning the people of Israel concluded. Where and how he encountered Jesus of Nazareth is untold, perhaps in the home of his sister; but, he was with good assumption one of the fifty that Jesus sent forth, as he is an Apostle to the early Church.\
The island home of Barnabas, Cyprus, has from it interesting exchanges of thoughts. As recently and in former times pottery came from the hands of the islanders. For Barnabas this may have been his product as well, only in the holy vessel sense, as this is where he took John Mark after the disagreement with Paul. Here on Cyprus the Apostle Barnabas molded into shape John Mark a more useful minister; yet, not then accepted of Paul, that receiving took \
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much longer to further form or even to remold, judgment must be determined concerning the original before remolding or completion can be effected. The island is called “copper” the derivative word is Cyprus and an early export product. Ancient remnants of the refiners furnaces and slag have been found on the island. The scriptures indicate that copper implies judgment from the sense that the ‘brazen’ [actually the Hebrew word is copper] altar is where for the practicing Israelite his sins were paid for in sacrifice [see the description of the Tabernacle in the book of Exodus]. In contrast the Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. IV p400, names a Cyprus flower ‘Capher’ growing, from which the island gathers its name. Brown-Driver page 499 states – capher – name of a plant- elkenna – shrub or low tree, with fragrant whitish flowers growing in clusters like grapes, Ct. 1: 14 4:13 [fragrant, figuratively of a beloved one I. Herbs and Herbalisim p. 165 provides Caper bush [Capparis] the unopened flower buds pickled in wine vinegar, used in condiment, ie. preserving; the aromatic seeds subject to the tithe. Little more needs be stated than that the beloved Apostle Barnabas was ‘indispensable’ to the Lord in forming and establishing the Apostolic age church[es] and his sustaining love the preserving fragrance. Acts 13:2.\
True he was led away as one of at least two zealots Judiazing the early Gentle converts along with Peter and needs be not further investigated. He was after all a Jew of like passions only with sin, which Paul pointed out to them in Galatians.\
He was a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth: Barnabas – Joses i.e. Joseph, supplies to us his full name Joseph Barnabas and to consider the meanings of the two names -‘adding and ‘The son of consolation’ shows Paul and Mark both qualify as labors of Barnabas. Without the labors in behalf of Paul to the Church at Jerusalem Paul could not have been ‘added’ to the list of approved \
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Apostles as Paul ‘the son of consolation’ to the Gentiles to the Jewish based cast of Believers. Barnabas is established an Apostle when he is sent by the Church at Jerusalem [mother church] to Antioch of Syria, for there is, at that time, an Antioch of Cilicia in central Asia Minor. Whereas Paul is sent by the Lord Jesus to the Gentiles. The qualifying office of Apostle is based on the ‘sent’ qualification and having heard and seen the Lord Jesus in His flesh. Acts 11:22. \
John Mark is the cause of the split between Barnabas and Paul is evident since Paul must independently pursue his calling to the Gentile and Barnabas returns, ultimately we presume, to his sender the Jerusalem Church; at the least in the person of his nephew John Mark. This Barnabas much fits the pattern of John the Baptist to Jesus of Nazareth when he makes His way straight and Baptizes Jesus, yet, he does not join Him as an ever present disciple. John the Baptist is slain. And now if we place aside the outside writings and traditions and look only to the Holy Scriptures for further information about Barnabas they only make reference to him and do not indicate any further missionary works and in practicable purpose taken from the scene. This gives fuller understanding that John Mark’s departure from the first missionary journey was purposeful of the Holy Spirit, and why no reason is supplied by Lucian scriptures. Thus, the complete and desired spiritual working design of the missions churches is effected.\
Throughout this compendium the resource for the occurrences and descriptions of the workers of the infant church are taken from the Holy Bible alone. Yet, besides the references to the Caper bush above a brief note can be taken on writings outside of the scriptures: “The General Epistle of Barnabas,” found in the Dr. Talmage translation of The Lost Books of the Bible with introduction by Dr. Frank Crane is a very pleasant book to read indeed and \
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indicates the decease of Barnabas before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem [ 70A. D. I as the flagellation is not mentioned in that work and by the tone of the author would have surely been entered had it occurred. Barnabas was martyred there on Cyprus, where the New Testament writings leave him, by the Jews in the city of Salmina also Salamanca i.e. Famagosta. Martyrs Mirror I Thieleman J. van Braght, translated by Joseph F. Sohm, pg. 75-76. Tradition recorded therein states he was treated “lamentably, put a rope around his neck, dragged him out of the city, and burned him.” AD 64. Curiously, much later in Europe, the Jews of inquisition were hanged by the feet until dead, JE Vol. II. Keep in mind this paragraph of information is supplied from outside the scriptures and as intriguing as the information abounds it is voluminous in some instances and compiled in every instance from second hand information no less than sixty years after the close of the Apostolic infant church. Matthew 23:23.\
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After Paul’s conversion by the Lord Jesus Messiah, about 36 A.D., he preaches at Damascus and in Tarsus suffering many of his descriptive trials\
and in 44 A.D. is sought and found by Barnabas and brought to Antioch of Syria. Remember, the Jews were of one parentage and knew or knew about each other in continuum as can be seen in volumes such as the Judaica Encyclopedia and Talmud. After Paul is presented to the council in Jerusalem. by Barnabas, they two having brought monetary relief from Antioch for the famine, they return to Antioch. From this city, in the Land, the first Gentile missionary journey is launched three years later. John Mark is a minister to the Apostles of that mission; but, after they leave Cyprus and port along the \
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southern coast of Asia Minor at the city of Perga in Pamphylia John Mark departs the mission and returns to Jerusalem. Luke records nothing at this point of any dispute between Barnabas and Paul and the two Apostles continue the journey on to Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe and return to Antioch of Syria completing the first Gentile focused missionary journey.\
The departing from one another of Barnabas and Paul without doubt caused a stir in Asia’s early churches of their first missionary journey and even in Jerusalem due to both’s firm commitment and labors. As Paul later notes “…and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, [touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;]. This indicates two important workings within the early churches of Paul’s. That earlier verbal, or perhaps even written messages, had cautioned them of Mark in the negative sense of whom now, Paul endorses. Additionally, this statement of Paul’s indicates that Mark was visiting the local churches at least in Asia, a good clue that his return to Jerusalem from the first missionary journey was not due to any lack of character or personal fortitude. Plus, this rejection of Mark may have been part of why Paul had to write later at the close of his ministry “though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved” 11 Corinthians 12:15, 57 AD, in his missionary territory, showing too that Mark was a loved person among the early Apostolic Gentile churches of Asia, Greece and Italy,\
probably due to the distribution of the Gospel of Mark to the local churches by the time of Paul’s second imprisonment about 60 AD, and that John Mark was one who would and did follow “a good man”.\
When Mark, the minister to Barnabas and Paul, not a speaker as the Lystra incident shows for no title is lent him. Mark, seeing an impending need leaves the first mission to the gentiles, not from any weakness of character, rather for purpose: to begin a written work to furnish the recipients of Paul’s \
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preaching with a background of the person of Jesus and his ministry so that when Paul and Barnabas continued on from those believers with their mission way there would be something tangible, the Gospel of Mark, to encourage and keep mind of the temporary words that Paul and Barnabas had communicated to the new Gentile believers who had not the background knowledge of the Jewish Old Covenant Scriptures, but who were nonetheless of the new sect of Judaism begun by the Son of God from Jerusalem.\
The question arises, why did John Mark return to Jerusalem. Perhaps, Barnabas realizing the seizing desire of a writer-scribe, set upon John Mark the idea of a Gospel, causing him to return to Jerusalem. Could John Mark not have written his work while with the first mission or from Tarsus or even Salamus or Antioch, Syria. Originally the concept of a Logia (L] long existed; but, is now known as [Q1 can be shown to have existed in this way. Rationale rather indicates that these were notes that were taken, notes of the two scribes the Lord Jesus employed, Matthew and Mark, and there may have very well have been others, Luke and the Apostle John at least. Indeed, Luke himself states to Theophilus “Forasmuch as \ul many\ulnone have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered \ul them\ulnone unto us, which were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;”. “Us” can be assumed to refer to Luke and Paul and his ministers and more generally to the remaining Apostolic community whose number, by the time of Luke writing his Gospel, no earlier than 60 AD, had dwindled considerably in martyrdom. Other than the four Holy Gospels, there are extant apocryphal writings that add little to the knowledge displayed in our Holy Scriptures. This indicates a collectum of accounts that these many years since are impossible to untangle, as pertaining to individual scribal source, having been edited during those early years by eyewitnesses for reliability.\
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Defined Logia is – account, dictum, (something said] didache [a teaching], publish, proclaim, announce, spread i.e. promulgation, report, ter], condensed report, notation memory. They were not as can be understood be the refined agendas of our Gospels as we have them, rather notes of the speeches and encounters as they occurred and were not always recorded in parallel as certain breaks in the scribes presence may have prevented such. To call the notes strictly Logia is not as correct as to call them preliminary Gospels since Matthew seems to have left out little that was recorded, although the order of presentation may have been rearranged from the original notes. Since manuscripts of this type were kept at the Temple in Jerusalem awaiting the validation of time as the seventy years of Jeremiah’s writings that elapsed after the Babylonian captivity came to pass and the remnant returned to the Holy City proved the words true, comparing the content would have been expedited and any easy withdrawal from them open to any viable scribe [any one Levite who could read and write]. Although Luke exceeds Matthew in length by 2297 words it does not seem that Mark or and John supplies the want of information to Luke and shows that yet other Logia of separate scribes seems quite probable. The personal family information about the parents of John the Baptist supplied by Luke can be explained from the presence of Mary the mother of the Lord with the Apostles. Since the writing of three years of notes of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth would have been gigantic even for just four scribes more are likely. Then there must be stated the correct notion that the Holy Spirit enlivened the minds of the disciples to remember prickly the words and incidents, for construction of the Gospels is not without holy merit for the scriptures are given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the praise of the Father and his Son the Lord Jesus Christ. John Mark receives note by the Holy Spirit in the following occurrences in this time-sequence of scripture references:\
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a certain scribe Capernaum, near Peter’s house Matt 8:19-21\
a certain young man Jerusalem,in his mother’s garden,Mt Olives Mk l4:51-52\
John Mark Jerusalem at the home of his mother Acts 12:12\
John Mark Jerusalem to Antioch Acts l2:25\
John Salamis, Ist Mission Acts 13:5\
John Perga in Pamphylia- departs Ist Mission Acts 13:13\
John Mark from Jerusalem to Antioch Acts 15:35-38\
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Peter arrives in Antioch, and is rebuked by Paul Gal 2:11\
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Mark to Cyprus w/ Barnabas – Silas w/Paul Acts 15:39-41\
Marcus Rome, “fellow-labourer” Philemon 24\
Marcus Rome “touching whom” Col 4: 10,11\
Marcus at Babylon w/ Silas[Silvanus] IPeter 5:12,13\
Mark at Ephesus w/ Timothy w/ parchments IlTim 4:11-13\
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References show that John Mark was estranged from the Pauline Churches from 48 A.D. until 60 A.D. when John Mark is found with Paul in Rome, reconciled by Barnabas’ influence and Peter’s when at Jerusalem John Mark encountered him during those twelve years. Paul sends John Mark and Silas to Peter in Babylon. During 65 A.D. Peter returns John Mark with the First Epistle of Peter addressed to the strangers… not the brethren- i.e. fellow Hebrews, but to the Gentile churches founded by Paul, not to endorse John Mark the author of the Gospel of Mark; but, Paul (who had early put John Mark aside from the missions: so that those churches to whom Peter addresses may be settled in the foundation of Paul’s preachings and letters to which Paul adds in his final days before his martyrdom 68 A.D. the 11 Epistle of Timothy, Paul\’92s final written contribution to the Churches of the Apostles. For Paul himself seemed a bit unsettled reaping “less loved” and so the churches were beginning to lean away from Paul in favor of John Mark and the fallen silent Barnabas who they also first knew as bearer of the God news. From his second epistle though Peter reaffirms Paul’s position and authority and Barnabas remains the ‘John the Baptist’ to Paul and the Gentile churches. With no preconceptions and careful examination the Book of Hebrews and Il Timothy \
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indicate that the former book was well nigh completed by Paul when the second letter to Timothy was sent by Paul. This can be seen in the break in the closing verses of Hebrews 13:2 1 &2 2 and the need of Paul for John Mark whom Paul calls for “he is profitable to me for the ministry.” What John Mark added to Paul’s knowledge or confirmed to him is not easily discerned. Most likely along with the parchments and scrolls Timothy took to Paul is John Mark’s Levite familiarity with the workings of the Temple. A clue is Hebrews 9:5 “of which \ul we\ulnone cannot now speak particularly.” whether at that time or in this age is not known. But at that point in the manuscript it was “we” a council, staff, ministers who speak. The Apostle Paul’s authority and authorship is seen in The Epistle to the Hebrews with statements such as “Remember” Heb. 13:3 and 7 used also by Paul in I Corinthians 11:2, Col 4:18 and “Be not” Heb 13:9 with 11 Tim 1:8 and the exhortation “Pray for us” Heb. 13:18 with I Thes. 5:25. This wonderful Hebrew book to the Hebrews can be more than surmised to be to the Jews of Spain. Notice the aloofness of the book as would have been needed to address those wealthy dispersed Hebrews of the tribe of Judah who Paul encountered on his final missionary journey to Spain between his first and second imprisonment at Rome. By 1492 when the Spanish Jews were expelled from Spain they had achieved superior intelligence, culture and learning so as to exceed the Arabian Jews of Palestine where some had fled and built a yeshivah [Hebrew college] in Jerusalem, the first in more than one thousand years.\
Additionally: Mark – the word and the name means in pictorial and definitive terms – a mark, a sign, and is the symbol X i.e. a cross; yet not ‘signs’ as the Gospel of Mark records 16:20 but the writing of John Mark is a mark and a sign in the highest sense and as much a preaching of the Gospel throughout the world as any mission of the Apostles put forth, including the \
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exuberantly grateful Saul of Tarsus – Paul. Though John Mark in the Acts of the Apostles causes little stir throughout the churches over his withdrawal from the Pauline first missionary journey into Asia; his rejection for the subsequent second missionary journey does. It is that his Gospel of Mark is yet \
“preaching the gospel” of Mark 16:15 when other voices were not endorsed formally and recorded and survive nor remembered that gives clue to John Mark’s importance during the Apostolic age. The circumstances of John Mark\’92s return to Jerusalem can be understood from his identity found in: Matthew and Mark Gospels, his familiarity with the Apostle John as a disciple of the Lord Jesus of whom he records minutely, and as a Levite (John Mark’s relation to Joseph Barnabas makes him so] his attire in Gethsemane [Mark 14:521 he seems to be that of a Nazarite as well [Numbers 6:1-21 ]. From Matthew he is the scribe disciple who receives the employment conditions and so a pattern of Temple familiarity and access as a Levite is quite evident. The Apostle John is also thought to be of the priesthood although still then too young to serve in the Temple services and so his acquaintance with youthful John Mark is easily understood. Their age would have been under age thirty when Temple service would have required them as Levites to serve to the age of fifty. Notice the parallel term applied to each persons of the separate incidents – the word ‘certain’ by comparing Matthew 8:19, Luke 9:57 and Mark 14:5 1. When John Mark returned to Jerusalem from Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey with the intent to provide the missions a written account of the earthly ministry of our Lord, he encountered without doubt the Apostle Matthew perhaps already occupying himself with the construction of the Gospel of Matthew. For John Mark to have had knowledge of Matthew’s work does not seem unfounded as the audience of each gospel differs. The Gospel of Matthew for the Jews and the Gospel of Mark for Paul’s Gentile converts.\
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The mind John Mark, writer, even if it was just to record the ministry of the Messiah, beheld the numerous scrolls kept in the Temple and understanding that the labors of copying not only tattered Torah scrolls but any ancient record that was kept to withstand the test of time for validity of \
prophesy, said within himself that the preserving and distributing of words whether prophecies or teachings could be even more far reaching than the “foolishness of preaching” as a scroll or book. In the days of the Apostles this could have been revived in Mark who likely left in the Temple his Logia of the ministry of Jesus of Nazarene. If not in the Temple then probably in the home\
of Mary Mark, John Mark’s mother. This would have, of course, been Mark’s own note taking and does not exclude other scribal undertakings; but, he was familiar with the intimate twelve, two who witnessed the transfiguration – Peter and John, and with his inquiring to Jesus at a very open moment before Jesus boarded ship was able to get close enough to the Master to ask. Note also if one follows into the next verse that the scribe was already a disciple. Mt. 8:18-22. That this burden to return to Jerusalem implied unpreparedness or cowardliness on the part of Mark does not seem viable as his presence in the Garden the night of the betrayal of Jesus indicates he being the last to flee the scene and his later exploits as recorded in the Acts and Timothy and Peter indicate otherwise. No, the mind of a writer, when an individual is willing to follow its leadings, chooses the most inopportune instances to interject itself upon the pen and when this occurs that person does not question nor rationalize about the situation but bows to the dictates of his mind and finds quiet private repair to ejaculate the words that begin to flow on paper or tablet, even with abruptness and impoliteness that is completely unapologizeable. However, the words are recorded and if one can see the carefulness of Mark’s wording the understanding that the Holy Spirit was then at work in the man \
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Mark is well indicated. For we have the evidences of the identity of the correctness of Jesus the Messiah and that as well the Son of God, of whom also the first Adam was is recorded in Genesis as well as this last Adam who fully repaired the breach between the LORD God and the first Adam recorded in \
Genesis 3:15 where He [Jesus] is the ‘seed of the woman’: in a concise and crisp orderliness of words and events that is unobjectionable. Did Mark write this at one settings Me thinks not, rather it was a careful analysis of all available logia and memories of more that just Mark and Peter; for, there were as indicated by the scriptures Barnabas a disciple, Silas of the brethren [a Hebrew] [also called Silvanus is a key person to show the attitude of the\
early gentile church in as much as he is with Paul sent to Peter with Mark showing the unity of thought as well as the need for Paul to be endorsed by the ultimate authority, at that time, Peter], Mary, Mark’s mother and John the Apostle and Paul, not to be overlooked, as even the disciplines of a scribe could not shut out the forces of any of these personages as John Mark interacted with them. As the earliest written Gospel Mark exceeds in purpose of identifying and even proving his first verse explicatives. Note also the word ‘gospel’ is of extreme importance in this verse in the book as this is the long awaited [four thousand years old] promise of the LORD God in Genesis that John Mark conveys. Indeed, the good gospel for the people of that generation, when the Son of God inhabited the earth, were exhausted to the last breath when the message that John the Baptist cries from the wilderness his restore is, the Seed of the Woman has arrived, as \’93the Lamb of God!\’94\
Notice that at the time when John Mark departed the first Barnabas Pauline Mission Paul and Barnabas continue on together with seemingly no upset to the mission. Perhaps, Paul was concerned that John Mark, in the subsequent mission, would not be familiar with the inhabitants with whom \
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the first mission encountered. Paul remained silent evidently until the young scribe was proposed to accompany the second mission. Barnabas would not have been so vehement had John Mark been lacking in any preparedness to do so. Not cowardliness either, there was a more underlying intent that sent John \
Mark back to Jerusalem. Thus, John Mark is a “minister” to the speakers of any later missions his work of the gospel and his intercourse with Peter enough. Evidently, he was not an effective speaker plus he may not have been the prerequisite age needed to address the Jewish synagogues; where first Paul was obligated by conscience to inquire into each city he entered, a search of sort for any of faith, as seen with the lady Lydia. After the encounter with Peter at Antioch of Syria, Paul but for his speech in Jerusalem to defend himself, never missioned into the Land of Israel with the exception of Antioch of Syria. His earlier exploits had been around Tarsus his home town, outside of the Land of Israel. It was a geographical territory that Paul and Peter ‘agreed’ upon rather than ‘disputed’ about. The Lord’s final instructions to Peter were to “feed my sheep” note the close of the Gospel of John chapter 2 1. This statement made by the Lord Jesus Christ when there were yet only eleven of his disciples, Judas the twelfth being deceased, presupposes for us an apostle to the gentiles, Paul,whom the Lord chose and the “greater” of the twelve Apostles as his weighty contribution to the New Covenant Scriptures and outreach in missions proves him. And as the early scriptures state “I will call them my people who were not my people” [Romans 9:25, Hosea 2:23, an inference to the Church, a thought clearly in the mind of the Savior. The sheep being those of Israel note Matthew 10:6; also, if these were a reference to the first dispersed ten tribes Jesus would have preached in Armenia and Nineveh where they were taken rather than within Palestine and Judah where the Jewish captives in Babylonian returned.\
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With two letters from Peter leader of the Home Church located prior to 70 AD in Jerusalem, Paul\’92s Gentile congregations are firmly established. After the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem by Titus, the center of Christian authority, with the decease of the Apostles, is focused upon Rome; already, \
thought of in itself as a fortress of physical strength empathized now into the Church Seat itself where Paul had built from the Emperors’ household a spiritual empire. It appears Paul had thought to make Ephesus the seat of his cluster of believing churches since he had placed Timothy, his son in the faith, as her head. But at the close of Paul’s life he sends for Mark, Peter’s son in the faith, as being profitable to ‘the’ ministry. \ul The\ulnone , being the broader inclusive term rather ‘my’ ministry. With this it is clearer that the Apostles established early on the precedents of the Christian Church age such as the seat of\
Christianity. This was done not without consultations through evidently verbal communications which are not recorded and only implied or deduced from the doctrinal setting, Holy Scriptures of the New Covenant. An example is Antioch where many of the early church resorted over periods of time not less than a year at a time. See Acts 11:22-30 and Galatians 2:1-14. Even though the brevity of the scriptures is not always clear it must be held in mind that life during the times when the New Covenant age emerged progressed at a much slower pace than we live today. The time that was awaited for shipping to anywhere from the Caesarea could vary from a few weeks to a few months, the winds and weather being the governing factors and land travel by foot, time consuming and dangerous.\
Howbeit, continuing the purpose of John Mark in returning to Jerusalem from the first missionary mission, there is more importance than can be at first seen. For when Mark is ultimately received by Paul, he and Silas carried Peter’s first letter of endorsement of Paul to the gentile churches back from \
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Babylon. By what means, that is by whom, Peter conveyed his second letter to the Asian churches is not shown from the Holy Script. Also, as support to the “territorial” aspect of the missions, Peter sought out the Jews of Babylon who had not returned from the captivity, that is, Israel outside the Land. This is \
not to say he did not make effort to the gentiles of Babylon any less than Paul had to the Jews in his “territory” rather it directs purpose into the missions they each sought. Importantly, Mark is the instrument to carry not only his lovely gospel but what ever parchment or scroll that he could procure or copy from the Temple Archive – to which only he and perhaps the Apostle John had unlimited access, into the Pauline territory of Gentile Missions, much to our gratitude for the scripture we adhere to this day arc some due to this under esteemed minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Having the advantage of a wealthy family John Mark was well able to afford the return journey to\
Jerusalem and make use of the time that physical comforts of this life provided him. That is to say he did not have to work at a job to support himself to be able to write and travel, unlike the great Apostle Paul who both labored with his hands to eat and shelter and support his missions. To tarry at the very thing that made what Paul did, preach – being such foolishment, because of Its temporal nature is a juggling of the commodity that John Mark did not lack – time. Not in length of life span, for the traditions read that John Mark died a martyrs death in Alexandria after founding a church there; but, daily – time – to meditate and form in the mind and even subconsciousness sentences and words that are most effective for the paragraph they inhabit. Words that when set down can be and are in the case of the Gospel of Mark preached ever so often of each day by reading them – forever, for the good words are not forgotten and when written endure.\
To again formulate, with the parchments and scrolls and the Gospel of \
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Mark in mind, the events of 70 AD, executed by the Roman General Titus at Jerusalem, where, Jerusalem, the Temple, the Archive of Jewish genealogies and writings, her people scattered and killed, the pitiful little remnant nation Israel, the substance of the living old covenant, was swept away – a plowed field \
Jeremiah 26:18, there was no way for Israel the nation or an Israelite individual to atone for sin as in times past with the Temple gone. The new testament of expiration of sin is then in The Lord Jesus Christ where in Rome the seat of Christianity had been firmly established by Apostolic authority and so a yet traveling and dispersed and not fully written Christian Church Archive began to form toward and in Rome; and the Master Librarian none other than the unsuspected John Mark. The Apostolic Authoritative Church seat as it turned about “then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains” fled to Rome! Mark 13:14. What praise we should give for the marvelous workings of the Holy Spirit whose path can only be traced as a leaf cast about in the wind.\
Notice well, that Silas, one of the brethren, is key in that same ministry to the Gentiles as he joins Paul after he and Barnabas split and is present in Babylon with John Mark when they visit Peter. Silas is similar to the mortar of a brick wall that binds together into one separate bricks, the foundation of holy building of the Church of the rejected Messiah; as Paul the Apostle preacher to the gentiles and Peter the Apostle to the Sheep and John the Apostle who tarried and the list continues from the foundation that the Lord began in the ever increasing building of the greater temple to the Lord Jesus Christ.\
Perhaps least preferred, because of its crisp preciseness, of the gospels is\
John Mark’s; yet, it is written first and still preaches and teaches to the hearts of believers today simply and pointedly long after the authors decease. Consider, the woven garment… let us say a large square heavy weave blanket \
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type, called by the Apostle Paul “The cloak…” this he requested of Timothy in that same second letter, “that I left at Troas with Carpus,” This was a winter garment left there by the Apostle as he summer journeyed. A perfect description is best quoted from The People’s Bible Encyclopedia page 281; a piece of cloth nearly square, a sort of blanket or plaid. In pleasant weather it was more conveniently worn over the shoulders than being wrapped around the body. While it answered the purpose of a cloak, it was so large that burdens, if necessary, might be carried in it [Exod. 12:34; 2 Kings 4:391. The poor wrapped themselves up wholly in this garment at night, spread their leathern girdle upon a rock, and rested their head upon it, as is customary to this day in Asia. … Moses commanded that there should be a fringe upon the four corners of this garment, together with a blue cord or ribband, to remind the people of the heavenly origin of his statutes [Matt. 9:20; Luke 8:441. And with this in mind the Gospels: Matthew, the Jewish scribe writes for the Jewish Christian as they were first to hear; Mark, the Levite scribe writes for the Gentile Missions [Paul’s mainly]; Luke, the Greek Physician writes for the assurance of Theophilus and both individuals are proselytes to Judaism therefore of more eager heart to know the scriptures and prove their adherence thus Luke furnished all of what he knew and could gather; John, the Jewish Aaronic Priest writes for the Christian believers that they may have life, thus, the ear that listened to the rhythmic heart beat of the Son of God, lets the reader of his gospel hear the wellspring too. Seem it unlikely that The Gospel of Mark being the earlier of the Gospels formed the warp of the new covenant scriptures while Matthew and Luke the woof threads of a cloak garment fringed with the blue heavenly words of the Gospel of John. And so it is in the garment cloak of the Gospels wrap that the Apostle to the Gentiles whose first visit to any city was to the synagogue and if warmly welcomed of the city, the garment later \
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of the accumulated burden “the books, but especially the parchments” grasped and embraced by the earliest believers to Paul’s church. Yes, true the gospels had not been written when Paul and Barnabas and John Mark set forth on the first missionary journey that The Acts of the Apostles records, however, the \
space of forty years, from the ascension of the Lord to the destruction of the Temple all but five of the new covenant books had been written. After the destruction of Jerusalem as the Apostle John tarried his five books, The Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John and The Revelation of John completed the cannon of the New Covenant. It is quite intriguing that a date as early as forty-five A.D. is identified with The Epistle of James making it the earliest writing of the New Testament and addressed to the \’93brethren. To mull a bit longer, most scholastics agree that the Gospel of Mark is the earliest written Gospel, then the Gospel of Matthew with dates as early of forty-eight A.D. perhaps it is that the two latter were written simultaneously as Mark had returned to Jerusalem by that early date and if we transgress our departure from traditional information a mite Matthew remained in Jerusalem for about fifteen years after the ascension of the Lord before missioning, that same time frame as Mark inhabited. Perhaps not entirely collaborated in a consolatory sense the use of the available Logia. being Mark’s and Matthew’s and perhaps even a Johnnane script, seems quite likely with the authors own memories forming the additions and variances with of course the guiding enlightenment’s of the Holy Spirit. Hereto and at the same period of time Peter is present in Jerusalem and is understood by many scholars as most influential in the progress of the Gospel of Mark.\
Concerning the person of John Mark the considerations of his actions seems to lend the only yet revealing traits of his personality and as importantly\
what he was not is significant as well. He was not untaught in Levitical \
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traditions of his Brethren both reading and writing, ignorant of the “signs of the times” by his discipleship to Jesus of Nazareth, not a coward by token of his traveling into the first mission and later Asia minor and Italy nasty hazards, not lazy as any who have attempted to follow a constantly moving \
Source to take notes from or any who attempt to write a fifteen thousand word manuscript knows, not uncompassionate as he is found with Paul in Rome who asked for John Mark after rejecting him, not proud nor angry to have caused him to reject the missions. Yet, what he showed himself to be is an educated writer [with all of its quirks and eccentricity] Greek word used in Matt. 8:13 is ‘grammateus, – a professional writer, scribe or secretary, Hebrew ‘soferim’ (original meaning people who know how to write] later, teacher, Samuel 8:17 royal officials who were occupied in the archives the proceedings of each day [John Mark], one knowledgeable in the law and were a Jewish cast [body of teachers] of their own similar to the Pharisees and Sadducees begun in the days of Ezra to maintain the Law of Moses to the Jew returned to Jerusalem. [b] and a public secretary [Matthew], his fee was not fixed, it was advisable to make bargain with him before he did his work. J.E. Vol. XI, \’93scribe.\’94 Which thing Jesus did. John Mark persevered and succeeded in reestablishing himself in the Pauline missions though not by himself consider that Peter paused to read the young man’s Gospel just as you or any and imagine the memories that filled Peter’s mind of the earthly ministry of his Lord and God. It is not to deflate ones importance below another and point an accusing finger as if Paul had done so toward John Mark nor is it to bring Paul down as if he had been wrong in rejecting John Mark; but, it is to see the wondrous benefit John Mark’s return to Jerusalem profited the infant church in furnishing a worthy writing and parchments and scrolls to the missions of Paul. No, there was Holy Purpose underlying that entire situation, though for \
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the persons involved it must have been tremendously difficult to live it.\
Now, it is Peter and his influence and interactions through John Mark, Peter’s son Mark [Marcus], that we cannot neglect but give as diligent treatment. The epistles of Peter show a complete lack of personal familiarity, \
unlike Paul’s, with the inhabitants of Asia to whom he addressed his exhortations another indication of Peter’s efforts in Babylon to the Jews not returned from captivity and The Land which extended in King David and Solomon’s to the Euphrates River thus including Damascus and Antioch, Syria, being mindful this was the northern boundary of the promised land to Israel set out by the Holy Spirit in the instructions of Moses and Joshua. This was Peter’s ‘territory’ in which he missioned, and other than his two letters into Asia, where we find him within the confines of scripture record.\
The importance of Mary’s [mother of John Mark] home is shown in that Peter presents himself there after his miraculous escape from prison and the hand of Herod. As the home was generally known to all saved and unsaved as a haven for the followers of JESUS thus Peter leaves there and goes to another less conspicuous place to hide himself and protect those of that holy house. Acts12:12-17 — there remains an ancient inclination that the garden on the Mount of Olives where Jesus ” oft resorted” was owned by Mary mother of John Mark. And if this be true answers perfectly with Peter’s resort to that home after his prison release by the Angel and the church in her home. Alfred Edersheim confides his notion that even the place of the upper room where the last supper of our Lord occurred was the home of the husband of Mary the mother of John Mark. And that seems possible considering the number that prayed in Acts 12:12 and the numbers of the disciples attending the final feast indicates a room of considerable size perhaps thirty by forty feet indicating the wealth of the owner and since in the ancient city and of Israel some Temple \
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related occupation of course Levitical in nature. Further supposition is not necessary to understand the endearment of the owners to our Lord and his\
ministry. To further avail their garden outside the city to his often refuge when visiting Jerusalem and of course the final night of his betrayal places a “certain \
young man dressed only in a linen cast about” the last to flea the Lord’s presence that night dare say speaks of a very resolute if not brave heart in John Mark. It is the clue of the word ‘certain’ used also in Matthew concerning a “certain scribe” that avails us a clearer picture of that person associated with Jesus. Additionally of those times, a tunic which was an over length t-shirt which when worn alone the person was considered “naked” can be said of this “certain young man.”\
Another confrontation concerns Peter; Galatians 2:14 [but all from 2:11 – 141 and is vital to the reconstruction of the Apostolic age as it occurred. The recorded territorial division occurs in Galatians 2:8&9. The territory to Peter to the Jews in the land of Israel and to the Jews of Babylon, east and west. The territory to Paul, north from the Jews of the “Land of Israel” into Asia; thus, defining the “territorials” of each Apostle. Peter himself never enters the territory of Paul, but by Mark as his “son.” Paul missions only to Jerusalem from which he is returned to his own territory and Rome under arrest. Paul’s insurmountable difficulties came in Jerusalem due to his ministry to the gentiles, Trophimus being a gentile by birth [Acts 21:291. Peter calls Marcus his son thus making Marcus equal with himself so that John Mark’s presence be intended as Peter’s own. Thus Paul made Timothy his son endearing him with like authority as Paul. A son has and is all that the Father is and does and in perfect identity equal with the Father. So when John Mark is in Rome Peter is in Rome though not physically for Peter. It is to rob Paul of his territorial right, Acts 9:15, to ascribe Peter with him in Rome physically: even though Peter’s \
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epistle one and two underwrite Paul’s authority there. No, the Church seat in Rome is the great Apostle Paul’s and the race he fought won with laurel unquestionable.\
Continuing with Peter using only the Holy Scriptures for our source, they \
do not show Peter in Rome at all – only John Mark [Col. 4: 10& 181 anything else is conjecture or traditions propagated by writers of hearsay, and those not earlier than sixty years after the death of Paul and Peter [about 120 A.131. Clement research shows the complete hush concerning Peter’s martyrdom showing conjecturally their reverence for the complete humiliation of Peter as being unworthily crucified at Jerusalem, on the same tree as the cross of his dear Savior Jesus Christ and thus choosing death upside down, also a candid display of the Apostle’s effect on the world at that time which he had part in upending with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Privately, upside down as not being worthy of the same fate as his Lord where he denied Him to.\
It appears from I Peter and Il Peter 3:15,16 that in writing his epistles Peter is substantiating Paul to Paul’s churches; as, the attacks of the opponents of Christianity were gaining momentum; perhaps at Paul’s request he writes as Silas and Mark who are with Peter in his first epistle as bearers of verbal unrecorded messages from Paul; but, they are not with Peter in his second epistle to Asia, indeed none other attendant is mentioned, meaning Peter was alone as we all face physical death and presence before the Savior.\
But then why does Peter call Mark “my son” as he was first with Paul and Barnabas; because, Mark’s leaving a Mission to return to Jerusalem had harmed Mark’s report among the brethren because of Paul’s strong objection to him joining the second mission. However, John Mark furnishes to the gentile converts his little Gospel which is such a touching endearment that John Mark is seen to them as discounted by Paul. It is then that Peter sends his first \
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epistle to “strangers” not “brethren” of Asia Paul’s churches. As Peter’s “Son” John Mark is lifted and in their sight. Peter is helping John Mark with The Gospel of Mark assignment from the Holy Spirit “since those of old times were moved by the Spirit to write” and in those late times John Mark, he having \
come from Jerusalem with the Logia \’93Gospel\’94 that he had left at Jerusalem returned to the missions. And Silas, who, after Barnabas departed, traveled with Paul into the second mission, is now the common binding among the “brethren” who travels then with John Mark to Babylon. It seems clear that Paul had sought out Peter’s thoughts through Silas and John Mark and Peter responds with his epistles. The disagreement at Antioch, Syria did not overshadow the missions of either Apostle, the pettiness of dominance entered not into either of them for the need for common bond or as Peter did furnished a letter along with “his son” in the common faith to settle and confirm the new gentile believers churches. When Peter mentions Paul with thoughts conveyed by Silas and John Mark who is the continuing interaction between Paul and Peter – they never meet again. But John Mark carries the first Epistle of Peter to Ephesus 65-66 AD. And so, Peter returns John Mark to Paul as it were an apostolic Onesimus, Philemon:10 , thus productive and profitable to the ministry. However, away in Jerusalem from the northern mission Apostles John Mark quietly produced his wonderful Gospel to the Gentiles. To say John Mark was a stumbling block to the missions to the gentiles is unfair and to criticize Barnabas is obviously as unwise as his ministry turns to John Mark and begins on Cyprus, when the two resort to Barnabas’ home at Salamus on the east coast. The influence upon John Mark placed by Barnabas we should assume is shown in the Gospel of Mark; but, without a clear view of the manners of Barnabas’ this aspect is difficult to discern and the well known Petrene character of the gospel is more identifiable.\
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Concerning the small Gospel itself it would seem, although Jesus most\
assuredly observed the feasts of the LORD in Jerusalem the two previous years of his ministry. that there is in the first part of the gospel a view of the Galilean ministry of the Lord Jesus and the second part is a view of his \
Judaean ministry. A Capernaum ministry where he reveals himself and a Jerusalem ministry where he offers himself for the sins of the Nation he was sent to. In this way John Mark the author divides the gospel in two parts. The Galilean Peter no doubt guided the writing of this first part especially the earliest segment of the holy ministry of our Lord for John Mark had not yet offered his services Matthew 8:19-21 and this second part is without doubt more dear to John Mark not only because of the familiar setting of his Jerusalem home but of the death burial and resurrection of his Lord Jesus the Messiah. And his family more easily resorted to Jesus especially when he was in their home or their Garden in the Olivet where familiarity with surroundings lent a more concentrated effort by the young disciple upon the Lord Jesus and his circumstance. Here to after the ascension of the Lord the new born church is swaddled in John Mark’s home by his lately widowed Levite mother where she had “joined” herself to the authentic and living Messiah to her people. That had been twenty years before, but now armed with his Gospel John Mark ventured return to the northern missions. This man’s ministry is no less important than another’s more visible efforts, where the example is the early building of the gentile “nation” church in the Acts of the Apostles. There to is lent to us more evidence that John Mark was the “certain scribe” of Matthew whereby his occupational skills caused this Gospel to be his rather than Peter’s. The young man probably close to thirty years of age, soon to begin Jerusalem Temple service, chose rightly the Holy Living Temple to attend; where at, rain and hot sun and early dew, chilled air and sanded wind were \
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likewise endured when there had been no cover nor head rest for slumber, the understood terms of the service of John Mark the scribe to Jesus. Strikingly, the term scribe appears twenty-two times in the Gospel of Mark more times than in any other of the Gospels. \
He, John Mark, was even-tempered, purposefully thoughtful, a worker as his Gospel shows, as well as a prepared young scholar who was profitable to the ministry with his additional knowledge making that so, plus his living faith in the Savior making his perseverance in regaining his position in the ministry to the Gentiles possible. However, even these things were not as important as were the motive that inspired John Mark. That is a Person, in presence as his teacher and mentor, his Lord and Savior and Messiah, Jesus. \
Jesus of Nazareth, The Man, The Second Adam enters Jerusalem, the city founded in peace, where Melchizideck blessed the patriarch Abraham, where Abraham had offered his son Isaac. Jesus resorts to the Temple that grandeur structure built for the habitation of the Blessed Father, for the Messiah of Israel, for the Son of God – for Him – Jesus, and he chose to teach the multitudes in its porches and on its steps rather than enter into the resting place of the Ark of the First Covenant, where the foxes do not enter and the birds build no nest, where he could have by right leaned his head against the head of a golden Cherib and rested upon the golden mercy seat lifting his feet from the dust of the earth; but, he had not fully evidenced his person in His shameful death, nor his power in his resurrection from the dead. No! The Son of the Blessed remained in his humbled state and established the New Covenant in His Name, and his blood the eternal name – the name that shows his self-existence, for there is no higher to reach down for Him, rather, it is He that came from his high place and catches us up into his Holy Presence. In prophecy from the rejected true Prophet like Moses, the place prepared for Me is \
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likewise rejected – “not one stone shall remain one upon another of it.” High above the glory of Herod’s Temple, He, Jesus, chose the cross into the Glory of His Father’s eternal Presence.\
And perhaps John Mark heard too the words of John the Baptist \’93Behold \
the Lamb of God.\’94 And the Passover Lamb too Jesus is, and he said to his accusers: :…how is it you came to take me?\’94 \
The odors, but for the flame of the Great Altar, and sounds and sights of the Temple had been still all night as the accusers of Jesus had confirmed his fate leading him bound from Gethsemane to Annas then Ciaphas to Pilot to Herod and as Jesus was led to his final presence before Pilate the gates of the Temple opened with the three sounds from the Silver horns blown by the priests permeating the still cool air of The City, it was dawn in Jerusalem. Led forth from Jerusalem just outside the gates and not in private but along a busy international road Jesus is crucified at 9:00 AM and somewhat east of the Temple spot where a daily scene not halted since instituted by the LORD God through Moses some twelve hundred years before, though there was the lull of the seventy years prophesied by Jeremiah during the Babylonian captivity, until 70 AD, within the cities walls and inside those high and strong Temple walls and inside those the most private place in front of the Temple was the 9:00 AM offering of the sacrificial lamb for which that symbol was is happening on that solemn day within a half a mile away from which the sounds and smells and the sight of the smoke drifted from the Temple Great Altar rose into the heaven whence yet a southerly breeze may magnify the sound of the Temples silver trumpet’s three blasts signifying the beginning of that offering and to bring the odors of the lamb’s burning flesh into the nostrils of the Holy Sacrifice; and, another lamb at 3:00 PM the same day the time of the Saviors death, the Messiah of Israel the Son of the Blessed God is crucified dead during \
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Israel’s high feast day of the Passover, also a figure of the true event then occurring, and so much more to follow the Sabbath observance when both the Jew and Jesus were inside and resided the Jew in his home but Jesus in the sepulcher. Just prior to six PM as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea and \
their servants were laying Jesus in the sepulcher even as they wrapped his body they heard the tree blasts of the Temple trumpets that it was time to prepare for the Sabbath, all Jerusalem heard. It had not been the multitudes to whom Jesus preached and ministered his healings and proved his person; but the leaders of that generation of Israel who hating his true accusations of them and fearful of loosing their offices and for the more tenaciously infected ‘envy’ that Jesus had been delivered to the Romans and their accusation for being a competitive Crown to Caesar’s, Yet not an accusation but truth – The King of kings. They were a small sordid group but with the money and influence to harm, yes, kill the Prince of Life. Yet, their plot lasted but for some seventy-two hours when the true \’91I Am that I Am’ of the burning bush before King Moses, proved above all other of his claims, his self-existence, by his resurrection from the dead into Eternal Life.\
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Prologue \
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The years enclosed in the fortress of my memory, that is the years of my youth, the Holy Bible has been assaulted with criticisms that were necessary to defend, in my thought; but, Spiritual maturity has proven that the charges were from those who sought a refuge in a congregation and not in the Lord Jesus Christ and so those allegation fell inert before the True Words of God. The most shaking thrust at The Holy Book came from one on the steps of the small church after a Sunday service where I had spoken. \’93The Bible is two books!\’94 My quick response to defend the Word was \’93It is ONE Book!\’94 A position that remains to this day in my heart but now with spiritual proofs that only faith can grasp; because, it was only a comment from someone who cared nothing for either the God of the Old Testament or the God of the New Testament. For had he cared for the God of the Old Testament he would have recognized the God of the New. In the same manner had he truly met the God of the New Testament he would have recognized the God of the Old – for He is the same Eternal Person of every sixty six books of the Holy Bible even though \
His Name is not mentioned in one of them.\
I\
This Compendium begins as the other three previous ones with the name \
of a son of Jacob. It is not peculiar that their names appear in the New Covenant books as well, for the names themselves are a Spiritual matter from their sound to the figure of their individual letters and that person shadows that lovely lone procurer of eternal salvation the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true not in every way or action do they indicate the Savior; but, the part that does apply is significant enough to designate that shadow of the personality of the Friend who is closer than a brother. How did the Holy Spirit identify this identical pattern of names to each book is the miracle of life as Jesus describes the man who planted, \’93So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.\’94 And if a person should chose to trust this pattern and watch for those names as he or she reads, have they not kept the charge of the Lord to all to, \’93Watch\’94 not only our ways but expectantly for his person.\
Concerning the structure of the Gospel of Mark by places in the Holy Celebration by which this compendium is written, the introduction and preface pages of the Holy Bible with the Holy Celebration, under separate covers, will find the reader detailed information on the placement of the divisions by Biblical names of the patriarchs, as well as terms that pertain to the work of the Holy Savior Jesus Christ. These twenty two names and terms are the places taken from Deuteronomy 33:6-29, and they are listed according to their appearance by page number on the contents page of this commentary. Only in each of the four Gospels are all twenty two names and terms utilized because the places \’91alone,\’92 \’91fountain,\’92 \’91land\’92 refer specifically to the person and work of the Savior Jesus that he accomplished at Jerusalem to secure for all who \
receive it eternal salvation. \
II\
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The Gospel of Mark \
a Compendium\
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When there is a mark upon a babe when it is born it is called a male, a boy child. God chose his Savior to a male, one with a mark, one who is the Mark unlike any who have ever been born, Holy and without sin that is whose mind is fixed upon his Father to do his bidding. The Father could have chosen otherwise had he chosen; but, acceptance of things as they are is part of this present life as it shall be in the one to come. We are carried along through life sometimes deceiving ourselves that we are at the helm of our path; yet, secretly understanding that our end is, as all others who are before who have already passed into the eternal creation. Then still, some thought that the soul ceases when the body dies – a most discomforting position and without foundation \
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and ignorant of the revealed truth. Angrily others chose \’93hell\’94 hating the beckoning of God, perfectly content to for eternity remain filled with hate and envy and spite and to welcome, they think, the realm that feeds those things. Much otherwise the faithful are much at ease with the pleasantness that fills them from the Lord Jesus Christ, relieved to be free from the wrath’s of the inner soul of man that shall pass away with the flesh having put on the new awareness of God that shall not be taken away.\
Within the first portion, of the first sentence, of the Gospel of Mark is the intent and threefold presentation of the book. The scribe\’92 s intent is to present the resonance of the presence of the miracle of God among the people of faith in visiting the earth. This he calls the gospel, that God news so long awaited. That Presence is a human person The Jew whose name is Jesus i.e. savior, he is the anointed one to be King of Israel i.e. Messiah, Christ, and he is the Son of God by token of his emaculate conception and perfect identity to His Father. \
The branch of the lampstick that the Gospel of Mark, along with the other three Gospels represent is Asher. That name means \’93happy\’94 refer to the birth of Asher in Genesis 30:13 and the blessing of Jacob in Genesis 49:20 and the blessing of Moses at the close of Deuteronomy 33:24. And happy is the soul that reads these memories of the presence of the Savior upon the earth and his good message. The lamp, that is the container that holds the olive oil for the light whose wick rests the edge of the lamp is Jesui, his name means, \’91he will level.\’92 Jesui is found in the book of Numbers 26:44, he is a son of Asher and grandson of Jacob who is called Israel. Asher is the second of twins born to Leah by her handmaid Zilpah and Gad is his brother. These are the second set of twins born to Jacob the other two were Dinah and Zebulun born to Leah herself. As Jacob was a twin himself with Esau it follows that the \
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lineage of twins came from Jacob. Genesis 29 & 30. Between Joseph also a son of Jacob by Rachel his beloved and the other brothers was drawn a great rift that nearly cost Joseph his life. Shadowed, of course, is of Jesus and his great controversy with his brethren. The old covenant taught the children of Israel in the wilderness that the LORD God requires just balances and weights. In the Gospel of Mark One is found who is just to level the balances it is the Lord Jesus Christ who in his earthly ministries took away from the prodding Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees their self imputed honor and gave to the poor in spirit and repentant heart, health and rightness with God. It is the direction of affections that is critical to observe in both the illustration with Joseph and the actuality in Jesus. Joseph related to his brethren revelation of his dreams from God. Jesus in greater magnitude spoke the words of his Father to his brethren. Seeing that the Jacob observed the sayings of Joseph and his brothers envied him they were seeking favor from Jacob. With Jesus nothing was amiss in his speaking to please his Father and the people, the Jews, heard him gladly. The Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees who went about in long robes to be seen of men, the Jews, were losing their audience and influence and finding no outside nation to sell him into slavery to nor pit to cast him into, devised to kill him and be rid of the competition seeing he had \
proven in every way his identity the Messiah of Israel.\
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The place [REUBEN]\
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See a son! Leah proclaims to Jacob. Genesis 29:32. In the Hebrew language the sound of her proclamation was \’93Reuben\’94 he was life from Leah and Jacob. And he is the eldest of Jacob’s by Leah and none can take away the \
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impression that the first child brings to the heart of a parent. Though offense lost Reuben his high station among his brothers, this son of Israel the Son of God, Jesus the anointed One, can never offend his Father but in all ways pleased Him. And so, is the beginning beginning verse of The Gospel of Mark, the first of the God news to proclaim that holy righteousness to as belonging to Jesus. Herein Jesus is first proclaimed the Messiah of Israel the one who is anointed to be the nation Israel\’92s King, he is the Greek term Christ also meaning the anointed one, of the Nation Israel. He is the Son of God by token of the heavenly disclosure when he became anointed by John the Baptist in the Jordan River – \’93This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!\’94 And John Mark is bound to identify to the Gentile recipients of his Gospel that the prophets, for all nations had \’93prophets,\’94 had foretold of a messenger, an Old Covenant messenger, the new covenant with Israel yet to be instated by the Lord, is John the Baptist. That Priest voice separate from the business of religion, cries from the wilderness from the waters of the Jordan River; open your hearts through repentance, from missing that God is sending his Son to reconcile to himself his people Israel, from sins that be obstacle to the presence of the Son of God and receive the Holy One of God who is sent to you.\
The true Reuben is the Lord Jesus Christ and John Mark is not slack in first proclaiming that good news of his arrival and his identity as the Son of God. Though there had been one before this grand Savior, he, Satan, had been found wanting in rightness of whom God reproved making him the enemy. But this person that John Mark communicates is fitting in every way and tested to the full extent. His right to the honor of the joys of his Father of the first born rest upon his person both physically and spiritually for his whole heart is not sick nor corrupt and no guile proceeds from such a pure heart as that of The Lord Jesus Christ. This is the full spirit of the place Reuben wherein as well a \
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brother without envy announces his coming to his people of faith \’93See a Son\’94. \
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The place [SIMEON]\
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John the messenger of the first verse is a \’91baptist.\’92 He immersed those who came to him in water to signify spiritual cleansing. This concept had its roots in the ritual baths of the priests of first the Tabernacle in the wilderness and then the Temples, Solomon\’92s, Ezra\’92s, and Herod\’92s where from the copper Laver the priests drew water to cleans the body, of especially, the High Priest each day, but who once a year entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement in the presence of the LORD God for the sins of the Nation Israel. John the Baptist applied this in figure to the individual Israelite who longed for the promised \’93Seed of the Woman\’94 who was to make things right between them and their LORD the God of Israel. With his immersings he was, in reality, preparing the people to be in the presence of God through repentance of sins and confessions. And through the peoples\’92 High Priest John they knew the forgiveness of sins; but said John after me \’93cometh one mightier than I\’94 one able to take away sin and give new life. The ineffectiveness of the Temple Priesthood through corruption is also what John fled to the wilderness from and the same which slew the Son of Life. But the common people were ready to hear the voice of last old covenant High Priest John the Baptist. We know that many with person charisma can find a following; but, this son of Jacob through the Holy Spirit won disciples who recognized the voice of God whom he preached.\
Concerning John\’92s background, he was a Priest after the order of Aaron. His father was Zacharias who did serve in the Temple and his mother also of the daughters of Aaron. See Luke 1:5-23. He would easily have been chosen \
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for the position of High Priest in the Temple in Jerusalem to his God the LORD. Nonetheless, he set that honor aside and dwelt in the wilderness much as any of us do when we want to review our lives when we \’93get-a-way from it all.\’94 Our souls refresh and we are \’93good-to-go\’94 again. John, however, being filled with the Holy Ghost was uncluttered with daily priestly routines and the simplicity of life and garb made him focused upon his mission. His life was short, barely reaching the age of thirty, and with his mission completed was murdered. The camel hair coat he had worn was much in appearance as our burlap of today, camel hair being of the coarse sort of yarn. It spoke of repentance and humility and that as the High Priest to the people of Israel in their behalf. The wide leather belt he wore communicates a sacrifice having been made for him to have it, another priestly function. See Exodus 29:but specifically verses 8 & 9. His food speaks of the condition of the \’93land flowing with milk and honey\’94 promised to the people of Moses day. The nation had dwindled through affliction and dispersion to a sprinkling of folk across the \’93land\’94 who had returned from the Babylonian captivity. In the days of Jesus of Nazareth the product increase of the land was shipped to Rome to feed the conquering world nation Rome who held them like the devouring locusts. It was a land of natural sweetness supplying a voracious nation which lacked any of the spiritual zeal that had once been Israel as an independent Nation among nations as in King David\’92s and King Solomon\’92s days when the words of Lord God flowed from the kings mouth and were recorded by the scribes. In the highest spiritual sense John the Baptist ushered in the days of the flowing of gracious and truthful words of the Son of God to those of faith awaited his promised presence with them. It was as it came to be in the Acts of the Apostles that the Lord Jesus Christ baptized his people with the Holy Ghost, such that today it is barely perceived that Holy Spirit is a real separate entity. \
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What folly to confess Jesus and be numb to his gift. And so came John the Baptist looking like a long bearded roughneck, wild man, me think not. A clean and humble man, a high priest to the people by birthright and action when, his Messiah Jesus came, the true High Priest of our profession. Hebrews 3:1.\
Now of this messenger the people were attentive to \’93hear\’92 the God news stating the power of his Lord to provide his faithful their hearts\’92 desire. They shall be made clean from their sinful natures through the lasting baptism of the power of the Holy Ghost that can come from only the Heavenly Provider. John the Baptist\’92s ministry of baptism was temporal and lacking compared to the eternal cleansing Jesus was to provide. John suffered the anxieties of his fate with patience in the prison before his execution. But the Living God had \’93heard\’94 the voice of his people in bondage to sin and he sent his deliverer the Lord Jesus Christ. He had sent one to deliver them from Egypt\’92s physical bondage but now at long last, for God does not tarry longer than necessary, only until the heart knows itself as Jeremiah 17:9 \’93The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?\’94 Only the Lord God and he only can bruise under his heal the head of that being who placed that terrible essence within all of Adam that separates his people from His pleasant person, and He has! He has heard! \
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The place [JUDAH] \
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According to the leaders of Israel of the time, Jesus came from the pit of darkness. Even guileless Nathaniel the later disciple of the Lord said, \’93Can any good thing come from Nazareth.\’94 Indeed the only good thing to visit upon the earth in the midst of a helpless nation Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, come from \
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God to his people Israel. And if there was to be any \’93praise,\’94 any Judah, any celebration, any joy of God it had to be upon and in the healer of hearts. Thus like a heaven flighted dove its foot found rest upon the only worthy ark, Jesus of Nazareth, worthy to called the Son of God. But with honor comes testing and that from whom Jesus supplanted [Jacobed], Satan. Like Daniel, Jesus was tested, only besides with the lions the array of the beasts then of Judah and Palestine, wild boar, the wolf, the bears, the leopards, the voracious jackals of the nights, the hyenas and the vipers; but of course he had made them all in the beginning he being the Word of God, so of course like Daniel, they did not harm, their maker. The only comfort to him were the angels of whom he was higher they ministering spirits and he a physical human. Hebrews. Even after having left the wilderness the testing continued from the leaders of his people he was sent to. But they came to him not to test but rather to ridicule, reject and crucify from them one more, only this one worthy of the positions they held. Preconception can be the most tragic tool a person can approach God with, for the acceptance of God as he is is essential to negotiations in any approach. Rather no prompting at all, than to have the wrong concept of another’s erroneous imprint in the mind when the meeting occurs. But the critics of Jesus had an end in mind when they approached him for they had rejected impostors before Him. Acts 5:33,39, Acts 21:38. Yet of the wilderness were the grazing animals the gazelle the hart the wild goat and the like but the setting of the Lord Jesus alone among all of the creatures puts to mind the same scene from Genesis when all of the animals were brought before Adam to see what he would name them, and a fit mate was not found for him. This last Adam, Jesus the Son of God, found no fit mate either of the Nation Israel, his people he had brought up from Egypt, were to reject him and it was only through his own sacrifice that \’91a new nation\’92 of the people \
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of the earth, who were before not a people, would become his beloved, today’s Church. In this we give the Lord Jesus Christ honor and praise.\
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The place [LEVI]\
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According as the meaning of the name Levi, joined; we see Jesus join his faithful unto himself when bids them, \’93Come after me …\’94 The figure is sublime. The men he called to be his disciples were with their earthly father and his profession whom they were called to leave and were joined to their heavenly Father through the Son of the Father Jesus Christ to become \’93fishers of men.\’94 He had taken them from the doctrines of their people the Jews and made them holy to himself. They were of the faithful remnant of the once great and prestigious Nation Israel of which in the days of King David and King Solomon exceeded all of the nations of the earth as their faith was indomitable and so their position among the peoples of the earth. There was left of that nation little else but their faith. Yes, there was the Temple and the worship of their LORD God; but, as a nation they were subdued with no real authority. The Greeks had brought the little nation under and the present Romans now held their necks to heavy financial burdens of taxes and levies. For the individual there was little left but their faith and hope of the expected Messiah, who they trusted would deliver them from Rome. It is note worthy that in the synagogues that have been excavated by the archaeologists invariably found fallen between the joints of the stone structuring of the buildings are caches of coins from the days when oppression laid heavy tolls upon God\’92s people. A dutiful Jew wrapped in his cloak for warmth is seated on the cold stone seat of his synagogue and as the sabbath reading of the designated portion of the Torah of Moses is completed and rolled again into the cradle ark the chant of a \
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Psalm begins and from his tightly clinched hand the coins he has hoarded all week begin to drop one by one into his hidden chamber of his seat but the sound of the coins decent is covered by the cantors voice. The treasure of his heart belongs now to the God he awaits. Those were the men and women Jesus sought. They were too poor to travel to the Temple each sabbath and but for their required comportment there for the Passover feast their \’93coins\’94 substituted their presence. The early prophets had spoken the coins of faith and patient waiting for of God\’92s promise of His Messiah are into the settings in which we see the Savior enter on the sabbath day in Capernaum. The significance of the first recorded act of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark lends understanding to the war against faith that occurs when faithful gather. But till the Messiah entered the adversary dwelt among them. Jesus would not permit the unclean spirit to speak, for it had left its dead body to inhabit a living human. The unclean spirit\’92s opportunity at faith and salvation he had scoffed at during the days of his life in his own body, he had not submitted into the presence of the Creator at his death, he was out of order. Thus, Jesus would not permit him to speak at all but commanded him leave the helpless host. This Jesus would have done for the nation Israel but her leaders would not have their positions compromised. What is arresting is that the congregation knew it was an unclean spirit in the man – they had been along without power to cast it from their midst. It took the Messiah to do that, who else could have? Little wonder that His fame quickly spread abroad in the land of Galilee. \
From Isaiah 1:5,6 \’93the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores…\’94 Jesus begins to heal and in the Gospel of Mark, Simon and Andrews mother. The home is in Capernaum as \
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was the Synagogue and apparently very close to the house of worship and study. This would demonstrate the devotion to the God of Israel that the family possessed. The quote from Isaiah concerns the \’93sinful nation\’94 that the LORD had brought up and his compassion to its condition. This is the condition of his people into which the Savior entered when he came forth from the Father; a woman [Israel] his bride who was in need of healing and Jesus is able. It is the same pattern we see the Apostle Paul follow in his ministry , Jesus finds his people where they worship. Then it is the multitude of Jews who seek for his healing and he casts out the devils: not devil, rather souls of the dead who belong to Satan, and his name meaning \’91adversary\’92 to God. John Mark interjects a single healing and it too is symbolic in its nature; for the disease leprosy, not unknown today, is in its disposition typical of the condition of the nation Israel. The disease is described by Moses in Leviticus chapter thirteen and fourteen and its cleansings. Leprosy basically effects the nervous system at first with eventually the loss of the extremities toes and fingers, facial disfigurations and not necessarily resulting in death. The just of the figure is the insensitivity of the nation towards her God. The nation Israel through the leaders of the nation ultimately reject the Son of God their Messiah. Had the leper followed the instructions of the Lord perhaps there would have been more of the hierarchy of the priesthood of Aaron drawn to Jesus whom he also wished to address; though certainly, the offering of Jesus could not be changed for Jesus came to seek and to save. By the lepers actions, rather mistaken actions, the ministry of Jesus changed from him and entering the cities and visiting the synagogues, that is going directly to the people; to his people having to come to him without the cities in desert places. The example of the difficulties of Jesus entering the city is drawn of his own house in Capernaum in the next place.\
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The place [BENJAMIN]\
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Jesus traveled alone from Nazareth whether directly or first to John the Baptist then perhaps to Capernaum does not seem clear in this Gospel; however, to consider the Lord as he established the ascent of his ministry is of curious intrigue. For he surely had to approach some individual to either purchase the home or rent it and this thought adds much to the day to day activities that are necessary for the existence of any individual. Later he delegated such things to the disciples but then it was he alone. The homes in the days of the Lord\’92s ministry were rather humble by today’s standards of precision and architectural perfection small in size by the limitations of structural integrity of lumber and stone they still had the quality of being comfortable. The walls were stone probably plastered. The ceilings were of matted withes of trees beneath larger more structural layers of limbs upon which a flat layer of soil was applied and pressed down with a large stone roller to cause the rain to drain from the flat surface. This type of ceiling-roof permitted friends to break up the roof and let down the bedridden man for Jesus to heal. The ceiling was not particularly high perhaps seven feet as the limits of the walls structural soundness permitted, especially had an adjacent room been of two stories as many structures were. Yet in the towns the synagogue was the predominately high building for so it yet remains in every Jewish community even today. There were neither perfectly squared rooms for the streets and alleys were not perpendicular either; rather, the homes of the city were built to the perquisites of the available area. The floor was cobble stone not necessarily rough but dry. A wall bench often of stone with a matt for a bed, a table and chair in another room and pottery lamps of olive oil \
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burned for light in the mostly windowless rooms. The lamps were often simply made of a low bowl with a pinched lip for the wick and flame; although, for the wealthier design molded lamps were available. Contained in a large bowl or even basket were olives, cooked fish, barley or rye flat bread, a groats helping, fresh or fermented grape wine, pomegranates, apples and on occasion a red meat of goat or lamb or even beef, honey for sweetness, milk, butter, cheese, berries and bread for nourishment. These were served on pottery dishes plates and cups. Into this setting Jesus invited his disciples. What a birthright, consider the re-birthright, and honor for those disciples to be invited in and be with the most pleasant being who ever exists. The city Capernaum meaning village of comfort, was large enough to be called a \’93city\’94 and was located along the north west part of the Sea of Galilee it had there a Roman centurion and garrisoned a hundred soldiers and was perhaps a population of one thousand people, not all of course Jews.\
Although, these details place our minds more comfortably, from a human point of view, with the Lord in his ministry, it is not what Jesus was searching for in his ministry, rather, he sought faith for when he saw it he rewarded belief in Him as the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God, their Savior, by healing, by enlightenment, but always in giving of himself as only a blessed person can give. The point of philosophical religion is the intellect, what the mind can reason and grasp; while the conclusion of faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. This is basically what was happening in formal Judaism in those days, the keeping of the external motions of the law of Moses, but the heart was far from God and ultimately, to take away the threat to their positions, that generation of Scribes and Pharisees crucified the Greatest Prince. It must have at that present time been much pleasing to the Father to see the ministry of his Son, the Son for his favored wife the Church, the Son of his right hand, for Israel \
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has always from her beginning been the first wife at His left hand. This may be compared to Jacob loving Rachel and hating Leah as seen in Genesis.\
But for now, it was early in his ministry and from Capernaum Jesus calls Levi [Matthew], the son of Alphaeus, who is a public scribe receiving custom from the Jews. Nearly six hundred years before when the people of Israel had returned from the Babylonian captivity the individuality of the tribes had become a lump, though Ezra shows the distinct tribes, and when prior to Judah\’92s fate the ten tribes had been carried away to Assyria certain faithful from them had gathered to Jerusalem to the land of the tribe of Judah and escaped, so that by the time of our Lord\’92s ministry the general term for all Israelites was \’91Jews\’92 as it remains to this day. This \’91custom\’92 as John Mark refers to it consisted of an extremely heavy taxation upon income and property and a head tax upon all Jews; male, fourteen to sixty five and female twelve to sixty five free or bond; one tenth upon produce from the land and tax and duty on imports and exports, great public highways and seaports bridge and road money and duty that was bought and sold in town. The Romans literally had their grip on the neck of the \’91golden goose\’92 and every other that they conquered. Now Levi, that is Matthew, is not found by the Lord working with his father and brothers, he is alone. Obviously, he has at some point been present to hear or see or both the preaching and healing of Jesus of Nazareth. It is Levi\’92s faith that Jesus identifies without mistake and calls to him; Matthew follows, the proof of the unerring assessment of the Savior. Whereby comes this valuable faith that the Savior so highly regards and requires? Paul the Apostle states that in Romans \’94How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.\’94 \
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10:15-17. Yes, Levi Matthew heard the \’93gospel of the kingdom of God\’94 that Jesus brought and with a certain previous knowledge of the Old Covenant scriptures that identified the voice, he followed. Of all the millions of faithful between the promise to Adam and the preaching of Jesus of Nazareth a lone individual hears aright; but, how acutely arousing but humbling to be thus joined to the Son of God. Notice as well, the \’93gospel of the kingdom of God\’94 requires a king \’93the King of the Jews\’94 Jesus preached himself and Matthew yet preaches he from his Gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so it became Matthew the holder of the Old Covenant wine to produce the New Covenant wine to put into new bottles. Wine is the good word of God and the bottle is the heart to put it in and both are preserved. King David prayed, Palms. 51:9-12, \’93Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.\’94 And the prophet of the captivity describes the repentant heart. \’93Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?\’94 Ezekiel 18:31. But that was and is impossible to do for ones self and so Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God: he came \’91adding\’92 to his Old Covenant words making them the new wine, all the while creating in the disciples a clean heart a reborn heart and a new spirit as he can be seen speaking to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John. This is the LORD God of Genesis who knew that the old soul could not be patched up therefor said he I send the \’93Seed of the Woman\’94 to put aside from them the Aggravator and give them the promise of the prophets a new soul [awareness] fixed upon the Living God and the Holy Spirit that can never be taken away.\
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The place [JOSEPH]\
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Here now, John Mark adds another facet establishing the authority of Jesus of Nazareth. first as Lord [master] the term denoting ownership, one with absolute control. Additionally, notice that the Pharisees are among the disciples as Jesus travels, though on this occasion it would seem they were on the way to the synagogue and it was short distance else the Pharisees would have reproached Jesus for that violation of their \’93burden\’94 first. As it were the owner of the field of corn could not even reproach the disciples because in the Mosaic economy a provision allowed one to eat of another’s field as long as he took no more than to satisfy his hunger for that moment. Deuteronomy 23 :24,25. It is this greater \’93Joseph\’94 who supplies his corn for the hungry from the fields who like the first Joseph obtained favor and position with \’91words\’92 that by right can and should be most admired. Here in this paragraph Jesus is set as \’93the Son of man\’94 as Jesus often refers to himself; but, the term should not be read over as indiscernible when it has been applied so many times. It refers to Adam which name means \’91red\’92 that is, man. So literally Jesus is saying \’93I am the son of Adam\’94 more so from an emphasis vantage than either Abel or Cain or even Seth are the sons of Adam for this Son of man is the seed of the Woman whose husband is Adam indicating an emaculate conception. He who is the rightful dominator having bruised the head of the serpent. And more he was driving this identity into the Pharisees to whom he was addressing, his disciples already accepted his person, so the \’91sin\’92 of missing who Jesus is rested in the hearts of his accusers.\
Following this is the evidence of his authority where in the synagogue he demonstrates his authority by healing on the sabbath, the day God set apart for man. And Jesus sustains his action of healing on the sacred day \
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[Saturday]. We Christians have muddled this day into Sunday which is not the observing day but the day of the week [Sunday] when resurrection is celebrated. From examining Jesus and not finding him a fraud the Pharisees compound their sin, which is now deliberate, when they approach the Herodians who are possessors of the execution authority for Rome. Simply this was Israel turning over her Messiah to Rome for execution at this relatively early stage of the ministry of Jesus. And in withdrawing from that continuum we see Galilee and Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea [Greek for Edom], those east of the Jordan River and they about Tyre and Sidon resort unto Jesus. \
Though a Greek by birth Herod had been raised in Edom. Now Edom had ceased to be a nation as the prophet Obadiah had written some say by the hand of the Arabs just prior to the Persian period of history. Another states that during the Maccabees revolution from Rome they were completely subdued and forced to adhere to Jewish laws and rites and submit to Jewish government from which the Nation Edom [Idumea] never recovered. This judgment had come from the LORD as seen in the Book of Obadiah for Edom having gloried when Judah had been carried into Babylonian captivity. The enmity between Jacob and Esau [Edom] had finally ceased. It is likely that Edoms\’92 caved hills still at the time of Jesus held in refugee Jewish faithful plus Idumean converts who traveled to Galilee to receive the awaited Messiah. Then there are those east of the Jordan who were of those of the tribes and Reuben in displaced Moab and Gad in displaced Ammon and one half the tribe of Mannasseh [elder son of Joseph] northeast of the sea of Galilee to whom Moses had granted them inheritance. As with Idumea each the faithful brought converts,from the Moabites [Ruth with Naomi example just prior to King David\’92s days] and Ammonites who were the children of Lot Abraham\’92s \
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nephew, with them to Jesus. \
Of those around Tyre and Sidon, Jesus visited there where nine hundred years before Elijah had refuge during a moraine. And further to the north the area about Antioch, Syria was the home the early descendant of Adam the Hebrew, Eber [hence the name, one who crosses over – the Euphrates implied]. Still lying somewhat south, Tyre and Sidon with a string of other coastal cities belonged to the people of the sea and the cities from where the fir and cedar for Solomon’s Temple had come and from which other towns of that nation one Gebal [greek – Byblos] where papyrus was made and writing and books flourished. The Phoenicians used a pictorial twenty two letter language that likely they acquired from Eber and preserving the Semitic writing system. This written language they used all about the Mediterranean Sea and further can be seen the Hebrew Abraham recorded his walk of faith and in which the Hebrew Moses wrote the Torah a language today known as Paleo-Hebrew that was still in limited use when the Dead Sea Scrolls were copied about two hundred B.C.; but, fully displaced on the Holy Scrolls by the time of the ministry of Jesus, thus, Jesus makes reference \’93 in your [the Jews] law.\’94 The square Hebrew twenty two letter alphabet replaced the Ancient Hebrew letter characters about the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. due to the Aramaic influence. The Moabite stone dated nine hundred B.C. was in this script, Moab being a grand nephew of Abraham and son of Lot. Hebrew is the only dead language to ever be revived [after the Holocaust] for speaking, the new nation Israel\’92s official language. The Lord Jesus spoke and read Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and probably any other language he wanted. Jesus, is the supreme genius . \
Making our way to the mountain where Jesus resorted from the multitudes we see that there are foremost of the twelve disciples named, three whose names he changed. Simon he surnamed Peter and so Simon Peter i.e. \
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hearing, a piece of rock. The other two names and brothers James and John mean; James [prop. Jacobus] he surnamed Boanerges and so James Boanerges i.e. supplanter, son of thunder; John he surnamed Boanerges and so John Boanerges i.e. Jehovah favored, son of thunder. There were other men named John and Jesus is careful to make distinction as John Mark shows us the proper designations of the twelve as these three are only recorded that he surnamed then while we also see at the Transformation only these three were bid by Jesus to be present there. James Boanerges it came about is martyred about 45 A.D. ten years after Steven gave his life for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Simon Peter is crucified upside down about [68 A.D.]. John Boanerges lives to about 96 A.D. and is thought to have died a natural death with the parting words – \’93Little children, love one another.\’94 That Jesus named James and John sons of thunder may refer to their father\’92s attitude on their parting the fishing trade, or it may be that their voices were of rather booming resonance. Simon Peter\’92s brother Andrew is often mentioned with Peter but he is not at the Transfiguration and John is not noted by the authors of the Gospels as being present at the crucifixion except that the Lord from the cross entrusted his mother Mary to John the Apostle. These twelve disciples, in the name of Jesus, possessed the castings of casting out unclean spirits and healing evidently with the same conclusiveness of the Lord.\
Three instances shortly after the beginning of his ministry show clearly how unpretentious a life Jesus led before he began his ministry. First John Mark records the friends of Jesus, most likely from Nazareth, who immediately want him back and propose to drag him from his purpose because they know the outcome seeing that others who had laid claim to the Messiahship of Israel had be executed. These he gave no answer that is recorded nor do we know how they were deterred from their plan. Again the scribes which came down \
19\
from Jerusalem, for any place away from Jerusalem is down, brought explanatory accusations against him. These he refuted with judgment. They should have endorsed him with the evidences he had displayed to Israel. Lastly, his mother and brethren came to him. Their purpose is not shown us although one may have said rightly that they came to tell him that his foster father Joseph had passed away since he is not mentioned. Then too they may have intended to dissuade him; although, Mary his mother could not have missed that he \’93was about his Father\’92s business.\’94 The compassion shown by Jesus towards his mother in giving her safety and care over to John Boanerges from the cross indicates his tenderness towards Mary. Mary is the Woman mentioned in Genesis 3:15 But when Jesus turned to his audience and indicated that all true believers are his family with all finality he established his rightful Deity to all of Israel. These instances did not necessarily occur the same day rather John Mark through the workings of the Holy Spirit placed them such. The clue to this is found when John Mark, following the mustard parable, states that Jesus taught from the boat and many parables.\
Using the quality of producing a rich vibrant tone from the Sea of Galilee Jesus sits in a boat and teaches, his voice reaching every ear to those on shore. This is the most important teaching in parables that is given to us for it is the pattern for all parables as he shows his disciples. \’93And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?\’94 Then patiently the Master explains. It is here in these next five teachings that the King of Israel speaks of himself and his Kingdom. To identify himself as the being by which all things are extant he is the Word of God expressed in the Gospel of John 1:1; he is the seed from the Father those very words that Jesus spoke into the earth hearts of his people Israel. Yet not all of them who heard believed as he explains to his disciples \’93such as hear the word\’94 as his twelve \
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closest followers: in whom the word then rested and as after Jesus had fallen into the ground he he arose with those words he had sown in them which then were to bring forth more words, fruitfulness. So then the parable of the sower reveals Jesus as the Word of Life and the conditions under which the \’93seed\’94 of the woman thrives. Now the illustration of the candle is half of the condition of \’93good ground\’94 light for seeing and its most illuminating place. While the condition of seeing is \’93hearing,\’94 referring back to the place of the candle; \’93take heed what ye hear\’94 that is did you hear? \’91put your light up higher when you get home,\’92 that is, did you hear the position that places the words of light in your heart. And what value did you put upon the seed that you heard and how diligently, like the disciples?, did you pursue the truth that was implied by the parable. Now this abundant fruitfulness \’93some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred\’94 are called collectively the kingdom of God and when the time comes, the harvest, when the sower takes to himself his labors. Moreover, the King likens his kingdom to the smallest of seeds, as the Rabbis attest the mustard seed; still, in just a few months after planting this herb stands ten or twelve feet tall, branched enough to provide much shade for the angels of the kingdom to take comfort under. The mustard herb is a \’93powerful preservative, effective against molds and bacterial growth;\’94 \ul The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism\ulnone Malcolm Stuart, editor.\
How strenuously physical labors demand upon the endurance of the human body, we much feel that effect upon us; still, the strain of a multitude of people upon a teacher and more so of a healer, who as John Mark states \’93virtue had gone out of him,\’94 experiences human limitations; but, especially the mental stress that causes exhaustion such as we see in \’93the man\’94 asleep in a storm of wind that suddenly envelops the Lord\’92s boat as quickly occurs on shallow bodies of water. Some years ago,1986 near the Kibbutz Ginosar, north \
21\
west side of Lake Kinneret, about two miles south along the shore from Capernaum, when the Sea of Galilee was in the winter lower than usual the structure of a wooden boat protruded from the mud. The nearly thirty foot craft about eight feet wide and four feet high when carefully recovered by the Israel Department of Antiquities it dated between the first century B.C. and the second century A.D. What remained is the hull made of cedar and jujube wood which boards had been joined together first as a shell and the naturally curved ribs and structure added for strength to the inside with nails. These are tree branches barely worked and irregular and there had been a central mast and a deck or partly decked upper structure and six oars. We find from the other Gospels it was then, from a boat of similar construction from the pillows of nets that Jesus is beckoned from sound slumber to work a far more reaching miracle than the construction of the craft he dwelt, by calming the winds and sea with words the same having been created and made by his words. John 1:3. John Mark takes, perhaps, the remembrance from Peter shaken with his brief encounter with drowning remembers the winds ceasing; \’93and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.\’94 Mark 6:51. But it is Mark 6:50 where Jesus identifies himself as the creator and maker of the sea and wind that John Mark so remarkably records, \’93it is I\’94 that is so very easily read over. It is like a man coming home from work after dark saying as he enters, \’91I\’92m home!\’92 All inside, spouse and children recognize his voice and are at ease immediately. But did all Israel recognize His voice? \
When Abraham about 2,060 B.C. dwelt in \’93the land\’94 on the west side of the Jordan River his nephew Lot, because of their individual prosperity, chose to dwell the south east side of the Salt Lake which is south of the Sea of Galilee, the two bodies of water are connected by the north to south flow of the Jordan River. The two sons of Lot Ammon and Moab dwelt north of the Salt \
22\
Sea but yet east of the Jordan River. Moab lay the length and east of the Dead Sea, while Ammon lay along the east side of the Jordan River to the beginning of the Sea of Galilee. When Israel came from Egypt to possess the land of Cannan west of the Jordan River Moses by war dispossessed of Moab and Ammon those lands giving the tribe of Reuben as inheritance the land formerly Moab and Gad the land formerly Ammon. North along the east coast of the Sea of Galilee half the tribe of Mannaseh [Joseph] took their inheritance. It was into the coast of Gad, hence Gadarense, [formerly Ammon] to more of his people Israel that Jesus stepped onto that land and immediately was confronted with a multitude in one man. He was not crazy nor lunatic but the victim of demon possession. Not of this magnitude had Jesus before encountered in our records, but at his \’91word\’92 the demons departed Legion and he returned to being responsible for his own actions. This instance, the recipient of God\’92s mercy obeyed Jesus and returned to his own city as a witness to those \’93great things.\’94\
Today psychiatry deals with the complicated procedure of removing or overcoming this terrible state of certain individuals. The very words of the Lord Jesus Christ that he spoke nearly two thousand years ago to Legion will accomplish in a believer the same results even today. We fail to realize that the demons are the souls of departed humans that did not yield their souls to God at death. The number of demons are exceeding many, just since the days of Adam some six thousand years ago uncountable and seeking to lodge. Their number in Legion for we know no definite count from the scriptures could have exceed two thousand since we know a Roman Legion is more than three thousand soldiers. After all, Legion was so maligned that he could not even dress himself. In an American Medicine article of 1907, Doctor Duncan MacDougall M.D. conducted a series of experiments to determine the \
23\
substance of the soul and found that at the death of a human being about an ounce and one half of body weight was lost in several dying patients. If this figure of one and one half ounce were to be applied to only two thousand demon souls their figure alone is 187.5 pounds. Adding Legions own body weight about 140 pounds the total weight of the demon possessed Legion would have been 327.5 pounds. It is easy to understand how that he was able pluck his fetters of chains apart. This immediate loss would have easily caused Legion to have taken seat for more than just emotional recovery after the exorcism and is the attitude of repose in which John Mark describes.\
The other understanding of this scene is that disembarking into a country of Israelites Jesus found the community eating Roman pork, we assume, or they raised them for the Romans, and a complete lack of any faith in Messiahship and towards Jesus. The name Gad means \’93a troop\’94 and in a spiritual sense this is the attitude of \’91faith\’92 a great multitude. But Jesus found but one man that he could help. Then again perhaps one witness was enough to send to Decapolis and to this region and city Jesus bids Legion to return. Along with his disciples Jesus though returns into the multitudes with faith of the west shore of Galilee and a man named Jairus of the local synagogue, and an ailing woman. Here he found the faithful to heal and did so as the good man Joseph fed his father Jacob and his sons, his brethren as we saw in the book of Genesis 47:12. \
\
The place [ZEBULUN]\
\
Observe in this place how Jesus dwells among his people, for thus is the meaning of the name Zebulun. His residence is in a city along the Sea of Galilee where is food, the city of Capernaum, city of comfort, for so was his \
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purpose to console his people even as Moses had delivered Israel and was called by the scriptures the meekest man upon the earth; until, the Prophet came forth from the Father and delivered faithful hearts from the grasp of Satan. \
Since as John Mark first states Jesus began to preach the kingdom of God to the people of Israel what exactly did he preach? He taught to them that he is the King of Israel. All parables were for that purpose whether they understood or not. Only the disciples sought to understand the meaning of the parables learning that the seed sown was the Word. More significantly, what is a kingdom? A kingdom is one person! And of and in Israel, Jesus is the anointed [Messiah, Christ] King and he dwelt among his people with all meekness revealing himself. When the disciples asked him if he should call fire to come upon his enemies as Elijah had done, Jesus rebuked them with \’93I have come to seek and to save lives.\’94 But the powers of the Pharisees and Scribes with the Herodians that formed the ruling inter-structure of then present Israel would not allow Jesus to take his rightful place as King though he proved without doubt his identity every instance. That terrible act of defiance was deliberate of that generation of Jews. Very much it speaks of the same cruelty that Joseph the son of Jacob [Israel] endured. And when Jesus sent forth his disciples to Israel it was with the message to repent – of what? [Repent simply means to change the mind] Obviously, repent of the rejection attitude that began with the sons of Jacob and the outgrowth of sins against God and brethren. More to acknowledge the total depravity of the natural heart to the righteous Priest who pleads the case to the Father. And we have such a high priest who has passed into the heavens even the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, repentance is for the Brethren the Jews; but, for a Gentile they have only to believe the report that God has visited the earth in the person of Jesus the Son of God and that he died for their sins of missing that salvation is of the Jews \
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and that Jesus is ever living having risen from the dead. \
The sad account of how the secular world, for Herod was born a Greek, is shown by John Mark in his words concerning the death of priest John the Baptist of whom none is greater. He did not back down from his position because he could not and if there had been any wavering of faith he sent message to his Lamb of God who simply confirmed his Person to the nearly silenced voice crying not from the wilderness but from prison. Many have died for the witness of Jesus Christ and martyrs deaths, but John the Baptist was the first. He came to the place where he died for having sounded above the noise of the swift waters of the Jordan River, \’93Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.\’94\
The apostles, as John Mark refers to them in the text, to distinguish them from the disciples of John the Baptist, return from their mission to find the Master teaching a great multitude. Carefully but revealingly John Mark shows the success that they had when they approach Jesus to send the multitude away. The disciples display the motions of domination whereby the Lord teaches them his domain – them. Without rebuking without making any accusations Jesus takes command. With five loaves, five being God\’92s number of grace that is favor, and two fishes, God\’92s number of confirmation, the fish representing the vitality of life, Jesus in an unprecedented wonder feeds five thousand men. Where were the women and children? There but not mentioned or taking care of home. The multitude was fed in orderly fashion similar to the ranks that Moses made when he set officers over the people when they came out of Egypt. \’93… a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me;\’94 Deuteronomy 18:15. Now they are feed and Jesus \’91constrains\’92 necessitates, compels his disciples to take shipping to Bethsaida which is across the Sea of Galilee on the north shore. There is a purpose, for from \
26\
teaching the multitude, he teaches his disciples, and again his Old Covenant identity, because then those were the only written revelations of the Messiah. In fact, why reiterate John Mark\’92s vivid account, rather a quote from Exodus 16:14,15 is even more revealing: \’93And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.\’94 The \’93round thing\’94 had been buoyed up from the earth by the dew as Jesus was upon the sea, and when Jesus entered the boat the hunger, that is, the wind ceased. Now when the ship came to land it was at Gennesaret [Ginosar today] on the west shore rather than at Bethsaida the north east shore where Jesus has sent his disciples because it placed the ship in the center of the Sea of Galilee a frightful place to be in the dark, but then, Jesus there also. An ingenious teaching design for a man who had been teaching a multitude of five thousand all day.\
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The place [ISSACHAR]\
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It is at this return to the west shore of the Sea of Galilee that the gentle servant of his Father is met by the Pharisees again by confrontation concerning customs and formalities. However, the Lord handles them with exacting firmness for they have stolen the grandest moment of his revealing by intentionally interjecting traditions, for his disciples were eating bread and the teaching of the feeding of the five thousand and his walking upon the water was yet fresh in their minds. The events needed to continue in their minds for them to grasp the symbolism, and say, \’93Oh! you are the bread of God.\’94 It is \
27\
quite evident in the combined meanings of the branch and place of the Holy Celebration as contents of that envelope that: the name [JESUI] means \’93he will level\’94 and [ISSACHAR] \’93hired, a servant\’94 are shown here in perfect token as Jesus straightens out a common fault in his people Israel. The extreme of observance of traditions overshadowed his person and province as the master of his home and the bread of life, expressly as they were used by the Pharisees. Moreover, he steps outside his home in Capernaum to the people themselves most of whom had not heard the rebuke out-alone the incident itself and explains the essence of what he rebuked within the house. He is constantly building from the outset of his ministry the futility of the present life and the importance of the inward being. Returning inside he finds his disciples pressing for clarification. And so, with the patience of a servant whose own desires are set aside, Jesus explains. This is what makes them disciples the constant striving to understand the man they know to be the Son of God; because, once they understand it changes them, not only their thinking but their souls. We can not understand fully how alone Jesus dwelt on the earth but we see that in this place the only person in the scene who understood the human condition was Jesus he had to make every other to understand, whether it were the Pharisees, the people, or his disciples. It is sad that the first ones who should have known or at least acknowledged had they known, are the Pharisees who covered themselves with the naturally tough fig leaves of traditions. It is as if Adam were here in three perspectives those who know and hide, those who are ignorant and reject, and the ignorant who seek the truth. It is the LORD God meeting Adam in the Garden of milk and honey and rather than inquiring and questioning Adam as at the first in Genesis, he here this time expounds their faulty thinking because it is their inward being that can not make the physical do what pleases God and even if the physical does do \
28\
some semblance it is not acceptable because the inward man is destroyed by Satan in the first meeting. Jesus does not fail to bruise the head of Satan, which makes clear evidence of his person and what he was able to accomplish with – words. \
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The place [GAD]\
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\’93And from thence he arose\’94 This is my Lord, always he arose from circumstances, from arguments, from the ungodly, but here it is his ministry that is confirmed and he cannot be hid from this point on. His fame in casting out demons and healing and feeding the multitudes and teaching had fully swept Galilee and Jerusalem, he could be relied upon for those things. So much so that when he asked his disciples who they thought he was, \’93the Messiah\’94 [the anointed King of Israel] was their response here in the Gospel of Mark. \
Not only has Jesus defined the terminal condition of his people it is in this place that faith in the deity of Jesus becomes apparent. For as a \’93troop\’94, Gad, faith is the overwhelming requisite that builds the new person. It is the seed faith in his disciples that Jesus began building upon that yielded after, fruitful Apostles. New found faith is exuberant and confident in just the little knowledge that the individual has of Jesus Christ. Later, with the confident under girding of the perfect knowledge of the Son of God a more guided individual comes into usefulness. \
It is the faith in the Syrophenician woman and her acknowledgment of her exclusion from Israel that saved her daughter. It was not her daughters faith that saved the girl but the mothers faith that is rewarded. But it is faith! And it is faith he met in Decapolis, which was a region along and Northeast of \
29\
the Sea of Galilee that included the cities Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia, Gerasa, Dion, Canatha, Raphana, and Damascus and in the deaf and dumb man whom he healed. In this place at Phoenicia a demon is cast out, now at Decapolis a deaf man hears and at Bethsaida a blind man sees. The pattern is lovely, the demon is taken away so that individual initiative to faith can occur, while faith comes by hearing the words of Jesus, and eyes that are healed see the heavenly thing of God, Jesus Christ. Notice that between the healing of deafness and the healing of seeing comes the feeding of the four thousand, it is nourishment upon the heavenly manna that is needed for the hearing, and the seeing is thereby accomplished. This additional act of feeding the multitude is accomplished again, two being God\’92s number of \’91confirmation\’92, to establish conclusively his person shadowed in the Exodus manna but to bring his close disciples back into the mind that they had been in when the Pharisees had accused them of violating Jewish traditions, thus tearing them away from the mind set that Jesus had done in them with the first feeding. Now they, the people who heard his parables and his disciples who understood them, are ready to receive: And he began to teach them, \’93that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.\’94 Mark 8:31. He had taught them the parable of the seed, now that he gives them directly his death and resurrection they do not accept it. They must live it and die with him that is all of their hopes of a new nation Israel that one might have seen in a Messiah with his capabilities; but they did not understand that it was the inward person that is first mended and to do that he must suffer. Truly a man alone, one man to accomplish so much, and not one other person to understand. This is the authenticity of the Apostle Paul for he taught the same Gospel of salvation, \’93For I delivered unto you first of all \
30\
that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:\’94 I Corinthians 15:3,4. \
Now, John Mark shows these three incidents placed around the heavenly manna, the feeding of the four thousand, and concludes the place [GAD] with the solution to the sins of the nation Israel and its individuals which are the shadows of the inward soul of the nation and persons whom Jesus is to heal with the Gospel that he predicts. It is the feeding upon the Word of God that sustains the believer and it is a misguided \’93Christian\’94 who no longer needs the \’93milk\’94 they mean the Holy Bible and turns again to rest their new soul in the things of the world. Shamefully, they are again as before misguided by someone or in the Mark figure a demon as in the little girl, unable to hear the voice of the Savior by not reading the word of God, and unable to see the heavenly Kingdom so costly obtained for them. John 6:48-51.\
The King of God taught his people and his disciples the many who then during his ministry listened to the gracious words of the Savior and lived to see the power of God that Luke records in Acts 2:2-4 after his resurrection and ascension. \
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The place [DAN]\
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Herein is recorded a tribunal above all courts for it judged the souls of men by conversing of the Saviors passion at Jerusalem. Notice as well the Lord\’92s humility for he instructed these three disciples whom he chose to be there not to tell the others until he was risen from the dead. The three disciples without mistake identify Elijah and Moses the one signifying life in as much as he did not see death the other representing the law, that is death. \
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How is it they identified them so readily? When one knows by being taught the good habit of reading the scriptures as these three Messiah expectant disciples had been guided from their youth, recognition comes from their words that they wrote and have been recorded of them. Howbeit shall we recognize the great Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter and the beloved Apostle John, is it not because we have become thoroughly familiar with their writings? Is the Apostle Paul bald as some have conjectured, me does not know but his words preserved will reveal him when he presents the Bride to the Lord Jesus Christ.\
\’93Transfigured.\’94 The word is used only in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark and even in its Greek derivative. The Gospel of Luke uses the term \’93altered\’94 from two Greek words that indicate change or better transformed. What ever the form of his being at that time it was glorious for the purpose of honor concerning his person and the work he was to accomplish. It was no doubt so difficult to describe that happening, that the Apostle John who witnessed it does not record it at all. As incredible are the appearances of two men one dead for twelve hundred years the other Elijah taken away from the earth eight hundred and fifty years before the incident. Of what ever physical form they were nonetheless visible to the three mortals Peter, James and his brother John. Paul describes in Phillipians 3:20,21 \’93For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.\’94 The glorious body of the Lord Jesus Christ is now two thousand years old and of Moses assuming his at the transfiguration is permanent three thousand and twenty years old. And Elijah, well, if his is transformed since he did not die his body is two thousand eight hundred and fifty years old. And they were heard talking with Jesus, so quite evidently their \
32\
faculties were fully intact and they are well.\
It was a voice from the cloud that defined the situation. God the Father declared Jesus his Son and just as importantly to the listeners they are exhorted to \’93hear him\’94 which immediately the attentive is drawn back to the Lord\’92s previous teaching to \’93Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.\’94 Mark 4:24. What we hear of the temporal world is for the most much lighter, though some bathe in nothing else: it is the words of the Son of God that are eternal and every aspect can be and should be approached from all vantages, in lieu of the caution of the Lord Jesus, until his person is entirely comprehended as possible.\
To borrow the last sentence of our Lord from the previous place [GAD] and reiterate a mite when he spoke to the people and his disciples concerning those who were to see the Kingdom of God,we can identify six days after Jesus so spoke Peter, James and his brother John in the transfiguration saw the glory and order of the Kingdom of God. The positions of those on the right and left hand of the King are thus given, though James and John and through their mother sought those places held by Elijah and Moses. Mark 10:35.\
Now John Mark shows how set the mind of the Lord was as his ministry progressed closer to the final encounter with the hierarchy of the Jews at Jerusalem, though he yet preached in Galilee. For he mentions the resurrection to the three and they do not yet comprehend that but having seen Elijah evidently try to apply that incident as being preliminary to the coming of the Messiah, who they know Jesus to be, as the prophet Malachi some four hundred years before Jesus states: \’93Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:\’94 Again they are corrected and it is with fondness that Jesus recalls the demise of John the \
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Baptist, for: \’93Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.\’94 Psalm 116:15. Also concerning John the Baptist, Isaiah 40:3-5 and Malachi 3:1-5, 4:5&6.\
Returning to the multitude the subject Jesus encounters is a demon that his disciples could not cast out of a young son of Israel. Evidently this \’93kind\’94 of demon [deaf and dumb] had not been encountered by the disciples in their preaching of the kingdom and as in every kingdom there are some things that only the King can accomplish, and Jesus does so. In private later he is questioned by the disciples of their inability and they find that the forty days the Lord spent in the wilderness in prayer and fasting after his baptism, which is in reality his sinless person, is the reason. The other \’93kind\’94 of demon and those the disciples had dealt with are called \’93unclean spirits.\’94 All demons are the soul and spirit of dead persons. Those persons who did not give up themselves at death to God are or became followers of Satan the Chief of the demons. It may be that the difference lies in those demons whose lives were lived prior to Adam they being the \’93deaf and dumb\’94 demons and the demons since Adam the \’93unclean spirits.\’94 This presupposes that Adam is a man such as Abraham created out from the dust of the earth since it has been six thousand and nine years from Adam\’92s creation and archaeology shows clearly intelligent humanity thousands of years before Biblical Adam the man. To calculate the number of unclean spirits that exist would be to sum them over the period of six thousand years population separating the saved soul from the unsaved and figuring a number at even fifty percent is some stupendous number not known but to God. Demons are not recognized as readily today as being contributors to the livings mental difficulties but the number of them since the earthly ministry of Jesus is much multiplied. If only we were taught to use the words of the Lord with authority and free ourselves.\
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The place [NAPHTALI]\
\
As the pressure of proceeding from his ministry to his work at Jerusalem increases Jesus begins to address his closest disciples to prepare them. They see only before them their Messiah and the glory of that day; as well, they failed to see the complete picture that the Old Covenant scriptures by the prophets foretold of the Messiah\’92s humility or perhaps they saw that but did not understand that his humility was to come before the glory of the kingdom. Surely, in their father\’92s boats as they fished, before they had been called, many like things were discussed. Without the Lord to unravel the scriptures though the answers were unfinished. \’93Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;\’94 Deuteronomy 11:18-22. And concerning who Israel is: \’93When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD\’92S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.\’94 Deuteronomy 32:8,9. These are the children of God whom Jesus went throughout Galilee and Judea seeking his people who chose to keep the faith of the covenant that the LORD God established through Moses with his \
35\
people. But Jesus ran into those who perverted the covenant for their own means and so the contentions with the scribes and Pharisees and High Priests ensued. But as a people viewed by the people of the earth, the Jews are hated for their ways at first established by God which are so unlike the conduct of the worldly people whose ways are governed by their needs and wants whereas a Godly Jew sees to the needs of his God. \
In this place [NAPHTALI] the name means \’91wrestling\’92 both people are found the believing and the unbelieving. His disciples he separated to himself in Galilee and prepared them for his entrance and presentation in Jerusalem for he had without doubt proven his identity in Galilee and now in Judea. Therefore, John Mark makes a division of his gospel that the places do not clearly define. That is, within the place Naphtali the ministry of Jesus in Galilee ceases and his entrance into Judea begins and what follows in the Gospel of Mark happens in Judea. Mark 10:1. What does not cease nor begin is the contentions with the Pharisees and Scribes and High Priests, the Herodians the Sadducees that had plagued his ministry. Still he wins every encounter and teaches the people. This is the \’91wrestling\’92 that pursues him, that is, for those who are his, to this day. The struggle is between darkness and light. Darkness reproaches the light that is in us now because Jesus is not here to contend with; much as the scribes questioned with his disciples when he was come from the mount of transfiguration.\
And now as he teaches his disciples we see the true teacher teaching where the genuine balance exists between darkness and light, that is the followers, and it is a bit more temperate than first perceived. \’93For he that is not against us is on our part.\’94 Mark 9:40. And so the extremes of the Lords perceptions lead to his teaching \’93Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with another.\’94 Mark 9:50. The basic of the teaching is offenses whether outward or \
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inward and the remedy is salt which is a seasoner and preserver. In short Israel the faithful to him are the salt of the nations [earth]. This is spoken during the time of the old covenant before the new covenant had been established. Even now in the Church age there are the unsalted ones and the salted ones. The word \’91peace\’92 is so over misused that to redefine the Lord\’92s meaning is necessary for it means to be joined together and so with The Salt.\
It is strange that the Lord Jesus enters Judaea seeking his wife Israel and she rejects him. And the first issue to arise upon his entrance, in the Gospel of Mark, is divorcement which Jesus pointedly defines. Israel sought her own glory and not her King and Jesus puts her away. \’93There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.\’94 Mark 13:2. The covenant of a temple for the lady Israel is yet to be reestablished.\
\
The place [ASHER]\
\
We see in the place Asher, perhaps in the west plain between the Jordan River and Jericho, the true desires and intents of the God of Israel revealed in his Son Jesus Christ for there are not identifying miracles of healing here. But from the brethren there is a subtle revealing of the identity of our Savior in this way. Reaching back into the first of Adam are the twin sons of Adam, Cain and Abel. Abel was slain by his brother Cain, Esau and Jacob are twins and \’93Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.\’94 \’93And Zilpah Leah\’92s maid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah\’92s maid bare Jacob a second son.\’94 [one conception for both] \’93And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.\’94 Gen. 49:20. Between these twins there seems to be no \
37\
contention. \’93… unto the fourth generation…? But with the brethren of Jesus there is strife they being the Scribes, the Pharisees and High Priests, \’93And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.\’94 Mark 3:6 It is the thought of the act that is portrayed in Genesis long ago of the like attitude of Cain that they showed towards Jesus though they were not his twin, except in self righteousness, whereby the illustration leans more towards Joseph as the blessing of Jacob for Asher shows. Jacob blessed his sons saying of Asher, \’94Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.\’94 Genesis 30:13. Indeed, the contents of the place Asher are impressive and befitting of the King. Again the place Asher is like the appetizers before the feast when the Holy Ghost is given and we are led into all truths of the Kingdom of Heaven.\
Typically the Hors d\’92Oeuvres that is simplest and the most comforting as is shown by John Mark. As a child, simply, openly, without guile, accepting, gladly, expectantly, honestly, earnestly into the arms of the Creator, Jesus the Messiah, for he is the Kingdom of God and Heaven. Unburdened with sins a child recognizes the Deity Jesus. The Savior takes away the guilt of sins for enablement no less now than then can he be approached when…\
And he is approached by one who is so honest and forthright that Jesus loves him. But what did he want of the Lord who identifies Himself as God? The young man, evidently as in his business life, had stood back for a while observing the multitudes the disciples and the closeness of the confidences with which the Lord dealt with his disciples and he wanted to be in that circle of confidences, and he asks as a business person would, what will it cost me? He had truly already paid his dues, he had kept the Law from his youth observing the three times he must show himself at the feasts in Jerusalem at the Temple and offering the appropriate sacrifices for his obviously minor \
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transgressions of consciousness towards the God of Israel; but, he could not forfeit the wealth he had acquired, as the disciples had whose places were already given. They had left all to follow the Master. And so it is, he turned back from the life of a disciple of the secrets of the realm of the words of Jesus Christ. Therefore then, is he saved, though he became not a disciple? Jesus loved him! And the young man had after all walked by faith through the claim of Jesus to be God.\
Yet in the west plain of the Jordan River and without doubt in view of Jericho as Jesus the shepherd leads the way he declares again to his disciples the injury that is to happen to him this time in Jerusalem and they no doubt had seen the envy in the Pharisees and heard of their plans to kill Jesus and felt in themselves the reality of those injuries; but, they did not comprehend the third day and his resurrection.\
The second time in this place Asher the mechanics of peace are given by the Lord telling them of his offering of himself but with the additional meaning that his death is for a purpose. The peace between man and God was to be accomplished by the greater of all of Israelites, making Jesus Lord of each. None could or can outdo what the righteous Son of man has consummated. All persons are from birth slaves to the Prince of Darkness by token of his tearing Adam\’92s attention away from the LORD God thereby altering his soul to a state of uselessness to God. The Son of God had to do the act of reconciliation himself, the victim has no power to reinstate himself. And this reinstatement is to purchase his being back from Satan, the price being the blood of Jesus Christ. With faith all things are possible even a new birth of God-consciousness that is free from sin and can not be touched by Satan because of the previous purchase.\
\
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The place [REFUGE]\
\
With the descriptive spirits of the Lord Jesus shown by the places through his ministry at rest, begins the revealing of the stone solid steps of his labors in Judea. Here a healing closes his ministry and confirms his person not shown before in the Gospel of Mark. He who could find no refuge is the refuge of a blind man whose sins the Lord never discusses. \
Although many old testament scriptures could be provided to prove the identity of Jesus through the miracles themselves that Jesus accomplished during his ministry; it must be stressed the audience that John Mark was addressing, those being the new gentile converts of the Apostle Paul\’92s missions and their churches. When considering the difficulties of healing that Jesus did the word miracle falls considerably short descriptively; rather, the source for the Son of man\’92s ability comes to mind and God the Father is the only origin viable. The gentiles were on the most part minded only of the obtuseness of the Jews and not of the Holy Scriptures of promise that they possessed, unless of course, they had achieved a gentile convert proselyte such as Luke who was Greek and Theophilus whom we assume was Greek also and to whom Luke addressed his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. For Israelites and gentiles alike cures were entirely based upon herbal remedies, the predecessors of modern medicine; which, over the past one hundred years has overcome herbalist patterns pushing the former’s usefulness by legal restraints under its foot. At any rate, for a Gentile then to hear of a healing which required no incantations and no herbals must have been most welcome good news indeed and to find that these persons who conveyed the message had been eye witnesses of the acts and knew personally the Healer must have been much gratifying. Now laid before them was a writing of progressions, this Gospel of \
40\
Mark\’92s, which they could read and review continually under girding their new found faith in the man called the Son of God. \
Of the miracles among his people that Jesus attributed to ones faith, it is clear that they had no tangible God to place their faith in, only the words of the promise [the old scriptures] of a Messiah. But that promise did not heal their brokenness until the good news that this Jesus could touch them and cure them. But they were flesh and blood and God is a Spirit, they needed their Messiah one that stands between them and God and Jesus showed all of the correct credentials. And so it is with blind Bartimaeus he heard and he asked the Son of David. It is more touching that Jesus who sprang from the tribe of Judah was entering the lot of land Joshua designated to the tribe of Judah who was the son of Jacob he was coming home to his inheritance.\
The Jewish Encyclopedia Vol. 7 pg. 112b states \’93…the people of Jericho could hear on Yom Kippur the Sacred name pronounced by the high priest in the Temple of Jerusalem, and the daily closing of the large gate of the Temple…It is said that in Jericho could be heard the singing of the Levites and the sound of the horn and trumpet. The fragrance of the incense burned at Jerusalem pervaded Jericho and rendered perfume unnecessary for its women\’92s toilet…\’94\
Jesus had brought his flock across the Jordan five miles and intended to pass through the City of Palms, Jericho, which is then the entrance to Palestine and continue on to Jerusalem according as John Mark relates. However, the magnified hearing of a blind beggar, such thing that was never to happen to an Israelite neither the blindness nor the begging, heard of the Healer Jesus and he shouted for mercy from his God. He was not denied, and the cloak that he had slept in the night before and before that he cast aside to approach his Savior. To Bartimaeus it was to live the rest of his life seeing, \
41\
with the reproach of begging behind him, but little did he know that his fellowship with Jesus his Messiah would last but for eighteen more miles to Jerusalem. The Son of David, the great king and caretaker of the nation of Israel, was about to embark into the work for which he was sent of by his Father. Five hundred feet higher above Jericho lay the hill where God was to sacrifice his Son. Though the ear of the servant of the high priest at the capture of Jesus had his ear cut off in the Gospel of Mark, the healing is not recorded. The healing of Bartimaeus was the final that John Mark records for as his name so was the desire of Jesus for his people – Bartimaeus means, son of one dear to God. As it were perhaps, he represented to Jesus the nation Israel and the act of healing his wish for her to see Him.\
\
The place [ARMS]\
\
The Savior had with his disciples and those others who followed walked the chalky dust road the eighteen miles from Jericho ascending five hundred feet from below in the edge of the plain of the Jordan River east of Jerusalem. Additionally, his thoughts of what he was to encounter and sacrifice weighted heavily upon his person, he was weary and yes another old testament scripture was to be fulfilled with the colt of an ass upon his entrance into Jerusalem, and the Temple wherewith all of its glory, would rejected their King. With everlasting finality Jesus was to lift up his arms for many. Here in the city founded in peace, for so is the meaning of the name Jerusalem, was Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Son of God to make forever peace with mankind, though Satan was to bruise his heal, his ministry upon the earth was quickly coming to a close. The activities of daily life in the city, indeed all of Israel did not noticeably change as the Son did the \’93will\’94 of his Father. The bustle of the \
42\
Passover where all faithful Israel\’92s males were gathered fit \’93the offering for sin\’94 that was to take place and the Sabbath wherein no man can work and everyone was inside of their lodging to await the first day of the week, which from that day would be a celebration of the resurrection of the King of Israel.\
But for now the word heard in Jericho from Jerusalem was \’93Hosanna\’94 – the Hebrew meaning \’93save now\’94 for Jerusalem\’92s King came being the divine expression of the name of the LORD [Jehovah], \’93Hosanna in the highest\’94 – and he did! Jesus entered the Temple which should have been his refuge but the eventide of his ministry had come upon him. There are some who object to repetitions, it is a way of learning, God uses it in his scriptures and has provided four accounts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to teach us. \
\
The place [THRUST]\
John Mark seems to backtrack with a glimpse of the happenings of His entrance into the Temple. Israel before then is represented by the fruitless fig tree – no faith. Contrawise, in the Garden of Eden when the fig was eaten there became no faith. Be warned, the only destructive act of this tender heart was in zeal for his Father\’92s house and he cast out of the Temple the corrupt businesses. Again confronted, this time by the chief priests concerning his conduct, he puts them to silence. Perhaps among them were the competitors of John the Baptist who vied to take the coveted and honorable and profitable position of High Priest from him by suggestion and consent, which for now Ciaphas and Annas held, for his response in question is in defense of John\’92s ministry. And to remind them that he was the anointed of John the Baptist, anointed to be King of Israel which was their final accusation against him. They would surely destroy him for any reason; but, not for seeking the post of High Priest, for Jesus was not of the tribe of Levi nor a son of Aaron, he did \
43\
not and could not seek that position for one whom he spoke of already had accomplished that office, He was from the noblest of all the tribes Judah from whence arose his father King David. And so in silence the high priests are thus \’91thrust\’92 from their authority.\
\
The place [DESTROY]\
\
But Jesus tells his disciples and the multitudes of the Temple, for it was surely full for the observance, a parable of a son whom his father sends to collect the increase of his vineyard. The stewards of the vineyard kill the son and the father destroys the stewards and installing new caretakers. Perhaps an illusion to the Church or at least his close disciples. In seventy A.D. the Temple and Jerusalem were burned and torn down for the melted gold and silver her orderly temple worship ceased and the Jewish hierarchy destroyed and scattered among the nations. The high priests knew Jesus spoke against them, the illustration could not have been missed. The stone that the builders of the Tabernacle in the wilderness had rejected for the base of the lampstick in the holy place and that followed them in the wilderness because Moses would not cast it aside and which Moses in error smote twice, the Lord Jesus need die but once, is this same stone that Jesus refers to in his conclusion and it is marvelous that what God blesses can not be undone.\
The chief priests and the scribes and the elders who had confronted Jesus, such were of the Temple and order proper, their authority was absolute in the Temple where Jesus spoke, that is until Jesus. Therefore, refuted the temple resort to the Pharisees and Herodians. The Scofield Reference Bible pg.995 notes 1 & 2 reads: Called \’93Pharisees\’94 from a Hebrew word meaning \’91separate\’92. After the ministry of the post exilic prophets ceased [specifically \
44\
Ezra], godly men called \’91Chasidim\’92 [saints] arose who sought to keep alive reverence for the law among the descendants of the Jews who returned from the Babylon captivity. This movement degenerated into the Pharisaism of our Lord\’92s day – a letter strictness which overlaid the law with traditional interpretations held to have been communicated by the LORD to Moses as oral explanations of equal authority with the law itself… The Pharisees were strictly a sect. A member was a \’91chaber\’92 [i.e. knit together\’92] and was obliged to remain true to the principles of Pharisaism. They were moral, zealous, and self-denying, but self-righteous and destitute of the sense of sin and need. They were the foremost persecutors of Jesus Christ and the objects of His unsparing denunciation,…\’94\
\’93The Sadducees were a Jewish sect that denied the existence of angels or other spirits, and all miracles, especially resurrection of the body. They were the religious rationalists of the time…, and were strongly entrenched in the Sanhedrin and priesthood… The Sadducees are identified with no affirmative doctrine, but were mere deniers of the supernatural. The Herodians were not a sect but a political party that supported the Herod dynasty.\’94 SRB pg 1030 note 2.\
It is to these, the Pharisees and Herodians and Sadducees, that the priests and scribes resort to confute Jesus Christ. Their plan was to out think him on critical political and religious matters not having conscience concerning either Rome or the Law of Moses. It would appear the Herodians were behind the first question that was delivered by the Pharisees, while the hypocrisy of the last question brought to a final close all efforts to discredit the man from Nazareth of Galilee. Notice that the Lord\’92s answer illuminated a scripture passage from Exodus 4:5 that had not been understood for some twelve hundred years, from the time Moses had written it down. Ever the \
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patience a reader of the Holy Bible must retain to be in these days enhanced by the Holy Spirit; but, all things [spiritual gifts] are ours, including physical resurrection to grasp, having been acquired for us by the Lord Jesus Christ.\
\
The place [ALONE]\
\
Even after Jesus has warned his adversaries of the consequences of their rejection of him still one final confrontation with the sons of darkness is dealt to him. One scribe, and dare say not a youth, but one who is more brilliant than the others, more extremely learned and disciplined, refined in his thinking, dares. Now \ul The Peoples Bible Encyclopedia\ulnone page 984-5 thoroughly examines these crafty devils who inhabited the Temple with these significant parts: \’93Jewish Scribes. Hebrew and Greek. \’91learned in the law,\’92 \’91jurists,\’92 \’91teachers of the law.\’92 Institution: The period of the Sopherim, scribes began with the return of the Jews from captivity. The law read by Ezra [Neh., chaps 8-10] was the Pentateuch in essentially the same form as we have it now; and from that time was the acknowledged by Israel as the binding rule of life, i.e.: Canonical obedience to it was the condition of membership among the chosen people… The entire Pentateuch came to be regarded as dictated by God, even the the last eight verses, containing the account of Moses\’92 death… In the New Testament times the scribes formed a finely compacted class, holding undisputed supremacy over the people… …the mouthpiece…of recognized authority… …with title of honor… \’91my master\’92 thus the title Rabbi but its use can not be proved before the time of Christ. Respect: The rabbis required from their pupils the most absolute reverence, surpassing even the honor felt for parents. Employment. …refers to the law and the administration of justice. As jurists. The theoretic development of the law… …and where the written law \
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made no direct provision they created a compensation… Teaching the law… …The idea of legal Judaism was that every Israelite should have a professional acquaintance with the law;… Judicial. A third duty of the scribes was passing sentence in the court of justice; [the great Sanhedrin where Jesus finally stood, scribes were present]…independent legislators…independent judges… …Being learned in the law of Moses and the elaboration of the historical and didactic potions of Scripture, the scribes we specially qualified for delivering lectures and exhortations in the synagogues. They also had the care of the text of Scripture as such… Literature. In the development and establishment of the law there was evolved a law of custom, besides the written Torah [law], called the Halachah, that which is current and customary… finally, legalized customs. They provided for every possible and impossible case, entered into every private and family and public life;… The Haggadah \’93is an amplification and remodeling of what was originally given, according to the views and necessities of later times.\’94 Additionally: \’93As a consequence the famous Rabbins gathered about them large numbers of pupils [Israelites, Paul was one of them, but a Pharisee]. The oral law being never committed to writing [but since has been in the Mishnah and Talmud], constant repetition was necessary in order to fix it in the minds of the students. Thus, in rabbinic diction, \’93to repeat\’94 means exactly the same as \’93to teach.\’94 …a pupil had only two duties – to keep everything faithfully in memory and to teach only what had been delivered to him.\’94 \’93 in Jerusalem the catechetic lectures were held \’91in the temple\’92 [Matt. 21:23; 26:55; Mark 14:48; Luke 2:46; 20:37; John 18:20], i.e., in the colonnades, or some other space of the outer court,\’94 of the Temple.\
The elder very learned rabbin Israelite scribe with full beard and long white robe and white billess cap who had observed the former interrogations of Jesus asked an elementary question concerning the law and was fully educated \
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to respond to the answer Jesus gave, but the new information: \’93Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.\’94 That is, you are in the presence of your King, ends any further questions. Then he, Jesus, declares not only his lineage from King David but his Deity in a question. And in his doctrine we find the verdict of Jesus concerning the scribe who had finally approached him, because he rejected his King and was no doubt on the jury of the great Sanhedrin who finally condemned Jesus, \’93these shall receive the greater damnation.\’94 [of that generation]\
As Jesus sat near the colonnades across the hall from the treasury which was in the women’s court a space of about two hundred square feet walled from the Great Altar that was before the Temple itself with fourteen steps ascending to that level where the women were only permitted to enter to sacrifice, one of the common people a widowed woman who visited the Temple deposited into one of the thirteen trumpeted treasury boxes two mites making a farthing or one half a cent. The bronze coin is about two thirds the size of a dime. This act was not only seen by the Lord but heard as the coins hit the trumpet and fell into the box casting in all that she had. The events of this place [ALONE] seems to be to establish the Lord\’92s view of values. The scribe closed his mind to anything but what he had been taught shutting out his King. The widow gave all that she had and without doubt was not trained in the law as the scribe. And as more evidence of his rejection by the scribe here is the incident where the rejected King rejects the Temple that had been built for him to reside. The reaction of the well trained scribe should have been to run to his constituents saying, \’91Come see a man who has proven to me to be the King of Israel.\’92 John 4:9. Truly Jesus was alone in all of his thinking for even his disciples who accepted his doctrines did not fully understand his heart until after he was risen from the dead.\
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The place [FOUNTAIN]\
\
In reference to the prophesy of Jesus that the Temple was to be destroyed, Peter and Andrew brothers and James and John brothers inquire of Jesus privately, suggesting they expected a revelation similar to the transfiguration, as to when the destruction was to happen. His first response is one of caution and it remains active to this day for there are deceivers for profit in the Church as in the Temple then. And Jesus relates not only his direct answer to their question but foretold them all things concerning the Temple and the fate of their lives, for as unknown to them Jesus was to leave them. Before this in Galilee he had revealed himself as the bread of God by the two teachings of the feeding of the multitudes; now, having been \’93spoken to\’94 not struck yet, the rock flows out a fountain of knowledgeable prophesy in answer to their questions. Numbers 20:8 \’93Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.\’94\
This rock, that in Exodus 17:6 Moses smites and in Numbers 20:8 he is commanded to speak to, refers invariably to the same \’93stone\’94 that Jesus illuminates as, \’93And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord\’92s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Mark 12:11,12. The scripture Jesus refers to is Psalm 118:22-24, \’93The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD\’92S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.\’94 Amen. Now, when did the builders reject the stone and of what building was it part? \
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Well, the builders were the children of Israel who Moses brought forth from Egypt and the building they constructed was the Tabernacle. The foundation of the Tabernacle for its boards were sockets of silver. Exodus 26:19. Now the \’93stone\’94 that is rejected is the base of the lampstick in the Holy Place. How can that be? Count the number of branches of the lampstick [note: there is no base implied in the term, lampstick, the properly translated word], there are seven. Count the number of extremities of a man\’92s body there are seven, two arms, two legs, three parts of the privates. Invert the lampstick, as Peter was inverted upon his crucifixion and place it with the image the scriptures: Ezekiel 3:9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. Psalm 114:8 Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters. 1Corinthians 10:4 \’93And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.\’94 The lampstick was to be inserted into the hole of the rock that Moses had first smote into it with his rod and be the base of the lampstick; but, the rebellious house of Israel rejected the flint base and placed there some contrivance. Thus, it became the stone that followed them in their journeys. This is the indication of the humility of Jesus who followed the children of Israel long after the nation was formed but did come to them to heal them with his ministry and offering. The \’93corner stone\’94 is likewise as marvelous, contained in the pattern of the furniture of the Tabernacle. Viewed from above the inference is clear. At the door of the Tabernacle was the Copper Altar, inside and beyond the Veil in the Holy of Holiest is the Ark of the Covenant, to the right in the Holy Place is the Table of Show Bread. Opposite the Table in the Holy Place stood the Lampstick forming the final \’93corner\’94 of the cross of furniture. The flint stone, Rock, was never placed in his rightful \
50\
honorable place in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. Rejected, he followed the congregation through the wilderness, without doubt, because Moses would not let it be discarded as he had seen the pattern for the Tabernacle in Mount Sinai; rather, it existed to remind the congregation of their rejection of it and ultimately to bring repentance to their hearts and bring him in to his Holy Corner of the Tabernacle. The same pattern of furniture continued in the Temple once they were in the Land.\
The Revelation of Saint John the Divine is quite poignant concerning the lampstick. The Lamptick and the Rock. \’93And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.\’94 The Revelation 1:12-20. \
Upon the Mount of Olives to where the Lord sets foot upon the earth the second time Jesus answers two questions: when and what sign. In this he is \
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not slack in providing answer. When – Mark 13:14, and what sign Mark 13:28. Should we desire to break the place [Fountain] down into grazable parts it is from 13:3 through 13:23 the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, 13:24 through 13:27 the three and one half years of the Revelation of John, 13:28 through 13:30 concerning both the Temple and the three and one half years, 13:31 through 13:32 Heaven and earth pass away…, conclusion. \
In the order that these four parts appear: The Lord Jesus having been rejected by the High Priests and Scribes and Elders of Israel, who are the Temple of Israel, and though he won each argument with them to convince, upon leaving he rejects the Temple by prophesying its destruction. Again, it had been built for HIM to reside, no wonder that he wept as he triumphantly entered the walls of Jerusalem.\
Now, the [Fountain] Mark13:3 through13:24. In about 66 A.D. Rome was at war in Gaul, from the first century B.C. under Julius Caesar into the first century A.D. under Nero suffering their worst defeat by the Germans in which they lost legions in the bogs, and who continued the thorn in Rome\’92s side thereafter. War in England was in continuity and it is from there that Nero calls his General Vespasian with his fifteenth legion to defeat the revolt in Palestine in which Cestius Gallus president of Syria with his Roman army was unsuccessful at breaching Jerusalem and putting down the revolt that had actually begun in Caesarea along the northern Mediterranean, built by Herod the Great [47 B.C. – 4 B.C.]. Herod, born of a Greek father, raised an Edomite, under pretense a Jew, he served Rome, honored Caesar Augustus [with Caesarea] and if he had any virtue it was that he was an architect and builder – the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem his accomplishment as well. Although built to rival Alexandria in Egypt, Caesarea in Palestine became to Rome what Jerusalem was to the Jews in importance. It was in this port south of Mount \
52\
Carmel that the Roman Procurator of Judea and Samaria Gessius Florus the \’93most barbarous\’94 fanned into unquenchable flame the Jewish revolt. Earlier in Jerusalem a moment in time there sparked rebellion against Rome over the valuable Jewish Holy garments of the High Priests, but that instance, though perhaps serving as kindling, had been resolved. The greedy murderer Florus, as Josephus describes him, \’93…every day augment their calamities, in order to induce them to rebellion.\’94 And that, says Josephus, to cover his evil deeds. At a rented synagogue pressed upon by the populace by narrow passage to and from: that on the \’93next day\’94 which is the Jewish sabbath, the synagogue being full of worshipers a man of Caesarea, a seditious individual, brought an earthen vessel and placed it upside down in front of the synagogue and thereupon sacrificed birds. Because, to the Godly Jew only Jerusalem\’92s Temple\’92s Great Altar may suffice for burnt offerings, a great insult was brought into the nostrils of the Jews of Caesarea. Immediately, the zealous youths of the synagogue attempted to stop the insult; which inflamed the city and at end flashed flames into Jerusalem as well. At Caesarea when the disruption had begun the Jews took up their books of law and retired to Narbata about three quarters of a mile away and were subsequently accused of removing books of law. The revolt against Rome thus began. In Jerusalem Florus through guile further aggravated the Jews by plundering the Upper Market Place and their homes ultimately killing three thousand and six hundred men women and even infant children and of some with Roman citizenship. At Caesarea twenty thousand Jews were killed, every one. Josephus accounts, \’93It was common to see cities filled with dead bodies, still lying unburied, and those of old men, mixed with infants, all dead, and scattered about together; women also lay amongst them, without any covering for their nakedness:…\’94 Of the yet living Jews it seems the young zealots and seditionists had anyway been laying await \
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to \’93recover their liberty,\’94 from Rome. The seditionists were not particularly lent to their Jewish religion and so between them and the zealots there was strife. But from Jerusalem Lieutenants of Israel were chosen to lead from chosen cities throughout Palestine – Josephus son of Matthias commanded the northern city of Gamala, at the southern part of the Sea of Galilee and the Galilee’s until he was taken prisoner by Titus and thus preserved to write his histories of those days. He was later taken to Rome where he wrote his histories. \
Vespasian to avoid the winter waters comes from Nero in Achia through Greece and Asia [now Turkey] and enters Palestine from the north with his fifteenth legion. He is joined by Titus who left Nero with instructions from his father Vespasian to bring the fifth and tenth legions from Alexandria, which he does, joining up with his father at Ptolemais a port city about ten miles north of Mount Carmel. Assume he also obtained the twelfth legion from Cestius, what was left of it for the Jews had badly beaten them at Jerusalem, again it was with Titus at Jerusalem. With an additional twenty three auxiliary cohorts and six squad’s of horsemen, and Arabia contributed one thousand mounted soldiers, the Roman army at Vespasian\’92s command totaled six hundred thousand at Roman muster. \
Cestius had lost five thousand and three hundred footman and three hundred and eighty horsemen to the Jews at Jerusalem and there were other smaller inflating victories for the Jews. At Scythopolis which city did not submit to their brethren but stood against the resistance the Jews killed thirteen thousand and plundered their own. However, the Roman army advanced from the north into Palestine through Anticoh killing any resistance and putting into captivity the weaker people pillaging and burning cities of Jews. As they continued south and though Galilee Vespasian had been \
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recalled to Rome before reaching Jerusalem to take the throne of Rome. The armies of the Romans continued on finally taking the fortress plateau Masada south of the Dead Sea. It took nearly four years to purge the Jews from Palestine such was Rome\’92s wrath or was it the wrath of God at that generation for having rejected His Son. Palestine must have contributed greatly to the produce that supported Rome for such action from that dominating government.\
Of those cities the number of dead sums in this manner. Caesarea already listed above, as Scythopolis is listed, and Askelon slew two thousand and five hundred Jews and kept captives, while Ptolemais two thousand with captives, and Tyre killed many and kept captive Jews, Hippos and Gadara like wise. Surprisingly it is Alexandria where Josephus states \’93…the sedition of the people of that place against the Jews was perpetual from the time of Alexander [the Great]…\’94 Two Roman legions [twelve thousand soldiers] came from Lybia into the Delta where the Jews were living killing fifty thousand men women and children, and plundering and burning their homes. Zabulon a city of Palestine as wonderful as Tyre was deserted of Jews those having fled to the mountains but the Romans burned it too. The central coast city of Joppa Cestius plundered and burned killing eight thousand four hundred Jews. Asamon counted two thousand slain Jews and many escaped and concealed themselves. Damascus in the north [of the Sea of Galilee] the city killed ten thousand Jews all says Josephus were unarmed. Ascalon suffered eight thousand Jews slain. Vespasian took boating from Capernaum upon the Sea of Galilee and fought a naval battle with Jews in which six thousand and five hundred Jews died. The Romans pulled down city walls killed Jews put in captive at Tiberias no less than thirty six thousand Jews were made slaves and a one thousand two hundred old men deemed useless they killed. When \
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Vespasian approached Jericho the people had fled to the mountains toward Jerusalem leaving the desolate city to the Roman general. And so Galilee was taken from the Jews. And Josephus is read: \’93There were besides these disorders and civil wars in every city; and all those that were quiet from the Romans turned their hands one against another. There was also a bitter contest between those that were fond of war, and those that were desirous of peace.\’94 Concerning a general population count prior to the destruction of the nation it is found that from counting the Passover lambs, for they were for each family killed at the Great Altar before the Temple, a number, probably conservative, of three million men is preserved.\
Jerusalem. Within, the seditionists from Galilee had fled there, the young zealots were already there, and struggled between them for control of the strong hold – the Temple. Prisoners were killed with the sword and they approached the sanctuary for a stronghold. Here seeing the outcome, the ancient high priest Ananus devised this: A man by the name of Phannias the son of Samuel of the village of Aphtha was placed as High Priest. He was \’93a rustic\’94 totally unworthy of the high office and did not even know what the office he held was; yet the sacred garments were placed on him and he was instructed what to do. The people were disgusted. Standing among the zealots who he now controlled, Ananas the high priest said, \’93Certainly, it had been good for me to die before I had seen the house of God full of so many abominations, or these sacred [only for the priests] places that ought not to be trodden upon at random, filled with the feet of these blood-shedding villains;…\’94 Ananas attempted to work the people against the zealots and armed the priests against them but when wounded the zealots went into the holy places and polluted it with their own blood. Then the zealots hired the Idumeans [Edomites] against Ananas who ultimately killed him and the \
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resistance. The Temple was taken. Then the zealots turned with sword and knife upon the people and killed twelve thousand of them. Tired of killing the Idumeans returned home. The zealots buried neither those within the city nor those dead along the road thus they polluted their holy country and their holy city. They searched by force the homes of the wealthy plundering and later when starvation set in stealing the smallest morsel even from the mouths of the young ones and abusing the women.\
With plans readied for the taking of Jerusalem Vespasian learns of the death of Nero. A couple of generals attempt to take the throne but Vespasian is finally persuaded to fill the office of Caesar. He returns to Rome leaving his son Titus to continue on to Jerusalem. Titus brings siege engines to throw huge stones and fire and spears upon the city. Most effective were the battering rams of large wood shafts and iron heads that finally crushed stone before them after continual ramming for days or even weeks or months. Rome was at the gate she had made with rams, Titus surrounded and entrenched about the walls of Jerusalem. Any within who wanted to surrender or tried to escape from the situation, for Titus permitted some, were killed by the seditionists. There were four Roman legions with Titus, the fifth, the tenth, the twelfth and the fifteenth, Jerusalem chose to starve to death they literally walked upon the bodies of the dead within the walls.\
The Roman war machine was the most effective ever known adapting its techniques and instruments of war to the enemies. A soldiers gear consisted of metal body armor and helmet and shield. The relatively short twenty inch long, two inch wide, diamond pointed iron or steel \’93Gladius\’94 sword of the infantry, legionnaires and cavalry proved most effective against the longer sword or spear of the enemy. By stepping by their weapon into the enemy the short Gladius cut and thrust with ease dispensing the opponents. The Gladius \
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was light and quickly slashed open defenseless civilians or sling armed defenders and with the large round or square shield overcame even the archers. It was a slow bloody way to die, consciousness lasting for even a few minutes or longer from the slashes as blood eased from the victim or shock softened the edge of death. The cavalry and charioteers carried a longer bladed sword ever much like the Gladius reaching necessarily further to dispatch the foe. Marching in strict formation the sight of a Roman army was quite intimidating and upon reaching the front of battle well trained every day, deeply driven by honor and pride and a raging desire for revenge [sparked by the Gallic sack of Rome in 390 B.C. and hatred of the Greeks] a first row of young inexperienced troops first fought the enemy and then dropped back behind the second row of \’91Principles\’92, seasoned vets, who then easily dispatched the then weary adversaries of Rome, and yes there was a third row of soldiers ready to fill in any breach of the line when signaled by the commanders. If a Roman soldier turned to flee the fight his back was open to the enemy and his retreat met by a Roman sword. There was no retreat in the Roman army. As well, in Jerusalem when two Roman soldiers were released back to their ranks after capture Titus,according to Roman law, stripped them of their rank and discharged them from the Roman army and sent them away in disgrace – there was no choice for a Roman soldier either fight and live or fight and die. \
The roads of Rome were paved with stone but the roads of Israel were that generation paved with blood of Jews whose bodies remained unburied along the roads. Titus had approached The City at Passover, Josephus declares that one million one hundred thousand Jews perished in the siege while ninety seven thousand were taken captive. The faithful Jews and proselytes had come to the city of the Great King to worship after the commandment of Moses, they found no sacrificial substitute that year for the sin of the nation Israel, but \
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perished there themselves. A fire had begun by the Jewish rebels in the tower of Antonia and throughout the palaces consuming the tops of three wall towers. The seditionists finally overcame the zealots and took the Temple with six thousand men, sustained by the blood and flesh of fallen dead bodies between them. The Romans were not without difficulties though, but were from their embankments proceeding to breach the three walls between the resistors and and them. Those who managed to escape to the Romans swallowed down gold valuables who when the Arabs and Syrians found out, sliced them open for the treasures. Titus stopped that practice. The mother and father of Josephus were said to been bound in prison inside Jerusalem while the son stood with Titus waiting for the breach of his city.\
Also inside the walls of Jerusalem, any green plant that could be gotten outside the walls by slipping through and back was eaten then when that was prevented straw and belts and shoes were consumed and as Josephus relates \’93unheard of\’94 any where any time a woman by the name of Mary whose food had been all stolen was found having consumed half of her child which she then offered to the thieves but they left her alone with what she revealed to them. \’93But woe to them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days!\’94 Mark 13:17. Such a terrible \’93rod\’94 was Rome upon Israel then, that the Lord leaves off describing the carnage. The roads and byways leading to Jerusalem from Galilee were strung with unburied Jewish corpses. However, above all atrocities of human compassion was the violation, and the pattern began with our Lord Jesus in his crucifixion, of the \’93quiet people\’94 as Josephus describes them, whom the army of Vespasian and Titus killed. They who rendered unto Caesar his due and unto God His, they drug from their scrolls and homes to the most agonizing death formulated by man – crucifixion – three days of intense sun and nights cold and at length suffocation because there is \
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no more strength in the legs to push the body upward for another breath.\
With long finality Titus enters the walls of the Temple, made a fortress by the rebel defenders, the burning had begun much before in the towers, now began in the Temple by crazed Roman soldiers whom Titus himself could not stop even though he had desired to preserve the city and the grand Temple. The stone pavings of the Temple were running with blood from both sides there was no stopping the carnage. It was then that the final abomination of the Temples desolation occurred. The prophet Daniel spoke of the shadow of an earlier desolation by the Greeks that Jesus now points out to be again seen in the Temple. It was not as much the unholy gentile Caesar and soldiers who stood upon the holy pavements intended for only the high priests of the LORD God but the Roman staff with the banner emblem of Rome, an eagle, which bird is unclean according to Jewish Levitical law, was raised over the Temple. The daily sacrifice of the two lambs ceased and there has not been in Jerusalem the Great Altar nor a Temple of Israel for a sacrifice for sin since. It is thought provoking to recall in the history of the making of our own nation, the United States, that Benjamin Franklin in the matter of choosing a national bird, advocated the beautiful wild turkey but the greater number of members chose the bald eagle. \
Of the years preceding this destruction of God\’92s people Israel, the Church of the Savior Jesus Christ from Jerusalem had preached the Gospel among the nations. But they too suffered martyrdom’s at the hands of Rome prompted by that generation of Jews in many cases. And that church of Apostles at Jerusalem, having taken heed of the words of the Lord Jesus, had fled before or at the outbreak of the war to a new capital for the Church that being in Rome where the Apostle Paul had labored to blood to secure souls for his Savior. They fled from their origin in \’93The Land\’94 to a Gentile refuge where the borrowed \
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sovereignty from Rome, as Jerusalem was to the land of Israel, lent the proper authority to the post-Apostolic leaders. They had indeed fled to the great mountain that only could afford lasting harbor from the wrath reeked upon that generation of the nation Israel. The Father had turned his back upon his people who he had afore known to face a people who were before no people and built a grand new habitation and Gospel outreach unto himself. Praise the unfathomable mind of our God and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. For the melted treasurers of a broken and contrite heart Jesus found not when he came to Israel and so the Roman soldiers burned and searched out the melted silver and gold of the Temple, leaving not one stone upon another in Jerusalem. \
Jesus said it more simply than all of these explanations and in keeping with the record of Moses: \’93I [the LORD] will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, [Moses] and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.\’94 Deuteronomy 18:18,19 \
Now, concerning the things Jesus speaks of in the next portion of the [Fountain] Mark 13:24-27. With the words \’93after that tribulation\’94 the Lord in few words describes another tribulation that the Apostle John speaks of in The Revelation of Jesus Christ.\’94 Which thing has yet to occur. Its beginning is with Ist Thessalonians 4:13-18, but the Lord does not mention at that time the taking away of the present Church from the earth, but her absence brings after that the great tribulation that Jesus does describe in verses 24 and 25 of the Gospel of Mark. As well applicable to those seventy weeks [three and one half years] as Daniel describes them are The Revelation 12:7-12, then The Revelation 17 and 18 and finally what the Lord Jesus does speak about is The \
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Revelation 19:11-21 when He returns to set foot upon the Mount of Olives and gathers his \’93elect\’94 to himself. It seems likely that his term \’93elect\’94 may have reference to Josephus\’92 term for them \’93the quiet people\’94 for only \’93holy ones\’94 could dare approach unto the Lord in that day that he is King of Israel for it comes with power this second time. In short, this second tribulation is just prior to the Lord\’92s second presence upon the earth.\
Now, the third part of the [Fountain] Mark13:28-30, describes the parable of the fig tree and is applicable to both the first and second tribulation that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel of Mark. In the Holy Scriptures the fig tree is first mentioned in Genesis. The fallen couple to hide their nakedness sewed fig leaves into aprons as clothing. This application is most fitting as the leaves of the fig tree are heavy and a bit tough. That the Lord symbolizes the fig tree as the nation Israel of that day is seen by the botanical description of the tree. To be productive the tree must have its roots restricted, and this is how the narrow piece of the levant called \’93The Land\’94 contained God\’92s people. When productive the trees symbolize peace and the divine favor, which Jesus fully expected of the tree he cursed for the fig tree of that land produces three crops a year before becoming dormant. Situated in the full sun He did not find the nearly green pear shaped fruit that was to be hidden among the dense foliage. So knowing the reception that awaited him in the Temple Jesus cursed the symbol of Israel\’92s unfruitfulness of faith in their God. Because, it is perhaps the Smyrna fig that the Lord approached since it seldom reaches more than eighteen feet whose dusty foliage forms somewhat of an upside down bowl upon the numerous large and small branches, it should have had, on at least several of its numerous branches, fruit. The fruit when bitten open reveals a purple-violet sweet interior and in the days of King Hezekiah when he was ill unto death the prophet Isaiah prescribed a poultice of dried figs and the King \
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recovered. The beginning of each tribulation has to do with the fig-like tender branches of Jacob [Israel] that produce faith. Herein the Church has its beginnings from the Jewish Hebrew Apostles and the church grew in numbers in those days prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. In the beginning of the second great tribulation is the resurrection of the church saints and the carrying away into heaven those who are changed upon the earth into bodies like unto our Lord\’92s body, that faithful remnant that will be ever with him. These being the faithful at his coming who have \’93Watched\’94 themselves in their faith and for the tender branch of the fig tree, Israel, that again brings forth the fruit of one hundred and forty four thousand brethren who meet the Lord not in the air but on the holy earth of Israel and Jesus is then their acknowledged King.\
Now, the fourth part of [Fountain] Mark 13:31-32 that the Lord reveals is the end of time a apprehension that is difficult to grasp, but were it not the confidences that the Lord builds in the believer from his earlier disclosures of the tribulations, for we see from each that He emerges unscathed so we who are with him, who can harm us. Our Father alone controls all of those days unto that time and can bring them to pass immediately or at length: but, we are his. Although this earth and heaven is to pass away the Lord presses with his word will not cease. With the adversary of God taken away the literal meaning is singular, a new heaven and new earth and eternity begin, created for the Lord and his saints. \
Now, the fifth and final part of the [Fountain] Mark 13:33-37 is found the solum admonition to every believer, \’93Watch\’94 for we do not know when he will come for us, however, it is one day closer than it was yesterday and two thousand years closer than in the days of John Mark and the Apostle Paul and Peter and the Apostle John and so we tarry also but are lent, the wise ones \
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vigilant, lest our faith become stale and dead and we sleep in the faith that was delivered to us by those of the tender branch of the fig tree. Thus as the \’93quiet ones\’94 of this generation we give attendance to reading from the scriptures. I Timothy 4:13. \
The fountain of Jacob then is the Lord Jesus who alone has the knowledge of the Father, and has shown what is now past and what is to come, to us and to Israel. For Jesus is of the tribe of Judah one of the sons of Jacob and as a pure flowing stream of words, for so is the Holy Bible imagery – water indicates words – his full knowledge of the will of His Father is made known to us through the asking of the four disciples and the record of John Mark in his Gospel. That John Mark trimmed much of the Lord\’92s speech from his presentation [compared to Matthew\’92s or Luke\’92s records] is easily understood when we remember that John Mark was writing for a gentile origin audience and what does appear is quite sufficient knowledge and confidence of faith in the Savior.\
\
The place [LAND]\
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When in seventy A.D. temple worship ceased with the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem the children of Jacob who survived by early fleeing or were taken captive by the Romans, their leaders dead, no longer possessed a land proper for their nation. This had very many implications, one of them concerning any significant literary work that could be accomplished because the writers were in most cases taken away out of \’93The Land,\’94 those being the wealthier and more educated and of the priesthood from which nearly all old covenant Holy Writ was produced. The Book of Amos was an exception in that Amos was a shepherd of Judah as his ancestor King David, who also wrote \
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many of the Psalms but in \’93The Land\’94. That all of the priestly prophets wrote their works in \’93The Land\’94 of promise is true and so unto this day with the absence of a Temple in Jerusalem significant authoritative works written outside of \’93The Land\’94 are highly questionable as inspired by the God of Israel. This should not be the problem for \’93the people of the Book\’94 in this age of the Savior because \’93The Land\’94 is a person the Lord Jesus Christ, and to be in Jesus Christ is to be in the spiritual land that the book of Joshua describes as the land of Cannan being divided to the seven tribes as divided into seven parts as Judah and Joseph are early set aside in Joshua 18:5 then the lots fall to the seven remaining tribes, two tribes and one half a tribe of Joseph residing on the east side of the Jordan River. Joshua 18:6 clearly shows the land being divided into seven parts by the casting of lots. It is the number seven that is the distinguishing element to understanding that the actual land of the seven tribes is a spiritual figure of a long awaited \’93seed\’94 for the \’93quiet people\’94 searched every word of their scriptures to be sure of his identity when he arose from among them. Yet it is not likely they found this indication before Christ came to them; but it is given in retrospect to his beloved Church of quiet people. In Isaiah 11:2 are the seven spirits of God – light, life, wisdom, understanding, righteousness, holiness, peace – the spiritual description of the Branch, see verse one. The seven tribes of Joshua 18:10 – 19:48 to whom the land was divided into seven parts are in order: Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan. Herein is a wonderful lamp of understanding into the spiritual character of our Savior that his spirit is specified in parallel with the land given in descriptions to Israel. So then to be in the land is to be in the spirit of the living God although not physically necessary on the soil of \’93The Land\’94 of Israel. It is a wonderful thing that every gift of God in this age of the Church is a spiritual gift; until that last trump when our own bodies shall \
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be raised and made like unto His glorious body.\
And so it is, the greatest event time has ever known, unrolls in the large place of the Gospel of Mark [LAND]. Jesus of Nazareth having made his home in Capernaum [the city of comfort] but she rejected him too, put down roots downward and put forth shoots upward in a ministry that lasted but three years, and now as he had approached Jerusalem knowing the pressure from the Jewish leaders to destroy him from the beginning and speaking of his offering of his body there, continued through Palestine crossing the Sea of Galilee he descended along the east side of the Jordan River he crosses raising his robe and baring his feet to the cold water. The River had not parted for him as it had for Joshua and the three million children of Israel who had crossed dry-footed into the promised land some twelve hundred and thirty years earlier but in humility the obedient servant of God pressed forward. After Jerusalem and the Temple, and after two days that is two days after the Sabbath and two days before his passover meal that day being Tuesday Jesus was in the house of \
Simon the leper. The later Romans added the names of the days of the weeks. Of course, Simon no longer was afflicted with that disease for the Lord had healed him, but it is here that the body of Jesus is prepared for burial by the anointing of spikenard a very expensive condiment. Says \ul The People\’92s Bible Encyclopedia\ulnone [1913] \’93an aromatic oil extracted from an East Indian plant, Nardostachys Jatamansi,… It cost the woman who anointed Christ\’92s feet $62.50 for her devotion.\’94 A much more amount these days about $102.78 an ounce from Nepal. Here from Simons house at Bethany, which is upward and east of the Olives, Judas Iscariot planned his betrayal of the son of God. The words of Jesus come to mind in his response to Pilate, \’93Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.\’94 John 19:11. But! Mark 15:9,10. \
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For those who scoff at the power of darkness in the human soul consider Judas Iscariot who had been in the presence of Jesus when he performed the healing and removed the demons from so many and who feed the multitudes, had listened to the tone of his voice, seen the brilliance of his mind in responses to criticisms, yet in the whole time of three years nothing that the Son of God had done nor said prevented the betrayer from his desire. We at our beginnings as human beings are truly a hopeless lot.\
Now the passover lamb, after which Moses prescribed, had been slain for Jesus and his immediate twelve disciples, at the Temple in ritual manner by Levitcally clean priests and the disciples returned news of such they ask him where do we take the lamb for the feast meal with you. Alfred Edersheim beautifully describes the upper room as that of the John Mark family in his work \ul The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah\ulnone page 491, beginning. This is not without but by empathy for the situation and elevation that the author writes from his knowledge and understanding. But it is the man with the pitcher in the scene who is immediately questioned. Of so many in the City at Passover how would the disciples distinguish such a person. That he was a servant is most likely but that he is male is the figure by which the disciples chose to address, for even until modern times in Jerusalem when piping had been finally furnished to the homes it were the women who brought all of the water to the house, for bathing for cooking and drinking, so the man with a water pot was easily distinguished. \
As John Mark describes the event Jesus came that evening for the meal with his twelve disciples. Jesus reveals that one should betray him to the chief priests and scribes and council who sought his life for Jesus is insurmountable his ministry was conclusive of his person, and he like Joseph in the days of Jacob, they needed only opportunity and quick execution of their desires upon \
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him. This they found of the volunteer Judas Iscariot, who like Ahithophel in the days of King David as his betrayer, also hanged himself.\
In this meal is shown the wonderful identity of this place [Land] in the description by Moses in Deuteronomy 33:28, \’93a land of corn and wine;\’94 for it is here in that intimate time with his closest followers that he describes himself as the Land. The \’93corn\’94 is the grain of the bread which is his body, while the wine is his blood shed for many. It is not the bread of the \’93manna\’94 eaten by the Israelites upon deliverance from Egypt, for the bread had cast himself upon the waters of the Jordan and passed to the west side into the promised land of whom Jesus is. Yes, this is the bread that the promised land had produced in the form of a \’93seed\’94 which is ground to produce bread, a soul satisfying bread of comfort to the heart and mind. A real human being like myself; \’93For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.\’94 It is this simple act of eating and drinking the person of Jesus Christ that the Lord enacted that evening, which we are to observe, that is so much a lighter weight than the complicated feast days of Israel upon both the heart and mind of Christianity that is typical of our devoted Savior. \
The Jews observe the sabbath, the word sabbath means, repose, i.e. cessation – from exertion, from instruction of the fourth commandment; but, the seventh day was likely observed in some similar form from the very early days of Adam, a day of completion, thus, rest. In its simplest form the husband, the Lord God, was calling his bride the nation Israel together to Him; in home, in synagogue, in Temple for those at Jerusalem, as a festive gathering. At six in the evening on friday, in the adorned home, in the best garments, a Sabbath lamp was lighted and the best meal the house could furnish was set. The synagogue or Temple at morning light witnessed the \
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ingathering of worshipers with formal devotions observed upon which they returned to their homes and repose. With the labors of the week past the bride sought the inward mental and spiritual experience of reading the scriptures and discussion that quickened the soul and spirit, a refreshment by the opportunity provided by her husband. Mark 2:10. For we of the Church, we also have been called to the Sabbath into the tomb of Jesus Christ where our sin and sins in the Savior are dead, put away from the sight of his Father. Romans 6:8 & 6:11. \’93Now if we be dead with Christ,…\’94 \’93Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,…\’94 \
Luke states that the Lord said; \’93I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.\’94 While Matthew and Mark states Jesus as saying: \’93I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Fathers kingdom.\’94 Is he not risen proof of all that he taught concerning himself, the Son of God and preached the kingdom of God, that is himself as the King of Israel. Upon his encounter with his disciples he ate with them in the Land at Jerusalem and at Galilee. Is not this the \’93seed of the woman\’94 who has fallen into the ground and risen alive and bearing the fruit of faith in his disciples? Most certainly! Now, he eats and drinks his death, burial and resurrection in joy in his Fathers Kingdom, whereas that night it was with sorrow that he partook of the meal, his suffering yet lay ahead of him. If there is an earthly similarity perhaps it is in childbirth, but also a drafted soldier feels the heaviness of that building moment and the long days of their forced employment; but years hence and they look back it is with fond emotion and lightness of mind, and not just because it is passed away but that they have served their country. They were born with the Rights and have earned the Rights provided by their government. Much in this way some understand the feelings of the Lord Jesus when he, \
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after his resurrection, approached his disciples. \’93This do in remembrance of me,\’94 of the time, when I myself could do a work upon the earth.\
They then sang a hymn, Psalm 118 most likely and the final verse: \’93O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.\’94 With this final verse sung, they \’93 went out into the mount of Olives.\’94 Other words could convey, they left Jerusalem crossed Kidron into the mount of the Holy Spirit, for oil in the Holy Bible always speaks of the Spirit; making the act a prelude from life, across death, into eternal life. The name Kidron means – dusky, gloomy. Here, while walking, in the cool of the evening, as in the earlier garden when he had communed with Adam, Jesus reveals a dark side of the later events of the night that concerns the disciples. Each said as Peter had declared he would die with Jesus, and so it is clear again it is the Prophet Moses spoke of, speaking the words that were written; but taken with their own drive and might, the disciples did not fulfill there vows. Deuteronomy 23:21-23 \’93…That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.\’94 Ultimately they each became martyrs but for John. The firm but tender rebuke from the risen Lord is found in the Gospel of John 21:15-19. In this outside scene Peter turns to remind the Lord that he was not alone in denying him and his attention rests upon the Apostle John, yet the answer of the Lord – \’93…what is that to thee? follow thou me.\’94 All to often our attention drifts from the Lord Jesus Christ to other servants and their ministries when all that is required is found in Micah 6:8 \’93…to walk humbly with thy God…\’94 \’93follow thou me.\’94 John 21:22. Ah! Mark 8:34,35.\
The oil press garden of Mary the mother of John Mark is the Gethsemane garden that is suggested by Alfred Edersheim as belonging to the family of this Gospel\’92s author. Jesus came to pray at this place and instructing his disciples \
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to sit and wait one can infer that it was of the eight immediate disciples of whom he said, \’93Sit ye here, while I pray.\’94 To sit is to be at ease but still alert for further instruction and learning. From Matthew we see that he took Peter and James and his brother John further into the garden and ask them to, \’93…tarry ye here, and watch with me.\’94 To watch is to \’91stand\’92 guard, against the power of darkness with their master, so that they were not seated but standing. Then Jesus himself, in full submission to the events of his offering that he foresaw so clearly, drops to his knees with his face close to the ground, for to be on the ground and off ones feet is to be less able to defend ones person, the reason he instructed his disciples to watch, and prays for a time the first time of about an hour; although, only the first portion of the prayer with the record of the \’93cup\’94 is preserved in Matthew, probably the witness of Peter, with the record of the \’93cup\’94 and the \’93angel\’94 and the \’93sweat\’94 of blood recorded by Luke, probably the witness of the younger disciple John the Apostle who may have been more able to remain awake longest of the three and conveyed his record in writing to Luke who was not at all close enough that night to experience the words or events. From the voluminous record of the dissertation of Jesus earlier that night that John records in his Gospel, it is evident that John had been recording the words of the Lord; yet, in saying that, it is not at all to slight the Holy Ghost\’92s place in bringing to the authors memory the exact words the Lord had spoken. John 13:1 through17:26 is example. That Luke would have consulted John in any way is not unlikely either in that after the death of Paul in Rome and Luke near him, Luke put his hand to write his Gospel, but the exact date is not known and no record of his activities is left us but that the Apostle John was present in Asia minor [Turkey] at that late time in the days of the Apostles.\
Returning to the event of the Lord\’92s agony in prayer it must be noted the \
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courage and resolve of this quiet One, having received encouragement from the \’93angel\’94 Michael as he immediately upon arising to his feet meets his betrayer, Judas Iscariot. The angel Michael is always present in defense of Israel for whom now the Son of God was to offer himself. Daniel 10:21,12:1.\
The Lord is so ordinary in appearance that the revealer of the Messiah to the enemies of God had to betray him with a kiss. The act of a kiss was a show of respect and fondness that Judas Iscariot used as well as addressing him as \’93Master.\’94 Indeed, his master was his greed and the Lord another step toward the reward held by the chief priests and scribes and elders. The kiss of a familiar friend, a kiss upon the bearded cheek of the Son of man; but, had Judas Iscariot greeted the Lord in this fashion before, if so, it had not been to betray Jesus into the hands of the leaders of Israel. The events may not have been as swift as the Gospel of Mark moves through them but his arrest was well planned from the kiss to the sword of the defending disciple who cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest when Jesus had been bound to be led away. Jesus himself still uses words to defend himself declaring his innocence as a thief and availability to an open day time apprehension in the Temple, which of course would have been simpler had it not been for the people he addressed there. Thus, the scriptures of Daniel the prophet are fulfilled, \’93And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood [of soldiers], and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.\’94 Daniel 9:26. \
One individual remained close by the Lord Jesus as he was arrested, young and brave dressed only in a linen cloth over his undergarments. Perhaps he was thus clad having left the place of the final Passover dinner hurriedly to follow from his parents home his Messiah. Or it may have been the clothing of \
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a Nazarite, whose laws of separation are found in Numbers 6:2-21; howbeit, he remained when the others had fled and for such a long time that the mob from the Temple led by Judas Iscariot laid hands on him to take him. Had he remained in their grasp the concise Gospel of Mark might never had reached our ears, yet the garment of his righteousness and his Messiah were taken from John Mark in one evening that the righteousness that comes from God might clothe him three days hence. Romans 13:14, \’93But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,\’94 and a protective covering, Ephesians 6:11-17. Linen in the Holy Bible always speaks of righteousness because of its whiteness, as means the name Lebanon for its snow covered mountains. The proper name in addressing or reference to Him since his resurrection is the Lord Jesus Christ.\
In the presence of the wicked and sons of Belial, the sons of the darkness of that generation of Israel, whence Satan had beguiled them through their envy Jesus stands in the the presence of the highest court in Israel, the Sanhedrin. The origin of this council by name may have begun in the time of Greek rule over Israel under Antiochus the Great B.C.223-187, comparable perhaps to the seventy elders chosen by Moses in the beginning of the nation of Israel, as the great council was composed of seventy pure blood members the president being the hereditary high priest. Their rule was however limited to the area of Judea that being the description of the divided land under Joshua, and the separation of the ten tribes from Judah and Benjamin during King Rehoboam\’92s reign, so that the while Jesus remained in Galilee making his circuits they could do nothing to him until he entered Judea of which Jerusalem was part. After Jesus we see in The Acts of the Apostles that the Sanhedrin exerted their influential power into Galilaean cities who might have allowed them power over any Israelite therein. However, this night in the end of the ministry of Jesus the council met in Jerusalem at the palace of the high \
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priest and it was a Thursday the other officiating for the council having been Tuesday and it was late when Peter who had lagged far behind the arresting mob and his Lord, entered the courtyard of the high priest. It is thought and probably rightly so that John had gotten him entry as John was of the sons of Aaron and was thus conversant with even elder members of the council who now the rest of the night sought condemnation upon Jesus. The complexity of the trial is understood through the brevity of John Marks account. The council could not find any fault in him through even false witnesses, his ministry being that perfect that he needed no defense. Had there been cause thus found they would simply have taken Jesus outside and stoned him to death as Stephen died and Paul at their hands as well. Finally, the high priest stood up in the council and addressed his King: \’93Art though the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?\’94 To this Jesus dropped not his eyes from he nor any of them either and confessed, \’93I am:…\’94 To the highly Torah educated council the confession of him being the voice from the burning bush who addressed Moses was all that was needed to condemn him of blasphemy. Jesus could have in other terms responded to the question of the high priest, such as \’93You have said\’94 or That is true, or even just, Yes; but not to answer would have been to deny himself and that he could never do. Jesus answered honestly. Seventy votes sentenced the young King of Israel to his death, but even still Jesus had prophesied of his resurrection in his answer then, \’93and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.\’94 That the high priest then tore his cloths was to typify the great distress that he was to have endured of the answer from the Lord through the severity of the crime of blasphemy. Leviticus 24:16 reads \’93And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when \
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he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.\’94 Now in this verse the Hebrew word for blasphemeth is \’91naqab\’92 a primary root meaning to puncture, literally to perforate, [with more or less violence] or figuratively [to specify, designate, libel]: – appoint, blaspheme, bore, curse, express, with holes, name, pierce, strike through. And had Jesus not been who he had proven himself to be, this would have been a just sentence upon him. However, it is to his accusers that the word is proven for in every sense this is what that generation of the great council of Israel did to the Son of man, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus come to them from God. In this upper room of the palace of the high priest in the midst of the enemies of his Father as they plotted to avert guilt from themselves for their verdict against their King and the night drew to the early light of morning and as Jesus began to receive the abuse of the false crime, below in the courtyard a cock crowed the second time in the ears of Peter and John. Peter, it is recorded, wept for the denial that the Lord received of him. The other ten disciples escaped that moment only to live it later when it was told them. Had Peter been enabled he could have entered the judgment hall in defense and spoken the words that Jesus had defended himself with and Jesus would have not been guilty; but, the scriptures must need be fulfilled. \
The warmth of the bodies of more than seventy human bodies in that upper room began to be overcome by the chill of the early morning air when it was decided to deliver Jesus to Pilate. Now in the hands of the Romans a further humiliation from his council, a guilty man is set free in his place the actuality of the old covenant shadow of the scapegoat in the law of Moses. Leviticus 16:8-19. As John Mark presents the passing it was not necessary to make that reference to a people who was not familiar with Jewish law, for them illustration is poignant enough – a just man dies for another\’92s [many other\’92s] \
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guilt. Nearing late morning but not yet nine A.M. Jesus is mocked also of the gentile occupiers again, such a thing that shall occur at the end of this age of the Church when he shall prevail with power and not humility that bid him take the heavy cross beam upon his two shoulders to carry it to the tree that awaited at Golgotha. Weakened from the Roman punishments and loss of blood he cannot carry the burden of a beam and a man of Cyrenian one named Simon is drafted. He is the father of Alexander, and Rufus who is mentioned with Paul in Romans 16:13. Cyrene is a coastal city along the Mediterranean coast of Africa nearly eighteen hundred feet above the sea founded by the Greeks and four hundred miles west of Alexandria Egypt. Occupied by a Jewish community it is believed Simon was a proselyte attending the feast of passover. \
Seeing that Jesus was unable to bear the yoke-like cross physically, it is well to note that he was still well in command of his senses as he turns down the pain relieving wine and myrrh that is offered to him. He would not spoil the Nazarite character of his person by accepting something that would dull his sensibilities. He felt each nail as they were driven through his flesh separating bone and sinew and the rope burns on his arms as he was crucified and lifted by the cross beam up onto the tree. It was nine A.M. and the first lamb of the day in the temple was being slain, the noise of that ritual not quite drowned at the scene of the lamb of God by the cruelty of Roman execution. Above his head was written the true identity of his person, The King of the Jews. To his right and to his left two condemned persons, while on the ground around about were uncondemned sinners for whom he died also. As if the allegations and condemnations of the trial and execution were not enough humiliation the wayfarers who passed on the road near the scene cast their words of stone at him as Shimei had at King David when he had been driven \
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from the Holy City in the wake of his son Absolom. II Samuel 16:5-13. It was the patient hope in obeying his Father that no response came. They wanted to see and then they would believe, but he had shown them that in his ministry, but they did not then believe nor recall the marvelous recollection of the raising of Lazareth nor the possibility that coming down from the cross was not so great a miracle as to \’93Come forth\’94 from the tomb. Lacking faith the natural man can think no other way he is blind from birth to the reality of possibilities that God alone possesses and it is to believe and then to see the Messiah that the Father requires, but then they had not heard his words from whence faith comes, how could they possibly \’93see\’94 what they could not believe. Seeing is not proof in any way, \’93faith is the evidence of things not seen,\’94 seeing is the reward of faith. \
In the twilight darkness that had covered the setting of the suffering of the Son of man from noon until three in the afternoon the voice of The Son gives clue to his utter aloneness – \’93My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?\’94 With his work now completed Jesus receives the vinegar, it is truly finished, and he gives up with a loud voice his spirit. The trumpets of the Temple sound and at the great altar of the Temple the evening lamb is slaughtered just six hours after the first lamb. The words of John the Baptist are not lost in the ears of the disciple John, \’93Behold the lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.\’94 That world the Baptist referred to was the nation Israel now a seed herself fallen into the ground from which came the church of the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. On the ground near the tree a commander of Roman soldiers who knew men and had commanded numerous crucifixions declared truthfully this man The Son of God.\’94 No man ever spake as this one had nor ever shall for the writings that he left behind are the ones given to Israel – the Genesis, the law of Moses, the prophets and the beautiful \
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writings given by the Word of God to his servants. These same words have continued and multiplied after the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension through those who heard his voice and obeyed, such as John Mark the author of the Gospel we read today.\
Moreover, also inside the Temple proper between, the Holy Place where reside the Lamp stick the Table of Showbread and the Altar of Incense, and the Holy of Holies where from the golden seat of the Ark of the Covenant the LORD God of Israel communed with the High Priest [although at that late time it is said the room was empty and dark], between these two rooms of the Temple, a veil separated the one from the other. This veil was wonderfully beautiful embroidered of blue, purple, scarlet and linen, and as heavy as it was fetching it was sixty feet long and thirty feet wide and there were, according to Alfred Edersheim two such veils [considered as one], marvelously engineered to holdup its own weight made in seventy two squares and joined together, of a palm thickness, and so heavy that it took 300 [?, Talmud] priests to handle them. The likelihood of any natural occurrence such as storm or earthquake rending the Veil is quite impossible. No, this event, as assuredly as the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, occurred by the miracle of Heaven being rent from his head to his feet thus making way for all to enter the presence of the Living God. To personify the Veil is not missing the mark at all for it speaks of the rending of the body of Jesus Christ who by himself has made access for us to his Father. Hebrews 10:20. Significantly, the body cavity of a slaughtered animal and any human, possess these same wonderful colors of the Veil – blue, purple, scarlet and linen white sinew. \
The same generation and body of high priests of that day who had condemned Jesus to death by other hands, and covered his resurrection with a widespread lie, sewed the veil back together until the new veil, replaced every \
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two years, was completed, but of course, the Romans destroyed the sacrament by fire forever, seventy years later. With the Temple worship thus destroyed the believer today enters the body of Christ with all of his natural shadows of the temple expressed in the realities of his spiritual person. We enter the land which is the likeness of his body and we enter his body which is the shadow of the ordinances and laws pictured in the old covenant. To search these likenesses out in the scriptures is begun in the Holy Celebration with the meaning of the names of the sons of Jacob whose people took named portions of the promised land is to experience the spiritual likeness of the person of Jesus Christ. To examine the offerings and strict regulations such as the \’93lamb of God\’94 is to place faith in the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, for the offerings of Leviticus are the intricate details of the death of the Savior of God.\
To place the event of the death of the Lord and the miraculous rending of the Veil is to view it as John Mark has presented it. For Jesus, in Mark 15:37 cried with a loud voice and in Mark 15:38 the Veil of the temple was rent in twain shows the careful reader the power of the voice of our Savior. For it is the same gentle voice that bid the faithful to physical soundness that at death cries out loudly – loud enough and directed enough to rend the Veil with his voice. It is with another loud voice that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, for he spoke to Lazareth who was yet in the tomb and wrapped in grave cloths to come forth. But now in verse :37 as Jesus gives up his spirit that his body is pierced and broken that John Mark notes in verse :38 that the likeness of his body in the Temple is rent as well. We do well to remember the The Revelation 1:10-11 where John testifies that \’93…behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:…\’94 The power of that voice of our Lord, just for a hint of the tone of it, we must wait and \
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that with patient hope and confidence at \’93the trump of God\’94 as Paul states in II Thessalonians 4:16 \’93and the dead in Christ shall rise first.\’94\
Strange that as today, in those days a place setting was added to the table of the Jewish home for Elijah and when he came that generation consented to his beheading. They could have sent a delegation to Herod to plead for his life but the hierarchy of the Temple had already made plans that did not include John the Baptist. And so, under the cross they said, the one with the sponge of vinegar \’93Let alone; let us see whether Elijah will come and take him down.\’94 Again no faith, they wanted to \’93see.\’94 But again they had killed the baptist, so in their response of faithless insensitivity God made a more noble way to the Throne of God through death.\
Only in death is any honor bestowed upon the Savior. The gentile centurion makes his statement. Only in death we know of the goodly number of women who followed the ministry of Jesus. Only in death is the respect due to his body shown from the remnant of Godly Israel by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who remove his body from the cross in obedience to Deuteronomy 21:22,23. Those who had condemned him would have gladly wished his body to remain on the cross to desecrate him in death to insure his prophesy of his resurrection did not come true. Perceive also from John Mark\’92s description of Joseph of Arimathea as an \’93honorable\’94 counselor that he was not in attendance with the seventy or rather perhaps sixty nine counselors of the Sanhedrin who without honor condemned the Lord of Life to death. Even the number of evil counselors we could decrease to sixty eight if we consider Nicodemus of John 3:1 \’93a ruler of the Jews\’94 declined or was let go from the meeting as part of that power of darkness though Nicodemus went to Jesus in the night at that time Jesus showed himself to be conqueror of the darkness of that night and in the heart as well.\
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Albeit, we must pause to consider a great mystery of the event of the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. It concerns the blood of the sacrifice of the Tabernacle and Temple which were a shadow of the True Sacrifice of the Son of God. In the first sacrifice Paul states, \’93But into the second [Holy of Holies, where be the Ark of the Covenant] went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood [of a sacrifice], which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:…\’94 Hebrews 9:7. The high priest sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat for the God of Israel to see the evidence of the sacrifice. \’93But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Hebrews 9:11-15. Since Paul states clearly \’93but by his own blood\’94 raises in the mind from where did he obtain \’93his own blood,\’94 inasmuch as when the soldier pierced his side upon the cross \’93and out flowed blood and water\’94 thus emptying his body of blood. The time of his entering the Holy of Holies in Heaven is already determined by another, that being his first appearance to Mary Magdalene since she touched his feet in one account but was forbidden in another \’93for I am not yet ascended to my Father\’94 John 20:17. It is for this purpose that he must first ascend that we desire to know from \
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where did he obtain \’93his own blood.\’94 Perhaps from a natural cup in the stone below the cross but in three and one half days since his death the blood would have been dried or coagulated to no use. There is an individual who writes much in his gospel of the heart felt words of the Savior and who leaned upon his breast at supper and is at his trial and is of the priesthood of Aaron who could most likely have obtained from the piercing the precious blood of the Son of God, that person being John. If it were John he would have had to have been of the age of thirty years according to Levitical law. He is seen close by the cross and receives custody of the Mother of Jesus, any less the purchase price of our sins? The golden bowls of the Temple that received the blood of the sacrifices were made with a pointed bottom so that the bowl could not be set down and forgotten and the blood coagulate useless when long periods of time elapsed until the blood was needed. Thus, constantly in the hands of a priest the blood was stirred so that coagulation was prolonged. In the crucifixion narrative John is key figure but at crucial times he is not there as when Mary the Lord\’92s mother and the women approach the body of the Lord or when Joseph of Arimathea begs the body of the Lord. Had he listened, believing enough at the Lord\’92s side, the predictive words of his offering to perform such a duty? For all of us it was most important, to Paul it seemed no mystery as if he knew the means, Hebrews 9:12. If not John Boanerges then perhaps it was the Angel who spoke to the women in the tomb on the morning of his resurrection. Nonetheless, the conditions Paul describes in Hebrews chapter nine made the necessity imperative to our \’93eternal inheritance.\’94 \
Now, to continue, they wrapped his anointed body, Mary with her ointment had and the Jews their spit and from the Romans and his own blood and water, in linen. Now this was a costly weaving of the fibers of the plant Linum Usitatissimum called by its common name Flax. It has been in use \
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since five thousand B.C. by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and the Hebrews. The thin annual plant is tall with blue, white, or red flowers on the top and is planted in the fall and early spring of the year. Rahab used flax to hide the two spies that Joshua sent to spy out Jericho, while at the time of the crucifixion it was used to cover the body of an even more important man of faith, Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah. The flax plant is harvested and dried and the fibers of the bark of the stem is separated by beating, twisted, bleached nearly white, and woven into linen. In the raw state the fibers are called tow and used as a wicks in lamps. The cloth about Jesus had probably been prepared for Joseph as well as the tomb showing either the frailty of Joseph\’92s health or advanced age. It was also the dress material of the temple priests and used in the manufacture of the Veil of the Temple. Other uses include fishing nets, girdles, measuring lines, boots for the rich. Figuratively it indicates Biblically wealth and moral purity. The wick of cloth about the body of the Lord in just thirty six hour hence of the beginning of The Sabbath was to ignite into The Eternal Flame that shall never be extinguished. But for now, the reverent custodians of the body of the Son of God retired from placing a large stone in the entrance of the tomb in the sight of Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses [the mother of the Lord Jesus] and Salome [thought to be the mother of James and John Boanerges] three women in all told by name and \’93many other women.\’94 From shock there had been little consideration nor time for anointing the body any further, they would need return the first day of the week. The small group had worked from sorrow and obedience to the scriptures, they now retired to their \
passover accommodations in Jerusalem to observe the Sabbath, the one day as they knew it, of the week; but, what it was without any doubt the one day in all of time, past and future, in which no man, even the Son of man could do \
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no work. The true Sabbath Light of Israel had been extinguished. God was dead.\
Noting a distinct omission and inclusion in this finale of the chapter at 15:40 James the less and Joses are both included with Mary their mother, while in 15:47 only Joses is mentioned with Mary while even in 16:1 only James is shown with his mother and Joses is not included. There is purpose here if due time and consideration are taken. Verse :40 is at the cross, verse :47 is at the burial and 16:1 the morning of the Resurrection, show Mary with differing or inclusive offspring. Mary the name means \’93bitter,\’94 James [i.e. Jacob] means \’93supplanter,\’94 Joses [Joseph] means \’93adding\’94 but the name not provided is Jesus which means like the name Joshua \’93Savior.\’94 At the cross the bitterness of the death of her first born who should save his people is \’93added\’94 to, that his rightful position in the nation Israel has been taken from him [supplanted] by wicked men. At the burial \’93bitterness\’94 is \’93added\’94 to the heart of the mother of God in the final confirmation of his death, all hope in a Messiah for Israel in her son is lost. On the morning of the first day yet in \’93bitterness\’94 she finds that the supplanted has become the \’93supplanter\’94 by resurrection from the dead. Of course, Mary Magdalene is present in each of the three instances for she represents the faithful remnant of the children of Israel which reason to whom he first reveals himself.\
Remember, that the male Jew was expected in the synagogue both on the evening and morning of the Sabbath therefore they are not shown until later in the resurrection discovery. Notwithstanding it is evident from this account that likely Joseph and Nicodemus and their servants were tardy in the \
attendance of that early evening Sabbath service in the Temple. A question arises concerning the latent presence of the women at the tomb when it is understood that the Sabbath ends at six P.M. Saturday. Why could they not \
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have easily performed their anointing Saturday evening. With the close of the Sabbath Saturday again the males were expected to congregate for a closing service at synagogue and in Jerusalem the Temple whereby except for uncooked food prepared meals on the Sabbath is not done in fact some orthodox observe the Sabbath fasting. A prepared evening meal was essential for nourishment to resume labors on the first day of the week. In this way the women\’92s time after six P.M. Saturday evening was used up enough that little remained of daylight for them to anoint the body of the Lord. So then early, just before the first day of the week, in the darkness of the early morning, the day not yet begun, yet in \’93bitterness\’94 of soul after thirty six hours of waiting, the women come to the sepulchre as the sun rises upon the First Day of Celebration. The bread and the wine representing the body and blood of the Lord are long hours ago consumed his death is observed, they, we live in the age of the celebration of the victory of God over the sting of death in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, he is The Resurrection. \’93Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.\’94 John 12:25,26. \
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The place [HEAVEN]\
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From friday morning at 9 A.M. until 6 A.M. Sunday morning the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ had ceased. Voluntarily, for his Father, he was not in \
control of his normal transactions. Friday morning at 9 A.M. until 12 noon there had been day light, from 12 noon until 3 P.M. it had been dark, from 3 P.M. until 6 P.M. it had been day light, from 6 P.M. until 6 A.M. Sabbath it had \
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been dark, from 6 A.M. Sabbath until 6 P.M. had been day light, from 6 P.M. Sabbath until 6A.M. it had been darkness. At 6 A.M. \’93early on the first day\’94 of celebration came the resurrected Lord of the Sabbath. The Lord Jesus Messiah had overcome death, forever. It had been six periods of day light and darkness. Three periods of day light and tree periods of darkness: three days and three nights in the eyes of the Man who experienced them. God is alive again, alive now, forever alive! Romans 6:9.\
The miracles of resurrection in the ministry of Jesus, including the raising of Lazarus from the dead, was only a shadow of the power of this God made the Son of Man. And if ever a concept was incomprehensible, how a human being once dead could physically live again, it is of this man Jesus of Nazareth, called the Messiah by the commoners of Israel. But then the intellect that presumes to think that God can be captured with the mind and possessed thereby runs into the problem of the grasping of resurrection when, as unlike the instance with Lazareth, there was no person standing without the tomb to shout the trumpeted command to \’93Come forth\’94 when on this The First Day Jesus stepped from the tomb and not bound in grave clothes as Lazarus. By not understanding the halt of flesh deterioration, the mechanics and physiology of the cessation of rigor mortis, and especially the power of the Spirit of God, resurrection becomes unexplainable to the mortal mind, thus \’93capturing\’94 God with faculties of intelligence impossible. But in Paul Life says: \’93That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, \
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with the fullness of God.\’94 Ephesians 3:17-19. \
Moreover: \’93Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the \
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dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,\’94 Ephesians 1:20-22.\
Much more, Genesis 1:3. \’93And God said,\’94 John 1:1. \’93In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.\’94 \
Thus, \’93He sent his word, and healed them,\’94 Psalm 107:20. and singularly Mark 2:2. \’93…and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy,\’94\
With, \’93He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.\’94 Ecclesiastes 3:11.\
\’93Thou art beautiful, O my love,\’94 Song of Solomon 6:4.\
The infallibility of the scriptures of God in adding wonderful insights, truths, even short stories from applicable old scriptures, are found in Gospel narrative, sometimes of just one word is marvelous and it is no different in this New Covenant Gospel of Mark.\
Returning to Genesis there is much time before Adam is created, a man in figure like Abram chosen out of a people, to become a nation of people from a much populated globe. To confirm this view, when Jesus four thousand and thirty seven years later after Adam comes to the earth in a veil of human flesh he identifies himself as the Son of man. Now in Hebrew, the ancient form, the term \’91man\’92 and \’91Adam\’92 are the same word showing that Jesus came not only to \
deal with the nation Israel but those also from Adam to Abraham. To inquire of the people before Adam for the peoples were numerous even five thousand years before Christ as seen in the Sumerian city states around the city Ur well \
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advanced in mathematics and in command of a written cuneiform language which alphabet included more than one thousand characters, what manner God dealt with their salvation is not shown to us. Rather it is left by the Lord to say, that those from Adam are the people who Christ came down to \ul see\ulnone . \ul Genesis 11:5\ulnone . This is further shown in that it is to the serpent and Adam and the woman to whom the revelation of a \’93seed\’94 is presented. Though extremely subtle in its content it does include the precise work that our dear Lord Jesus accomplished and to which his reckoning as the Son of man refers.\
The reason for the foregoing paragraph is to emphasize the great amount of time prior to the Savior\’92s appearance before the fulfillment of the statement of Genesis 3:16 is accomplished. How very many persons had thought upon that promise and hoped for it in their day from Adam to Christ are uncountable: but, now we who come into the promise so late after, yet ourselves await a more glorious day when the Son of the Father The Lord Jesus Christ returns with a shout and trump to summon those who are dead in Christ to \’93Come forth\’94 to join him in the air. IIThessalonians 4:14-17. \
And so it is to the women of the Gospel of Mark of chapter sixteen verse one that held and beheld the Resurrection and the Life, what an entirely grand first day of celebration it was when bitterness was turned to joy that spills over into the heart of every believer at the reading of this precious account. Thank you John Mark for your perseverance and to the Lord Jesus Christ unthankable gratitude. \’93Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him… For in that he died, he \
died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. …alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.\’94 Roman 6:8-11. Consider closely Mark 8:35-37. \
88\
The women before daybreak prepare the sweet spices the towels to wash the spit and sweat and blood from his wounds before the ravages of a few months renders the body but bones. One last homage to her healer, one last respect to her son, one last look upon her King: but the women find an open sepulcher and a man within in long white clothing, an angel, who gives the women the message of resurrection for it is fitting that the message came from the Father for his joy in the obedience of his Son. They are to tell the disciples and of the Saviors appearance to them in Galilee. It is likely that the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus when he was at meal a few days before tarried in the sepulcher garden while the other two women Mary and Salome went to tell their message, now saddened that the body of her Lord had been stolen Mary Magdalene wept, and it is the Lord Jesus who comforts her again for he had previously cast out seven demons from her. Still mourning and weeping Sunday morning the disciples do not believe her report to them.\
It is interesting that Jesus appeared unto the two on their way to Emmaus. As Mark describes it he appeared unto them in another form and it is likely as well that after being away from the sight of their constant companion for the past three days with the report hard fast in them of his death that they did not recognize at first their risen Teacher and King. But they too, though no one they went to with their report believed their message of the Lord Jesus Messiah; yet, in doing so they were \’93his heavens and dropped down dew.\’94 Deuteronomy 33:28. Water, moisture, liquid, speaks always of words, welcome words none ever so welcome as the God News of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. \
\
The place [SHIELD]\
\
89\
Now yet in Jerusalem when each had heard the report and not believed of his resurrection Jesus appears unto the eleven as they eat and still he had to undo their unbelief and hardness of heart before giving them their Apostolic mission. Notice that they are to preach the gospel to every creature. Now a creature is one who has life in them, that is the message of Genesis 3:16 and the hope of a Messiah through the conduit of the Nation Israel. Those persons outside of Israel had not that hope and it was not until later that the gospel opened to other than Jewish converts or Israelites by birth. This defines the use of the term \’93world.\’94 The evidence of their Apostleship Jesus explains to them thoroughly and this John Mark records for us in chapter 16 verses17 and18.\
Those of Israel [the world] scattered throughout the earth, creatures as reference is made, must believe the God News and be baptized. The pattern is simple reaching back to the baptism of the Lord by John the Baptist; but the reason is quite different. Jesus was baptized to receive his Messiahship of Israel, he the sinless one needed not the baptism of repentance nor confirmation of faith, he is the faith. No, the creatures were baptized into his body of believers forming the necessary identification and is as much an ordinance as the Lord\’92s Supper, both instituted by the Lord Jesus. That once the Gentile was admitted directly into the body of Christ without first becoming a Jewish proselyte the sense of washing away sins is also applied and understood, for this was the original purpose that John the Baptist called Israel to in the Jordan River. For example one converted from Buddhism to \
Christianity would by the baptism say that he is washing away the sin of missing who the Son of God is and placing his confidence in the good report concerning Jesus. The word sin means very simply – to miss the mark! \
Between Mark 16:14 and 16:15 is a length of time roughly about fifty \
90\
days although it is probably less when other events of his appearances are shown in the other Gospels. But, John Mark choses to expedite the close of his inspiration probably with good knowledge and sight of the Gospel of Matthew with all of its Jewish details. Mark prepares his writing for gentile hearts empty of promises from old covenant writings and present with the realities of a earth where life and death are daily a hazard, from seizing governments or desperadoes and natural destruction’s. All of these things which it is quite certain the traveled John Mark himself was very well aware. Notwithstanding it is from the old scripture where this place is predetermined that comfort comes, \’93Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help,\’94 Deuteronomy 33:29. Notice the Name LORD with its full capitals, the translators having transposed the name, means; Jehovah, the I Am, who revealed himself to Moses and who is the Lord Jesus Christ that the first verse of the Gospel of Mark sets forth and that the weight of the gospel writing confirms as this Person. This is the name that the Sanhedrin high priest accused Jesus of blaspheming, and for which truth Jesus died. The accuser of the Son of God who is the last Adam, can never again condemn the son of Adam who was the Son of God the first Adam, by promise of Genesis 3:16 making Jesus a shield between the accuser and all Adams. The accuser was able to penetrate the armor of the Woman and Adam in the Garden of Eden but though the accuser had brought low the nation Israel the wife of the LORD, he was unable pierce the armor of Jesus in the wilderness temptation. Mark 1:13. \
\
The place [SWORD]\
\
\’93and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword:\’94 so states the \
91\
apostle John in the Revelation of Jesus Christ 1:16. In his name the Apostles performed identifying signs and miracles and on their tongues the words of life. \’93And who is the sword of thy excellency!\’94 Deuteronomy 33:29. We might do well to remind ourselves of the first instance of a sword in the Holy Scriptures which is shown in Genesis 3:24 \’93…a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.\’94 The sword of The Revelation is the same sword of Genesis with all of the interests of \’93the way\’94 of eternal life protected by it. If one has ever had the opportunity to hold a sword, immediately upon assuming its weight the assumption of power grows from the hands upward through the arms to the top of the head, it is an exceptional feeling. Remember the exhilaration of salvation from the words of the Lord Jesus Christ when those words of salvation came to dwell within. Power received to overcome the enemy of God. \
With the mission to his apostles delivered Jesus was received back up into heaven to be with his Father. There is yet one other apostle that the Lord choses some years after his ascension and it is Saul of Tarsus with a special mission to the gentiles and the gospel he also received, \’93how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:\’94 I Corinthians 15:3&4 with which ministry John Mark became closely attached providing to it this wonderfully concise gospel. And the signs of apostleship that followed the converted disciples John Mark witnessed and confirms to us in the closing verse. Amen. \
\
\
\
\
92\
\
\
Enumerative\
\
In the structuring of a new compendium its place in the new covenant books made necessary to mention the places of several other books including The Gospel According to Mark. In fact, the cluster of the four Gospels is a placement in themselves in the Tabernacle pattern and the Temple pattern and well represents the Great Altar. The four horned corners of the Great Altar show the brilliance of the four Gospels each representing a corner, each sprinkled with the blood of Christ. Matthew, the north east corner and the corner first approached, Mark the north west corner first closet to the Tabernacle and Luke the south west corner second and also closest to the Tabernacle and John the south east corner where tarries the heart upon leaving the Great Altar.\
Further, the magnificent book of the Acts of the Apostles represents the Laver where from all peoples come to find Jesus the true God and are cleansed. The Lampstick is shown by the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians with its heavenly lights of glimmering spiritual blessings. While the Table of Show Bread is the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews by the verse \’93the upholding of all things,\’94 the twelve loaves implied, is given us. The greatly desired, yet if not fully understood, The Revelation of Saint John shows the presence with the Holy Savior in Heaven, of course, this is the Ark of the Covenant.\
In the new compendium is discovered the final preparatory article of Tabernacle furniture with its description and elaboration’s. JES, D.D. \
\
93\
Index\
\
\
a\
Aaron 5,11,43,49,74,82\
Abel 16,37\
Abraham 17,18,22,34,87\
Absolom 77\
Achia 54\
Acts of the Apostles 6,40,73,93\
Adam 7,8,15,16,18,23,28,34,35,37,49,68,\
69,87,88,91\
Aggravator 15\
Ahithophel 68\
Alexandria 52,56,57,75\
Alexander and Rufus 76\
Alexander the Great 55\
Alone 48\
Alpha and Omega 79\
alphabet 18,88\
Alphaeus 14\
American Medicine 23\
Amos 64\
Andrew 10,19,49\
Annas 43,56\
anointed 2,4,24,29,43,66,82,89\
Antiochus the Great 73\
Aphtha 56\
Apostle Paul 10,30,31,40,60,63\
appetizers 38\
Aramaic 18\
archaeologists 9\
armor 57,91\
Arms 38,42,49,76,91\
Asamon 55\
Asher 237,38,39,65\
\
\
b\
Babylonian captivity 6,14,17\
baptist 5,6,7,12,26,34,43,77,79,90\
Bartimaeus 41,42\
beggar 41 \
believer 20,23,31,63,77,79,88,90\
Benjamin 12,23,65\
Benjamin Franklin 60,\
Bethsaida 26,27,30\
\
94\
the Blessed 74\
blind 30,40,41,77\
blood 39,41,56,58,59,60,68,71,73,76,81,82,85,89\
botanical 62\
bread 13,27,28,38,49,50,68,78,86,93,\
Bride 11,32,68,69\
Buddhism 88\
\
\
c\
Cain 16,37,38\
camel hair coat 6\
Canatha 30\
Capernaum 10,11,13,14,22,24,28,55,66\
catechetic lectures 47\
Caesar Augustus 52\
chaber 45\
chalky dust 42\
Chasidim 45\
Chief of the demons 34\
Christ 2,4,6,7,9,13,15,17,19,23,25,26,30,31,32,\
37,39,42,43,45,46,50,60,61,65,67,68,69,70,\
73,74,77,78,79,80,83,85,86,87,88,90,91,92\
Church 9,13,37,40,44,49,51,60,63,65,69,76,78,87\
Church age 37\
City of Palms 41\
cloak 9,41\
cock 75\
colt of an ass 42\
contentions 36\
converts 17,40,90\
Copper Altar 50\
corn 16,68\
corner 49,51\
corner stone 50\
Creator 10,22,38\
crucifixion 19,50,59,77,82\
\
d\
Damascus 30,55\
Dan 65\
Daniel 8,60,61,72\
darkness 7,36,39,46,67,73,77,80,85,86,\
Dead Sea Scrolls 18\
death 10,11,19,23,24,26,30,31,34,39,46,51,57,\
58,59,62,69,70,71,72,74,78,79,80,81,82,\
84,85,86,88,89,91\
\
95\
Decapolis 24,29\
Deity 20,29,38,48\
Delta 55\
demons 11,16,23,29,34,67,89\
Destroy 29,38,43,44,49,66,72,79\
disciples 5,9,12,13,16,17,19,21,24,25,26,27,28,29,\
30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,39,42,44,48,\
64,67,68,69,70,71,75,89,92\
Dinah 2\
Dion 30\
\
\
e\
Eber 18\
Edom 17,52,56\
Egypt 7,8,23,26,50,52,70\
Elijah 18,25,31,32,33,80\
emaculate conception 2,16\
Emmaus 89\
England 52\
Esaias 14\
Esau 2,17,37\
Euphrates 18\
exorcism 24\
Ezekiel 15,50\
Ezra 5,14,45,46\
\
\
f\
fishers of men 9\
faith 5,6,7,9,10,13,14,15,18,24,25,29,30,\
35,37,39,40,41,43,47,58,62,63,64,67,\
77,79,80,83,84,86,90\
Father 1,2,3,5,6,9,11,14,19,20,21,24,25,26,28,\
33,35,38,40,42,43,44,52,54,59,61,62,\
64,69,75,76,77,78,81,85,88,89,90 \
fig 28,43,62,63,64\
fishes 26\
flax 82,83\
flint 50\
flood 72\
fountain 49,50,52,61,62,63,64\
fourth generation 38\
frontlets 35\
\
\
\
\
96\
g\
Gad 2,17,23,24,29,30,31,33,37,47,55\
Gadara 30,55\
Gadarense 23\
Galilee 10,15,17,20,22,23,24,26,27,31,33,35,36,\
45,51,54,55,56,59,66,69,73,89\
Gallic 58\
Gallus 52\
Gamala 54\
Garden of Eden 43,91\
gate of the Temple 41\
Gaul 52\
Gebal 18\
Gennesaret 27\
Gerasa 30\
Germans 52\
Gessius Florus 53\
Gladius 57,58\
God 1, and nearly every page\
God News 7,89,90\
golden girdle 51\
Golgotha 76\
Gospel 1,2,3,4,10,12,15,19,20,22,29,30,31,32,36,\
37,40,43,61,62,64,66,70,71,72,73,78,82,87,\
88\
Great Altar 48,53,56,60,77\
Greatest Prince 13\
Greek 4,9,17,18,26,32,40,46,52,58,60,73,76,83\
\
\
h\
Halachah 47\
Haggadah 47\
healing 11,13,14,16,19,30,37,40,42,67\
heart 13,15,16,20,21,25,35,37,43,48,51,61,\
68,80,82,84,86,88,90,91,93\
Heaven 4,7,8,9,25,30,31,32,35,38,52,63,\
74,78,81,85,87,89,92,93\
Heavenly Provider 7\
Hebrew 3,7,9,18,43,44,46,63,75,79,81,82,83,87,93\
helmet 57\
Herod 5,17,25,26,36,38,44,45,52,80\
High Priest 5,6,7,25,36,38,41,42,43,44,52,53,56,\
60,68,72,73,74,75,78,81,91\
Hippos 30\
hired 28,56\
\
\
97\
hoar frost 27\
Holocaust 18\
Holy 4,5,6,7,9,15,18,20,28,31,38,40,44,46,50,\
51,53,57,60,62,63,64,65,70,72,73,77,\
78,79,81,92,93\
Holy Bible 31,46,64,70,73\
Holy Celebration 79\
Holy Ghost 6\
Holy of Holies 5,50,78,81\
Holy One of God 4\
Holy Place 5,50,78,81\
Holy Spirit 2,5,6,15,20,46,70\
Holy Writ 64\
honey 6,13,28 \
horn 41,52,93\
Hors d\’92Oeuvres 38\
Hosanna 43\
humility 6,31,35,50,66,76\
hymn 70\
\
\
i\
I am 4,16,51,74,79,81,85,91\
Idumea 17,56\
incense 41,78\
Issachar 27,28,65\
Isaiah 10,34,62,65\
Israel Department of Antiquities 22\
Israelite 5,14,24,39,40,41,47,68,73,92,\
\
\
j\
Jacob 2,3,5,8,14,17,19,24,25,35,37,38,41,\
63,64,65,68,79,84\
Jacobed 8\
Jairus 24\
James Boanerges 19\
Jehovah 19,43,91\
Jeremiah 7\
Jericho 37,39,41,42,43,56,83\
Jerusalem 6,14,17,20,29,31,33,35,36,38,39,41,42,43,\
44,47,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,\
63,65,66,68,69,70,73,83,85,90\
Jesui 2,28\
Jesus of Nazareth 6,7,8,14,15,16,42,66,75,81,83,86,89\
Jews 3, numerously\
\
\
98\
John Boangerges 19\
John the Baptist 4,5,7,12,26,34,78,80,90\
Joppa 55\
Jordan River 4,17,22,23,26,37,39,42,65,66,90\
Joseph 3,16,17,20,23,24,25,38,53,54,55,56,\
58,59,62,65,68,80,82,83,84\
Joseph of Arimathea 80,82\
Josephus 53,54,55,56,58,59,62\
Joshua 41,65,66,73,83,84\
Judah 7,8,14,17,41,44,64,65,73\
Judaism 13,47\
Judas Iscariot 66,68,72,73,\
Judea 17,35,36,40,53,\
judges 47\
Julius Ceasar 52\
\
\
k\
Kibbutz Ginosar 21\
King David 6,11,15,44,48,68,76\
King Hezekiah 62\
King of Israel 20,25,29,43,44,49,62,69,75\
\
\
l\
Lake Kinneret 22\
Lamb of God 26,76,77,79\
lamp 12,44,50,65,68,78,83\
lampstick 2,44,50,51,93\
land 6,10,14,22,23,27,35,41,51,52,60,62,\
64,65,66,68,69,73,74,79\
Laver 3,5,93\
Law of Moses 13,45,47,75,77\
Lazareth 77,79,86\
Leah 2,3,14,37\
Lebanon 73\
Legion 23,24,52,55,57\
legislators 47\
leprosy 10\
Levi 9,14,15,43\
Levites 11,41,60,72,75,79,82\
lieutenants of Israel 54\
Life 1,3,5,6,10,19,26,28,31,38,39,41,42,46,47\
65,67,70,80,85,86,88,\
light 2,13,21,36,65,68,75,84,85,93\
linen 72,73,78,82,83\
\
\
99\
Linum Usitatissimum 81\
LORD God 3,5,7,9,15,28,35,39,60,68,78\
Lord Jesus Christ 2,3,4,7,9,14,15,23,26,32,33,46,61,65,71,\
73,78,83,86,88,91,92\
Lot 17,18,22\
Luke 5,31,32,40,47,64,69,71,93\
Lybia 55\
\
\
m\
Malachi 33,34\
manna 27,30,31,68\
Mannasseh 17\
mark 1,2,3,4,10,11,14,16,19,20,22,24,25,26,27,\
29,30,31,32,33,36,37,38,40,41,42,43,48,50,\
52,61,62,63,64,66,67,69,71,72,73,74,76,\
78,79,80,85,87,88,89,90,91,92,93 \
martyrdom 60\
Mary Magdalene 81,83,84,89\
Mary the eater 59\
Masada 55\
Master 16,20,26,28,39,46,71,72\
Matthew 14,15,32,64,69,71,91,93\
Matthias 54\
Mediterranean Sea 18\
Messiah 2,3,4,7,9,10,11,13,17,19,24,25,27,29,31,\
32,34,35,38,41,42,69,72,73,77,83,84,86,\
89,90\
Micah 70\
Michael 72\
milk 6,13,28,31\
ministry 7,11,12,13,14,17,18,19,28,29,31,33,34,\
36,40,42,43,44,60,66,67,73,74,77,80,85,\
86,92\
Mishnah 47\
mites 48\
Moab 17,18,22,23\
Moses 2,6,9,11,13,17,18,23,25,26,27,31,32,33,\
35,44,45,46,47,49,50,51,61,67,68,70,73,\
74,75,77,91\
Most High 35\
Mount Carmel 53\
Mount of Olives 51,62,70\
Mount Sinai 51\
mustard seed 21\
\
\
\
100\
n\
Naomi 17\
Nepal 66\
Naphtali 35,36,65\
naqab 75\
Narbata 53\
Nardostachys Jatamansi 66\
Nathaniel 7\
Nation Israel 4,5,7,8,9,10,11,18,30,42,58,61,62,68,\
77,84,87,90,91\
Nazareth 6,7,12,14,15,16,19,42,45,66,75,81,84,86,89\
Nero 52,54,57\
new birth 39\
Nicodemus 80\
\
\
o\
Obadiah 17\
Old Covenant 3,4,5,15,27,35,64,75,79,91\
olive oil 2,12\
oral law 47\
\
\
p\
Paleo-Hebrew 18\
Palestine 8,41,52,55,66\
parable 20,21,25,30,44,62,73,\
parable of the seed 30\
Passover lambs 56\
peace 14,36,39,42,56,62,65\
Pella 30\
Pentateuch 46\
perfume 41\
Peter 18,19,22,32,33,49,50,63,70,71,74,75\
Phannias 56\
Pharisees 3, numerous \
Phoenicia 18,30\
Philadelphia 30\
Phillipians 32\
Pilate 66,75\
pork 24\
post exilic 44\
Presence 2,4,5,7,10,15,48,62,67,73,78,84,93\
Priest 4, numerous\
Priesthood 5, numerous\
Prince of Darkness 39\
\
\
101\
Procurator 53 \
prophets 4,10,15,35,44,65,77\
proselyte 40,58,76,90\
Psalm[s] 10,34,49,50,65,70,87 Ptolemais 54\
purchase 12,39,82\
\
\
q\
quiet people 59,62,65\
\
\
r\
Rabbi 21,46,47\
Rachel 3,14\
reborn 15\
reconciliation 39\
Rehoboam 73\
Repent 3,4,5,6,15,25,51,90\
Raphana 30\
Refuge 17,18,40,43,60\
religous rationalists 45\
Resurrection 17,30,31,33,37,39,43,45,46,63,69,70,\
73,74,78,80,81,82,84,85,86,88,89\
Reuben 3,4,17,23\
Rights 69\
Rock 19,49,50,51\
rod 49,50,59\
Romans 9,14,24,55,56,59,66,69,73,75,76,79,82,86\
Rome 6,9,17,45,52,53,54,55,57,58,59,60,71 Ruth 2,17 \
\
\
s\
Sabbath Light 84\
sacrifice 6,8,38,42,48,53,60,81,82,\
Sadducees 3,36,45\
Salome 83,89\
Salt Lake 22\
salvation 10,15,25,30,88,92\
Samuel 56,77\
sanctuary 56,72\
Sanhedrin 45,47,48,73,80,89\
Satan 4,8,11,25,29,34,39,42,73\
Saturday 17,84,85\
Savior 1,2,4,10,11,13,15,31,33,37,38,42,60,61,64,\
65,66,68,69,79,80,82,84,88,89,93 \
\
102\
Scribes 3,6,13,15,19,24,25,30,32,36,38,44,45,47,\
48,52,53,59,61,62,65,67,68,72,82,89\
Scythopolis 30\
Sea of Galilee 13,15,17,20,22,23,24,26,27,30,54,55,66\
seeing 3,19,21,30,41,56,76,77\
seditionists 53,56,57,59\
Seed of the Woman 5,15,16,69 \
Semitic 18\
servant 27,28,42,66,67,70,72,78,84\
Seth 16,86\
seven churches 51\
seven spirits 65\
shepherd 39,64\
shield 57,89,91\
Sidon 17,18\
silver 44,50,61\
Simeon 5,65\
Simon 10,18,19,66,76\
Simon of Cyrene 76\
Simon Peter 18,19\
sin[s] 5,7,11,15,17,20,25,26,31,34,39,40,41,43,\
45,46,47,51,58,60,66,68,69,77,88,90,92\
Shield 57,89,91\
Solomon 5,6,9,87\
Son of God 4,6,8,11,13,15,25,28,29,39,41,42,66,\
67,69,72,77,81,82,83,90,91\
Son of Life 5\
Sopherim 46\
soul 1,2,6,11,15,23,24,28,31,34,35,39,60,67,\
68,69,85\
spiritual gifts 46\
square Hebrew 18\
Steven 19\
supplanter 19,84\
Sword 51,56,57,58,72,91,92\
synagogue 9,11,12,16,24,47,53\
Syrophenician 29\
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Tabernacle 3,44,50,51,81,93\
Table of Show Bread 50,93\
Talmud 47\
temporal world 33\
Temples 5\
The land 6,10,14,22,23,33,51,60,62,64,65,68,\
69,74,79\
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103\
Theophilus 40\
The Revelation 51,61,79,88,92,93\
Throne of God 80\
Thessalonians 80,88\
Thrust 43,44,57 \
Tiberias 55\
Titus 54,57,58,59,60\
Torah of Moses 9,10,11\
Transfiguration 19,32,33,36,49\
transgressions 15,39,81\
treasury boxes 48\
tribulation 61,62,63\
tribunal 31\
troop 29\
trump of God 80\
trumpet 41,48,77,79,86,\
Tuesday 66,74\
Turkey 54\
twins 2,37\
twoedged sword 51\
Tyre 17,18,55\
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unclean spirits 19,34\
Upper market Place 53\
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Veil 50,51,78,79,83,87\
Vespasian 52,54,55,57,59\
vineyard 44\
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Watched 63\
wife 13,37,91\
wild turkey 60\
Wine 13,15,68,76,85\
wooden boat 22\
Word 14, numerous\
Word of God 8,14,15,20,31,78\
Word of Life 21\
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Yom Kippur 41\
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104\
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Zablon 55\
Zacharias 5\
zealots 53,56,59\
Zebulun 2,24,65\
Zilpah 2,37\
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105\
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Reference:\
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The life and Epistles of Saint Paul, W.J. Conybeare and J.S. Howson\
Holy Bible, New Scofield Reference Edition\
Smith Bible Dictionary, RV Holman Bible Publishers\
Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Moody Press\
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah , Alfred Edersheirn\
New Testament Apocrypha, Edited by W. Schneemelcher & R. M. Wilson\
The Lost Books of the Bible, Dr. Talmage\
Early Christian Writings, Maxwell Staniforth\
The History of the Church – Eusebius, G.A. Williamson\
The International Standard Bible Enyclopedia, James Orr, MA, DD.\
The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia, Isidore Singer, Ph.D.\
The People’s Bible Enyclopedia, C. R. Barnes, A.M., DD.\
The New Americqan Bible, St Joseph Edition\
The Macmillan Bible Atlas, by Yohanan Aharoni and Michael Avi-Yonah\
The Interlinear Bible, Jay P. Green, Sr.\
The Holy Spirit, relied upon, sought relentlessly, supplied by magnaminously\
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The General Epistle of Jude,\
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a Compendium\
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written by:\
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Joseph Edsel Swearengin\
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Reverend Doctor of Biblical Studies, D.D.\
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June 25, 2005\
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dedicated to my mother Minnie Almeda Appleman Swearengin\
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Who through the years became my close friend and teacher of life to present me before the door of God and whose good old piano church music has often lifted me back to The Words from the clamor of this earth. \
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Thank you Mom! \
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a \
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Prologue\
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In our grateful hearts that reverberate yet with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, we often understand little else for such a long time that when we finally leave the description of the Lord and his work in the Gospels, a clear meaning of the rest of the New Covenant books is clouded of purpose. Then we hear again the command, \’93Arise and walk.\’94 It is walking, the skill we must learn, to continue in Christ. From one \’93truth to the next truth\’94 in the Holy Bible that is, for there is no other place where the correct way is found or acquired. By faith a truth is grasped, by faith the truth is tasted, by faith that truth is devoured, by faith a short rest, by faith a new truth is encountered, and we are walking by faith from one truth to the next and the path is wondrously long we shall never desire for a new truth concerning our Savior. Yet, the Holy Scriptures nears his close there are but two writings left. One is short the other much longer. The short one is The General Epistle of Jude and the grandest of all, last, The Revelation of Jesus Christ. If it were not so conveniently brief, perhaps we would passover the half brother of the Lord and go to The Revelation, to the Lord himself. But no, it must contain truths too, \
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and as enjoyable as those letters before which brought us nigh, a book to rest at to pray from before we experience his person as he is today seated at the right hand of his Father in \’93His presence,\’94 is necessary.\
In the Tabernacle and in the Temple, before the Veil, between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies is a small article of furniture wooden in structure and covered with gold, an altar, where incense is burned filling the Holy Place with a wonderful enveloping scent. As well, there are two golden rings of gold in two of the corners for transporting the altar. Into the rings were placed two poles of acacia wood covered with gold. It is with these two poles the priests carried on their shoulders the altar of incense.\
This book of the General Epistle of Jude or as his names has meaning, the General Epistle of Praise is the altar of prayers set before the, now open from veiling by the death of Jesus Christ, book of The Revelation where be the Divine Presence of our dear Savior the Lord Jesus Messiah of Israel, that book being the true verbal representation of the Ark of the Covenant of the Tabernacle in Heaven where seated with his Son is the Divine Father.\
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Contents\
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name page \
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Dedicatory a\
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Prologue b,c\
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Contents d\
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Introduction e – n\
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The Epistle of Jude, a Compendium 1 – 15\
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Introduction\
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This enumerative appears at the close of the Gospel of Mark Compendium and repeated here shows the place of the article of Tabernacle furniture called the Altar of Incense in the books of the Holy Bible with a continuing explanation.\
In the structuring of a new compendium its place in the new covenant books made necessary to mention the places of several other books including The Gospel According to Mark. In fact, the cluster of the four Gospels is a placement in themselves in the Tabernacle pattern and the Temple pattern and well represents the Great Altar. The four horned corners of the Great Altar show the brilliance of the four Gospels each representing a corner, each sprinkled with the blood of Christ. Matthew, the north east corner and the corner first approached, Mark the north west corner first closet to the Tabernacle and Luke the south west corner second and also closest to the Tabernacle and John the south east corner where tarries the heart upon leaving the Great Altar.\
Further, the magnificent book of the Acts of the Apostles represents the Laver where from all peoples come to find Jesus the true God and are cleansed. \
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The Lampstick is shown by the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians with its heavenly lights of glimmering spiritual blessings. While the Table of Show Bread is the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews by the verse \’93the upholding of all things,\’94 the twelve loaves implied, is given us. The greatly desired, yet if not fully understood, The Revelation of Saint John shows the presence with the Holy Savior in Heaven, of course, this is the Ark of the Covenant.\
In this new compendium is discovered the final preparatory article of Tabernacle furniture with its description and elaboration’s. The book is the General Epistle of Jude and as the Altar of Incense is in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark of the Covenant so is Jude in the Holy Bible. This commentary is The Epistle of Jude a Compendium, an explicative of the places within Jude.\
There are nineteen places dividing the book all showing the spiritual qualities of the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. These words are the tangible image of Jesus in whom we place our hope and wait expectantly for. The time draws near when two thousand years from his resurrection and ascension come upon the Church of His Believers and many hearts wish upon that miraculous day described by the Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. They without hope are those who are enemies of the truth of the Gospel, who are extensively described in the book of Jude, and what sadness to the heart it brings, that those Jude speaks of them whose doctrine has continued through the two thousand years and are in exact similitude of those folks the Lord Jesus himself spoke of to Jude before his offering. John 14:24, \’93He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings…\’94\
The book of Jude contains five hundred and ninety nine English words and three hundred and seventy nine of them are utilized to describe these \
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persons within the fold of the Believers then who were already undermining the righteous hearts of those souls who had been so laboriously built from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and with extreme caution to be pulled from the fire of those damnable heresies of those \’93certain men crept in unawares.\’94 Yet the two hundred and twenty words that remain of Jude are so very profitable and encouraging that the heart lights upon this small epistle and we regret that the five minutes that it has taken to read it are spent. \
In the Holy Celebration, that is a pattern of the lampstick that is a pattern of all of the books of the Holy Bible, on this branch the lamp is the name Shillem, that means, requital, be complete, so be something done in return, he is the grand son of Jacob and the son of Naphtali meaning, wrestling, which name is this branch. The burning wick of the lamp is Jude and means, praise Jah, [praise Jehovah]; burning, because the bright flame still gives light upon the treacherous deceptions that faith can succumb to and the certain instructions we most certainly need to heed because between the Living God and the Altar we now study there is no longer a veil. Our faith is easily examined by \’93his eyes a flame of fire\’94 in The Revelation. It is to the Lord Jesus Christ that we by ourselves must give answer in \’93that day,\’94 indeed, every day. \’93For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.\’94 II Chronicles 16:9.\
Cloistered in the Gospel of John is a short conversation between Judas, not Iscariot, but Jude and the Lord Jesus. It was earlier in the night in which he was betrayed, in the middle it would seem, of his long conversation in the Gospel of John before he and his disciples leave the upper room and go into the Mount of Olives. Last before leaving Jude asks him a question, \’93Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?\’94 It was \
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reactionary to the statement of Jesus in 14:19, \’93Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye shall see me:…\’94 Jude\’92s response came from faith, his words begged explanation and in the confines of the upper room the ears of all partakers of the passover meal heard both individuals. The Lord was not slack in providing to Jude the same basic information that Jude provides in his letter. One might consider that Jude was the Lord\’92s brother and being accustomed to his family presence, though the evidence of his true person had not been revealed to Jude until three years previously when the ministry had begun. From more than simple human yearning for his brother Jude boldly inquires for for his own comfort to and the marvels of the words Jesus spoke.\
There is some rumble in different references that Jude used Peter\’92s second epistle as a pattern for his own since Peter wrote his before the destruction of the Temple whereas Jude wrote after that holocaust. True the letters are quite similar in content and address the same dangers to believers; however, Jude inquired of the Lord at the Last Passover meal while still seated at table, in full hearing, in a closed room, with all of the disciples, especially Peter who was never far from the Lord and who easily heard the conversation. The perils that Peter addressed were the same before the destruction of the Temple and the Holy Spirit now presses upon Jude to reaffirm what the Lord had told him, showing the attentiveness of the two Apostles and the integrity of the Holy Spirit in bringing the matter to both their pens. \
Looking at the Gospel of John chapter 14:22-31 the reader will find that this short private conversation is the outline of the Epistle of Jude. The few verses begin with the name Judas, that is, Jude the Lord\’92s brother. Notice that the Epistle begins also with the same persons name, Jude. And indeed, Jude \
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manifests the Lord Jesus in the very first verse of his epistle. The faithless world can not see Jesus, they cannot experience being sanctified, set apart from the world, and thus preserved in the risen Jesus Christ. Now to be preserved is as one places vegetables in vinegar in the heat of summer to keep it through for the winter months with rather the vinegar being the fine wine of the blood [the Gospel] of Jesus Christ and the vegetable the \’93beloved,\’94 purchased with his blood, by the Savior. Acts 20:28. These \’93purchased\’94 are his and so \’93called\’94 by his name. In John 14:22 it is the word \’93us.\’94 Thus John 14:22 goes with Jude :1.\
Verse 14:23 of John goes with :2 & :3 of Jude. \’91Mercy\’92, because we do not deserve him, \’91peace\’92 meaning bound together [by the Gospel], and the \’91greatest love\’92 which he left is knowing that he died for us [me]. \’91Multiplied,\’92 through the indwelling Holy Spirit that he sent to abode in us. Jude thereby continues with his purpose in writing the epistle. This received mercy, and the God message of the Gospel that Christ died for our sins and rose again the third day, along with the Holy Spirit, is the common salvation. It is not complicated, it is not demanding, it is the gift of God and it is common to every quickened believer. This faith is exactly what Jude exhorts us to \’93contend\’94 for not that we could add to or change any of it, but that with all of the armor of God we should desire to maintain that faith in our hearts and minds. It is the same faith that Jesus taught his disciples [saints] as is delivered by them to us through the written words of the Holy Scriptures.\
Only the first part of John 14:24, and it very short, describes the \’93certain men\’94 who Jude reports have \’93crept in unawares\’94 into the fold of faith. Jude spend nearly two thirds of his epistle describing these persons so that they bear a mark like the one the LORD God put upon Cain and indeed one of Jude\’92s identifications is Cain. This would indicate that these heretics were Jews \
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replicas of Cain who slew his brother and these certain men can devastate clusters of the faithful. So, Jude fully describes these beasts.\
Four to five hundred years before the Lord\’92s ministry there began in Judaism the Scriptural exegesis – interpretations and explanation of words and passages. Probably with the domination of the known world by Greece came philosophizings into Judaism and of course, to the Jewish mind there only exists the scriptures. With their Temple worship interrupted and desecrated by the Greeks, even further into the Scriptures they plunged to escape the gentile ravages. For the purpose of identification in this commentary we shall refer to the outcoming thinking as Gnosticism, although this may not be entirely the same group that the term identifies for there were others besides the Gnostic who really did not obtain this designation until into the second century A.D. But, after five hundred years this became an internal plague that truly hurt the Jewish faithful and spread into Judaeo-Christianity burning it also. It is an esoteric [understood by, or intended for, only a select few, secret, mysterious] system of theology. It is a combination of impure philosophy and impure religion. Here \’93philosophy\’94 means the science dealing with the general causes and principles of things. Brought from Babylon and Persian influence was demonology mixed with magic. This nearly completed the thoroughly stirred pot of gourds. Now with his epistle, as with Elisha, Jude stirs in the finely ground meal of the common salvation. Additionally, the Gnostic pot included theological speculations, philosophemes on God and the world. They were based upon the first part of Genesis and the first part of Ezekiel which were considered to contain \’93secret things.\’94 Thanks be to the Savior that we are \’93blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.\’94 Ephesians 1:3. There is nothing kept secret from the believing heart for the Holy Spirit is our Comfort and guide. Although some of these thinkers led ascetic [extreme in \
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self restraint or self denial, reclusive or hermit] lives, others of the sect lived immoral lives. When they produced one like themselves their terminology was that they had \’93plants [sons] that he planted\’94 saying \’93trimming the trees [plants]\’94 that is of paradise [of Judaism]. The Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume 5 page 685b states, \’93Those parties which, though within Judaism, were nevertheless inimical to it – among them Judaeo-Christianity, then the fashion of the day, as a weapon against the ruling party, official Judaism. \
Jude though goes even further back than the Greeks and attributes these intellectual gymnasts from the man Cain, a killer, Balaam though with correct words was there on the scene for profit and Core [Korah, Numbers 16] one defiant of authority trying to take the position of priest [one who is between God and man]. \’93Raging waves of the sea,\’94 and no wonder with these three inclinations stirred together into one person, and yet a sect of such persons. It is to Enoch, as the scriptures describe this antediluvian the man who \’93walked with God\’94 that Jude draws from. The section of Genesis from chapter 2:4 through chapter 4:26 the author attributes to Enoch. These scriptures shadow the same thinking as Jude\’92s quote, sustaining Jude’s choice genuine Scripture, for they record: \’93the voice of God walking in the garden\’94 identifying the mode of the patriarch, while \’93the man has become like us to know good and evil\’94 the depraved state of the human mind, and the judgment upon such, \’93Now lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever:… So he drove out the man;,,,\’94 [from the Garden of Eden, Paradise, Christ, The Scriptures] – Divine judgment! This quote of Jude from another of Enoch\’92s writings speaks more in detail of the same type of judgment. And these are \’93ungodly\’94 without faith; but, Enoch the great man of faith with faith. Hebrews 11:5. \
Finally, concerning these \’93certain men,\’94 it is the Lord\’92s gift that he tells \
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his disciples he will send them, The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, that they lack and which they can never put forth their hands and take and eat of the Lord Jesus Christ, for as in Jude :4 they \’93deny the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.\’94 How sad these mockers are who kill faith in whom they can, comfort themselves with the things of this world, and seek position in the living Church. Remembering the action of the LORD God in the Garden of Eden think you not that Diotrephes in III John :9 received no less when the Apostle John spoke face to face. \’93He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings:\’94 \
Returning to the outline of Jude found in the conversation of Jesus with Jude in John 14:24. This is clear indication that the Lord refers to \’93Gnostic Jews.\’94 He clearly states the words are not his but his Father\’92s. The authority of father to son is Jewish the statement of being \’93sent\’94 from his Father is a Jewish concept, illustrated in the Lord\’92s parable of the vineyard. The devotion of the son to the Father and the presence of the Son with the Father Jesus assures Jude will be followed with visitation of a Holy Comforter who can not be taken away, who will teach and bring \’93to remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you.\’94 This is pointed out to us in Jude :17, \’93remember the words.\’94\
With John 14:27 we may understand that in \’93peace\’94 [being bound together] there is the attitude of service, which we understand when Jesus describes the greater of them shall be servant of all. Is it service to another when we see one, who we know to have confessed the Lord Jesus, fallen into the grasp of such a one as above and not risk soiling our own garments to \’93pull them out of the fire.\’94 This is the peace of Jesus Christ, this is the peace one towards another believer. And at this late stage in commentary it might be well to define again a believer. Simply it is \’93If a man love me, he will keep my words:\’94 Have you read the Holy Bible today? for there is a day in which the \
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inquiry will no longer be good and that is yesterday. And the greater \’93yesterday\’94 is when we have passed from this world the step of faith most difficult to manage but one we all will take, when we meet face to face the Lord Jesus Christ, our exceeding reward, if you have kept his words, and if you have not read his words how can you know his words to keep them. Birthright with responsibility. We maintain our vehicles with oil and lubrication, shall we not maintain our faith with the words of the Master? This is verse :20 of Jude, \’93building up yourselves on your most holy faith,\’94\
Most poignant is Deuteronomy 4:4 which Moses shows to those who did not fall in the wilderness, and to whom those who did Jude refers verse :5. \’93But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.\’94 Here is the essence of Jude :21 \’93Keep yourselves in the love of God,\’94 What was the love of Jesus. He states it very clearly in John 14:24 \’93and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father\’92s which sent me.\’94 He kept his Father\’92s words, this is what he loved, this is \’93the love of God,\’94 words, The Holy Bible, the Holy Scriptures. The Israelites Moses spoke to kept themselves in the words Moses spoke to them, which he heard from the LORD God. John 14:28 \’93Ye have heard…\’94 goes with this because of the rest of Jude :21 \’93…unto eternal life.\’94 John 14:28 \’93…I go unto the Father…\’94\
It is a brave and believing heart who pulls another from the fire of \’93Gnosticism,\’94 with the promise shown in Isaiah 61:3, \’93To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.\’94 Jude :23 \’93…hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.\’94 This is true working faith, this is believing, John 14:29. Also II Timothy 2:25,26.\
It is in John 14:31 a single word that shows us outline. \’93Arise…\’94 This \
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was the small group, Disciples and Master getting up from the Passover meal; however, symbolically it is Jude :24, \’93Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling…\’94 His word is what kept the disciples from falling that night and so it is with our hearts who await him. With only one word is the conclusion of Jude shown in outline, the word \’93hence\’94 patterns Jude :25 to the word \’93ever.\’94 Eternity is what follows this life and we follow Jesus.\
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The General Epistle of Jude,\
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a Compendium\
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Inside the Holy Bible with lovely white linen curtains of embroidered cherubim above and on this side and on that side, we stand before the Altar of Prayer, the wonderful small letter of Jude, marvelously gleaming with The Pure Gold of Heaven, the Son of God, The Father, and the Holy Spirit.\
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The place [Reuben]\
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The name means \’93see a son\’94 but here it is the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who is the true and faithful Reuben and the glory and honor due the eldest son that is bestowed. Here the two and one half cubit height of the Tabernacle\’92s altar of incense gives evidence that it is the figure of the Lord Jesus knelt in prayer before the Father. We face the Holy of Holies the Veil is torn asunder by Christ’s death the Mercy Seat is visible, between us and the Father is the knelt Lord Jesus Christ making intercession. The lord\’92s brothers Jude and James are in attendance, one on this side and one on that side. They are represented in the Tabernacle by the two poles of acacia wood covered with gold. They are Apostles, both present at the Last Supper. Their position is determined by the Father. \
Further, in the place Reuben six words are used: sanctified, preserved, mercy, peace, love, multiplied. These are the ingredients for the incense that is to burn upon the altar which is the Holy Prayer of the Lord Jesus for us to the Father. Sanctified is the Salt of the sacrifice for this was a very costly incense, also Jesus said, Matthew 5:13 \’93Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?\’94 The very peril that Jude was addressing in his letter. Preserved refers to our security in Jesus Christ and is the Frankincense that when burnt produces a dense white smoke of holiness. Hosea 12:13 \’93And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.\’94 Mercy is the ingredient Onycha the shell of a mussel prepared by roasting with oils and yields strength. Peace is the Galbanum a gum resin that increases odors speaking of dominion. Love refers to the Stacte a liquid myrrh aromatic perfume referring to the blood of \
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the Savior. The final term is \’93multiplied\’94 and is the action of beating the compound until it is very fine and the fire from the great altar with which it is ignited. Read Exodus 30:34,35. This compound was only for the Lord according to Exodus 30:37 which can only mean it represents the prayers of the Lord Jesus to his Father and in our behalf. \
The spiritual application of the incense is: \’93Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?\’94 Hebrews 9:12-14. \’93This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.\’94 John 6:50. \’93It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.\’94 John 6:63. \’93I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.\’94 Isa. 43:15. And the salt: \’93 it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.\’94 Numbers 18:19. Tempered together: \’93I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name\’92s sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.\’94 IJohn 2:12-14. And the offering: \’93Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.\’94 Psalm 141:2. \’93And he shall put the \
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incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony,: Leviticus 16:13. The fire: \’93Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.\’94 Isaiah 44:6. \’93For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.\’94 2John 7. The Tabernacle Altar is found in Exodus 30:34-38.\
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The place [SIMEON]\
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If the introduction to the epistle begins with the name of the author the substance and intent only befittingly begins with those to whom Jude addresses. Not an individual, though the message must be applied by each, not evidently to a specific church whether large or small, not to \’93Christians\’94 though the term was in use, not to Jewish believers alone, not to gentile believers alone, written to \’93Beloved\’94 ones both of Jewish decent and gentile origin, for the authors topic concerns the \’93common salvation,\’94 that is by which Jew and Gentile can be saved. The message is urgent. Jude laid aside his missionary work, his local assembly to write; where ever it may have been we do not know, his life after his conversation with the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John remains untold unknown but to his Savior. His presence with the other disciples is certain and his Apostleship sure; but, a writer to record his missionary journeys the Lord did not provide and this epistle is our only record of his commitment to the Savior and the well being of the saints. Titus 1:4.\
The reader seeing the heading Simeon on this place, immediately seizes upon the meaning of the name, heard, as referring to the hearing of the Beloved, which is critical; however, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who has \’93heard\’94 \
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to whom the angels report, who through the Holy Spirit to Jude has sent recourse to the incursion upon his dear believers. You see we are dear to him because each who place their trust in him he has purchased with his blood, the greatest love a man can possess. John 15:13.\
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The place [JUDAH]\
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Praise, as the name Judah means, is for the faith which was delivered, indeed, perfected by the Lord Jesus to his faithful \’93new\’94 nation of people. Predicted by the Lord in John 14:24, spoken of by Paul in Galatians 2:4, one specifically named in III John :9, the reason for the epistle is immediately shown. There are termites in the corner of your home, systematically destroying your habitation. They are of this type and voracity making into dust your comfort from the elements without. Be aware! These men, these \’93certain men\’94 are in the midst of true believers tearing down every bit of the structure of Christ that he has built through his Apostles. They are turning the \’93beloved\’94 from the \’91praise\’92 of Jesus Christ and substituting by killing, gain and preeminence, whose identity is made evident by their lust for this present life. That these types of individuals in differing intensities and variances have existed since Adam and to the time of Jude had woven every despicable attribute into their person and even now are so sophisticated that their error is nearly indiscernible; but, when exposed their basic identity is, as Jude states \’93ungodly men,\’94 substantiating in the place Naphtali, Jude plunges the finale blade \’93having not the Spirit.\’94 Jude :19.\
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The place [LEVI]\
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Should any better case be made for reading the entire Holy Scriptures \ul daily\ulnone , lest the business of this present world cause us to forget to maintain our faith, than Jude \’93putting us in remembrance.\’94 Romans 10:17 \’93So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.\’94 Exhortation comes by Jude in his epistle, where by exposing corruption he \’93joins\’94 us afresh to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Christ who Levi\’92s, \’93joins\’94 himself to his dear ones who believe in him; but, \’93 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.\’94 Matthew 5:13. These same men\’92s feet, who Jude describes, are those who then have the preeminence in the holy fellowship.\
A point of thought here for a moment. Hearing is not always listening to the sermon, any more than seeing is only accomplished with the physical eyes. Hearing is a spiritual attentiveness that can also be grasped by \’91reading\’92 the sermon or better reading the Holy Bible from whence commeth our sure faith.\
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The place [BENJAMIN]\
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Where be the Lord Jesus Christ today but seated on the right hand of God upon the Arch of the Covenant made without hand in Heaven. Yes, he Jesus is the \’93son of the right hand,\’94 so being the meaning of the name Benjamin, Son of the Father and Michael the archangel in their immediate presence to know their wisdom which Jude imparts to us. Do not approach these evil men and accuse them whereby they gain advantage and dominate by \
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argument. \’93The Lord rebuke thee.\’94 is sufficient, whereby they are exposed. Jude continues the exposition so graphically and specifically that little can be added.\
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The place [JOSEPH]\
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The feasts of fellowship among believers when they assemble is wonderful, the love between each other and towards Christ is magnifying of the Lord\’92s command in the echo of the Apostle John, I John 3:11 \’93For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.\’94 But these men crept in are lovers of the world and the ways of the world by which they taint with their very presence a love feast of Christ. They have a brightness in the dark sky of earth but not anchor for their soul. They are not stayed upon the God. No, not them, it is the Father who has \’93added,\’94 the meaning of Joseph, to our own faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. \’93Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.\’94 Isaiah 26:3. He is our Lord and our God and our Savior and our strong Hero whose every word we can cling to without doubt. \’93He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?\’94 Micah 6:8.\
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The place [ZEBULUN]\
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To dwell, is the meaning of Zebulun. Where dwell you heart in the things of the earth entirely or in preference to the things of God, upon your Savior Jesus Christ. \’93And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.\’94 Genesis 5:24. There comes a time when His \’93beloved\’94 like Enoch \
7\
will suddenly not be upon the earth, see I Thessalonians \’93But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.\’94 I Thessalonians 4:13-17. Is there ever any greater promise been made than this, our eternal dwelling place with God.\
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The place [ISSACHAR]\
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The name means \’93hired.\’94 Here we wish to think first of ourselves as among the \’93ten thousands\’94 of his servants, \’93hired,\’94 and that is not evil hope; but again, it is the great and proven Servant of God who is the hired one of God. When he returns to the earth to again set foot upon soil his posture will be one of righteous judgment rather than of humility as we see him in the Gospels and hear report of him from the Apostles. The object of his Father\’92s wrath will be the very weeds that have grown up among his \’93Beloved.\’94 Examine Psalm 50:3-6 and Zechariah 14:4,5. and see if His promise will be slack. Mark 14:62, \’93And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.\’94\
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The place [GAD]\
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Look again, more closely, see, Jude has placed it here also: \’93ungodly among them.\’94 The weed and the vegetable. The \’93men crept in unaware\’94 and the \’93Beloved.\’94 \’93The Lord rebuke thee.\’94 And he shall all of the ungodly who deny him until he stands untouchable before them or rather they before Him. \
A twin born to Zilpah the handmaid of Leah the wife of Jacob, the older brother of Asher, is named \’91Gad\’92 meaning \’93a troop\’94 in exclamation of a second child by the same conception. It is easily understood by the \’93troop\’94 of faithful that will accompany The Faithful One and who will testify of the ungodly deeds done among them to the Lord Jesus Christ. He will show the blind dead their sins, thus convincing them, but it will be to late for repentance and sentence is passed – their doom – \’93the blackness of darkness for ever.\’94 Jude :13, II Peter 2:17. It is interesting to notice that in both II Peter and Jude the word \’93spot\’94 twice occurs in each epistle, indicating the Lord himself used this term concerning these enemies of God.\
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The place [DAN]\
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If the place Gad convinces the ungodly of guilt, then the place \’91Dan\’92 is the indictment of these ungodly ones where the preview of the Judgment is seen for the name Dan means \’93judge.\’94 The Righteous Judge is and continues to be the Lord Jesus Christ. II Peter parallels this sad description and Paul is not lax concerning particulars either, but sums by saying: \’93And they that are Christ\’92s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, \
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provoking one another, envying one another.\’94 Galatians 5:24-26.\
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The place [NAPHTALI]\
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The name Naphtali means \’93wrestling\’94 and Jesus is the Great Prince, so that fittingly Jude begins to wrestle out of the Beloved the erroneous thinking that has been brought in to the Church[s]. He is by token of having been taught by the Lord Jesus, a chosen prince himself to overcome this faulty walking with more explicatives of their ways, but never accusations to the mockers face. He must rely upon \’93The Lord rebuke thee.\’94 as we when having identified, cast closed ears and eyes upon them until the judgment where rebuke to them will come from the Lord himself. \’93But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;… II Peter 3:10-14 \’93\
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The place [ASHER]\
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As is the meaning of the name Asher, \’93happy\’94 is the reader to leave the morbidness of description and horrors of judgment and receive sound instruction to restore our souls to the Lord Jesus Christ from whom comes all joy. \’93Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.\’94 Psalm 16:11.\
\’93…give attendance to reading,\’94 and Paul urges, and \’93Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.\’94 II Thessalonians 5:16,17. Building up yourself with the words of faith and seal those words with prayerful request for His strength.\
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The place [REFUGE]\
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\’93Keep\’94 \’93And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.\’94 Genesis 2:15. \’93Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;\’94 Joshua 23:6. \’93Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7.\
Would it not be wonderful to have a place to run and safely hide from the ravages of this world. Read again Jude\’92s question to the Lord: \’93Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?\’94 John 14:22. The Lord is clear. He uses the term \’93word\’94 twice, the term \’93my sayings\’94 once, the term \’93spoken\’94 once the term \’93said\’94 once, and the word \’93talk\’94 once, [total of six times in his response to Jude]; and confirms to them that they shall not forget his words through the Holy Comforter whom he will send them. His love, \’93the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father\’92s which sent me.\’94 is to give us the words of his Father. Consider that besides the church of believers and the Holy Spirit there is only the Holy Bible to testify of his Person. The individual believer retreats either to the church or the Holy Bible or to both. His commandment is to love one another [John 15:12], that commandment is found in the Holy Bible, the words of his Father. When one cannot be present in the body of believers or when he does, should he not be armed with the words of faith from the Holy Bible? \’93Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed \
11\
thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.\’94 Psalm 119:9-11.\
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The place [ARMS]\
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\’93…and underneath are the everlasting arms:\’94 Deuteronomy 33:27. Whenever, a beloved seeks the mercy of God it is found in those arms that were spread and lifted on a cross up from the earth. It is found in the gospel that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. He died for all of our sin and sins wiping them from the sight of his Father and presenting us in himself. \’93Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses\’92 law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:25-31.\
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The place [THRUST]\
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Beginning with \’93Of some\’94 this a place for careful considerations: perhaps the circumstances of their decline or the mental capacity of their person, or maybe they are a person of good understanding, or a youth in the faith who the adversary in the form of these \’93Gnostics\’94 has beguiled from the true faith we may distinguish and bring again out, from others who are finally hardened to the error. The final thrusting away comes from the Lord Jesus Christ on that day of judgment for only he can with certainty discern the hearts of men.\
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The place [DESTROY]\
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But \’93others save with fear.\’94 Yes, our words have the same authority as the Lord\’92s and their influence can reestablish faith in one fallen away from the faith having been drawn by the evil thinkers of the subtle ungodly. But is with caution and trust in the Lord Jesus that we approach such a one, because alone it is most difficult but not with the guidance of the Lord \’93for with God all things are possible.\’94 Mark 10:27. With caution: Mark 13:22 \’93For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.\’94 \
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The place [HEAVENS]\
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\’93pulling them out of the fire;\’94 the fire of deceptive doctrine – \’93If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink: for tomorrow we die. Be not deceived: \
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evil communications corrupt good manners.\’94 I Corinthians 15:32. Evil communicators will spot the holy garment of a deceived \’93beloved.\’94 They, such as Paul who pull them from the fire are the \’93Heavens,\’94 one whose thinking [the head is upon the shoulders above the earth] is acute to out maneuver the deceptive doctrine with the correct words of God and reestablish true faithful doctrine.\
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The place [SHIELD]\
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\’93The LORD who is the Shield of thy help.\’94 Deuteronomy 33:29. \’93So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.\’94 Hebrews 13:6, \’93Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.\’94 Palm 54:4, It is the Lord Jesus who is my help, \’93Arise let us go hence.\’94 How is it that in following that word that I could ever fall? And in as much the Shield that any needs is between them and the Holy Father, God has made provision in his Son Jesus Christ. Pharoh looked at Joseph and accepted his family when Jacob went down into Egypt. Each was accepted because of Joseph. Pharoh knew nothing of the errors of the bothers of Joseph; but, Joseph knew and spoke nothing of them to the King. Thus, all of Jacob was in the care of Joseph. Such shall it be when Jesus presents us \’93his beloved\’94 to His Father.\
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The place [SWORD]\
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Certainly, every scribe or pharisee who engaged the Lord Jesus in conversation soon learned the extreme skill in which every nuance of every turn of every thought was anticipated and dispatched without effort nor change \
14\
of His plans or direction. Truly, the sharpest mind that has ever walked the earth is that of Jesus Christ. He is the double edged sword of his Father\’92s excellency. \’93…and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword;\’94 The Revelation 1:16.\
It is the very structure and tone of I Chronicles 29:11 that conveys exactly the same number of attributes that expresses the magnitude of the wonderful nobility of God as in the final verse of Jude. Not even Paul used this parallel verse in its full measure. \’93Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty:\’94 1Chronicles. 29:11. And Jude :25 \’93To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

 Three Commentaries,    I John,  Colossians,  Seth to Abram

                 In First John the Epistle

                         a commentary by

                       Joseph E. Swearengin  D.D.
                        7/27/07
                               revised 2/8/17
                    Joseph Edsel Swearengin,
                    copyright: case# 1279762025
                        March 11, 2014  

               Dedicated to my Savior,
            The Lord Jesus Christ, my living God
                                             His now and at His “coming                           

Preface

    Have always found in my self, the most ardent desire to skip reading any preface, prologue, or introduction when any good title has already told me what I seek.  Thus, this appetizer is pointedly short, endeavoring only to add what is necessary to the title to prepare the reader for the meat and potatoes, which are generous, in this short letter from the Apostle John.  The vegetablised index and charts and maps are lacking, so a generous helping of ‘go out do likewise’ is advised as desert.
    Having found no escape from presenting the truth of the person of Jesus Christ the commentary is patterned first after the Holy Celebration with a casual reading impression of commentary following.  For a son of God who has randomly chosen this volume and not familiar with that presentation [THC] of the scriptures showing the spiritual figure of the Savior, they are referred to that Holy Bible with The Holy Celebration as Guide.  If that singular Scripture can not be found, please advise some publisher somewhere to issue the work, finally; to the public and thereby to the sons of God.  Job 1:6.
    My prayers are that the words I have used are of sufficient value, in the order presented, to show my love for my fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ.

                                J. E. S.

                           Palestine 37 A.D.

    In Palestine it was spring, the Jewish month Abib later called Nisan the newer term. [In the U.S.A. it is the middle of March].  Jesus had traversed the distance from the Sea of Galilee probably along the west bank due to the swollen waters of the Jordan River fed by the melting snows of the northern Lebanon Mountains.  It is a deeply carved flow of water with a high bank on each side with immediate vegetation.  A recending and warming eight mile an hour wind from the south brought the smell of the barley harvest, though it kept him not from his entering Jericho through those harvesters of the Jordan valley barley.  The smell of the harvest satisfies the soul, while the wheat was beginning to head in the valley where the southern Jordan was already overflowing his banks.  It is “The” barley harvest.  His time has come to offer himself the living sacrifice at Jerusalem, outside the city walls as was that barley harvest.  Jesus heard the sound of the harvesters sickle on the stalks of barley like the sounds of the nails piercing his hands and feet, that he was soon to hear and feel. The priests of the ‘Temple had already examined the first barley sheaf, they had returned with theirs to Jerusalem.  Jesus, the holy first sheath come down from God was rejected by the same his brothers. The barley grain is very much like the personality of Jesus, mild, light and richly delicious tasting.  The wheat harvest is yet to come, the heads of that grain are still green, bent as in prayer for a special time a second advent, that is yet to be.  Only Jesus sees the likeness, there is no one to point those things out either, they do not understand the realities of his destination that he has told them of in Galilee.  He continues to walk through the stubble.  Then Jesus began his climb upward from Jericho onto the higher plain of Jerusalem, passing through the spring time sprouts of fresh greenness and flowers, perhaps the only encouragement his heart encountered to accomplish the will of his Father.  It became his final passover celebration with his disciples as the time of the evening meal approached; but, he did not pointedly tell them that he was to become the offered lamb for the nation of Israel, who would reject the righteousness the LORD God of their fathers.  The bread that Jesus is, to feed his disciples, is fresh barley bread from the recent harvest he has just passed through before he entered Jericho.  As any man whose time has come to die the time is magnified in his mind.  The air is fresher, the moisture more noticeable in the atmosphere, the sounds of his disciples walking with him are amplified in his ears, by the desire to live.  The colors of the day, the rocks and dust of the path are enhanced by the new green of spring plants.  Every thing is more valuable to Jesus, each glance of awareness is a cherished instant of the short time he has left to enjoy.  He does not want to leave the familiar surroundings of the precious land of blessing, that he has after all, himself provided to the children of Israel.  He is human, experiencing every whit the same emotions of any man.  It is the overwhelming holy desire of his divine being to do the will of his heavenly Father, that causes him to lay aside his humanity all that is his own personally, and change forever, time, and Israel’s acceptance to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  A time, after the cross, when mankind has ready access to the loving God, his Father.  Further, as they approach Jerusalem the trumpets of the Temple sound in his ears, the work of the priests as they go about their duties flashes through his mind.  He goes to present himself at the Temple as every Israelite must do, but he is their righteous King they have examined him for three years following his ministry closely and he knows they will reject him for their envy, as Joseph was also rejected by their ancestors.  Jesus continued his journey to the city of peace, where he was to appease the wrath of God toward mankind.  But he, as Jonah, was to be cast from the city to accomplish this singular thing.  Outside the walls of the city at the very sight where Abraham offered his son, but this Son was not to be spared with a substitute ram who’s horns were fastened in a tree.  No, the strength and power of this man Jesus was to be fastened to the same tree, a holy sacrifice, acceptable and appeasing the wrath of his Father.  The anger of the Holy Creator, the Almighty God was to come upon only him.  All times had awaited this offering as Jesus climbed on the path, yet the sacrifice would occur nearly without notice to the world of mankind even unknown to the Palestinians to whom Jesus had preached to and healed and feed and raised up from death.  And much of mankind after the cross would never consider the value of his work following false christ’s and lying savior imitators.  He would feel the violence of death  upon his body, he was to feel his life trickle from his wounds.  Truly, the life of The Flesh is in The Blood – of Jesus.  The fully acute consciousness he experienced as he walked from Jericho, slowly left his Holy Body as his blood drained from him, from the time of his flogging to the letting of water and blood from his side on the cross.  
    This man, Jesus, whose identity was sought through from every of the twelves tribes of Israel (evidenced by the careful genealogies of Chronicles) since before they entered the Land of Promise; caused much speculation as to what tribe he would arise from, though Judah had been pronounced by Jacob on his death bed, would bring forth the Shiloh to whom the people would gather, they looked for him among all of the tribes.  Because as a nation of twelve tribes they had been conquered, reestablished, scattered, regrouped taken out of the land, and returned to the land to the extent that any tribe might hold the blood line that would raise up the Savior Messiah of Israel as a man has eyes to see.  Shiloh is the ‘heavenly flesh’ as the pictorial meanings of the words letters show and this Jesus proved himself to be, from pronounced and confirmed death by his triumphant resurrection.

                        The First Epistle of John

    The Holy Bible is survival food in this life.  Yet, many have made the words into a club to beat faith to death within, rather from, another.  They, do not listen, rather they argue and humiliate with logical Biblical contrivances, to revel in dominion over another.  Thus, they rob another of faith, when actually the time is short and precious and God-given.  Come to the Scriptures to embrace the Son of God, to be  “shown,” “to eat his flesh and drink his blood, while we have our being upon this, His earth, until He receives us to the Lord’s eternal home.  And so, in the spirit of the Apostle John, the First Epistle of John is commented upon.
      It is irresistible but to mention the pattern of The Holy Celebration that exists in I John, since it to directs our thoughts to the spiritual figure of our Savior and is not interwoven with this writing but appears herein a mirror pattern.

    Laying aside the spiritual Image of God in the person Jesus Christ as he is revealed in the Holy Celebration, it is well to note that we are hereon considering the form of the book of I John as literature, which the mind of God through the Holy Spirit reveals to the reader.  How  the Holy Spirit has gone about go about to do this can be understood in the six portions of the book that are partitioned thus;
    “We have heard, we have looked upon, we have seen, our hands have handled,”  we show unto you,” the Lord Jesus Christ.  These define apostleship and is the Apostle John’s outline for his letter.  
Verses 1 – 4 are the introduction,
verses 5 – 10 defines “We have heard,”
verses 2:1 – 2:17 defines “we have looked upon,”
verses 2:18 – 3:6 defines  “we have seen,”  
verses 3:7 – 4:21 defines “our hands have handled,”  
verses 5:1 – 5:12 defines  “and show unto you.”

    Center most surely, but skillfully hidden, is the word of Chapter 2:5.  “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”  It is the word ‘perfected’ that is concealed.  This word implies completeness, maturity, spiritual soundness and faultlessness of the created being.  And to be without fault in The Father’s sight is what our desire always was before we meet Christ and find in Him acceptance through the forgiveness of our missing the mark of the sacrifice of His own body in place of our own, to satisfy the wrath of God upon an unholy creature such as we were.  But now, by faith, we are in Christ, hidden in Him from the wrath of our Eternal Father who only sees the perfection of his dearly beloved son, Jesus Christ.  Thus we know where we stand accepted with God and John seals the glaze on the pot so carefully shaped by Paul, James and Peter [if we have been reading the Holy Word consecutively book after book] by placing us in the furnace of the intense heat of “whoso keepeth his word.”And so if we again consider the designation on the first page that the section of scripture is to make this implication the LAMP – [JEZER] – a form, to mold into shape [as a potter] is immediately drawn to the word of IJohn 2:5 – ‘perfection.’  Perfection, so that we can love one another as Jesus commanded like He loved us as preemptory to Jude’s “Keep yourselves in the love of God.”  This is correct action in the living new creature.  The desire that Jesus has for each that are His.  We also know that John was addressing a local church and by implication the Church at large as well.  There is the appearance of the Church, a fine large building and many in attendance, and within those there is the living body of believers who keep his word.  It was the same today as then when already Paul points out that there are wolves who want only to tear the flock apart.  John, during the earthly ministry of Jesus was the closest person to Him.  Leaning on his breast at dinner present at his “trial” and entrusted with the mother of the Son of God.  We little realize the brevity of John’s words are the result of intense faith from and in physically “handling” the Savior.   
    Now John states that if you love not the brethren the love of the Father is not in you – inference that the gentile church he was addressing was opinionated against [did not love] the Jewish converts to Jesus Christ.

The word –  “write”  appears  8 times in I John
The word –  “written” appears  5 times in I John

                    The Commentary
I John 1:1

    “That,” which is a who and not an inanimate object, refers in illusion to the opening of John’s Gospel, the Word of God which is what and who created all that exists, but in this letter it can be supposed John is referring more specifically to the beginning of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.  In verse three is the declartion of immense importance to this letter, for it shows clearly that the Apostles were yet communicating with the Lord Jesus Christ long after his ascension, fifty or sixty years, and his spirit must have been heavy upon John to reveal the intricacies of the faith in this epistle, for he states ”and truly our fellowship is with the Father.”  Further, that fellowship is John’s secret to imparting eternal joy to the faithful readers of his work and purpose for him to write.
    To meet the Apostle of John we have the Gospels to draw upon.  However, he is an elusive person sheltered by words of scripture that thrust forward his Savior to the reader’s eyes and although we admit his name in the titles of his works, we do not fully see or meet the man John.  His brother James, is the son of Zebedee and Salome, John’s elder brother and who was first from the “Church” to suffer martyrdom at the command of Herod.  He is distinguished thus, from James the author of The Epistle of James and half brother of the Lord Jesus.  These two brothers, Jesus named “Boanerges” sons of thunder [noise] even the record shows Jesus to be a quiet man; whereas, John and James confidently thrust themselves forward by their outgoing ways and their mother Salome’s request that they be on his left and right hand in his established Kingdom.  It is quite possible this confidence is justified as they are Aaronic Levites of the Temple priesthood.  The closeness of John’s physical presence to the LORD is ordained in Mosaic Livitical law. The name John comes from the old covenant name Johanan, and means “Jah is gracious” certainly evidenced in the receptivity of John to the bosom of Christ at the last supper and one of the three or four of the inner closest circle of disciples evidenced by his presence at the transfiguration.  Remember the authority and tenure of this man is based upon his suggestion to bring fire and death upon the inhabitants of Samaria for Jesus, and as shown in the third letter of John where “he will not spare Diotrephes when he visits the church for their insurrection.  So, although he was more receptive of the gentleness of the Lord Jesus, he also was capable of strict discipline.  His age comes into view, for we know that these works of his are written toward the end of his life, which may have been at 96 or 98 years of age.  Unger’s Bible dictionary defines his character with his brother’s as “warm and impetuous in temperament, bold and energetic in discharging their apostleship.”  pg 552 bottom right under James.  The truth that John was with Peter fishing on the sea of Galilee after the resurrection of Jesus indicates that John the beloved disciple was not reluctant to “get his hands dirty” at honest labor.  From the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, John was present, for he was one who was a disciple of John the Baptist who pointed Jesus out to them.  This would imply that John the ‘baptist was familiar with the appearance of Jesus, not only from his spiritual being, but his physical presence also.  This can be inferred by the visit of Mary the mother of the Lord to Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, that after the births this occasional fellowship continued until John the Baptist went into the desert to perform his ministry, although the statement of John the Baptist is that “And I kew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.”  This statement refers to John the Baptist having had opportunity to receive the teachings of Jesus, although they probably were together on occasion during their vey early youth and seen of one another at the three yearly feasts in Jerusalem where all of Israel’s teachings were akin.  The Apostle John’s age at the time of the LORD’s earthly ministry precludes Temple service age, thirty years, yet John’s acquaintence with the Priesthood indicates that time was approaching in his life when his support would come from the people of Israel and not from the Sea of Galilee.
    There is a confession in verse one that may be drawn that is both logical and faithful.  “Our hands have handled,”  Now consider the closeness of John to the body of Jesus.  Always at his side. Desiring to be with him as John’s mother asks of the Lord, and leaning on his breast at the dinner tables and table of the last supper, listening to the heartbeat of the Son of God.  Perfect in rhythm, strong and without sin.  That John was a son of Aaron is without doubt as the Levites only ministered to the Tabernacle.  John was at the crucifixion, Jesus entrusted him mother to him, and as any priest ministering the great altar, fastened closely to the proceedings of the death of the sacrifice.  Did John have the presence of mind to understand this.  Yes.  So what other way could the disciple John have handled the Word of life as the blood seeped from the nails and crowns thorns and the stripes on his back, thirty nine in all?  At the Great altar yards away to the east, at three in the afternoon, a priest in the Temple received into a golden bowl the blood of the lamb of God.  This blood  was sprinkled by the High Priest in the Holy of Holies of the Temple, upon the seat of the ark of the covenant signifying that the sacrifice had been made and was indeed dead (sins paid for).  To the west at the altar-cross, so that the bodies would not hang on the cross during the Sabbath one thrust a spear into the side of the expired Jesus.  With access to the priestly accruements the disciple John received into a golden bowl the blood of Jesus Christ.  This bowl with content was placed with the body of the Lord in the tomb.  Upon the resurrection of the LORD the High Priest of our profession ascended to heaven and entered into the Tabernacle in Heaven, not made with hands, and placed his own blood upon the mercy seat there, signifying to the Father the acceptable sacrifice for all men’s sins.  This was the disciple John’s last handling of the Lord’s body prior to his resurrection.  However, he could have helped place the body into the tomb.  The wealthy Joseph of Arimathaea could not have handled the burial task alone – perhaps with his servants, but also likely with the help of the hands of the disciple John.  Following the instruction of his first teacher, John the Baptist, the disciple John indeed “Beheld the Lamb of God.”
    What John shows us is that by that resurrection of the Son of God we now have fellowship with the Father God, to whom we look for the good in our lives.  It is in comfort of our soul and spirit which Jesus secured for us that we find our rest.  It is like a laborer, who his long life, sought to have his house paid for and his debts paid off and sufficient income to pay his bills and can not gain his goal until finally it happens to him by some windfall and he is in joy-shock for a time, until the reality of his security settles upon him and he having the rest, finally relaxes in it.  This is what John is trying to tell us, we have our eternal salvation secured for us and the windfall is the price that Christ paid for our debt to God the Father.
    This is the joy of our salvation and the Apostle John wants us aware of its abundance that we can be full and happy in it.  It is he says the difference between day and night, darkness and light.  Darkness when we could not find any rest for our sinful souls and light when we have believed in the work of the of Jesus Christ.  And beyond all of this we have fellowship with other believers.  We are yet in our mortal body and we have sins we should admit, that like the fortunate man above, he still has bills to pay.  But Christ in God has paid for those sins as well, as the fortunate man has an income to pay his monthly bills.  And we must not dishonor the Savior by denying this.  But these late days, for it is 2000 years closer to the coming of The Son of God for his Church, socialism in the USA has deteriorated away the concept of honor and dishonor into a grey muddy pool of apathy, so we must arose our conscience to the level of the mind of God in this important thing – for this is sin against the Father.
    The church that John sent this letter to was probably one of his own building, because he calls them his “little children.”  Those born from his faith ministry.  And he leads them in the path of forgiveness of a clear conscience towards God through the advocate Jesus.  The man who he handled and ministered to during the days before his resurrection from the dead wherein is the propitiation that is atonement as in the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant.  This leads to think that all or many of the members of this church were Jews.  For John distinguishes “us” as apart from “the whole world.”  That is, the gentile members from the fragmented nation Israel, from which these members he addresses came.  Though the two are one in Christ, John can not quite put away his own origin.
    Now of a goat that is born that species of the Creation of God never changes.  It never becomes a camel or a an eagle, it is always a goat from birth to death.  Likewise a born-again believer is created in the image of God and never can act like the traites of Satan.  This principle remains the same throughout life since the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Light is light and darkness is night.  So that the old person in whom the new resides, does over-power the born-in image soul, John has reminded of the commandments of Jesus and that they already know those commandments and can not do other wise as the light in them bids.  Therefore, John points out the traits that distinguish.  Jesus said “love one another.”  John says if you hate your brother in the faith, how dwells the love of God in you.  He questions the identity of the new creation within.
    We go about this life doing our jobs or career and we become busy and sometimes frustrated by the complexities, but the word of God abides in us, and when we can we lay aside the things of the world that must be to let the Word live in our hearts a sweet refuge and rest for our troubled souls.  We love not the world whether it is the elaborate decades of religion or clubs that attract us; but, we lay them aside.  Is John condemning?  No, he is building into the final form the vessel of service that honors its Creator the Lord Jesus Christ.
    John does take a somber side step though, to remind us that there is a time when the antichrist will appear.  So, we need to be aware of his exhortation on this subject elaborated upon in “Zebulun” of the Holy Celebration beyond this preceding commentary.  Oh yes, John describes the identifying traits of this person.  But John also encourages, with the bringing to remembrance that we have the indwelling Holy Spirit sent from Christ to comfort and teach and shield us from such.
    But again John approaches our new nature of being showing that we shall arise with new bodies, like unto His glorious body, finally free from the encumbrances of the dead “old man” we live in at this time.  And there is that continuing urging to continue in Christ, no matter the obstacles until we meet Him in the sky.
    John implores with example for us to love one another for the creation that is in us also resides in the brethren who believe.  We are his creations.
    Then looking beyond the group of that small church, John sees the enemy of unbelievers not ones who do not know what the faith is, rather individuals dead to God because they receive not the Gospel, and they wage their war against the Light of the earth and Heaven upon us, because they cannot crucify Him again.  They would if they could find one to betray him; but, they are not the envious brethren leaders of Israel, they are the deliberate children of darkness gentiles and Jews, haters of truth and light and kindness and mercy and peace and love, everything that we love in Jesus the Son of God.
    Yes, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son…”  Dwelling in Jesus is confessing Him and he confesses us and protects us from the wrath of the Father and the darkness of this present life.  Thereby, we do not fear but are confident and at peace in ourselves.  Now, the vessel that John is shaping nears perfection, for the smooth glaze that John applies seals the vessel in a fissure of “love.”  Loving God and loving our brother as well.
    ‘Christ’ is a Greek term meaning “anointed” just as the Hebrew term Messiah means “the anointed one” and Jesus is that anointed One of God physically baptized in the Jordan River and by the Holy Sprit of the Father, yet to be seated “The King of Israel” and the whole earth, from Jerusalem.  Is that politics?  It will be then.  But we know him and he knows us and will be with him by the magnificence of his righteous power.
    It is the last time”  – –  the final space of time, the Church age (the unknown span of time) before the Messiah Jesus Christ ascends the throne in Jerusalem and commands the entire earth.  The Jewish mind as John’s is dwelt upon this Messiahship and so, though we as Gentiles do not relate our backgrounds of knowledge, for we have no promise from God concerning a Savior; someone, had to tell us about that person, the Godly Jew, though there are many who are not and disdain there heritage, others have awaited since Abraham, the father of their nation for a, The King of kings.
    This is also our overcoming of the world of deceit.  But it is first, that the Son of God came by water and blood.  Of a faithful daughter of Israel and the Angel of God.  Then there is his own blood and his own water that was let on the cross – for us – sinners, that we might have life everlasting.  Of heaven we have the witness of the Father, the Word [Jesus] and the Holy Spirit.  Again then on the earth the witness we have is the Spirit, and water and blood.  John wraps the immutable impervious to human penetration – can’t be changed or altered – perfect.
    We do not fathom eternal life or understand its limitlessness, but John states it is in Jesus and therefore in us immutable.  Yet, those who do not receive Jesus reject the very same they search for here on earth – the fountain of youth, a mircale drug to keep alive, a wonderful cream that will take away aging.  God made a way.  A way that does not need searched for or purchased, nor applied –  The Son of God, Jesus the Christ and “whosoever…”
    The touching part comes now where John reveals that we are heard of him when we have need, when we pray to him, when we desire him.  And he is faithful and just to give us our petitions as he sees fit.  But then better when we ask according to his commandments and the needs of a spiritual person – spiritual things.
    Jude bears upon this “Keepeth” also and John can not leave it out of his letter.  There is responsibility in this new life – to keep it vital and effective.  Keep yourselves in the Word of God – don’t be deceived by Buddah or Mohammand or the myriad of idols that men worship; but find Him daily in the Holy Bible – where he is found,  not in some beautiful wilderness setting or a pleasant porch in the evening but in the written words of God.
    It had only been, when this letter was written some sixty years before that the Son of God appeared.  Today it is two thousand years ago and Jesus Christ is still “the true God and eternal life.”
    Is this commentary saying anything better than John’s?  Me thinks not, for the Holy Spirit bid John to write and that can be the only perfection of thought in the First Epistle of John.

I John 5:21

\            THE HOLY CELEBRATION’S  PLACES  (I John)

    REUBEN  1:1 – 1:3 (in I John)   

    Now is found the Lord Jesus Christ being the true Reuben, the light of Leah’s life, her first born son.  Leah, of course, the wife of Jacob who the LORD called Israel, the good part of Reuben being the meaning of his name which means “see a son.”  As the elder son in Genesis the patterned Reuben is as Jacob envisioned him but as Jacob’s blessing actually indicates falling far short and loosing his position as leader of the family this place describes Jesus as the exalted ‘Reuben’ of impeccable integrity, the first born of Mary.  He is the word of life, and we may not understand at first that Reuben as the light of Jacob’s body – his first born – he is the first utterance of Jacob’s virility a figure of his word that which went forth first.  This Jesus is the word of life have been the words that came forth from the Father at the beginning of creation by which all things are made and created and consist.  This idiom is carried forth throughout the Holy Bible  but we mostly fail until later in our spiritual lives to fully comprehend that the first WORD that proceeded from the mouth of God is his SPIRIT and is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Here in Reuben the idiom is the WORD.  “The words I speak unto you are Spirit and are Life.”  John 6:63  
    But our hearts is not satisfied with the symbolism and the verbal expressions of two thousand years ago; we ask for the reality of the Spirit of Christ for our knowledge and experience, since he is withheld from our physically seeing, hearing and handling the Son of God.  What is this spirit of Reuben?  It is light that John describes as life, but he expertly hides the spiritual definition of light boldly in front of our eyes in his words.  Thus, life is the spoken word of God it is previous to the Creation of all that exists, thoughts in the mind of God, anticipated words as the physical Son of God was anticipated until his birth.  By pointing this anticipated speaking of God we enter into the concept of eternity.  For eternity to exist, there are three parts that are consumed in the central expression.  Eternity past [the unspoken word of God], eternity present [when Jesus spoke upon the earth] eternity future [when the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ will again be heard].  With these three – past, present, future – eternity is correctly expressed, understandable with the notion that God is eternal possessing all of the three parts making his awareness [eternity] collectively present tense.  For God, all that is past, and all that is to be are – present tense.  Look at 2 Peter 3:8  “…that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  Yes, but God is a spirit and this states that the three parts that are eternity are the words of God.  Listen to Jesus in the Gospel of John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth [giveth life]: the flesh profiteth nothing.  The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”  Remember when the words of God came into your life and gave you new reborn life?  A new Creation, God is yet creating new life, something eternal from nothing that existed before.  It was an event where by light glimmered in the darkness of the soul – and there was life, eternal life.  And so God spoke and his word is, Jesus, his word gives new life, Jesus, to a dead soul [awareness] and light, Jesus, fills the bottomless void of the cursed flesh.  Why is it cursed [dead to God]?  Because the principle set in motion by God at the creation, whereby kind produces kind can not be undone and we are the children of our Father and Mother, Adam and Eve, whose eternal soul was taken from them by Satan and could not be restored to them until the Lord Jesus Christ [the seed] of whom they heard and anticipated.  We were born physically, lacking of eternal life, because we are of our parents Adam and Eve.  But thanks be to the Father who has given us his Son the Lord Jesus Christ, who is eternal life.

    SIMEON   1:4 – 1:6  (of I John)

    So then the God News which John and the other Apostles –  heard, saw, and handled, John declares into the ears of his readers; the first hand account, nothing left out nothing inaccurate, except our understanding, of all the words that Jesus declared from his Father.  Now Simeon is the second son of Leah and declares through his name her confession that she understands that the Lord has “heard that I was hated,” [instead of her sister Rachel] and so names her son Simeon – Hebrew meaning ‘heard.’  A Hebrew word, including a name, has a meaning just as our English language has a large dictionary of meanings for its words so the premise that the Biblical names have no meaning is groundless which leaves out the richness of the Old Covenant Scriptures.  Simeon should have had Jacob’s blessing of head leadership of the tribes [after Reuben’s rejection] but he was one of the instigators of revenge against Shechem [an inhabitant of the land of Canaan] who defiled Jacob’s daughter Dinah, thus not receiving the blessing.  But the meaning of his name remains his outstanding attribute and it describes one of the spirits that Jesus possesses, that of hearing.  Separating the terminology from secular thought, it is well to understand that it concerns the hearing of the words of God, and more pointedly the Word of God.  The Apostle John spent three years with Jesus and his ministry listening to his doctrine and taking it in not even at times fully understanding the teachings, until Jesus rose from the grave; but, here in I John the Apostle in the late years of his long life expounds to his “little children” what he has heard from the Son of God.  This purpose in writing to them is also stated, for John has “heard” that his people of God were not yet fully joyous in the new life and so he expounds to them in ways that are certainly patterned after the way Jesus taught.  Since the place is hearing [Simeon] then examine the structure of the spirit of hearing.

    JUDAH  1:7 -1:10  (in I John)

    Praised by his Father (Matt. 3:17) the Lord Jesus Christ is the pattern for every vow, that is, or was, or is to be assumed, and is to be emulated.  For He leaves aside his own cares and assumes those cares of His Father.  Look to Psalm 116.  Indeed all of the Psalm but specifically 116:13-14  “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.  I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.”  In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus did this very thing knowing what was to occur to him were he captured.  But he also knew it was of a design by his Father to procure eternal salvation to all those who were to call upon his name.  Matt. 26:36-46.  This was the vow he made and the Psalm is the minuet record of his feelings concerning that difficult time in his earthly visit.  At the table the disciples took “the cup” which is a token of the new covenant with not only Israelites but the entire earth of people to whom it is offered.  This was that vow “to do the will” of his Heavenly Father and he performed his vow in the presence of Jerusalem physically and we enter in through the record of the Gospels to that same act by which He is glorified.  So then this is the spirit of this place Judah in the book of I John brought forth by unselfish obedience, which gains the highest and enduring praise.  
    So then if we emulate the Lord and fail, sin entering in to inhibit, John tells us the step to take to leave that failure behind and to continue on in our own lives again understanding the perfection of the Savior in procuring everything that the Father desired to bring many sons to perfection (maturity).

    LEVI   2:1 – 2:9  (in I John)

    The name Levi appointed him by his mother Leah to describe her mental set at his birth concerning her relationship with Jacob means ‘joined’.  The simplicity of the spirit of this name is so sublime that it defies comparison especially in secular terms.  For who can be more closely joined than a child to its natural parent.  And here John has in the first three words of this place established this spiritual attribute of Christ.  “My little children,”.  These were sons of God whom John had personally brought to Christ they were his offspring, in his likeness.  Now what follows in this place is John’s concern for his children that they continue in the faith.  The wording precise and the meaning clear, so further elaboration is unnecessary.  The place stands with “son ship,” as a person that is set apart from all other beings, that is ‘holy’ from all others.  The spirit is Holiness.  Jesus is Holy.
    
    BENJAMIN   2:10 – 2:13  (in I John)

    Love is the personification of Benjamin in the sight of his Father Jacob and his mother Rachel, but Jacob’s name stuck to this their youngest child.  He is the son of my right hand [Rachel] declared Jacob and after the disappearance of Joseph, his older brother, the substituted beloved of his child.  The spirit of this place is ‘love’ evident in every action of the Son of God who ultimately gave himself for his brethren.  This is the true intelligence of the Father [light].  The proof is that Jesus is ‘punctured’ the evidence of his love for, first His Father and second for his Brethren

    JOSEPH   2:14 – 2:17  (in I John)

    We often revert to our instincts rather than recall the purpose of our salvation from living death.  The purpose of every sacrifice if it was accomplished according to correct scriptural procedure was to clear the sinners mind from the guilt of transgression against the commandments of the Father of Israel.  Remember that Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost – and the lost lamb was Israel the nation.  Its leadership was in decadence concerning the condition of the Israelites heart.  The sacrifices were for profit of the elite priests and scribes and Sanhedrin leaders of the enslaved nation.  Rome levied a heavy burden of taxes and penalties upon her and the expected Messiah, who the leaders of the nation did not want to see, nor even believed there ever would be such a person.  When Jesus did arrive to save his people the Jews, his ministry was not welcome.  His purpose was not to restore the nation its power, but to make the people acceptable to their God.  Moses in Deuteronomy 10:12.  Further in verse :16 the hearts of the people whom Moses addressed were no better than the ones that Jesus faced and died for.  John the Baptist preached to the same impudence.  It is our own soul, awareness of the ways of God, that Jesus cleared away shadows and curtains of deceit of through his own sacrifice on the cross that is the object of John’s letter.  He ‘adds,’ the meaning of the name Joseph, the purpose of his letter to the unidentified church by way of the fathers and young men.  The fathers because they were disciples of Jesus and evidently had been with the Lord’s ministry from its start.  Young men heard the first hand witness of the fathers and it gave them charged strength of faith.  We ourselves, hear from the scriptures or from preaching 2000 years after the Lord’s ministry and it does make a difference in the reception.  These may also have been the “brethren” he has spoken to in 2:7 being Jews, as this is generally the designation that one righteous Jew when refers to another.  However, the pointed addition John makes to them is an implication from the Lord’s own commandment to “love one another.”  They could not, and neither can we love two masters.  Again it is keeping the heart clean to enjoy the fellowship with the Father.  Now the “world” John refers to could have been the larger earth world or the “world of the Jews” for they love the sacrifices and freewill offerings which are a shadow of the offering of Jesus Christ.  Put those things second in your life John says because they will drag you away from the true love of God in Jesus Christ.  And John is very adamant in his exhortation that it is the condition of the heart that we are to have in control.  The very things that the people of either the larger or smaller Jewish world encourage and revel in.  The finality that John concludes with is the temporal reward and the eternal value of abiding and overcoming the Serpent, the enemy of God.

        ZEBULUN   2:18 – 23  (in I John)

    When God in the person of his dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ reconciled me to himself, it was the long predicted and awaited event in God consciousness.  Those born from that action of God, then were confronted with the news that the antichrist [instead of Christ] would now appear.  A loser always has to attempt to outdo the winner.  Satan did send the antichrist, a few hundred years after but for then John makes the small church to understand that some had gone out from the Gospel of truth to pervert that Holy Truth and subvert the souls of Godly converts whose identity is no less devious that the antichrist.  Paul had also warned of them, but here John identifies them with out quarter.  Liar, as the wider world practices willfully.  But pointedly he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ [the anointed one].  To place any name other than the Father and the Son is to anti-christize in the heart, so that if the heart thus says that Jesus is merely a prophet, it denies the Son and to deny the Son is to deny the Father.  So the antichrist made a different name for the True God and wrote his own “scriptures” eulogizing the false god he had created.  And an evil end those deceitful words are, stirring up in the natural person to commit terrible acts against mankind.  Before Christ Jesus Rome had her wicked ways and before Rome Greece then the Canaanites the Hitties the Assyrians and Babylonians.  Impossible not to identify the hand of the enemy of the Living God.  But dwelling in the heart of the true believer, whom John addresses, is the Savior Messiah, Jesus the Son of God and thus the place Zebulun which meaning is ‘dwelling.’

    ISSACHAR   2:24 – 2:28

    A faithful servant is eager to receive the things of his master.  He is receptive and accepting if it even includes responsibility which the word “Let” of this first sentence of this place Issachar meaning ‘hired’ implies.  We grasp eagerly for what God in Jesus Christ has sent for to to be in us.  The first is the Gospel of peace, by which we are saved and the second is the Holy Spirit, our teacher and guide upon the earth.  The third person of the Holy Trinity, we do not with enough soberness realize that God is within us.  We need this realization to be good stewards of the Gospel that Christ died for our sin and sins was dead and buried and rose again the third day.  Our faithfulness then is rewarded with eternal life not only of our soul and spirit but of our bodies themselves, raised like unto His own.

    GAD   2:29 – 3:6  (in I John)

    “And he [Abraham] believed the LORD and he counted it unto him as righteousness.”  A birth of a “son of God.”  This, the Biblical Old Covenant example for us to understand the mind the Apostle John.  Through this faith supplied to us, who are the “sons of God,” is the ‘hope’ of the resurrection of our bodies like unto the physical body of Jesus.  And so we see a “troop cometh” [of more faith and hope] from the first faith seed.  The word ‘Gad’ means a troop cometh.’   And we see the division of ourselves from the “world of unbelief.”

    DAN   3:7 – 3:12  (in I John)

    The name ‘Dan’ means to ‘judge.’  What is judged is “birth” if it has occurred then a new righteous person, if not then an unrighteous person continues and exhibits the characteristics of Cain who slew his own brother continuing to miss the mark [sin] of who Jesus is – the Word of God.  When God spoke, out came Jesus.

    NAPHTALI   3:13 – 17  (I John)

    Naphtali – to wrestle.  And the sons of God wrestle with the sons of this world, because the world being without faith finds no favor with God and so envy then hate and then murder of the righteous person of God.  It is every day and sometimes we loose our spiritual lives in the combat of the day.  But we return home in the evening and refresh ourselves finding the power of God is in resurrection of the soul as well.  We ultimately have won the day only to encounter unbelief the next day as Paul and Peter and John hazarded their physical lives for the founding of the Church, we our souls for continuity of the Church.  We love another in the faith because the Father of each of us is the same.  And Jesus is again the pattern for our love for one another.  Perhaps, we are not required to lay down our life, but rather “this world’s good” things.

        ASHER   3:18 – 3:24  (in I John)

    “Happy” – is the meaning of the name Asher.  Herein, John demonstrates how happiness in the believer is built.  The natural mind might view it as building back words, but to the faithful John who knew and understood the wisdom of Christ that is not so.  Happiness begins with loving another believer not in word, but in a deed of love which is evidence of the inward person.  But with that person which is truly of God, is then evident from his actions.  This is the truth that is of God who is its source.  Thereby we do not condemn ourself and it is our confidence towards God.  And when we have need we ask the Father [remarkably, only those things that God desires] and receive of Him knowing that, because he is in us, and guides our desires since we have the desire to keep his commandments.  That ‘desire’ is what the happiness thrives upon.  Then John plainly shows us the two commandments of Christ and we abide both he in us and we in Him by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Had John begun with the Spirit and explained he would have arrived at deeds [evidence] and not the source.

    REFUGE   4:1 – 4:8  (in I John)

    Now John builds the churches confidence through what God is – love.  And that too is a process of building plainly visible to the diligent reader.  Since God is this then we who are weaker will refuge to Him who is greater.

    ARMS   4:9 – 4:16

    That Jesus lifted up his arms in obedience and drank the cup of death for all, names this repetitively termed place but for the word “propitiation.”  Here we could say that word means to purchase and that is not wrong but it means more, it means ‘atonement’ for our sins, as the teachers helper instructed me “for all of our sins. the ones past, the ones present and the ones tomorrow.”  So very conclusive of the shadow of the Temple offerings is Jesus death to clear our conscience towards God; that we can but marvel at the brilliance of the Plan of God to reconcile all things by his love – that being the Lord Jesus.

    THRUST   4:17 – 4:18  (in I John)

    Now our hearts can with confidence deliberately thrust out ‘fear’ of judgment by God, upon us; because it has already been taken away by Christ Jesus.  Another of the acts of God a miracle greater than the crossing of the Reed Sea.

     DESTROY   4:19 – 4:21  (in I John)

    “And this commandment we have from him” reminds the writer of the bulk of words of the ten commandments that Moses brought down concerning the Sabbath.  Containing nearly one third of the number of words of the whole necessates the importance of this solemn day of rest.  It is a day set aside wherein no Israelite [spiritual man] may accomplish his normal labors but is free to mull over the scriptures, with them in hand, and read the content of the Holy Scriptures without the cares of the world to interrupt.  What blessing, for this is the memory of a day from Genesis when the LORD God had completed the making of the earth and man and took rest from those labors.  For the believer it is Saturday the day of the week when “no man can work – the works of God to please him.  Jesus, this sad day, proof that our sins have been put away from the sight of God, lay in the tomb dead, unable to “please his Father” as he had diligently accomplished in every motion of his living and earthly ministry.  What wonder that the purpose of God is seen fifty two times a year the day of the week when we can “do this in remembrance of me” and the New Covenant became established freeing us from the weight of the first covenant.  A piece of unleavened bread and a portion of wine to symbolize his life upon the earth a man who experienced all that any man with sin does.  And so a flame of light is extinguished to represent a Life taken away and his Body and Blood consumed in our hearts to recall the new agreement with the Father of our faith in the work of his Son Jesus the Messiah of Israel.  In about 342 A.D. the Church Council met in Constantinople (now Istanbul) and declared that for the Church hence from then our Sabbath would be on Sunday – to distance the organizational Church from the Jews religion, where her roots sprang from.  Sad that by doing so She severed so much of the meaning of the purpose God had in taking a rest on the seventh day.  So if the believing spiritual man can organize his work week to his pleasure he can rest Saturday and Sunday, twice as long, in the Holy Scriptures and meditation of the works of God and how to best conduct our own lives in Jesus Christ so that we can obey from the heart John 4:21 to “love his brother also.”

    HEAVENS   5:1 – 5:9  (in I John)

    John leans heavily upon the concept of “birth” from the beginning of his Gospel through these short letters that springs from his spiritual maturity.  Believing that Jesus is the Christ [the anointed one, as Solomon was the anointed one when baptized in the Gihon before assuming King David’s throne] is spiritual “birth.”  So by this becomes the believers “heaven” because it is the realm where the terror of the devil in the world can not intrude.  Where divine happiness in the heaven that is inside of us and yet a shadow of the one to come.  Our confidence is three fold by three records that of the Father and the Word and the Holy Ghost and who are one person in Heaven.  Upon the earth we have the record of the Holy Scriptures of the Spirit [from Christ], his water and his blood [that he shed for us] agreeing because this is “the record that God gave of his Son.”  And through the giving we have eternal life.

    SHIELD  5:10 – 5:14  (in I John)

    Now that we know John’s testimony and believe we know that we have eternal life with a tremendous confidence in our soul that can not be matched by any other claims.  Plus, now we know that we will not ask amiss if we pray to the Father for anything because we know our will is to do the bidding of God.  All of this obedience and ability to please God was what was lost in the Garden of Genesis and regained by Jesus Christ the “seed of the woman.”  This knowledge is our shield against all criticism and pryings from this world “to quit the nonsense.”

    SWORD   5:15 – 5:21  (In I John)

    And so what is the sword but the words of God and John’s closing that cuts asunder the wiles of the Devil and his world – “My little children keep yourselves from idols.”  And why does John emphasize “idols” because this is the device of the enemy of God to draw us away, as Adam and Eve were drawn away.  The idol the Serpent used on them was for them to become “gods of knowledge.”  

                Ephesus about 96 A.D.

    As tradition has it John had suffered at the hands of the enemies of Christ even as the other Apostles who had already born martyrdom.  John had suffered being put into a vat of boiling oil in Rome, which he survived and later was exiled to Patmos for two years where he received The Revelation.  Released from there he had been poisoned which he also survived and finally returned to Ephesus where he had been the Bishop.  This last item seems to belie the notion that the Apostles including Paul had chosen Ephesus for the center of the foundling Church, as Timothy was the Minister of that Church, after Jerusalem and Judism had been destroyed from “the Land” by Titus of Rome.  And so John continued at Ephesus dying there peacefully, the last of the earth bound Apostles.   MORE:  It may also be assumed that Mary the Mother of our Lord was with John in Ephesus;  although, as Simeon at the dedication of the child Jesus declared that “(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy soul also,)” Luke 2:35, may have occurred before John dwelt at Ephesus, he having custody of the holy mother.                                                             
   

THE HOLY CELEBRATION IN THE EPISTLE OF FIRST JOHN

I JOHN  =  Jah has favored

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [JEZER]  =  a form, to mold into shape  (as a potter)

     [REUBEN]
    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
     [SIMEON]
And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
     [JUDAH]
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
     [LEVI]
    My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you:  because
        [JEZER] [BENJAMIN]        I John                                pg1104

the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
     [BENJAMIN]
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
     [JOSEPH]
I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
     [ZEBULUN]
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
     ISSACHAR]
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
     [GAD]
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
    Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
     [DAN]
Little children, let no man  deceive  you:  he  that  doeth  righteousness is  righteous,
        [JEZER] [NAPHTALI]        I John                                pg1105

even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
     [NAPHTALI]
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
     [ASHER]
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
     [REFUGE]
    Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
     [ARMS]
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
        [JEZER] [THRUST]        I John                                pg1106

     [THRUST]
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
     [DESTROY]
We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
      [HEAVENS]
    Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
     [SHIELD]
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
     [SWORD]
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

                 Now Colosse:is a Tell a site in Turkey

                               In Colossians

                written by:  Joseph E. Swearengin, D.D.

                              March 25, 2005

                                  Dedicated to my  Savior,
            
                            The Lord Jesus Christ
            
                               My Living God

                       Contents                    

           Prologue                             3     

            The Holy Celebration in Colossians           13

                for reference: a copy of Colossians
                from the Holy Celebration is found
                at the close of the commentary         
                
                
                Reuben                    14
                Simeon                    17
                Judah                        27
                Levi                        30
                Benjamin                 33
                Joseph                     36
                Zebulun                   39
                Issachar                   44
                Gad                         47
                Dan                         50
                Naphtali                   55
                Asher                       58
                Refuge                    60
                Arms                       61
                Thrust                     61
                Destroy                   62
                Heavens                  63
                Shield                      64
                Sword                      65
                

            second introduction                              74

            In Colossians Commentary                        76

            The Holy Celebration:  Colossians                    89

                          Prologue

    There was in modern days gone by a route, from the grand Euphrates River, which the patriarchs of faith had crossed over, Heber and Abraham in particular, leading further west than they, through and from the the ancient city Colosse, to the highly prosperous and active Aegean Sea port city Ephesus.  Colosse was a city extant before the Hittites [1680-1205 B.C.],  a vassal kingdom city overcome by one of Labarnas’ sons and incorporated into the Hittite kingdom.  From that united kingdom built the Hittites their empire across the near east of what is now Turkey and south into Palestine; however, it does not seem that they ever subdued Egypt rather establishing a treaty with them.  From Colosse, rested and reinforced Persian armies had continued their marches Xerxes 481 B.C. and Cyrus 404 B.C. most noble of the world in those days, and those of lesser notoriety no doubt had traversed the road.  The Cadmus Mountain, at whose foot now exists the modern city Chronas [near the tell site of Colosse], is not far from the Lycus river.  The mountain is three miles east of today’s vacant mound that is the original city where was the habitation of Epaphras and the location of the ancient church site of Paul’s days; although, at the time of Paul’s letter to Philemon the church was in Philemon’s home there.  It was a city of mercantile importance along with Laodicea, also a wool producing mercantile city, however Laoadicea was not founded until two hundred and fifty B.C.  The red wool was called colossinum after the city.  Colosse was hit with an earthquake in Nero’s days and revived, but was destroyed during the twelfth century A.D. by the Turks and never inhabited again.   
    Epaphras was bishop of that early church and possibly her founder, while it would seem from Paul’s exhortation the minister there was Archippus, Colossians 4:7.  Onesimus the servant slave of Philemon and subject of Paul’s letter was a member of that church.
    The church at Colosse seems to have been Gentile; but there were many Jews in the Lycus valley.  The religious attitude seems to have been very lax, yet the protectorate of the city was the worshipped angel Michael, which name is incidentally, the guardian of the Nation Israel, Daniel 12:1.  This type of Jewish mysticism is one reason for Paul’s epistle to the church who had never seen his face and to which no certainty can be attached that he ever did visit the small group; although, there is opportunity for him to have done so, as in the spring of 63 A.D. he is acquitted at Rome, having written the epistles Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians in the spring and in autumn Philippians of 62 A.D. in prison.  Released, Paul goes to Macedonia Phil. 2:24 and is in Asia Minor Philemon. :22.  Here is the very likely time of his visiting Colosse, just prior to making his missionary journey to Spain, in the late summer or fall of 64 A.D. to the summer of 66 A.D.  According to the chart of Conybeare and Howson from “The Life and Epistles of St. Paul,”  Paul returns to Asia Minor, writes his epistle to Titus from Ephesus and, as this author perceives, was taken again into custody at Nicopolis [a Macedonian eastern coastal city] and returned from there to Rome; where in the summer of 68 A.D. he is executed, just two years before the conflagration of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Nation of Israel. In Rome July 19, 64 A.D. Nero’s great fire occurs devastating Rome, the Christians are blamed, Paul is in Spain.  Upon return, the Great Apostle to the Gentiles is martyred for causing the fire, along with many others, no question and many of his own converts.    
    The site of Epaphras’ Colosse is about 80 miles inland north of the Mediterranean Sea and about 110 miles east of the Aegean Sea coastal city of Ephesus.  At this time it is a plowed high plateau field showing through the soil the remains of a defensive wall, a pit lined with stones to the west side,  a theater [Greek likely with its market] lies on the east side of the plateau, a necropolis is to the north of the Lycus River a branch of the Meander River.  The streams in the area are fast and quite cold fed from the mountains to the east [Cadmus Mountain].  The site has not been excavated, but Flinders University of Australia
is currently preparing for an excavation at this date.  Laodicea to the north with Hierapolis five miles west and Colosse less than twenty miles to the south formed a triangle of mixed population.  Colosse is only about one hundred miles north west across the mountains from the coastal city Perga of Pamphylia pathway of Paul and Barnabas’ first Gentile missionary journey.  Paul’s home, Tarsus, is about three hundred miles east of Colosse.
    Paul’s concern for Colosse arose from the confidence of Epaphras who was prisoned with him and as legend enjoins was martyred at Rome. As bishop at Colosse Epaphras must have carried this burden to Rome for Paul’s attention.  Those circumstances and Paul’s reaction provided us with the remarkably simple and beautiful cannon of description and direction that can not be far from the spiritual pattern of Moses’ own instructions to The People of God he had brought up from Egypt.  
    Daniel 12:1   “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”  This angel of Colosse called Michael seems to have had its foundation in city folklore from very early times, as he was supposed to have been seen when he delivered the city from a terrible flood.  This native belief along with other traditions of the Jews who inhabited Colosse, and some of which were Gentile converts in that church, combined with this angel worship, the need for circumcision.    Principally, what Paul cries unto the church of Colosse to do is to be like their Savior and not to be drawn aside from the personality of Christ into angel worship or traditions of earthly origin.  In doing so, Paul explains the mystery of rebirth and the difference between Jew and Gentile of entering into Christ Jesus.  For the Jew who has already expected their Messiah they must come to repentance from self-righteousness to achieve eternal salvation in Christ Jesus; whereas, the Gentile who has no such expectations openly and heartily upon receiving the Gospel of Christ enters into salvation.  By doing so they are instructed to lay aside the conduct of that hopeless old life and to take up the conduct of the Lord Jesus Christ; which power to do so is gained through the new person created after Christ; because, there is no longer any power of death from that former life to hinder the choice of the new life.  Of this matter Paul has but make the new converts conscious by pointing out the old ways and presenting the fruits of the new life in poignant terms.
      Also, the intruding philosophy of intellectual delight began to emerge that elevated a so called superior wisdom and knowledge.  Two centuries later this cult would be called Gnosticism [from a greek word – gnosis, to know] a heresy that devoured many.  The International Stand Bible Encyclopedia vol. II page 677 2nd column states, “The very heart of Gnosticism, i.e. the theory of emanation and the dualistic conception which regards matter as evil, finds no place in Colosse.”  Faith in Jesus does not play any part of this philosophy, rather knowledge is its basis, of which thing, knowledge that is, Paul states “shall pass away.”  This problem was in its youth and was part of what Paul was addressing at Colosse but the danger had begun to kindle there, even in those early years.
    What is so wonderful in the Epistle to the Colossians are the explicit definitions of what Christ is not and what He is.  Paul does not present them on heart-tablets of stone as laws of conduct: those being the examples of Christ’s walk in his earthly ministry, who was first to declare himself and exhibit the evidences of his person “the first-born of all creation.”  The genuine heart of God is what we see in the Gospels in Jesus of Nazareth, and it is this newborn heart now possessed in the Colosse converts, that Paul draws out of them so that they can declare Jesus and walk as He walked.  Put aside the old person and let the new nature appear and live and have dominion.
    During the first imprisonment of Paul at Rome in the spring of 62 A.D. Paul writes three epistles of the new testament and a fourth, The Epistle to the Laodiceans, which is not preserved to us; though there is some evidence among scholarly researches to indicate that the title of the letter to the Ephesians does not contain the name Ephesus or Ephesians in an early Vatican copy, thus presenting the possibility that the Epistle to the Ephesians in Paul’s handwriting was actually the Epistle to the Laodiceans.  And it is not know how many copies were circulated about the churches from Paul’s hand.  However, to draw upon what is in the authorized received text, is sufficient to the maturing believer and congruent to the pattern of the Holy Celebration, so that the three epistles Paul wrote to that area in prison are Philemon, Colossians and Ephesians.  Again in the fall of that same year and from prison He also wrote to the Philippians.  
    After Paul converted Onesimus, as we read he did in Philemon, Onesimus becomes a member of the church at Colosse as we see from  “From The Life and Epistles of St. Paul”  by W.J. Conybeare and J.S. Howson page 687 the last paragraph, “…Onesimus.  He belonged to a Christian named Philemon, a member of the Colossian Church.”  There is a note with that sentence note [7] that states “For the proof of this see Palev’s Horae Pauline on Philemon [10-12].”  Now this author having not that source available at this time took occasion to examine closely the persons addressed by Paul in the Epistle to Philemon and found there three – Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus.  Philemon, in whose home the church existed and he was the master of Onesimus, Apphia the wife of Philemon her name is mentioned only in this epistle, but Archippus is spoken of by Paul in Colossians and Philemon and in Colossians [4:17] “And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it.”  In Philemon verse 2  Paul says of him “our fellow-soldier,” not “helper” as to others in different epistles but “soldier” with a “ministry” thereby showing us him as the pastor of the Church of the Colossians.  Epaphras a member there as well deduced from his intimate knowledge that he related to Paul the happenings in that and those churches.  So then, the membership of the church at Colosse is Philemon, Apphia, Onesimus, Archippus and Epaphras who, of course, did not return to Colosse for he was executed from prison at Rome; while Conybeare and Howson affirm that Paul reached Colosse upon his release from that same prison.  Pleasing is the rich abundance that is provided by those who are loved in the faith having tread before us, the words.
    Moreover, concerning the people of the area of Colosse who made up the congregation Paul mentions in chapter 3:11 of Colossians – Greek, Jew, barbarian, Scythian and the not mentioned Romans who were the current conquerors of that time.  The Greeks had been dispossessed by the Romans who had scattered captive Jews there.  Of the “barbarians” these are possibly the Hittites and their conquered Indo-European kingdoms of the area of Asia Minor.  The Hittites are mentioned in Abraham’s day and King David’s time and were organized, with a hieroglyphic language with rock sculptures reminiscent of Egypt [who they were in treaty with as well as the Assyrians] with society and laws, foreign policies, armies, navy, and cult religions of nature, literature and a queen and King.  From Hattusas [now Boghaskoy], near the Black Sea, the king to unite the empire was Hattusilis 1650 B.C. by his brothers and sons every much the area Asia Minor the home nation.  They were short with yellow skin, stout, thick-limbed, fierce warriors using chariots, sword, ax, bow and arrow they conquered Babylon in 1550 B.C. and were stationed in Palestine when the empires sudden and mysterious demise came about 1205 B.C.  The reason we should think that the Hittites were the “barbarians” Paul refers to are the numerous nature based cult religions that they observed and their presence in the promised land when Israel under Joshua took possession.  Thereby, is a repulsion worthy of the name ‘barbarian’ by any religious Jew.  The Scythians were: best described in Unger’s Bible Dictionary  “one of a nomad race, or collection of races, dwelling mostly on the north of the Black Sea and in the Caspian, stretching thence indefinitely into inner Asia,… fierce barbarians, who ‘scalped their enemies, and used their skulls as drinking cups and offered human sacrifices’… believed to be a Japhetic race.”  Their time is after the Hittites somewhat before the Greeks although more or less contemporary with them.  The Romans we know as the bitter cruel, cultured nation that ruled the known earth for a thousand years and oppressed and crucified our Lord Jesus and destroyed the nation Israel.  Colosse then is the soup of the nations past, present and future [us folks] who comprised the congregation of the church of Colosse whom Paul addressed in his genius of written words to keep the image of the Lord Jesus Christ ever prevalent.
    The Epistle has been skewed, sliced and diced many different ways besides introduction, content and conclusion; however, with the revealing in the Holy Celebration of the spiritual shadow of our dear Savior in each of the sixty-six books by way of the skeletal frame of the faithful persons names, it is well that departure from this goodness of God be not abandoned and so the understandings thrust forward by this first journey through the Epistle to the Colossians is after that pattern.

                                Joseph E. Swearengin, D.D.
                                 Morgan County,  4/19/06    
                                               
                        

    In the newspaper was the picture of a new born child – a new dwelling place for the Lord Jesus Christ.
    Honey is collected by an insect hatched from a cell in the heaven above the ground, who spends its time in the air of heaven upon wings and collects nectar from flowers whose stems project the flower into the heaven.  The nest of the honey bee is in a tree or post or container, near perhaps, but never upon the ground.  The bee is a heavenly creature who gathers heavenly material which it collects into heavenly held containers for storage as food for her hive.  Thus it is, that honey is a heavenly liquid food, typical of the Word of God.
    “Thou has loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above they fellows.  Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power; in the beauties of holiness from the womb in the morning, thou hast the dew of thy youth.”  Hebrews 1:9,  Psalm 110:3.
                                    J.E.S.

                                               The Holy Celebration in Colossians

   The Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians is the fifty-first book in succession from and including Genesis in the Holy Bible.  Fifteen minutes is required to read the letter of one thousand nine hundred and seventy eight words [KJV] which Paul wrote in approximately 62 A.D.  It is the eighth of the fourteen canon books of the New Covenant written by the Apostle.  The theme of the book is the glorified God-Head the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church [collectively] which Paul designates as the ‘Body’ of Christ.  The plot is the entering of erroneous teaching into the congregation of Colosse.  As it is, Jesus our Savior is alive in heaven, safely away from the harmful earth that he created and that crucified Him.  It is by his directions that we have our instructions of action, just as the head of our own physical bodies is controlled by the brain.  We minister, pray, instruct and evangelize as he did during his earthly ministry and in his place of authority here.  This being, Paul illustrates as Head and Body, is the Colossi of the earth and there comes a time, and it is a short time now, when the Body will join the Lord in the air into the heavenly Jerusalem and there be ever with our God, away from the elements of this deceitful earth.  Even so, Come Lord Jesus.
     The difficulty in the Colosse Church as Paul writes is revealed in the framework of the Holy Celebration ‘Naphtali’ which name being one of the children of Israel, means ‘wrestling’ and certainly within the contents of the epistle Paul wrestles with the Jewish doctrines of earthly derivatives and the superstitions of the time and locale of the city of Colosse.  His thrust is to set before them their obscured Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

     [REUBEN]

    In the mind of Paul, who is in the mind of Jesus Christ, who is in the mind of His Father, rests the spiritual likeness of the Savior Messiah the Lord Jesus.  For to be an apostle of Jesus Christ one must retain in mind the message and the destination for which he is sent.  Now Paul is not alone, with him his faithful brother Timothy; however, it is in the name of the place Reuben – “see” a “son” the literal meaning, that gives the reader the true spiritual figure of Christ in Timothy, Paul’s son in the faith.  With the message of Jesus Christ Paul states to whom he is writing both “saints and faithful brethren”.  Although the term “saints” could stand alone as the addressee, he adds “and faithful brethren,” for which we request an explanation.  At the time of the letter and previously remembering the condition of Paul’s calling by the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts 9:15, he is sent to the Gentiles, and surely this city Colosse is a Gentile city well outside the bounds of the Land of Israel in Asia Minor. So to clarify, Paul must point out that there are Jews in the congregation at Colosse though God no longer dealt with the Jews as a nation, [the then remnant nation Israel was in about ten years to meet her demise by Titus], but rather as individuals and some were among the Gentile congregation at Colosse.  He designates by referring to them as “faithful brethren” of whom as seen he also states that Timothy is “brother” his mother Eunice was a Jew.  It is with “grace and peace” that Paul imbues to the members at Colosse and thanks God for them and states his concern for them as having been mentioned in his prayers.  These things are like the way Jesus walked.  He the Son of God, he is the brother of the Jews, Jesus is The Jew, his mission was only to the Jews, whereas he sent Paul directly to the Gentiles, well after his ascension.  Jesus sought out the faithful of the Jews to heal and save favoring them as the lost lamb, and bound them irrevocably to his Father and finally praying for them as he prayed for Peter in the Gospels.  Truly this Savior Jesus is the Light of God the Son of God whom we see in the place Reuben.
    Descriptive of this place are the sons of light [to see] and the Light expressed in these five names: ‘Paul’, ‘Timotheus’, faithful brethren’, ‘Father’ and ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’.   These are five words, expressing persons in this place, the number five in the Holy Bible is for the “grace” of God, which Paul enjoins unto those at Colosse and to the reader at large, for the epistle was to be read at Laodicea and Hierapolis as well and “we get in” on the epistle too, as children of the providence of God.
    And upon favor or rather proceeding as a result of favor from God is ‘peace,’ the full meaning being bound together, quietness, rest, prosperity; which gives evidence that received favor removes the wrath of God from our lives through the realization of the spirits of the Savior, that are ours at rebirth, for we are created like unto his image.  We are still numb from the earlier pressure of the wrath of God upon us and do not realize the relief that has overtaken us at rebirth. The overflowing joy of first salvation obscures the mitigation.  It is like a physical child becoming mature through realization of their potentials that we become useful to our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul is ‘a’ Reuben, Timothy is ‘a’ Reuben, the saints and brethren at Colosse are ‘a’ Reuben, we as sons of the Light are ‘a’ Reuben, but Jesus Christ IS the Reuben.   “…I will make him my firstborn…” Psm. 89:27    

     [SIMEON]

    Many perhaps, have attempted to explain the mystery of faith and how it happened in them; but more, that it does happen in many with records upon the heart, of the poignant joys and exhilaration’s, the difficult ascensions and obstacles, but ever the wonderful hope that awaits the believer and these they record in novel or commentary.  The Lord himself is the hope of the believer and the exceeding and great reward.  Present tense not past because the word of God is eternal, it is not bound whether to either create life or sustain life.  In fact, eternity is now.  The Life that exists within is the mystery of God. That the roller coaster ride of faith is easily conquered by daily reading the scriptures proves the inimitably that the Holy Bible is the word of God while Christ is away from the earth and it is he who hears and answers petitions and hurts and prayers of praise.  “Casting all your care upon Him; for he careth for you.” IPeter 5:7.  Which thing in itself gives evidence that God “hears” our petitions.  It is indeed remarkable that the only tangible, the only admissible, the only physically visible evidence of God is this Holy Bible; which when we are away from it, we have departed to the evil of this life.  No wonder that we who are not of the world but only in it, cherish the moments spent in reading and studying and meditating upon the words of its content.  The necessary evil that must be performed robs us of our most precious time, when in the course of our walk of faith he reveals in the scriptures the things “concerning himself” and we ourselves in Him.   
    Here in Simeon, the name meaning ‘heard,’ Paul begins identifying the Godly quality of the Savior in the Colossians and this they acquired through faith.    “But without faith it is impossible to please him: …”   Hebrews 11:6,  Why? because God is spirit only and we are physical with an indwelling spirit.  God asks us to believe him, to trust him, that is faith.  How did that happen in me?  “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” Romans 10:17,   “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.” Job 42:5.   So begins the revelation to the Colossians of the mystery of faith through hearing the word of God: by seeing these spiritual places that define the Son of God that came from hearing the words in that particular place.  This shows the validity of the Holy Celebration through its orderly spiritual semblance of the Messiah.  Look at the Gospel of John 4:23.   “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. John 4:24   God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:25   The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. John 4:26   Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.”  And so these scriptures answers our inquiry how did we believe in the beginning of our life in Christ?  “Faith came into us by hearing the word of God.” and if we want to increase our faith as the one who asked Jesus [“help thou my unbelief”] then listen more to the word of God, that is, read his Bible every day, complete the reading from Genesis through to The Revelation at least once a year and in forty years you will be so confident that you will disdain the memory of our tottering first steps.  You say that that regimen is excessive, is it?  The occasion of a fiftieth wedding anniversary required attendance and it is evident that the journey of those two to that point in their lives together had been accomplished by daily, being together, the husband returning each day to his wife from work and the wife dutifully present at their home daily.  Is the illustration of worldly institutions more demanding than the continuity of eternal nourishment in our Savior?  It is placing one foot ahead into tomorrow while the other foot is leaving but still in yesterday and the body in the present, that it is said duty to God is: “to walk humbly with thy God?”  Deuteronomy 10:12, Micah 6:8.  Today the trend of the people of the earth is to establish to their own glory, their own ‘truth,’ they do not seek for established truth.  As Paul described the Greeks of his day always – Acts 17:21   “For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.”  We do not seek from the pits and canals and caverns of our own minds.  Faith is not so.  Faith is stepping into a new truth of Christ while leaving the former truth about Christ, even if it is only the very first truth of his Gospel that he died was buried and rose again, thereby the body of our new being [creature] in Christ is nourished.  This is the action of faith, this is joy in salvation, it forms confidence in our soul to continue daily in the Son of God by reading the word of God his Holy Bible.  For that is where one will find the living Jesus and when we are tempted to skip a day of reading, we firmly determine not to be robbed again.  The temptation is daily as well, of those moments with our Savior that can be taken away and so we “watch” with guarded resolve.  Yesterday is time, tomorrow is time, but today, this moment is living eternity.   
    More than anything else the Godly mind wants to inquire and demands to know and acquire the value of the spirit of God, which this morsel Simeon as it dwells, indeed is, an intrinsic part of the person of the Savior.  Once it is comprehended and understood to be the express image of the person of his Father, for they are one in identity, there is peace.  Howbeit, the new man is already adorned with this, but for to identify and understand it in ones own new person by the awareness of the new life is difficult.  Much as before, it was impossible to please God by keeping the law for it was impossible to keep all that the law of Moses requires, but now in the new life, blessed and accepted of the Father through the workings of our Savior, we can not heal ourselves of unexpected spiritual infirmities, therefore God does that for us.  It is a gift and of the many things of this earth available to any man this is the only that is entirely free.  We need not repay Jesus for what he accomplished on the cross, nor indeed could we ever. Yet, when the salvation of the gospel comes to the heart and new birth occurs or we become healed of our spiritual infirmity, our heart by means of the tongue declares the wonderful workings of the person of Jesus Christ.  And the reason why Jesus healed the deaf and mute man is easily determined.  Jesus healed a person of his audience [taken aside because he was a man of wealth, or position, or some sin had caused the infirmities, or for our understanding] who needed to be whole to take in the words of Jesus and expel the praise due his marvelous person.  In our selves, attentive reading of the Scriptures allows healing to occur.  
    Since it is not unfitting to ask of the Father, in the name of the eternal Son, for healing of our wounded or immature new person.  He being not unfaithful in his own promises and that all things that are spiritual are a present possessions, we may without guilt gather as much of the Holy Spirit that can be stuffed into our minds soul.  Acquire that knowledge at only the price of a few books and the only other valuable quantity besides Christ, that natural birth allots – time.  For when God spoke to king David concerning his son Solomon, for God promised him a son to sit upon his throne, that God spoke to David “when thy days are expired, that thou must go to be with thy fathers,” shows clearly and without question the immortality of the soul.  The apparent limits of an individuals time which is the limits of this life [time, days, years] we are born into and the limitlessness of “…go to be with thy fathers,” indicate physical death and immortality. The fathers of David reach as far back as Biblical records shows to Adam, the more immediate application would indicate from Abraham he being the seed of a great nation of the promised son Isaac.  Therewith all that time allows to pass into eternity is the soul and spirit and time until the resurrection, thus we can make use of time, within its allotment birth to death, to become aware of the eternal soul and spirit that is in Christ Jesus.  We are reborn and our promised resurrected body will be like unto his own, making then new soul and spirit our present possessions.  And to explore the being of Christ’s person we should be a reflection of the obedience that is in Christ, as he was obedient unto death and He refused that not, though his years of time were but thirty three.  Whatever length of time our usefulness to him upon the earth becomes, whether short or long it is eternity that lay ahead after physical death.  A teacher once spoke to me saying that “there are worse things than physical death.”  It was less than a year later that he left this life of troubles and went to his Savior Jesus Christ.   
    If we look in the current monthly religious book catalogues, found are numerous books, commentary and novel whose titles often include the word ‘faith’ either to establish the importance of or declare the validity of the basis of not only Christianity, but every other religion.  Since true faith is “the substance of things hoped for” Hebrews 11:1, to the Christian, and faith is the descriptive of other religions as well, the term is distinguishing in Jesus Christ.  To look closely at what this means, self must examine what does faith in what or whoever produce.  Should a ‘faith’ religion only produce more faith, this becomes circular in nature bilious in self-esteem and endless in destination.  This can become true in Christianity also, where the individual chooses the superfluous exterior for social acceptance or gain.  The needy heart, the seeking soul, the righteous hungry, find something far more satisfying, deeper and more enduring that caused their humbleness of spirit to ‘listen’ to the words of God.  At the sound of these words springing up inside is this ‘faith’ in Jesus through a new being created by the will of God.  The old person is left behind at that instant and faith in the creative words spoken or read in the sustaining verses feeds this new person which builds maturity.  This new person, now residing along with the old being, finds that what the old person could not achieve has the abundance of the acceptance of God.  The self-righteous efforts of the old man to find acceptance through keeping the Mosaic laws gained him no acceptable to God, evidenced by the remaining wrath of God upon them.   Whereas, the new creature finds grace and truth and light and contentment and eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ.  At first the two reside together for some time without recognizing the distinction.  But the Apostle Paul is most helpful to the diligent reader to untangle the differences between the two and free the new creature from the grappling strangle hold of the old dead self-righteous seeking old man, allows the new person the full joy of its being in Christ Jesus.  There is then no seeking for acceptance from God, only peace and the glorious promise of hope to uniting with Christ.  This repetitious building of the platform concerning the old and new person is necessary because it is so difficult to become aware of and requires years to be seen by ourselves.
    Here in the place Simeon, Paul discusses the new life of the Colossian believers and the evidence of that life which is the love of God manifest in them and coming from their newly created hearts, as he writes later in this epistle of the new creature in Christ Jesus.  But, where came forth the creative necessity of faith – that is to trust God?  Four times Paul uses the word ‘heard’ in the place Simeon, being the names meaning, and the ‘big bang’ of the creative act of God within his creatures.  Whether Epaphras delivered the words of creation to their hearts or just watered another’s efforts, although the first seems more likely, it was with the spoken words of a minister of the word that they came into being.  It follows then to inquire as to what words that particular minister conveyed to the Colossians?  – it was the same God news that Paul himself proclaimed how “that Christ died for our sins was buried and the third day rose again.”  Whether the minister actually used these exact words is not known, yet within the place Simeon is recorded the evidence of their faith, also the mark of their new existence, their “love in the Spirit.”  Now, Paul furnishes for them written words of exhortation and to them the knowledge of his fervent prayers for them to continue in the creative way by feeding on the knowledge of the will of God.  Then wisdom.  Job 28:28   “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”  Paul has not departed from the Holy pattern of true life as found from the ancient book of Job.  But remember these at Colosse are for the most part Gentile believers unfamiliar with the scriptures and ‘am ha-arez’ unlearned ones, of the scattered of Israel.  So for the first time from Paul the Colossians can read [hear] the words of Godly continuity, and that is to walk; the marvelous word walk the same word Moses used to exhorted the nation Israel newly redeemed from Egypt – Deut. 10:12   “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”  Also the words by which Jesus rebuked Satan in the wilderness, Matt 4:10 “Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”  Paul in a like refrain instructs the Colossians.  See Deut 6:13 as well.  Paul was addressing a similar situation at Colosse whereby darkness was threatening the new existence of eternal light.  Paul even enlightens them as to the ways of God; to walk worthy discussed later in the epistle, “being fruitful, –  increasing in knowledge, – strengthened,” – yielding to them “patience and longsuffering” [endurance] concerning the faith.  It is wonderful to see the instructions of old days shown in a new covenant book and walk as the
Colossians did through the truths of God and those instructions being of the same pattern from the past, then and now, our God does not change and he is not hidden, we need to open our hearts and read.
    More than any of these it is Jesus who is the spirit of the place Simeon for it is He who hears us and this is a Godly quality of eternal being.  Hearing is one facet of his being and when we desire that quality for ourselves, having identified it, we find at length that Jesus acquired it for us on the cross and in his resurrection.  We already possess the “promised land,” what was lost from us in the transgression of Adam and the Woman, by the promise that the LORD God spoke against the serpent: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15.  This is the solution to the spiritually dead Adam for he could no longer hear the voice of the LORD God walking in the Garden, in that he hid from the LORD God.  Adam perceived God but could not obey.  The transgression killed that spiritual value of desire to ‘hear’ in Adam and the LORD God had to create it anew by the promise of the second Adam and the Cross, the “seed” and the “bruising.”  But Adam did not regain the land of the Garden of Eden, though he received the gospel of the Seed – no rebirth.
     To identify this in Colossians the place Simeon contains the form of the word ‘hear’ four times and each time a building definition of hear is revealed beginning with “we heard of your faith.”  Paul heard just as Jesus hears of “faith” towards God, they were not hiding from either Paul or Christ Jesus due to their “love to all the saints” which is a resolution of faith.  Then Paul identifies where they, the Colossians, obtained hope from the news of the gospel which they ‘heard’ in the word.  How could they hear had not had one to preach the gospel?  In this hearing came forth in them the fruit of love unto kindness towards the saints and these by the example of Epaphras, who also declared unto Paul their love in the Spirit.  
Because Paul heard of their faith he prays for them to under gird them and strengthen them in the faith.  This advocacy of Paul’s is like unto that of Christ Jesus in his office of being between man and God.  Here Paul defines his purpose that they may be filled with the knowledge of his will, which then was by means of revelation but today is by receipt of the reading of the scriptures, for the immediacy of establishing the Colossian Church and the lack of new covenant writings depended upon revelations.  With the epistles written to them and others, began a transitional period for the church.  Paul draws upon the spirits of wisdom and understanding for the purposeful walk with God ever increasing to strength for the end of patience and longsuffering concerning the joining of the Church to the bridegroom, Jesus Christ.  Ahead in Benjamin [Col. 1:23] Paul pointedly confers upon the reader this same maturity.
    And so, the spirit of the place Simeon is ‘heard’ and the word appears four times in this place to describe and illuminate the meaning.  However, there is also a word lent to the same meaning, “learned” [of Epaphras] Col. 1:7, which also conveys the spirit of Simeon as well as the direct word.  Here then, are five words of the tone of hearing, the spirit that Jesus healed in those with faith during his earthly ministry.  With five sightings of ‘hear’ grace appears in the place Simeon.

    [JUDAH]

    In the Lord Jesus, during his earthly ministry, innately dwells this spirit of “praise” to give credit to his Heavenly Father for all that he possessed or accomplished.  To behold this in Jesus is having presence with God, the true golden shadow of his Father, although it is but one twelfth of the total person of Christ for there are twelve sons of Israel.  Further, it has been noticed in the old covenant reading the generous amounts of gold and silver and copper brought by freed Israelites to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness.  The Tabernacle represents in all aspects the glorious person of the LORD God who delivered them from bondage for as truly as Moses and Aaron were in the Tabernacle, are we in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The first twelve ‘name places’ represent the person of God which is the gold.  The next five places are the workings of God that is what he accomplishes towards the believer. This is the silver, the redemption money, the price that is paid, as in the blood of Christ, by whom we are purchased from the bondage of ungodly spirits.  The remaining two places, [SHIELD and SWORD] are the judgments of God that being the copper [‘brass’ in the KJV] for copper always speaks of judgment as the great altar of the Tabernacle was copper plated.  Returning to the golden spirits of our Savior Jesus Christ we see descriptive words concerning the spirit Judah – ‘praise’ such as “joyfulness and thanks” these always present in Jesus during his ministry shown by the Gospels.  How down hearted he became at unbelief in his person, and well pleased with the faithful whom he sought out, for he sought them for his Father to whom he gave the praise John 17:6 “I have manifested thy name unto men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word.”  Even still Paul shows us how God brings us to praise him by making us “meet”  something we are totally incapable of, into a new household he calls “saints in light” further elaborating the place where we came from, “darkness.”  This household of saints has a leader, an ox to pull the plow whereby the good seed may be planted in hearts, who is Jesus, the praise of God by his obedience to his Father.  Of a literal matter is the mystical word ‘translated.’  The word in Greek is no less curious – methistemi, meth-is-tay-mee; to transfer, i.e. carry away, depose or [figuratively] exchange, seduce:-put out, remove, translate, turn away. Strong’s Conc., G.D. 3179.  It is used in I Corinthians 13:2 but is shown in English as ‘remove’ where Paul relates the act with “all faith.”  Here again the act is not possible to the unsaved human being but an act of God whereby through faith [trust] the individual is carried away from prostrated darkness into the kingdom of eternal light.  This must be an act of God due to the “power” of darkness that first engulfed Adam and the Woman with their transgression in the Garden of Delights.  Before disobedience, they had the delights of the garden in their possession.  When they obeyed the serpent’s spirit of disobedience to God, they then were “translated” from the spirits of light into the spirits of darkness.  The process having been initiated by an outside influence just as the LORD God “translates” his back from the power of darkness into his kingdom of delightful spirits through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Clearly the descendants of Adam and Woman, even today, are in the middle of an argument between Satan and God which is even more clearly shown in the account of Job 1:6-12.  This holy “translation” occurs this day, or night, in these “modern days” when a soul is “saved,” raised [an act of God] as it is, from the dark horizontal position into standing in heaven where the oxygen is clean and invigorating with life where abides the Savior King Jesus Christ; for his death burial and resurrection made our lives possible by performing the act of resurrection that Satan can not
even conjure a likeness – he is defeated, but still active.                
    The words “joyfulness’, ‘thanks’, ‘light’, delivered’ and ‘translated’ form the cause of the “praise” [Judah] in us that our new creation has for our Savior Jesus Christ.  It is much to marvel at that these simple words forms to show us the spirit of the place Judah, praise and five words of extreme grace identifying the person of Jesus Christ.    
      
    [LEVI]

    Each believer possesses this spirit of “joined” which is the meaning of the name Levi.  In the old covenant [see the Book of Numbers] the Levites are seen as the tribe of Jacob who are set aside for the service of the Tabernacle, to tend to the things of the LORD God in the Tabernacle where he dwelt among his people.  Their responsibilities are magnified when Moses is instructed by the LORD God not to take a head count of the tribe of Levi along with the other eleven tribes and Levi’s sustenance was to be derived from the offerings brought by the other eleven tribes to the Tabernacle, later in the land, to the Temple. Howbeit, the Levites also seemed to be active warriors or at least capable.  That the Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry was joined to God is seen with infallible proofs from his birth to his anointing in the Jordan River by John the Baptist and every act of healing and mental fixation testifies.  Humbling it is that the Lord procured this spirit to his new creations, for we are after his image both physically and spiritually, although we have not yet glorified bodies.  We “move the mountains” by faith when we realized that this delightful spirit of ‘being joined’ is ours already and white to be picked and ingested, to nourish our new creature, to strengthen our fellowship with the Lord and his service, which we perform, whether it is some large endeavor of crusading, or giving the Lord our undivided attention for some amount of time during the day.  Tithed time, ten percent of twenty four hours, would sum to about two hours and forty minutes but generally fifteen or twenty minutes in the morning will suffice our spiritual needs for the day, and this day present is all that there is for yesterday is gone and tomorrow is yet to be.  
    In the workings of God we see “redemption” from dead works that did not profit us and that through his death [blood] for it is impossible for those who are dead to sin to sin any further.  We are crucified with Christ and partakers of his resurrection through faith, a new creature who can not sin in the sight of the LORD God.  This new creature is not a philosophy of faith but in every wit the real creation evidence of the Living God.  
    Identified in LAMP at the epistles heading, is in italics, the word scarlet which we identify as his blood in the first sentence of the place [LEVI] it is also the ‘color’ for this book [see further discussion on this aspect in the introductions in the Holy Bible with the Holy Celebration] by which Paul has built the entire book of Colossians, in short the crucifixion death of the Savior Jesus Christ.  The remainder of the sentence is the Holy Celebration outline verse of the book of Colossians 1:14  “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:” for Christ is the subject and what he has procured for us the Holy Spirit’s Heart.
    Paul further declares the identity of Christ as the creator of all that is “visible and invisible.”  There is nothing that can be added to his beautiful explicative.  Concluding the place Levi is Christ’s exalted position by token of his leadership [having gone before us, The Example] ascended to the throne above all others [The Revelation 4:2-4].
    Finding the ‘grace’ Paul imparted at the opening of his epistle the strength and beauty of the Holy Spirit upon Paul’s heart and hand as he writes is seen in the five words in the place Levi.  ‘Redemption,’ ‘forgiveness,’ ‘for,’ ‘consist,’ and ‘head’ show the union [to be joined] of this spirit as it is clearly evidence of the Godly personality of the Savior Jesus.  Do we too possess these evidences in the five particular words that express the character of that spirit that Levi represents.  Yes, in rebirth, but perhaps not in our actions, if we are not fully mature in the faith.  However if we are, then the conveyance of the news of Christ’s ‘blood’ to a new convert proves our joined purpose of the will of God.  It is the work of the grace of God that has accomplished our union with Christ through these are five words, that keeps us joined to his Son Jesus the Savior.

    [BENJAMIN]

    The second child of Rachel’s, Benjamin was the only child of Jacob to be born in the Land of Promise.  Rachel before her death [she died in childbirth] named him Benoni, son of my sorrow, but Jacob out of love and compassion for Rachel named him Benjamin, son of my right hand, for so was Rachel the second wife of Jacob for this was her position at the right hand of Jacob with Leah on his left.  Benjamin thereby represents the spirit of “love” for all the love Jacob had for Rachel and the additional love that was bestowed upon Benjamin when Joseph was taken from Jacob and Rachel their mother already buried.
    The place Benjamin represents the spirit of the love of God and the opening of this place well defines this for “it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell:.”   In such a way we examine, the twelve spirits of our Savior Jesus Christ with which he is filled: from illustrations in the old covenant books and explicit examples of his actions in the new covenant.  In this place the salvation of God is also exclaimed but notice the difference.  The place Levi in Colossians says “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”  Here the Apostle is referring to the Jews of the nation Israel at that time and those Jews today, though the distinction is rarely made between a Jewish convert and a Gentile convert.  The Godly Jew does not need salvation he already is one of the people of the Lord God, he needs reconciliation to his God the Messiah of Israel whom Paul identifies as the Lord Jesus.  Redemption is to buy back, whereas salvation is to save from death.  Benjamin, the place, through again the workings of the cross, reconciles something that had no life by giving us life.  In other words the Jew was already a living being in His sight and needed to be able to “see” his Messiah.  In the incident of the blind man at first he “saw men walking as trees” but then “he saw every man” [Mark 8:24] that is he saw his Messiah Jesus the last Adam – redemption.  The converted Jew is thus stating that his self-righteous efforts to please his Lord God is not the ‘way’ and acknowledges and adheres that Jesus is the righteousness of God and Jesus is his Messiah [Christ] [anointed one].  On the other hand,the Gentile, dead to God,  is a receptacle for faith in God through faith in the Gospel of Christ [the death, burial and resurrection] which Paul preached which created in them a new person alive in the sight of God – salvation.  This is a delicate place to make the distinction; however, it is there and more as to the fullness that God accomplished in the Jesus, the Messiah.  Further, Paul states that though these of Colosse were Gentiles they are as pure through the blood [death] of Christ as any redeemed Jew and presentable. [an actual event yet to occur – see IICor. 4:14, Eph. 5:27, Jude :24].  Further, Paul was leading the Colossians into understanding the seriousness of the errors they were being taught.
    This place alone in this epistle expresses such a sobering condition of the salvation those of Colosse possessed.  It is the word “If.”  At first thought it seems that Paul was passing some sort of judgment.  That is not true.  He is saying that if you do not walk in faith, succeeding steps into the truths of God, you will not mature, you will not grasp, the very real hope of the presentation of the corporal church to the Lord Jesus Christ as his Bride, which is beyond this present life.  The threat to the Colosse Church was the infusing of false conditions that pertained only to this life and could in no fashion render them any spiritual maturity.  Jesus Christ does not want a church of spiritual babies, but to be presented with a mature helpful Bride.
    Paul also gave them and us, as onlookers of the conditions at Colosse, his origin from the converted Jewish church at Jerusalem where his endorsement came from and which he was established, for Jesus came unto his own [the Jews] his brethren the Hebrews.  Interesting it is that a census of about 1900 revealed that the average Jew that year stood 5’-3” while the revealed height of the Lord Jesus Christ is 5’-71/2”.  making the Lord nearly a head taller that his own people that he came to save.  Reminds the reader of Saul son of Kish the first king of Israel.  But again,  Paul went out into the Gentile regions, at the command of Jesus on the road to Damascus, whom [Gentiles] he describes as “every creature which is under heaven;.”
    The five words contained in this place Benjamin that are indicative of the grace of the Father are: “pleased, peace, reconciled, present and preached [a respondent love of
Paul’s].  These are words of action that came from God.  “Pleased” is a pleasant reaction of the endorsement to His physical Son.  God made “peace” to take away his righteous wrath.  God has “reconciled” restored fellowship with his creation through the death of his Son.  God “presents” the new creation holy, unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.  God caused the gospel to be “preached” to every creature.  It is divine favor [grace] when God has done all of these things for us.  

    [JOSEPH]

    He shall ‘add’ [Joseph] is the name Rachel gave to her first-born in a prophetic way, predicting another son that she would bear, named Benjamin.  It is to Jacob that Rachel gives her son Joseph, for he did the bidding of Jacob, a condition of humanity that can only happen should the wife deem so.  It is also a reflection on the person of Rachel, she had a good heart.  This good heart is the description of Joseph in every difficult situation that he is found in.  He relies upon the God of Jacob and Rachel; rather, than as an unbeliever would have become rash and evil doing.  For it is in each obtuse situation that the faith of Joseph is revealed.  Of course, for us these old covenant situations are examples of things that came to pass and that are yet to be.  However, applying the pattern of the Holy Celebration and its essence of spiritual identification to the spirit of Jesus exceeds that of Joseph the goodly son of Jacob.  This spirit of goodness made it altogether possible for Joseph to save the whole extant family [his own] who were to become the nation Israel.  Herein, is the illustration that Jesus came to seek and to save his own people as a nation, Israel, although not in the way they supposed.   Without this spirit of ‘goodness’ Jesus could not have tolerated the adversity that he ran into from his own relatives the Jews.  Moreover, the day when the Jews recognize Jesus as their Messiah [Christ], which is yet to occur, is pictured in Genesis as the experience of Joseph’s.   During this time of rejection, salvation opened up for the Gentiles, just as Joseph saved Gentile Egypt.  Paul is the minister to the gentiles during the time of the Messiah’s rejection carrying the “gospel” of Jesus Christ.  Christ died for our sins was buried and rose again the third day.  This is the basis for every speech that Paul uttered and he states so in the place Benjamin.  Discussed in the place Joseph is the new creature whom we are, for it is a mystery how that this same spirit of ‘goodness’ is a part of our own spiritual person for rebirth has made it so.  Now that we are aware that this is one part of our spiritual personality we can let that spirit live.  This is what Paul was doing in his epistle, freeing believers from their old life, sometimes unknown to the recipients he explained it in clarifications that are shrouded to the non-regenerated.
    Not only did Christ suffer for the church but so did his servant Paul with many afflictions in bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles.  But he ‘rejoiced’ for it was Christ in him that brought him to be the Joseph of the time of that early church.  In this doing for us, Paul ‘fulfilled’ the instruction of Christ to take the gospel to the Gentiles.  We naturally enjoy mysteries and Paul now states very clearly the ‘mystery’ which is the ‘hope of glory.’  We shall not always be in this mortal [temporary] body, but shall be given a new immortal [permanent] body like unto his own and a ‘place’ He has prepared for us, John 14:2 and “in my Father’s house are many mansions.”  So fully prepared He is for us, that he bid Paul to write, that we might be fully mature to enjoy the delights of His person.  For now, it is this hope that we are encouraged by, for many others have already gone before us and shall we withdraw from this hope as Demas did and miss the knowledge of this actual event and supreme adventure of being in the presence of the God of all creation the Lord Jesus Christ who is this ‘hope’ of glory in us.  And so we today, as then although not with the physical presence of Paul, receive his ‘preaching’ of the things of Jesus Christ and the warnings such as recorded the unhappy circumstance of Demas who preferred the things of the earth to Paul’s preaching.  Whereby through, Paul’s preaching and teaching in the fear [trust] of Jesus Christ, each member becomes confident of his own perfection [full maturity] to stand with the whole of the believers [the Church complete] before the Savior.
    Remember Samuel when the nation of Israel asked for a King like the nations around them, the answer that the LORD gave Samuel:  “And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.  But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”  I Samuel 8:5-7.  Paul was rejected in his days for his preaching just as today’s preachers a scoffed and even in the churches these late days, perhaps not openly but in the recesses of hearts.
    Grace is simply found in the five words “rejoice, fulfill, Christ, preach, present.”  The place is simply presented and the clarity defines these words of enhancement, though rather than the actions coming directly from God, they are the works of Paul.
    

    [ZEBULUN]

    The name Zebulun means ‘dwelling’ and he is one of Leah’s sons named for her yearning to have Jacob abide in her tent. Genesis 30:20.  Zebulun is the tenth son of Jacob.  Of course, Leah is likened to the Jews [the family nation] and Rachel, younger and not as long lived, Jacob’s second wife and sister to Leah, the Church.  Jacob had met Rachel first and they had fallen in love and so after Laban’s deception in giving Jacob Leah, Jacob still clung closely to Rachel.  As we know the likeness is poignant for the blessing of the Church is to be forever in the mansion in the sky with the Lord Jesus Christ and Israel the nation kings and leaders of the earth with Jesus their Messiah.  Interesting to note that Dinah is the twin sister to Zebulun and the center of a controversy between Levi and Simeon with their father Jacob which two “avenged” her.  The results of the controversy continued through the blessing of his sons into the possessing of the promised land.  Levi is the servant of the Temple and Simeon possesses a small inheritance within the tribe of Judah southwest of Jerusalem.  Jacob’s blessings are found in Genesis chapter 49.
    The significance of this spirit of dwelling is not readily evident and so some pause to associate is required, if fast reading.  Of the five words of Pauline imparted grace, this place that describes the spirit ‘dwelling’, begins with the word ‘labor.’  Now to dwell, that is to find rest, does not associate itself well with laboring unless we understand the old covenant illustration of Israel entering the land.  Entering the promised land required taking possession, violently, with much preparation and decisiveness and thus the question how could this promised land be rest for the family nation of Israel.  Some forty years earlier they had been slaves in Egypt.  Once freed from slave labor they transgress against the LORD God and a punishment is meted out and they traveled in the wilderness from place to place thirty eight years.  They had no place of escape from the heat of the desert, no place of permanence, no possession, they could not return to Egypt for a home.  The rest is, that they finally had a permanent place, a land, a possession, where they stopped their wanderings.  Even after they had entered and possessed the Land there were labors in planting and harvesting the good produce of their inheritance.  It is a rest of possession.  So this is exactly what Paul is doing, he has been found by his Messiah on the road to Damascus, he has accepted the charge given him to take His message to the Gentiles and he labors in the epistles to bring the converts solidly into the blessings and truth of Jesus Christ.  This labor continues into the convert, for Paul instructs them – seek, set, mortify, put off, put on, in the place Naphtali; yet, he has found peace with God but he still labors, especially when Epaphras whose ministry of alarm concerning Colosse he took up in prison, and later to his own martyrdom.  But from the time of Paul’s conversion he is at “rest” in his Savior, Messiah, God, Jesus Christ.  He found what the LORD God offered him.  It was not a gloriously powerful reestablished nation and a position in it, but his Savior, from the horrible spirits of his old person.  He was found by the Lord Jesus Christ.
    Studying the Holy Bible can be a bore or it can be a pleasure.  If the object of the study is the Lord Jesus Christ there are no bounds to the joy of even word searches.  Strong’s Concordance has every word in the KJV and the definitions both Hebrew and Greek.  The Hebrew language is not specific in word definition.  One word can have many shades of meanings that can be quite far removed from the other.  But to limit or exact a words meaning is left to the Greeks whose language was designed from Phoenician for that precise purpose.  Against which, individual Hebrew words allow the Holy Spirit to express itself in the scope of a rainbow of meanings and not be contained in our own hand that we in our own wisdom say  –  here is God!  
    And Paul continues to expose his purpose to the the Colossians.  He writes so they may know that he cares for them and reveals to them his source and design.  It is to ‘comfort’ them at heart in their faith towards Jesus.  Ah, ‘knit’ a word the author searched for for ten years before the Spirit revealed it.  He had used the word “welded” in its place and knit is the scripturally preferred term.  Mature knowledge, in this instance Paul’s, easily draws
the early convert together with Paul and his brethren and sisters for it is known to be correct proceeding from the love of God.  And so being knit we are ‘hid’ from the ravages of earthly life from death itself which cannot touch our new heart of faith because we believe Paul, we believe Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life – we shall never die.  Our bodies will be changed like unto His own, our soul goes directly to the Savior upon physical death, how shall we fear what can be done to us, we are hidden together in the faith in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ from the wrath of God.  As Paul is absent from us this day physically, he is in the spirit of his epistle ‘with’ us trusting to our own steadfastness of our faith in Christ as Christ in him has established it.  What can we fear, but that we love enough to mature?
    What more joy is there to the soul to stand over a mysterious weathered chest and lift the troubled lid and an array of precious objects, that many others have always desired, bursts upon the awareness?  Wealth beyond measure, they are immediate possessions – all,  the discovery of a lifetime.  Now, in the spiritual realm, which begets the physical, Paul openly states that in the common vessel of Jesus Christ are “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” and his arms are open.  But the treasures are not visible, how can the value be assessed?  How can this wealth, that can not be touched physically, be of any value?  The understanding being that the gifts of God are spiritual and eternal and unseen by the natural eye.  Furthermore, as possessing the treasure of the old chest displaces the old desire to have them, the Spiritual gifts of Christ displace the ugly spirits the ten commandments seeks to suppress and exceeds their number and value.  While the former ugly spirits are not pleasant, these from the common chest are altogether pleasing to the Father.  So all that is needed is to memorize these twelve spirits and they are mine.  Not so!  These treasures are the new being that God has created in me, they can not be earned or imitated or self made, they only need to be seen with the spiritual eye to recognize them.  Before I was reborn I did not want to seek God, now I desire Him and this is what Paul is doing in his epistle, teaching them [us] what we have in Jesus Christ.
    It is not a miracle that the possessor Paul of these treasures of spirits, who opened the common vessel of Christ to them, could behold the joyful growing awareness in the Colossians that produces the orderly increase and loyalty of trust in Christ.  Paul had already experienced the same that they now were set free to enjoy.  Much alike in the creation of God is the newborn puppy whose eyes are closed for two weeks from seeing their mother and her nourishment and brothers and sisters.  When their eyes open then they begin to move around their surroundings knowingly.
    Again Paul shows the grace of God through his motivated works.  Paul “labored” because there was the need to the Colossians.  They needed “comforted” and did not know it.  Paul knew how to “knit” the Colossian believers together in the love of Christ, and did.  Paul reveals that only in Jesus Christ are “hidden” all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Solomon is the Old Covenant example. I Kings 3:3-15.  And so that the Colossians would not loose confidence Paul showed them his apostolic powers that he was “with” them in the spirit.           

    [ISSACHAR]

    Issachar is the ninth son of Jacob by Leah.  She named him from the verbal contract with her sister Rachel, whose presence with Jacob she purchased with mandrakes, which Reuben Leah’s first son gave her.  Though married first to Leah, Jacob dwelt in Rachel’s tent.  The name Issachar means “hired” a reflection upon the means which Leah used to obtain Jacob’s presence with her.  The sense of the name then is ‘purchased, hired,’ as a servant a prophetic reflecting the unselfish “service” that Jesus performed for his Father: which is the gospel of Jesus Christ that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day.  This is the FAITH OF CHRISTIANITY which is in these last days nearly smothered over with platitudes.  But the scriptures are pointedly clear and the core of the place Issachar is that if you have “received Christ Jesus” that being his gospel, then – – Walk in him.  Is this referring to conduct?  Well, if you pursue the one the other ‘conduct’ follows.  Then what is walk?  Plainly to continue building your knowledge of Christ pushing other things to the side, in our hearts, “Casting all your care upon him” Peter 5:7.  Explore the chambers of Jesus Christ.  They are full of truths and paths of conduct, if your newborn life in and by Him needs, it will be given you by faith – – to trust him that he has indeed gone “to prepare a place for us.”   What is the description of that place he has prepared for us?  It is not of this earth, neither is it upon the earth or ever shall be, but it is physical, just as he is physically alive and our bodies in resurrection shall be like unto his.  What does our place there appear to be.  John 14:2.   When we go on vacation we make preparation for lodging and get brochures, check it out on the ‘web,’ talk to friends who have been there or know the place.  Any less?  Walk placing one foot of faith in front of the other is walking.  From one truth on to another truth.  What truth?  There is a place, Jesus said so.  Gospel of John 14:3.  What is the places name, where is it, what does it appear like?  The Revelation 21:1-22:5.  How do we get there – – walk!  Keep yourselves in the love of God – – continue to read the Holy Bible and you are established, because you read it to be nourished in your spiritual being that exists in your mortal body for our love for Him.  The new life in the believer desires to read the scriptures. Let yourself read.  Just do it.  Allow yourself time for the new person to satisfy its hunger for spiritual nourishment.
    A long sentence with “Rooted… built up… established” to confirm in and to the Colossians the basis of the faith which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ – Christ died, was buried and rose again, according to the scriptures.  The simplicity of Christ.
    Then the ominous, BEWARE.  Did you get the information about Christ from outside the Holy Bible?  The Holy Bible is a closed book.  The Revelation 22:19.  Nothing from a spooked mind of ‘false prophesy’ can add a truth to the Holy Bible that can in any way be valid.  Did someone tell you?  Is it in the Holy Bible.  Did you “check it out?”  Does it fit the description of Christ that the Holy Bible has?  BEWARE!  So Paul goes on to debunk the impoverished and besieged faith of the Colossians.  This single word in this epistle signifies a center point, a pivot, the awakening efforts from Paul to say to the Colossians, your faith has been compromised, you are injured or in danger of being
destroyed from the simplicity of Christ.  Paul states his case clearly and pointedly no need to write more in other words.  Paul has stated it.  Just read it!
    Paul clearly roots these converts by stating their position in Christ.  Complete.  This is what every person who is a new creature [creation, born-again] by faith possesses.  We are all that we can be, whether we realize our new life in its fullness or not.  Sure we will come to realize how new [immature] we really are or how ignorant of the scriptures we may be, but we are complete in Him no matter how battle scarred we become by false teachings or with advanced age.  The full Greek definition of ‘complete’ includes: replete, covered over, complete.  The “faith” is what God has done in Christ Jesus, not what we can become if we keep this or that rule or law.  We the new creature in Christ are already acceptable to Him.  But the old man can be draw out of submission to the new, push aside the new and take up afresh the pre-creation actions and attitudes or even taking on new conduct and beliefs contrary to the new nature and the Holy Scriptures.  This problem Paul addresses.  What the apostle teaches in Colossians 3:5-10 is the correct conduct for the newly created heart in Christ Jesus.
    Grace, in the place Issachar, is directed to the Colossian believers spiritual condition.  They have “received” Christ Jesus the Lord, they have life.  With this new life “walk” in the truths of Jesus Christ learn about him from the gospels.  The believer has been taught to be built  “up” in Christ Jesus.  They are to remain “stablished” in the faith of Jesus Christ.  The Colossian believer is also “complete” [fully acceptable] in Jesus Christ because of the new creation in them.
          
    [GAD]

    In the course of discussing the personality of Christ it is of the utmost importance not to leave out his humanity.  Jesus is the man of faith.  “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” “Oh ye of little faith…”  are the words that echo through the scriptures, the voice of the Savior.  To accomplish the purpose for which he was sent, Jesus had to be the first example of faith.  His walk with God always pleased his Father as we hear at his baptism “This is my Son, Hear ye Him.”  Now God is a spirit and all that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.  Jesus Christ is the only physical evidence of the existence of God, because he is exactly like God.  He is the spirit of God else he could not have arisen from the dead.  All that exists, that we perceive, is created from nothing.  Nothing existed before creation except God and the lonely thoughts of God.  When God spoke His Son came into existence  –  the Word of God by which he created the world.  Thus, to be the Son of God requires him to possess faith, the quality that lacks in so many today.  Faith’s power is limitless for with it the blind see, the infirm are healed, and the dead arise.  These are the acts Jesus did to prove he would perform the promise of a resurrected body, security from the evil world, and a place to abide with him – eternally.  It only requires faith in the reports that have been handed down to us from the Apostles and the earlier prophets.  Jesus is the man of faith, to observe, to examine deeply and mentor.  Paul did this.  For Paul tells in his epistles how that by faith Jesus acquired a more enduring salvation than that of Moses.  Paul in Hebrews devotes the entire chapter eleven to faith, even defining it in verse one.  “Now faith is the substance [foundation] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” and Jesus demonstrated his faith throughout his earthly ministry.
    Gad is the seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, technically a wife of Jacob’s,  closer probably to a concubine, nonetheless her son Gad is the older twin of Asher.  When Gad was born Leah said a troop [crowd] cometh, the Hebrew word being Gad.  This explains faith as come from a mustard seed, born into existence in abundance.  And this is the part of the personality of Jesus Christ that none can deny, he was truly devoted to his Father who only he could “see perfectly and clearly.”
    Five words in this place Gad speak of the grace of God which we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.  They are: “made, Buried, risen, quickened and all.”  “Made” is a term that denotes action in accomplishment.  Christ accomplished “made” “without hands” a circumcision in our lives that is final.  All that our old person is, all of the faults that make us unacceptable to God, are taken away, separated from the living part of us which is “born again” “the creature” “the new life” making the living part useful to God.  When a man child is circumcised physically in the old covenant, which is an illustration of the workings of God, that
part of his body which is least useful is taken away and what is left is the useful and clean part.  It is simply a division that can not be rejoined.  The one part is cast away the other part is useful.  Buried!  Yes, we are ‘the old part of us, dead to God unusable because sin cannot be repaired or fixed up.  This is the part God sees that is dead with Christ for God can only look upon that which is without sin and Jesus is that Holy part that is without sin and when Jesus died the Father says our old man died with him.  Counted so and without ability to dominate within us.  God no longer looks upon the old person because Jesus his perfect Son is in between.  God looks at Jesus and we are hid from the wrath of God in Christ Jesus just as “righteous” Noah was hidden from the deadly judgment of the flood in the ark.
    “Risen” is the part of us that is alive to God because it is newly created through faith in Jesus Christ’s work and is the life that is risen with Christ two thousand years ago.  But I wasn’t born again then, I just got saved two years ago.  In the sight of God it occurred then, such is the mystery of the “operation of God.”  Even though the Colossians were not Jews and uncircumcised and dead from the blessings of God, in Christ he “quickened “  them in Christ, never without the Son, and thereby we are without sin for all of the charges that could be drawn up against us by God are taken away by the death of the Savior; which is the form of forgiveness that is most difficult to perceive of all of the workings of God.  In resurrection Jesus overcame all of the princes of Israel at that time the Sanhedrim council of princes he stood before, Pilot [Rome] and of course the power of Satan to deceive as he deceived Adam and the Woman in Genesis – can not happen again.  Satan can have no power over us – ever again.  Our attentions and desires are toward God the Father and Satan can not turn our heads from the path.
    Finding the grace of God in Colossians is not difficult.  The key words are: “made, Buried, risen, quickened, all.”  Faith is the miracle that is produced only by God.  Only Christ can “circumcise” the old from the new persons.  Only Christ can “bury” you with him in the tomb and his baptism through faith.  Only Christ can “raise” up our eternal person.  Only Christ can count the old person dead and the new person “quickened” with him in resurrection.  Only the living Christ can forgive “all” trespasses – past, present and future.  These acts of God  make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, eternally.
                                        
    [DAN]

    The name Dan means “judge” by extension “of God.”  Anyone familiar with he Gospels recalls the encounters that the Son of God made with the Scribes and Priests of Jewish Israel in His days upon the earth.  They approached him in  self-righteousness because of ‘closed thinking’ instituted from the days of Ezra, to preserve the literal meaning of the law of Moses so that God would not again banish the nation of Israel from the ‘land.’  However, when faced with the God who sent them away, they deliberately denied his efforts to win them and returned to their leaders in the Temple still clinging to self-righteousness as the way to please God.  No argument, no healing, no rising of the dead could change their minds not even the Master who out argued them.  That became his judgment upon them, dead in their sins.  Self-righteousness no matter how skillfully performed does not please the living God.  Only the perfection of beauty the Lord Jesus Christ appeases the need of God for perfection of character in actions.  
    Dan is the fifth son of Jacob, by his concubine Bilhah, handmaid of Rachel.  It is Rachel who names the child Dan for her sister competitor Leah had given him four sons by then.  It is Rachel’s contrivance first to give her handmaid to Jacob for childbearing.  Evidently, this was an accepted conduct in earlier days when infant mortality was extremely high.  Leah when she stopped bearing children, gave Jacob her handmaid Zilpah to wife, an evidence of the intense envy between the two sisters.
    Continuing the thought of dual personalities within our bodies after the creation of the new man in Christ, we can see to whom or what person within the individual Colossian Paul is addressing.  He, of course, speaks to them as single individuals not as dual personalities.  He wants the new man to live and he is attempting to get them to allow the new creature to take control of their actions.  So, that it is evident to those around them that it is Christ who lives in them, by their actions.  It is shown to Paul and to us who are the observers of both Paul and the Colossians that something is amiss in their conduct.  They have this new life, they know it, but are powerless to do what they do not know to do.  Paul sets them straight shows them what to do and who not to listen to and why it is error to follow the impostors who would tear the Colossians down to have them serve earthy pursuits.
    To see this clearly, remember the doctrine of the fall of Adam and the Woman of whom we are all the likeness – after their fall.  They were deceived into following the commandments of Satan, he got a hold on their attentions and severed the God-
consciousness that the LORD God created them with.  Christ is sent to undo that act of Satan and saying the person that we are, whose attention is fixed upon Satan’s ways, can not be repaired or fixed up it is useless for the purpose of God – dead to God.  So Christ defeats death by dying on the cross and we become as those in the wilderness, when Moses held up the copper serpent, and all who looked upon it were, and we are, delivered from the plague when we understand that our old being that is useless to God is dead with Christ.  Thirty six hours Jesus lay in the tomb, dead, to confirm our own death with him.  Sunday morning though, he arises from the dead overcoming death in the victory of resurrection and we arise with him a new creature [born again], that now resides in the old body and soul which death will take away.  The new spirit and the new awareness is preserved eternally and the hope of a new resurrected body, like unto that of Jesus’s resurrected body, will house the new soul.  In the interim, before we receive our new bodies, we have to work out some agreement within ourselves as to whether the old man is going to dominate or the new man is going to have control of our present bodies.  This is the problem within each of us that Paul addresses and the fact that some outsiders of the faith were entering in sheep’s clothes to draw them away from letting the new creature rule the actions of the Colossians and rob them of their joy in the salvation of Jesus Christ.  Even the outsiders did not understand the complexity of the problem they were stirring around in they had only learned how to disrupt the Godly way.  
    Some outsiders wanted them to try to gain acceptance with God by observing particular holy days and eating only special foods or even observing the sabbath days, which Paul states there is a forthcoming legitimate time.  But he teaches them that the old body is Christ’s too, even though it is condemned to death and that Christ is our exceeding reward, in which race we run, overcoming those who would hold us back from our joys.  This the intruders do by overshadowing the Head, Jesus Christ, and substituting the worshiping of angels and voluntary humility.  Paul concludes all these things as perishable ends, whereas, Jesus has given us the enduring Spirit of his person to enjoy and it is from the living Head.  Make note.  In the Hebrew alphabet the first letter ‘aleph’ has the pictorial meaning of ‘ox’ and indeed the paleo-Hebrew symbol is the figure of an ox’s head, which
animal if plowing is the head of the operation.  Just as Jesus is the head of our faith, just as he is the head of the Body that Paul in the letter to the Colossians describes.  He is the first.
    So we see that this is what Paul is judging in his own life too and he implores the Colossians to depart from [judge – Dan] those evil ways in their new lives in Christ.  Now he does not say kill the miserable persons who are doing this to them.  He makes the Colossians see that to arise above those earthly deceivers and “seek those thing which are from above” is the more excellent way.
    Grace also donned this place in the form of five significant words that are sentinels within.  “judge, body, reward, holding and increaseth,” making the heart tender to this place we first think of as a hard and difficult section, but they point out the Savior and his continuing love for those he has saved and by it separates and seals us from our useless fleshy improvisations into the spiritual realm of the correct way of God.  The point of view is the perpetrators effect upon the Colossians.  If pork was to eaten for breakfast, which is not Jewish kosher, it does not condemn the eater, nor does the lack of observances.  Don’t let anyone “judge” those actions.  The “body” is Christ’s and their is nothing that is unclean, in the sense that anything physical could harm the “new creation” person.  Part of the “reward” is the open access, through prayer, that the believer has with the Father by Jesus Christ.  To pray to a particular angel that is real or fictitious, will not work, it will not connect us to God.  In the heart the throne of our admiration must be “holding” the Lord Jesus Christ above all other authorities to continue with him.  Unlike the unjust “judges,” whose methods are false, all that is the Saviors’ causes “increase” in all things within the new person and prevails.    

    [NAPHTALI]

    Here be the sixth son of Jacob’s, of Bilhah Rachel’s handmaid and thus Jacob’s concubine wife.  The name Naphtali means ‘wrestling.’  Rachel ‘the beautiful and well favored” wife named the boy, because she had to wrestle with Leah for Jacob’s attentions and the number of sons Leah produced certainly caused this consternation in Rachel.  
Considering the mortality rate of those days Jacob could do no other but give God the glory that his sons lived.
    In the realm of this name Naphtali the newborn in Christ must navigate.  Our lives are a turmoil of maturity and competitions.  The desire of God is for the new creature to live and thrive by faithful steps in the truth of the scriptures He has so mercifully, graciously, and abundantly provided.  But the revelation of this place is the nature of the struggle that the new life in Christ endures to surmount.  With our new creature in Christ Jesus is the old man, dead to God, yet alive in us, still beaming with self-esteem to please the God who must reject that pitifully failed Adam.  Besides the war between these two is the ever present indwelling Holy Spirit that Jesus promised in the Gospel of John.  This is at the disposal of the new creature but often untapped, unnoticed, neglected, overlooked and underestimated.  It is He who teaches of the Savior from the scriptures, when the new man is dominant.  This is the fate of every Christian the war and the reward.  Howbeit, there is another factor that can enter in, but does not have to complicate, the struggling youthful new creature.  That is the presence of demons, of any number, a legion or just one can so upset the person in whom this Naphtali is occurring that in some cases mental problems arise.  There are outside influences that take hold also, depleting the strength of the new person but we know we are not tempted beyond our capacity to bear it and offers by His mercy a way to escape.  ICor. 10:13.  Jesus showed in his earthly ministry how to remove demons with certain words he spoke, the incidences are in the Gospels.  A ‘demon’ is the soul-spirit of a physically dead person which did not go to God at death searching for a dwelling place.  Rising above even this is the newborn, buoyed in Christ above the sea of troubles and thus we escape.  The outside influences are the ones to whom Paul is addressing and has shown clearly in the preceding place Dan.  But it is here in Naphtali that, the greatest of the Apostles, poses the magnificent ‘If’ of the epistle.  Risen with Christ, implying our death with Christ, the new creature finds the object of promise of the new life.  Here is the path – seek.  The writer once attempted with little accuracy to cut with a utility knife along a straight line drawn upon a construction board.  A tip from the art instructor solved the problem.  “Look ahead along the pencil mark instead of at the cutting knife.”  The hand of an expert immediately emerged.  The old hand that could not follow the line was dead.  No problem cutting that line just keep my eye ahead upon – Christ.  Seek,  in the scriptures.  He is there in every book, let the Holy Spirit teach, He is found.  Then set your affections upon those things that are found therein.  The old man has no interest for it is dead to God.  Our life is in Christ Jesus.  So  when the rejected old person raises up or the outside influences that have always controlled your actions intervene – mortify them, kill the urge.  Recognize them as dead works of a person that shall not live with Christ through eternity, for we are what we consume or are consumed by.  If our time is spent in seeking illicit sexual gratification or striving to obtain earthly objects, how can we obtain time to “seek those things which are above” and are so much more satisfying and enduring.  And they are contrary to each other as well.  Paul lists the fruit of the old person, points the finger at them.  
    So, in putting off the old ways, put on the new way.  Put forth the demons in the name of Jesus Christ, but replace them with the Spirits of God.  Sweep the house clean and refurnish the house with the presence of Jesus Christ.  Yes, like Job we are the victim of an argument between God and his enemy Satan.  But we have a way to escape and become wealthier than ever before in the correctness of Jesus Christ.  And Paul lists those things which God cherishes in his children, let them live in you, choose that they shall live in you, that is our great power in Christ to do so.  Bowel of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing, forgiving and best of all charity [love] – this His love is the mortar between the chosen living bricks of life.  It is a perfect wall to shield from the dead, dead, dead world we were from.
    Grace chooses her path through this place with words of instruction. “Seek” the spiritual things of God.  “Set” your love upon them, eschew the things of the earth.  “Mortify” the old person with his deeds, “put” them all off from your new soul like old rag clothing from your body.  “Put” on the new clothes of the things above that are from God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul lists the old and the new.

    [ASHER]

    Asher the spirit of “peace” the name means happiness.  He is the eighth son of Jacob, the twin brother of Gad, the son of Zilpah the handmaid of Leah, the product of the continuing strife with her sister Rachel.  That Asher is the twin brother of Gad is not to be misunderstood in its spiritual application.  Gad who we saw represents faith – that new vibrant, exhilarating, trust in the unseen is accompanied by happiness that overflows the soul in the new convert and sadly is nearly overwhelmed in some instances by the enemy.  Happiness is defined in its facets as, peace, the word of God, thankful, wisdom, teaching and admonishing [one another], psalms, hymns spiritual songs which is the abundant evidence of happiness.  This happiness Paul puts to work in exemplar conduct:  of the wives of the husbands, the husbands to the wife, as children, as servants [new or old hires] and not because Paul said so, which isn’t all that bad of actions, but as if it were being done to Jesus himself; which it is, because in some way not even known to ourselves we are part of Him, his body, his church, his dwelling place, his children.  If the world can not see what you do by these things that is well, because it is for Christ whom the earth cannot see.  The reward will be in secret too.  From the turmoil of Naphtali emerges real vital happiness, living peace, between the believer and God, between the believer and others who have ridden out the turmoil.  Real power over our own actions for the simple services of God, is because one man laid his life down for many and rose again, so we could have this new life that Paul pointedly describes the actions thereof.
    Finally, grace is found from peace, which is to be in agreement with the Creator.  When peace “rules” in the heart our calling as the Church is fulfilled.  “Let,” meaning more than allowing, much more the assistance to, let the word of God dwell in your hearts – read the Holy Scriptures.  Then “grace” herself in this final ‘name place’ as favor for and to fellow believers and praise to the Lord Jesus.  And when we “do” anything, do like we are standing with the gift before Jesus Christ.   “Giving,” the Lord credit for our ability to do is worthy of the thanks that is due to him, for he first loved us and gave himself for us.   

    Leaving the character identifying ‘name spirits’ of the epistle, the ones that define the spiritual person of the Lord Jesus Christ; Paul’s endeavors in the epistle are to let those spirits that are in our new being dominate our actions in this world, so that we can be identified as children of the Living Savior.  We leave the words of identification but not the power of the Spirit of those places because the Apostle has released us from the bonds that have held those old spirits from becoming actively alive in the new being.  We leave those empowering places to do the work of eternity that were first the active works of Christ as is seen in the Gospels.  Each of these seven following places describes what Christ accomplished and by example.   Paul showed the Colossians and us how to work the works of God while we have our being upon this earth.  For in eternity this encumbering life we live now will be left behind and our new “place” prepared by the Lord Jesus Christ in our new home in the Savior inhabited.  John 14:3.  

    [REFUGE]

    Now concerning the ability to act in behalf of Christ.  What we can do, what we should do, and what we have done, are judged before the judgment seat of eternity.  Don’t do a fellow believer wrongly, Paul urges, because the instant of eternal judgment that is to come will bring with it like severity.  Since your brother is in refuge with you in Christ Jesus do not seek to harm him or she for “there is no respect of persons.  Respect their ministry for it is their responsibility to Christ, but Paul exhorts Archippus to continue in his ministry.  Practice prayer, be thankful that we have a Savior whom we surely must watch for, the days are drawing short.  Two thousand years since His last appearance to his people upon this earth the days are two short not to give heed.

    [ARMS]

    Deuteronomy where the name of this place originates, describes ‘arms’ as the “everlasting arms.”  The sense is that the cross where Christ’s arms were extended is eternal in concept.  We are the extension of this eternal benefit and arms of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to carry to every creature this news of the Lord Jesus.  Because Jesus lives we live.  If he were dead, in sins, our faith would cease and Christianity would be another dead religion.  The victory is resurrection!  Life!  That Paul requested his ministry to open doors is marvelously provided from the prayers of the Colossians, as this letter to them became a permanent utterance of Paul’s into the Holy Scriptures.  Always, we have before us the mechanics of Christianity in a writing that can be read in fifteen minutes, savored for hours and kept for eternity.  

    [THRUST]

    Paul shows that to walk in wisdom, that is to practice faith step by step from one truth to another with trust in our Savior, we will not have wasted our time but have ‘thrust out’ the earthly cares that so easily beset us.  For our Savior this was a temptation just as it is in us, but He without sin easily identified and set apart the unnecessary things that did not please his Father and did those things which are altogether agreeable to God.  Our old person makes in this form we are in now finds, ways of clouding and compromising our holy desires.  It is a very personal thing within our consciousness of God.  We can be quite sensitive at one point in our lives and most callous at others.  Only we and the Lord know this in us and he has already experienced our difficulty.  In any of our works for God which is
not for our glory but out of gratitude, for he first loved us and enables our efforts.  A daily portion of our time set aside to reading the scriptures not only keeps our minds sharp, but with the repeated readings reminds where the weaknesses are going to occur and we find the sure path for our faith from the words of truth.  Hebrews 4:15.

    [DESTROY]

    Some take this place up to further tempt the fellow believer and use it to remove earthly comforts from them.  This is not the purpose neither is it effective.  What God has made straight, the new person in us, can not be altered from its heavenly purpose and we
at our own pace mature and find enjoyment in our Creator.  In Colossians this is applied to our speaking that we put aside even the old manner in which we talk to others.  It is well to let another believer know that our heart is set upon God too, through inferences and literal renderings from our heart of the words of God.  Being familiar with the words of God gives anyone in the Lord the answer they are questioned for and words of support for any weakened in the faith, even our own hearts.

    [HEAVENS]

    We know from this place that Paul is in prison, whether in his home or at the palace of Rome it does not matter he is detained.  Now this can be very frustrating to the great Apostle who could see the many possibilities for the entrance of his ministry throughout the earth where he had been or had heard from.  So he hears from a visitor, become a prisoner with him, Epaphras, that there are problems with the church of believers at Colosse.  Epaphras telling Paul this made the entrance of this epistle, the extension of Paul’s ministry, possible and it went into all of the churches.  But there are more who Paul mentions who are the ‘heavens’ [minds set upon the Lord Jesus Christ].  Tychicus is the message bearer of this epistle with special instruction for their comfort in the Lord.  Now Onesimus is the center of another shorter New Covenant book named Philemon whereby we know that the church Paul is addressing, Colosse, is in the home of Philemon.  According to Unger’s Bible Dictionary Aristarchus was from Thessalonica and nearly killed in Ephesus but went with Paul to Greece then to Asia and finally to Rome where he is in this epistle a fellow prisoner with Paul.  It is thought he suffered martyrdom under Nero’s scourge.  Mark [the author of the Gospel of Mark, John Mark, Marcus] is a heaven we can further explore in the Gospel he supplied us.  While Justus is identified with Mark as of the circumcision [Jews].  These ‘heavens’ were Paul’s fellow helpers and comforters, just as this example shows us we must be to each other in the faith.

    [SHIELD]

    Epaphras is the shield to the church of Colosse.  He alone when perhaps he did not know or could not convey effectively to his people the healing words that turn away the spears and arrows and swords of error from the hearts of the group, who have been dislodged from their standing in Christ Jesus.  Epaphras is not alone in his efforts to turn away the evil threats for there is Luke and Demas and Paul who stand between the teachers of wrong and the Colossians.  They are as elder brothers when the parents are absent who are looking after the younger and lesser experienced and vulnerable.  Paul with his letter, Luke and Demas with there presence and prayers and Epaphras with this message to Paul do the saintly part.  Take heed of this book, the same but now more sophisticated dangers persevere into these late days of the Church.

    [SWORD]

    The protective weapon, the sword which is Paul’s epistle to the Colossians, is the gleaming two edged sword of truth with which the evil errors of doctrine and deceit have been cut asunder, forever exposed by the words of Paul.  Now the problems at Colosse  existed, and perhaps from the same false teachers at Colosse, at the nearby church at Laodicea also in a home of the man named Nymphas.  This is mute testimony of the newly spreading threat that even in the early church had to be kept in check.  We can assume that Archippus is the minister of Laodicea for it is in this place that Paul gives him warning not to neglect the burden of his ministry for it is given him from the Lord Jesus Christ.
    A final blessing of Paul’s to them, can so very easily be read over and not given its full meaning.  “Grace be with you.”  This is ‘the divine favor’ of God to the people that Jesus has redeemed and saved from the rudiments of the world.  Here again Paul is emphasizing the sustaining force of the Lord Jesus Christ that keeps them standing in faith and not in the false appearances of a dead religion that were threatening the Colossians.  God has no
favor towards or for false religion or false doctrine, he reserves his grace for his own “Colossians” where in the epistle Paul begins the letter with grace Col. 1:2 and he ends with:  Grace be with you. Col. 4:18.
    Before leaving the framework of the Holy Celebration consider what the character image of a person would be if the opposite spiritual meaning were applied to the ‘places’ that have just been expounded concerning Jesus.  Reuben the spirit of ‘Life,’  Simeon the spirit of ‘Longsuffering,’  Judah the spirit of ’Joy,’  Levi the spirit of ‘Holiness,’  Benjamin the spirit of ‘Love,’  Joseph the spirit of ‘Goodness,’  Zebulun the spirit of ‘Meekness,’  Issachar the spirit of ‘Gentleness,’  Gad the spirit of ‘Faith,’  Dan the spirit of ‘Humility,’  Naphtali the spirit of ‘Temperance,’ Asher the spirit of ‘Peace.’  These all describe the personality of the Lord Jesus Christ and the remaining places are the description of the works of God.  Refuge is a ‘Home,’  Arms is ’Encouragement,’  Thrust is to ‘eschew evil,’  Destroy, God’s way of taking away the ‘Bad,’  Alone, is the “Ability to perform,’  Fountain, is a flowing of ‘Good words,’  Land, a safe place to set the ‘Foot of faith,’  Heavens, “Higher thinking,’  Shield, is Protection for faith,’  Sword, is the ‘Word of God.’  All exemplars of the manner of work Jesus showed in his earthly ministry.  
    Consider though, the person who appears with the opposite spirits:  Deadly, impatient, sad, unspiritual, hates, is bad, irritable, rough, unbelieving, full of self pride, extravagant, and adverse.  His works are:  inhospitality, disdains faith, welcomes the secular, prefers evil, always conniving, with no comforting words, unfaithful, prefers the turmoil of hell, offers no protection from unbelief, and is empty of the words of God.  What is his name and does he appeal to your heart?

    To understand the condition of the Colossians in respect to the outside influences they were accepting, it is a one word term “ignorance.”  They did not know that any of those influences were wrong for their lives of faith and that the perpetrators were pulling the Lord Jesus Christ down from his rightful glorified position in their hearts.  Held in the highest reverence the great principal of the Holy Bible is ‘substitutional sacrifice.’  Without it each of us would be subject to the full extent of the law of Moses that the Ten Commandments
and the six hundred and thirteen laws of the Torah demand – death, complete and eternal separation from the Lord God.  The human soul does not die with the body at physical death.  Even the “atheist” does not escape and certainly ignorance can not be excused from the people of God.
     Paul shows us that the Old Covenant scriptures are useful to our lives in Christ.  Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning,”  Therefore, in the old economy of Leviticus, prior to the Lord’s Supper, specifically chapter four, there is found the offering for the sin of ignorance in: the ruler [Lev.4:22-26] applicable to Archippus at Laodicea [Col.4:17], and in the individual [Lev.4:27-35] applicable to Nymphas at Laodicea [Col.4:15] and in the congregation [Lev.4:13-21].  Applicable to the church at Colosse is the sin of ignorance, as a congregation.  This is the problem Paul is addressing in his Epistle to the Colossians.  Besides the salutations, introduction and vivid exposition of the Lord Jesus, the apostle awakens the Colossians to their spiritual condition.  They just do not realize the serious consequences of entertaining the interjections of outsiders to the faith with their philosophy and theories.  This awakening to sin Paul accomplishes in chapter two verse eleven through verse twenty-three.  After showing them the errors and in the opening of chapter three verse one what they are letting slip away, Paul clearly commands them to turn from earthly religious indulgences and grasp the heavenly treasures that are already theirs and in verse three and four how they acquired those spiritual possessions.  Now, being representative Priests Paul and Epaphras have already laid their hands upon the young bullock offering of Jesus Christ.  Note ‘young’ in Leviticus a subtle clue as to the age of the eternal single sacrifice for sin, Jesus Christ, who was but thirty-three years of age when offered up and outside of the Temple at the place of the scull [Golgotha], a place not unlike the burned bones of the many sacrifices where the bullock was taken to be burned [Lev.4:21] and perhaps it was the place.  ‘Mortify,’ in Colossians 3:5 is the same sense as ‘blood’ in Leviticus 4:16 – death!  The sacrifice is dead, the wrath from God upon the sin of ignorance can be appeased and this is how it has been accomplished.  From Leviticus 4:16 at the great altar the priest took the blood in a bowl from the bullock where it had been killed, to the tabernacle of the congregation.  This was the Exodus Tabernacle fully described with dimensions in Ex.25&36.  Fifteen feet wide, fifteen feet tall and forty-five feet long it had a veil over his front, a beautiful veil of blue, red, white and purple.  Hereafter, the explicatives of Colossians are supplied to the narrative of Leviticus and the sacrifice.  With the great altar behind them and facing the veil, the priest with his finger sprinkled the blood of the bullock, once for the ‘sin of fornication,’ once for the sin of ‘uncleanness,’ once for the sin of ‘inordinate affection,’ once for the sin of ‘evil concupiscence,’ once for the sin of ‘covetousness,’ once for sin of ‘disobedience,’ once for the sin of ‘anger,’ seven dead sins.  For those seven sprinklings the LORD God sees from the Tabernacle and counts them as put away from the congregation who has made the substitutional offering of the bullock through Paul [Colossians 3:5-8].  Passing through the veil into the tabernacle twenty five feet with the first veil to his back, the priest stands in front of the altar of incense, which is in front of the veil beyond which is the seat of the LORD God.  This golden altar has four horns one in each of his corners,  the priest applies the bullock’s blood from the bowl  onto each of the horns: once for the sin of ‘wrath,’ once for the sin of ‘malice,’ once for the sin of ‘blasphemy,’ once for the sin of ‘lying.’  Four sins accounted for and seen by the LORD God as put away.  Continuing his course, the priest passes from the sanctuary through the door of the Tabernacle outside to the northeast corner of the Great Brazen Altar [the cross of Christ].  At the bottom of the altar, he pours out of the bowl the remainder of the bullock’s blood upon the ground, the sin of ‘filthy communication’ is put away.  The act of pouring is like the continuity of talking.  
    Although abbreviated in the congregational section Lev.4:13-21, a fuller description is given in the preceding verses Lev.4:8-12 of the same requirement.  The verses Lev.4:8-12 and verse 4:19 apply to the bullock as a whole, but for the blood which has been shed.  Upon order from the High Priest, via other priests and Levites in some cases, the bullock is opened and the fat of the inwards is removed and the two kidneys and all of the fat of the rib cages and the fat upon the liver and the intestines and the dung [for to do the will of God the perfect sacrifice had to consume will of God].  Significantly the “head” is listed as taken outside the camp to the place where the ashes of the Great Altar are poured, to where Jesus was crucified, and the bullock, [skin, body, intestines and head were burned with fire.  The fat [zeal] and kidneys [cleansers] were burned upon the Great Altar before the Tabernacle.  Psalm 69:9, “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of those who reproached thee are fallen upon me.”  Now, “seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;” being the act of completion of appeasement of the wrath of the LORD God, the offering Jew the High Priest, went to his home with his conscience free from the wrath of his LORD God.  The Colossian’s old man [the bullock, i.e. Jesus Christ] is dead to God, there is no wrath upon the new person in Christ for he laid his hand upon the head of the Sacrifice.  But now, the Colossian is alive to God because his substitutional sacrifice Jesus Christ is alive in resurrection and he with Him.  The Colossian “put on the new man which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of him that created him;” Colossians 3:9.  The new person can not sin since it is created the image of the Lord Jesus Christ whose “mind is always stayed upon God.” That makes the “new life” of the believer eternally free from the wrath of God through the offering of the Son of God.
    The Old Covenant Books abound with descriptions of the patterns of the workings of God.  Not least of these is a verse in I Chronicles 23:13 where the purpose of Aaron’s life is described.  He is the original High Priest of the LORD God to the nation Israel, he is the older brother of Moses and his distinction and manner of service is described.  “Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons forever, to
burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name forever.”  These are the five things that Aaron’s ministry as High Priest produced in his generations.  Five  as will be remembered is God’s number for grace.  These are abbreviated: “separated,”  “sanctify,”  “prayer” [the symbolism of the altar of incense],  “minister,” “bless.”  Paul is in every sense the great apostle of our faith, confessed a minister and from The Revelation 1:6, “And hath made us a kingdom of priests unto God…” quoted from The New Scofield Reference Holy Bible.  This very pattern from I Chronicles 23:13 bears witness to the faithfulness of Paul in providing in Colossians the exposition of these priestly duties.  The contents of these sections of the book of Colossians describe the priestly function:  “Separated” – “Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,…”  Col.1:1.  “Sanctify the most holy things” – “faith v.4, love v.4, hope v.5, fruit v.6, GRACE v.6, truth v.6, Spirit v.8.”  Comprehensively this includes Col. 1:2-8.   “Prayer”  Col.1:9 -12.  “Minister” Col.1:13 -3:3.  “Bless” Col. 3:4 – 4:18 and the final blessing is GRACE.  Grace is simply Divine favor.  This shows Paul fulfilling his priestly duties to the fullest in the Epistle to the Colossians while correcting spiritual error.  The faithfulness of the Living God operates with the same pattern in both the Old and New Covenants.
    Compare I Chronicles 29:3 “Moreover, because I have set my affection upon the house of my God,… “ with Colossians 3:2  “set your affections on things above,…”  More revealing than even that is I Chronicles 23:13 with the LORD’s declaration of the duties of the High Priesthood which thing is pattern for our own efforts in the scriptures and encounters with the brethren and believers as priests also unto the Lord Jesus as indicated in The Revelation 1:6.  In this Epistle to the Colossians these duties are executed to the highest degree beginning with verse one, 1:1,  where the office of Paul as an Apostle is declared thus ‘separating’ Paul from other members and converts in that he was burdened with the task of being the Lord Christ’s arms unto the Gentiles.  At verse two 1:2 begins the duty of ‘sanctifying’ meaning to set apart ‘the most holy things’ indicated as “faith, love, hope, fruit, grace, truth, Spirit” at the close of verse eight, 1:8.  From verse nine, 1:9 through verse twelve, 1:12 the incense of pray is offered by Paul for the Colossians the perfect execution of the office of priesthood.  The very long section of the epistle from verse 1:13 through 3:3 addresses the problems at the church in Colosse and the instructions of remedy, “set your affections on things above,.”  More difficult to distinguish but contained also is ‘to bless his name forever.” and what more blessing could be bestowed upon our Lord Jesus Christ than that his children consider He to be their “life” and desire to be with Him in glory at his appearing.  This is bilateral vestige of blessing, contingent upon the Person of Christ.  The weighty section 3:3 thru 4:18 following to the close of the epistle is the description of the freeing of those who are hid in Christ from the ties of this world in which we must for now coexist in this mortal body of death with the life of Christ.  Paul frees the new from the old with his ministering of words allowing the new man to be in control unto fruitfulness.  This is the blessing of Paul’s ministry to the Colossians.     

                         Second Introduction

    Freedom is a privilege that is cherished in our nation of the United States of America that caries with it necessary responsibilities toward our fellow citizens.  But we are free from the tyranny of a monarch and their heavy burdens to pursue jobs or carriers fitted to our own ability and desire.  Very much parallel, the current trend in presenting the Holy Bible holds to the inclusion of chapter numbers and verse numbers, referencing and if it is a study Bible book introductions and background briefs, paragraph headings and maps and charts; which, are all quite helpful when conducting formal study of a section or a full book of the Holy Bible.  Perchance notice has been taken that thoughtful reading of the Holy Bible as a fellowship is a bit hindered by climbing over the chapter numbers and verse numbers that require attention but detract from the flow of the reading.  As before, these are valuable search tools especially when used with the Strong’s Concordance; however, if reading for the pure pleasure of the value of the Spirit of the words is sought, then the numbering system becomes an encumbrance to the reader.
    Freedom from these study helps is found by the reader in Reader’s Holy Bible where all notes and number system are deleted leaving only the Words of God and the book titles.  This should not be troublesome to the reader of the this Holy Bible that these omissions have been made, because the Colossians themselves did not have the number mechanism either and this was no detriment to them and the book has endured for two thousand years.  The chapter and verse numbers were added to the fifteen hundred old manuscript in 1227 A.D. and the verse numbers in 1551 A.D.  To the manuscript these additions are a very late addition, indeed.  When a person sets his heart to read through once each year the Holy Bible, the Holy Spirit teaches from the reading a little bit here and a little bit there, so that a reading through a particular book may not yield but a peck from this book but a bushel from another in that particular year.  The following year the yield might be reversed. There is not room for words to describe the pleasure of reading the pure words of God, so no more description will be attempted.  Hereafter is this author’s reading commentary of his faith-walk through the Epistle to the Colossians:

                        In Colossians Commentary
                   a faith-walk through Colossians

    Paul, the name by itself demands our attention by the tremendous reputation that is attached to it.  The name means ‘small,’ attesting to the fitting change that occurred in the man from Tarsus called Saul.  Saul means ‘asked’ as his name sake the first King of Israel was asked for by the people of Israel from the LORD God.  At the latter man’s beginning he was large in zeal and knowledge and self-righteousness, but after his conversion on the road to Damascus his self-righteousness, which is considerable, lessens in his own valuation as he grows in the faith, rather preferring the righteousness that came by God through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Personal self-righteousness he perceived as nothing and truly to achieve favor with God it is as nothing, for only the perfect person of Jesus Christ has ever pleased the Father and is the only path to eternal salvation.  And so, Paul, this highly motivated Jew extensively trained in perfecting and maintaining his conduct before the assembly, and he presumed the Lord God, finds that all of this refinement could not please the living God, if He had looked upon it.  Now, saved by the One he persecuted and matured in the faith, he continues to be little in self-righteousness and becomes the servant of all of the other Apostles, even washing the feet of Peter at Antioch of Syria.  Although, being made known to Peter that the Gentiles were then to be included in the congregation of the new assembly, it was to Saul of Tarsus the full burden of the conversion of the Gentiles came.  That is one person out of the thirteen Apostles.  Later the others also shared this responsibility.  Apostle means a person who has seen the Lord physically, and it blinded Paul, and has received a commission from Jesus.  For John it was to “tarry,” for Peter it was to “feed my sheep,” the sheep being those who were Jews.
    Three persons greet the Colossians, Paul, Jesus Christ [implying correctly, Paul’s claim to Divine inspiration], and Timothy another converted Jew.  Paul makes a subtle
distinction as to the melange of the congregation by addressing “the saints” – Gentile converts, “and faithful brethren” – Jewish converts.  The Gentiles converted from vain gods and ignorance and the Jew converted from self-righteousness – to the Lord Jesus Christ.  And what does Paul send them, Grace and Peace from God.  Grace – divine favor and peace – being bound together with God in thought and actions.  The epistle opens with grace and closes with grace indicating the deliberate design Paul intended the letter to be. The Colossians are not a lonely outpost in the wide earth of unbelief, they are remembered and prayed for to the Lord Jesus Christ; because, Paul hears of their faith in Christ Jesus.  Had this been the first reading ever of this letter, it is here that knowledge can be inferred that Paul had never been to Colosse, had never met the congregation, nor directly participated in the formation of the church in Philemon’s house.  Onesimus is converted by Paul but the conversion of Epaphras is a Biblical mystery.
    Paul identifies the evidence of the validity of the Colossian Church with the sign post words of “love, hope, word, truth, gospel, fruit,” and Epaphras as either a founder or their
“faithful minister” or both.  It could also be that Epaphras had been converted by Paul outside of Colosse and returned to Paul in prison to report the problems besetting the small group, since Paul states that Epaphras is a “fellow servant.”  Other clues indicate that there may have been some scriptures present with the Colossians either Old Covenant or the Gospel of Mark where Paul writes, “in the word of truth of the gospel,” in which such problems of Colosse are not much touched upon.  However, Paul writes not for their lack, but because of the good report that Epaphras gave and then Paul desires to fill their knowledge with “wisdom and spiritual understanding.”  This is the need that Paul addresses but he does not state the hindrances, yet.
    A more touchingly realistic word does not exist among believers than “translate” and it is not necessary to research the Greek meaning for the believer has already experienced the rebirth of desires and new emotions that are new in us.  Here it is not the “changing”  of our mortal bodies for immortal, which is yet to come, but the rebirth of the inward soul.  Now the rules are different from the world that surrounds us for there is but one King, the Lord Jesus Christ, not laws and rules of cruelty but the open arms of the Savior with grace and
mercy.  With this beginning, with Christ at the forefront, Paul begins an elaboration through “redemption, blood, forgiveness,” to the “image of the invisible” who is the source of all that exists.  Moreover, it is by the power of God that all the things that exist, even the countries and leaders of the earth continue, inasmuch that in the Holy Church of believers that he, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the “Head” and the church his body.  As in the human body the head causes and motivates the limbs and movement so it must be recognized in the kingdom of God’s dear Son.  Jesus is the Head and the Church [collective believers] his body.
    The mind is dismayed at what the Holy Bible describes as the Heaven.  Job records a scene where the sons of God come to present themselves before the LORD and Satan was among them.  Ezekiel records the creatures of the Throne of the LORD descended from heaven, and Paul states he was taken up into the third Heaven and heard words not lawful to be spoken, and the Apostle John is taken up into heaven and sees the throne of the LORD and twenty four thrones sit about it, and of course, the New Jerusalem at the close of The Revelation.  How can there exist a place for the believer like John describes in the clouds where the Tabernacle of Heaven exists and it can not been seen nor detected with the human senses.  From the words, our minds see the LORD God and his ministering angels and the host of angels and the sons of God and when we die or are changed we shall abide there, is far exceeding comprehension and too grand to visualize.  How can not the eye look to the clouds in wonder and expectation, knowing from the scriptures that we will be presented to the Lord “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight;”
    “If we continue in the faith…”  How can we not in view of the tremendous sacrifice that has taken place for us?  How can we not with the hope of eternal promise that is given us?  A stipulation, a caution, a warning?  “If.”  The reader must stop.  The Colossian congregation must reevaluate its position at this point of the epistle.  What is amiss?  Have we not “continued?”  After all of this beautiful introduction, “If.”  Have we not loved each other and taken in the interested and shown them our compassion?  Are we not as when we first believed?  “The hope of the gospel” yes, we know that Christ died for our sins was buried and rose again.  What further does Paul write to us, what fault has he discovered in us?  This “if” sounds very serious.  Read on reader!
    Yes, Paul is a minister of the gospel and he is not setting himself up as someone and we know from reports that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ and he does know things that we are yet to young in the faith to be aware of and if we lack any wit, it is he that should be able to help.  We do desire to be presented to the Lord Jesus Christ acceptably, we shall listen to Paul’s words.
    He sent the Colossians warning and it is evident that he was heeded, for after the epistle to Philemon there are no other letters and his emissaries and fellow workers went there ahead of him and most assuredly Paul visited Colosse.  He would not have just written a letter and let it go at that, he would have gone and confronted the issues and those behind the troubles personally.
    So, the apostle to the gentiles reassures them that he is seeking to comfort their hearts and impart unto them the mysteries of the truth of God.  He hears the nature of their problems from Epaphras [and Onesimus] and knows the solution, because he has met the same growing spiritual error at other points of his ministry.  And he is able through the special authorities and privileges of his apostleship to view their situation in Colosse although held physically by Rome in prison.  It is more than one thousand ‘crow fly’ miles from Rome to Colosse, yet Paul is there in Colosse assaying the situation, writing his letter to them, sending his helpers to them, to remedy the problems of the young church.
    Even today the mature believer must be ready to put away these same dangers before they enter the heart and deceive our desire for our Lord Jesus.  The core of the Epistle of Jude is the same as in Colossians “Keep yourselves in the love of God” which is to ‘continue’ to read the scriptures and keep ourselves aware of the devices of Satan and his crew.  Even though we do grow beyond the services of, say, the book of Romans, to review those words looking for the warnings to maintain the correct way in this life is essential.  To continue is everything.  Reading the Holy Bible through once a year is the minimum effort that should be put forth to keep us on the alert, to learn and to grow in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
    Now, Paul applies the poultice of figs to the growing sore of error on that unreachable place on the back that has entered Colosse.  Walk in Christ Jesus.  Be thankful he has kept the faith flawlessly for us and pleased the Father in every way.  And now the wound itself.  “spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world.”  But Christ is enough, he is the true God, the believer needs nothing else, be content be thankful and enjoy our lives in Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the Godhead.  Quite logically, He possesses ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Do we worship him in spirit and in truth or do we dutifully maintain each holiday and sabbath with certain washings and particular dishes and offerings to please him?  Cain did the hindmost.  
    Here, Paul seems to intimate that the problem makers are from the Jewish quarter when he mentions circumcision.  Their’s [Israel] physical, because they inherit the earth but ours [The Church] spiritual, because our inheritance is in heaven.  So Paul shows us and the Colossians that there are no laws or traditions that restrain us [the Church] from properly worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth, nothing needs to be added to that “way.”  What Paul does stress is to walk in this way and do not be taken aside from it by the outside influences that he is cautioning the Colossians about.  Don’t let someone come into the congregation and say particularly that in order to properly worship God you must be circumcised in the flesh and observe sabbaths and holy days and the like.  Because they are not correct, they do not know what they are teaching, because they have not been taught by the Savior in whom is all correct knowledge.  Since these persons are not saved, they do not honor the Head, because they are not of Jesus Christ.  So then Colossians and to all of us too, why listen to their teachings for it is the way of the flesh which will perish with the exercising of those doctrines?  A parallel exists when is it is remembered that the Jew Saul persecuted the early church condoning violence against it, but that was in the Land of Israel when the Jewish nation still retained enough influence to do so.  Here, Colosse in Turkey, some three hundred plus miles northwest of Tarsus, is not in the Land of Israel [kingdom], so the Jewish infiltrators trying subjugate the Colossian members, learned to use more subtle means to quell the spreading “heresy” of Jesus of Nazareth.   
    Our sins are dead with Christ and we are alive with Christ is who is our life.  The third “If” in Colossians becomes a more settling one. “If “ appears five times in the epistle, in the KJV, “If ye continue…, if ye be dead…, If ye then be risen… [3 positional], if any man have a quarrel…, if he come unto you, receive him…; [2 conduct]”  The Colossians know they are saved, Paul showed them that, but he tells them to reach for the heavenly means of worship to where Christ is the Head.  Make him the Head in their hearts, do the things that always please Jesus, not the motions of the men who were leading them astray.  The things the men wanted them to do were those things which they did before they were saved, the things Christ died for, the worldly life that is dead to God that can never please him.  But the Colossians are alive today because they gave heed to Paul’s letter.  They put those dead ways away from them ushered them right out the door of faith where they had crept in unawares.  Mortify the things of the past life and put on the new things of Christ’s.  Some Colossians had been Gentiles some had been Jewish converts, it did not matter the things of the former life were earthy and unsavory to God that is why before we received the gospel of Christ we were dead to God.  Very much in step with the way the world operates, those ways are dead to God.  Paul lists them all so that there can be no misunderstanding:  “fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence [lustful desire], covetousness, disobedience, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication, lying.”    Recognize today’s world, it was the same then?  The heart of man has not changed to this day.  Then if that is the old man – what are the things of the new person?  Through the teaching of Paul they and we are freed from the bondage of the old life through death.  Paul lists the living deeds so the there can be no misunderstanding as to what is dead to God and what is alive, what to seek, what to desire:  “bowels of mercy, meekness, longsuffering;, forbearing one another, forgiving one another, and charity which is loving one another.”  They are the things that we see in the Gospels that are in Jesus, who now is in Heaven seated on the right hand of God.  They are the things we are born again with making us at peace with God.  Today a “put on” is something that is pretend but that is not the sense that Paul uses it for here, we are with our understanding and free from the dead person in us, able to do these things that are Godlike and “let” means more than permit it means to take up, to take action for, we are enabled through the gospel of Jesus –  just do it.  It is our new life that lives.  Care for the other saved person through psalms and hymns and spiritual songs preferring their company and not the worlds.
    Paul even enters the homes of the Colossians, no doubt through the confidences of Epaphras, for the things of the world infect the relationships of the family more so than other relationships, because we are more familiar and relaxed in their presence.  In obedience to Paul’s instructions the Colossians find that there is a reward for obedience.  Remember Paul is observing them from more than one thousand miles away and Jesus Christ from but five to ten miles away, “the reward of the inheritance.”  In this life we receive the spiritual part of our being the new soul and when “the trump sounds and the dead in Christ arise” we shall have a new body like unto His and be fully every bit the son of God as He is, except He is the first -born of all creation, the Creator.  “But” at this point more mind stopping than “if” and Paul is quite pointed, there is a penalty for disobedience.  Notice Paul does not say anything concerning the nature of the retribution.
    Paul calls the Colossians back to the present world.  The disciples called Jesus “Master” and today we might call that position bosses but the same principle is involved.  Prayer he says to continue and watch for we watch for our heavenly Master’s return for his Church and our “change.”  In this be thankful for we have a hope that the earth cannot be partakers of, they only know sorrow in physical death.  The Colossians were to direct prayers for Paul, that a “door of utterance” be given him to speak in Christ’s behalf.  Could we not pray that the epistles of Paul be read thoughtful, so that the newborn lives in Christ Jesus might be enriched and enhanced?
    The instructions continue with the apostle reminding to trust God and tell others in the world of the gospel of Jesus Christ pulling them out of  –  fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, etc.,  and into the holy life of the living God.  Our time will not be wasted, his word does not come back to him empty, our own new lives in Christ are evidence.
    In the balance of the epistle Paul tells the Colossians of his love for them by sending his best men to their aid.  Tychicus – and look at his credentials, a brother, a faithful minister, and fellow servant, also, Tychicus scribed part of the original epistle.  And he is sent with open purpose ahead of Epaphras and himself [Paul] for purpose to engage the enemy infiltrators and send them away and to correct wrong teaching, thus comforting their hearts.  Onesimus also scribed part of the original manuscript and he was a servant of Philemon in
whose house the church of the Colossians dwelt and a member of the congregation, so all of the information Paul received was possibly not from Epaphras alone.  And Onesimus made known to the Colossians what Paul was going through in Rome.  Paul does not say much about Aristarchus in this epistle but he was in prison with Paul and in other places in the New Covenant books he is mentioned faithful to the ministry.  Now before, John Mark had been the center of a terrible dispute between Barnabas and Paul, but here Paul endorses Mark and instructs that he be received.  Now Justus a Jewish convert to Christ was a fellow worker of Paul’s and Paul concludes these, at that present time, as those who had comforted him.  Epaphras he mentions who is, of course, the minister who spoke to Paul of the problems in the Colossian Church, sets him forward for his diligence in his care for his fellow members.  With Epaphras he brings into the picture the Church that is at Laodicea, about fifteen miles northwest of Colosse, and at Hierapolis another town nearby Laodicea with believers.  The minister is Archippus whom Paul admonishes to fulfill his ministry.  And the church at Laodicea was in the home of Nymphas.  The epistle to the Colossians Paul instructed to be read at Laodicea and evidently there was a separate letter to Laodicea but is lost from us, but this Epistle to the Colossians is sufficient to our needs.  That Paul took so much labors to include all of these people in his teaching letter shows the great care Paul has for those who love the Lord Jesus and shows, by example, to the Colossians, for evidently there had been bitter disputes in the congregation.  
    The original first edition of the Epistle to the Colossians had the penned words of Paul’s own hand writing, supposedly at least the first two verses, which lent authority to the apostles efforts to restore proper order at Colosse.  Remember the condition and restraints of Paul, in which he put aside personal discomfort and valuable preparation time in preparing his own defense at Rome, which was his custom; to heal the wounds of spiritual war inflicted upon a new and tender congregation of believers at Colosse, in the Lord Jesus Christ.  “Grace be with you.”      
            
           
                                        Joseph E. Swearengin,  D.D.
                                            Morgan County, Ohio

p.s.   the author has experienced conversation with one who said that the Constitution of the United States could not be understood.  The many signers of the original document were in fact all readers of the Holy Bible, save but for two.  Present experience has shown that to read the Holy Bible through from Genesis 1:1 through the Revelation will prove that the founding Fathers of the United States are completely understandable in their legacy to us.

The Holy Celebration:   Colossians

                                                      pg 1055

COLOSSIANS  =  colossal  (person)

BRANCH  –  NAPHTALI  =  wrestling

LAMP  –  [GUNI]  =  protected, painted with colors  (scarlet)

     [REUBEN]
    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
     [SIMEON]
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering
     [JUDAH]
with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
     [LEVI]
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
     [BENJAMIN]
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross,  by him to reconcile all  things unto  himself;  by
        [GUNI] [JOSEPH]        Colossians                     pg 1056

him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;
     [JOSEPH]
whereof I Paul am made a minister; Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
     [ZEBULUN]
Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
    For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
     [ISSACHAR]
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
     [GAD]
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
     [DAN]
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,   (Touch not; taste not;  handle  not;  Which  all  are to  perish  with  the
        [GUNI] [NAPHTALI]        Colossians                pg 1057

using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship. and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
     [NAPHTALI]
    If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
     [ASHER]
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is wellpleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
     [REFUGE]
Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
    Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
     [ARMS]
Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
     [THRUST]
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
     [DESTROY]
Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
     [HEAVENS]
All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate,  and comfort your hearts;  With Onesimus,
        [GUNI] [SHIELD]        Colossians                     pg 1058

a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.
     [SHIELD]
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.  Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.
     [SWORD]
And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.

                                               SETH TO ABRAM
                                                    Generations

                           a treatise of thoughts from
                               Genesis 1:1-12:5

                                      written by:  
                       Joseph Edsel Swearengin
                              0 copyright
                                     January,  2014
                                  a

                                          PROLOGUE

       In this life many influences attempt to become the anchor for the soul and whether knowingly or not, we have taken on many of them.  The only solid ground for the awareness to fall upon, during the disappointments, struggles and tortures of living, is the Holy Bible.  It does not change, like the LORD God who has provided it, and is a brilliant refection of his desires and person.  Rest is found with him; but, it is conditional that the terms are His own and not anyone else’s.  His thoughts are not our thoughts, so we read and study and write as we know him better each day, but it is faith that He delights in.  

                                        J. E. S.
                            Moegan County, Ohio, USA
                                   1/07/14

                                 b

        The treatise begins with the person Adam and his wife Eve, their origin and habitations and expectation.  But, the full picture is in Seth down through the generations of Adamics to Abram – nineteen generations and each birth of the utmost regard.  Each generation having received the “promise” every birth a potential of what the LORD God had promised Adam and Eve in the Garden.   
        There are certain inferences, that indicate, that God, who has many memories of his renewed efforts to include mankind in his Grace, has overlapped his memories of those instances, while revealing the present Adam kind.   With longing regret for earlier efforts that clouds into his mind, the LORD God relates the most recent attempt to inhabit the earth with a people “after his own heart,” to companionship with them and appease the loneliness of his soul.  It is to experience visiting a friend, and they while talking, never look at you but are busy building a bluebird house.  You know they are aware of your presence; but, you do not have their attention.  We see the creation of Adam the man, but we do not see the attempts that the LORD God has expended in earlier physical creations, so that it is more likely Adam was created in mind and soul.  This then, contends an physical origin from an earlier attempt by God, from whom there was suitability in Adam; yet, with the lack of a soul and heart that is always aware of the LORD God for fellowship.  Of superb mental facilities and exceeding even Paul in mental capabilities and already possessing

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     the language of God, was Adam.
        And of whence from was Adam “taken” as the Holy Bible states?  Gathered from the later pattern – Haran –  the meaning – parched.  Which site in southern Turkey is an area much in political upheaval today, unfortunately. Archaeology found it to be inhabited some nine thousand years ago, and the city of Jericho was also in evidences of existence at that early time.    In Haran the moon-god Sin was worshipped.  A light is the moon, but it is of the darkness of night.  From there any would need a newly created heart to worship the LORD God.  And in the surrounding area of Haran, then Fertile Crescent, crops were gathered from the tilled ground.  And so, Adam is the lead figure; however, his path to the Garden of Eden is exemplified in Abram’s  and Jacob’s pilgrimages.  

        Terah and Abram journey from Ur,  to Haran, some three hundred miles further north, out of their way, and still did not cross the Euphrates to enter Canaan.  They could have passed through Mari along the Euphrates the trade route to Tadmor and on to Damascus.  Yet, they journeyed on further northwest, along the Euphrates River, to the entrance of the Belikh River and on sixty miles north still, along those “delicious” waters, before entering the City of Adam, Haran.  Today, and perhaps from the time of Abram, beehive homes are in preservation, with no wood for the structure, being built of stones and clay.  From there Adam was taken – and to which he returned.  
        The trade route from Nineveh west, through Haran, and a rather straight

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    one too, leads directly  to Antioch, mentioned significantly in the Acts of the Apostles, near the Mediterranean Sea coast.  Traveling south from Haran the trade route crossed the Euphrates and continued on south to Todmor, then southwest to Damascus.  On south, less than an additional one hundred miles on the east side of the Chinnereth Sea the traveler arrives at Succoth, where Jacob stopped, and it is in line with Shechem west across the Jordan River.  Remarkably, only a few miles south of Succoth is the town of Adam, to where the waters of the Jordan backed up when the LORD God crossed over the new Nation Israel, dry shod.  
        After the death of Terah his father, the LORD God instructed Abram to “get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee…and into the land of Canaan they came.”  So being in Haran, i.e. Adam country, Abram was to leave it, from the other Adamics (non-patriarchal offspring) in Haran and from Terah’s house; as, the LORD God had done to Adam twenty generations earlier.  Now with three scrolls and the instruction of the LORD God, Abram enters the land of the Canaanites.  Adam was dead and from the eighteen patriarchs of the sons of Adam, Abram was the lone twentieth since Adam to reenter Canaan, as the record is given.  Haran, though parched in comparison to the memories of Adam, carefully guarded secrets were found only in that trade route city.  For the people of the earth there, were scarcely aware of spiritual treasures, nor value them.  That knowledge then, would disclose the location of the Garden of Eden and the proper approach to enter the land of Canaan to Abram and the center of his first attentions.  

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    Perhaps, by the twentieth generation the knowledge would seem as traditions even, and such information is not shown in the scrolls he carries with him as he steps out of Haran, travels south to the Euphrates, and crosses out of Upper Mesopotamia, and into the promises given to him by the LORD his God.   Apprehensive, feeling the loss of country security (Assyrian rule and Sumerian influences), the fellowship of kindred – those born after Noah, after the eldest patriarchs returned to Haran evidently, earlier than Terah, and with only communications to tie him to his father’s family.  His brother Nahor continues to live in Haran in the country between the two rivers.  Jacob’s Rachel brought images of the god of Haran with her.  Shedding the cloud of Sin of that anciently worshipped moon-god was refreshing to Abram and the first embarkment of the reality of the words of the LORD God. In Adam’s Haran, with the information he gained there, Abram determines the correct way to enter the land of Canaan and where to enter it – Shechem, sometimes referred to as the navel of Palestine is his destination, after he crossed the Jordan River.  Abram built an altar at Shechem, Jacob builds an altar near Shechem, and the nation Israel builds an altar there: and we see in Abel the altar he built as a tradition of Adam, who without doubt, built an altar on the west side of the Jordan River, after he was sent from the Garden of Eden at Shechem.  It is the way since Adam, to take into the heart the substitute offering for the sin of disobedience.  The evidence of such an action from Adam is the skin clothing that the LORD God made for Adam and Eve, and the altar that Abel built.  The assurance of Adam receiving the promise of the seed of the

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    woman is his imitation of the sacrifice that was made for to clothe them.    
        And so, the full pattern is drawn.  Adam left Haran, rather, he was taken from there, perhaps in similar fashion as Abram or perhaps as Enoch was taken.  Removed from ancestry.  Removed from the dust (those people of the earth who do not acknowledge the LORD God) of moon worshipers, from along the extremities of the Euphrates on the east side of field and plow, Adam crossed the Euphrates, traveling, the trade route, south, passing through Damascus (on a trade route from Mari along the Euphrates) on southward on the east side of the Jordan River to a spot where later Jacob built Succoth.  Adam crossed the Jordan through the way to Shechem entering a retirees dream, the Garden that God planted, the Garden of Eden.

    From:  “The People’s Bible Encyclopedia”   page 1013,  (2) Location.    The situation of the town is one of surpassing beauty.  It lies in a sheltered valley, protected by Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north.  The feet of these mountains, where they rise from the town, are not more than five hundred yards apart.  The bottom of the valley is about eighteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, and the top of Gerizim eight hundred feet higher still.  The site of the present city, we believe to have been also of the Hebrew city, occurs exactly on the water summit; and streams issuing from the numerous springs there flow down the opposite slopes of the valley, spreading verdure and fertility in every direction.

    
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    and:
    From:  “A Dictionary of the Holy Bible”  pub. by The American Tract Society  1859, The winter rains which fall in the eastern part of the valley find their way to the Jordan, while in the western part are numerous springs, forming a pretty brook which flows towards the Mediterranean.  “Here,” says Dr. Robinson, “a scene of luxuriant almost unparalleled verdure burst upon our view.  The whole valley was filled with gardens of vegetables and orchards of all kinds of fruits, watered by several fountains which burst forth in various parts and flow westward in refreshing streams.  It came upon us suddenly, like a scene of fairy enchantment.  We saw nothing to compare with it in Palestine…”

        It is unlikely, marking the exuberance of the above quotations, that the site is new to being identified as The Garden of Eden.  The question though is what substantiates such an assumption?
        Moses sends the Israelites, who are to immanently enter the land, to assemble on Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim and build an altar in the valley.  Deut.26&27 once they have entered the land.  The question arises as to Moses’ knowledge of these two particular mountains; since he had never been in the the land of Canaan; although, he viewed the land from Mount Pisgah, indicating that had if he not gained the information directly from God: then it therefore, must have been from some writing no longer extant or elder source.  Perhaps, Egypt’s education provided the geography for Moses instruction, but then he was a man of faith and sight and somehow it

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    seems more likely that it came from the Adamic family and that from the LORD God.  And he choose Shechem for this display of faith in placing the
    ten commandments upon white plastered rocks on Ebal and an altar upon Mount Gerizim.  It is wonder that a place chosen first to present themselves into the land be in three instances be the same site -i.e. the blessing and the curse – Shechem.   So then, Israel is the flock and the farm.  Abel and Cain.  The blood and the produce.
        Mount Gerizim forms the south wall of the narrow valley, while Mount Ebal forms the north wall.  Anciently, the slopes of Mount Ebal had grapes growing on it.  At the east of these two mounts is a large plain, like a vestibule of sorts, into the narrow valley.  At the east entrance of the valley, on the right, at the foot of Mount Ebal, is the tomb of Joseph and to the left nearer Mount Gerizim is Jacob’s well.  Should we remove the thousands of years between the time of Eve, when the serpent spoke to her and the day Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, there is a striking contrast as to the outcome of the two women’s lives.  Eve dies and the Samaritan woman lives.  The Prince of Death kills and the Seed of Life saves.  The similitude of the LORD walked in the Garden of Eden and the LORD Jesus returns to the site of that Paradise, where the fields were then white to harvest.  So the evidence of “returns:” Abram, Jacob, the Nation Israel (Deut.17) and the LORD Jesus, justifies the identification of Shechem as the site of the Garden of Eden.  Even more, consider the magnitude of such luxuriousness in this spot and time when the levant was all Fertile Crescent.  The wisdom and grace of our LORD God surpasses all understanding.  Of the specific plants,

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    that valley today produces, the grape, the olive and the fig.  Yes, the fig of which leaves (that are small) Adam made covers for himself and Eve and without doubt was the forbidden fruit that they partook and the tree that Jesus cursed.  Consider also, that the LORD God gave Adam but that one commandment not to do, and that Jesus speaking to his disciples gave them only one commandment to do – to love each other.  Perhaps, we do not see the violence in the words spoken to Adam and Eve and the serpent in the Garden by the similitude of the LORD God – “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel.”  Very interesting, it is known that the Romans crucified by driving a nail through each heel fastening the feet to each side of the upright of the cross.  And of course, Jesus bruised the head of Satan during the wilderness temptation.   Notice too, that the serpent,
    even though cursed, apparently is not sent from the Garden.  We who are in Christ Jesus, our Garden of Delights, know full well that the old serpent still has the power to tempt us there, but not forever.
        A little east and south of Shechem, about ten miles is Shiloh, where  upon entering the Promised Land the Nation Israel first pitched the Tabernacle of Witness with his altar.  Moses (Deut.17) warns Israel before entering the land that they are not to worship the sun-god nor the moon-god.  Both Egypt and Assyria had a sun-god, while Sumer (Ur) and Babylon after them embraced Sin their moon-god.  In Adams day, Shechem was the Garden of Delights -trees for food an orchard of health and pleasantness.  To Israel the nation, it is the “land of milk and honey,” honey being produced from

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    heavenly bloom of trees and fields of grain, milk from the preserved flock of Abel,  which also provided the skins for the writing of scrolls.  A scroll is the evidence that a sacrifice has been made for the words thereon.  
        The altar is for atonement for sin and the ten commandments to convince of sin.  Abram build an altar at Shechem and there was the oak of Moreh (teaching)  Gen. 12:6.  Jacob built an altar there.  The Book of Judges 9:6 mentions a ‘pillar’ in Shechem, as well as a stronghold ‘tower’ in Shechem  Judges 9:47.  Joshua proclaims the law from Shechem Josh 8:33-45 and Joshua gathers all of Israel to Shechem before his death.  The Nation Israel builds an altar of the people of Israel in Gerizim.  Joseph is taken to Egypt from Dothan only ten miles away from  Shechem and Joseph is buried there.

Genesis 47:9  “And Jacob  said unto Pharaoh, the days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”

        Brought forward now to the intents of the treatise:
        Adam is outside the Garden of Eden, clothed in animal skins and camped in the vestibule plain on the east.  Camped, because Adam knew well that he could not remain long away from where The LORD God returned him to, Haran, and the fields he was condemned to till.  He waited perhaps, to see if the mercies of God would allow him to reenter the Garden.  Eve birthed

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    twins, Cain and Abel.   In imitation of Adam who was a tiller of the soil, Cain becomes a tiller of the ground.  But Abel the younger, hearing of the curse upon the family and beholding the figure of the slain animals skins that they wear, understands the substitution of an animal sacrifice, until the “seed of the woman” should be bruised, to make atonement for their sin of disobedience, and becomes a keeper of the sheep.  God sees Cain’s sacrifice brought near, but views it as the labors that He took Adam away from, to give him the Garden of Eden.  The LORD God rejects Cain’s offering of sweat – it is not of blood of the image of the bruised seed.  Abel builds an altar and offers a substitute animal offering in pattern with the Way of the LORD God and he is found acceptable in the sight of the LORD God.       
         With only one law to keep, to retain the grace of the owner of the Garden, Adam falls short through disobedience of only one precept.  Loosing the habitation and joy of his salvation and acquiring a newer nature from the Serpent and unable of himself to regain his former creation, Adam remains near the Garden; but, outside of it writing of his experience, the communion with the LORD God and His delightful presence.  Thus, from within sight of the Cherubim at Shechem that guarded the way to the Garden, we have the Adam Scroll.   Today, Genesis 1:1 through 2:3.  Cain the oldest is hoped upon as the “seed” deliverer from returning to the dusts of Haran.  But Cain falls further than his father Adam and slays his younger brother.  The LORD God banishes him from the fertile earth, to wander east of the fertile land between the rivers, east of the Tigris, probably around Susi or more north to Nineveh.  Or is there today a city named Enoch named after Cain’s

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    son.  Perhaps, Cain passed through Damascus in his wanderings eastward or more likely the southern caravan route through the desert and crossed Mesopotamia.  
        Since the fall of Adam we find two divergence’s from walking with God.  One is with Cain, builder of cites, his sons workers in metals ( to make a better life for themselves) technologies, etc.  Recall that the LORD God made Adam’s life better by planting him a Garden to dwell in.  The other is from the people of the earth, their distraction is Sumer and the pursuit of so called superior intelligence, which yields superiority – dominance.  Today the contrivance is to “handle” people especially by lies – for the purpose of dominance, that is not allowing freedom to worship God as the Adamics.  (see Gen. 4:16)  This places them above others and even above “the seed of the woman.”   While the family of Cain sought technicalities such as metallurgy to better themselves in this life – and the Sumerians offered superior intelligence in education lifting them into a status of elevated humanity – pride.
        And so, Adam stands outside the Garden with a scroll, and an eldest son gone from him, in whom all hope had resided.  He turns north to look after his slain son Abel’s flocks, now without a shepherd.  Adam, with heavy heart bearing losses none could possibly imagine, journeys north along the highway to the west of the Chinnereth Sea and takes to him all that his goodly son left him – the flocks of acceptable sacrifice.  He takes the flock on north to the caravan routes possibly passing through Hittite Carchemish and on east to Assyrian Haran.  Adam had become a shepherd.  And he tills

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    the ground from which he was taken, and Eve bears a son named Seth in Haran.            
        Adam remembers at the plow the time he spent with the similitude of the LORD God, the pleasant words, the comfort of His presence and revelation.  The sweat dropped from his brow onto the ground beneath the plow, mixed with his tears of regret.  Adam – man, human only, with memories, more regrets, disgust, frustration, he learns to hate -himself first; but, for the single comfort of the “promise” of a seed, a deliverer from the baking atmosphere of Haran, where no fruited limbs shade him from the intense sun, he would have died.  His apprehension lights upon Seth the substitute son – is he the “seed?”  Then the examination of Seth’s son Enos and his son and his son and his son, until, Lamech at last Adam’s hope expires not on the promise, but upon actuality, the real instance of the real person, who will take away his innate desire to disobey the lovely LORD God and take away the resign of his heart to tolerate the god of Haran, Sin, the moon-god.
        Because of vain hope that the “seed” should rest in the oldest son, “he shall bruise,” the genealogies of Cain are carefully given and of Esau and other descents in the Bible that all end, and of Cain’s in the judgment of the flood of Noah.  There is no “seed of the woman” therein.    
        Then again, in Haran, Adam the farmer-shepherd begins to become prosperous, his son Seth takes up Adams professions and when Pharaoh interviews  the sons of Jacob, long years ahead is the incident, and their answer is “we are shepherds.”  Note as well, that in Jacob, the Nation Israel has its beginning in Haran in the daughters Nahor the brother of Abram,

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    Rachel and Leah in the sojourn of Jacob from Haran to Succoth.  
        The journey of the family of Adam along the Euphrates, restricted their agricultural pursuits and they become more shepherd-gathers as inferred in Reuben gathering the mandrakes and in Amos and the sycamore fruit; though, once the Nation Israel is in the land and settled, flock and planting and harvesting of grain is apparent.  But for now, in the line from Seth we begin to see, using the meanings of the names again, the true prosperity of the family of Adam.  The prosperity that enabled them to travel.
        After Seth more sons and daughters are born to Adam and Eve and a son is born to Seth and he is named Enos the name means – man; but, is he The Man, is he the seed of the woman?  Close examination of the newborn is made, indeed, each newborn for more sons and daughters are born to him.  The Adam family grows considerably and more prosperous.  Seth reads his father’s scroll, he hears his father and mother’s experience in the Garden of Eden and the loss of his older brothers from the family.  He is not really alone, except from them.  It is faith that names Seth’s son Enos for with anxious love he to desires “the seed of the woman” seeing in his father the darkness of disobedience and it in himself also.  Enos has a son expectantly examined as himself was for the evidence of the promise.  But what did Enos look for in the new born?  Perhaps, the brightness that pervaded the similitude of the LORD God described to them by Adam and Eve.  But it was not in Cainan, eldest son of Enos, nor in the other sons and daughters born to Enos.  No doubt, Enos went to visit Adam with the news; but, Adam the fallen son of God, only renewed the promise in Enos knowing to be sure the

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    vigil be kept.  Adam knew the LORD God and that the promise was not a vain one.  Cainan means – possessor, so now Enos causes Cainan to possess the promise of the seed at an early age, perhaps four or five and they read a copy of the scroll of Adam, so that the young man was established with his inheritance long before the decease of Adam or Seth.  And a son is born to Cainan his name is Mahalaleel – the praise of God.  But the newborn is not the “seed” and Mahalaleel has a son named Jared meaning descent.  
        The fields are tilled, the crops harvested, the flocks of Abel are kept, the Adam family is very prosperous in Haran, along the trade route east from Nineveh to Charchemish only some seventy miles to the west.  The highway of earth with the stones and rocks pushed to the side, brings in more than trade goods, importantly, information. Perhaps it was the combined need for pasture and the restlessness that prosperity builds and the boredom with the local moon-god, so that perhaps Mahalaleel but surely Jared began journeying south along the east side of the Euphrates River through more moon worshippers.  They are destined for the Sumerian city of Ur.  It is a slow journey not to overdrive the flocks, a generational pilgrimage that takes them out of Haran.  Having had the privilege of conversing with Adam, that practice gradually declined and they clung more tenaciously to the scrolls in their pilgrimage away from Haran.  
        While in Ur, of Chaldean-Sumer, at the mouth of the river Euphrates, there were great schools of thinking and teaching and the written language of cuneiform, and the joy of the skill of intellect.  This appeal was from the Serpent upon the corrupted heart of the Adams, who had through

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    prosperity acquired idleness of mind.  With only a slight twist the Serpent usurped faith in the LORD God, with intellectual activities.  Sound reasoning to be sure?  Then too, the Adam family had expanded throughout the town of Haran and they were crowded there.  And so it was in the days of Jared that the Adam patriarchs began to lead the way south along the east side of the Euphrates toward Ur of enlightenment.  As in Haran the god there was Sin the moon-god, a light in the night darkness.  They began to walk in the ways of the world, still clinging in the patriarchal generations, to the scroll of Adam and the promise of the “seed.”  In this generational pilgrimage the Adam family became more shepherds than tillers of the soil.      Adam himself remains alive to see the days of Lamech the father of Noah.  It is an informed family, but again a family with all the weaknesses of Adam.  They descend to find at Ur an advanced culture with schools and colleges and an interestingly complicated written language, but faith in the LORD God is not taught.  In all actuality, it was only the light of the moon, the light of the darkness, for the light from God was the promised “seed.”  Jared has a son his name is Enoch.  He too is not the “seed” but in walking with the Adam family south or perhaps better put, being drug south, Enoch walks with God.  Enoch’s unwanted preaching among the people of the earth or even the sons and daughters of Adam after him is recorded in Jude of the new covenant.  “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of

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    all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.”  But our God is a Jealous God and would not let the ungodly have righteous Enoch, until after he had fathered a son Methuselah.  And He took him and he was not – on the earth to be abused.  
        The Hebrews are noted for being writers and the pattern is set in Adam for he walked with God also, in the Garden of Eden.  Preserved with the scroll of Adam is the scroll of Enoch.  Evidence clearly shows that a walker with God records his experiences of fellowship. Now Enoch named his first born son Methuselah – man of the dart not because Methuselah was to write, but because Enoch was the writer – a living memorial in name of sort.  A man experienced in the scroll of Adam and the pure symbols of the paleo-Hebrew language, through conversations with Adam.  This experience pleased God, and Enoch walked with God, while others were walking towards Ur and the Sumerian cure for boredom.  Haran was on a trafficked road way and this knowledge of Ur part of the interchanges with the dust of the earth from Nineveh east and Charcemish west.  
        Evidently, before God took up Enoch, some warring interference was beginning to occur with the journey south; because, the son of Enoch is named Methuselah – man of the dart (a weapon, and the faith side of the understanding is the pen – a writer).  The secular resistance to the family obviously continued because the son of Methuselah is Lamech – destroyer.  The family becomes proficient warriors, because the whole earth is full of

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    violence.  A faith side to Lamech’s name should be that he “destroyed” the secular thinking from his mind, to behold the LORD God.  Enoch described the conditions on the earth at that time, so God the Creator says, enough. And a flood destroys all that is unpleasant to him.  
        But Noah – rest, dove finds grace in the eyes of God, because Noah walks with God, though being drug along toward Ur by the family no doubt.  Judgment comes upon all of the family, including the children born to the sons of Adam after the eldest sons  The scroll of Enoch starts at Genesis 2:4 and continues to 4:26 with the Noah scroll beginning with Genesis 5:1 recording to 11:9.  Then Abram (Abraham) at 11:10 to 25:6, in addition the later divisions include the Scroll of Isaac 25: to 28:9 and the Scroll of Jacob (Israel) 28:10 to 50:26.  Respective: G.3:8,G.5:22,G.6:9,G.48:15, G.48:15 & Ex.14:29.  It is note worthy that five of the Patriarch’s walked with the LORD God, while Jacob is implied as having written, perhaps through Joseph, when the Nation Israel walked on dry ground Ex.14:29.  And Moses, the man of God, put the six scrolls kept with Joseph’s bones, together into the Book of Genesis that we have today and forever.  
        Continuing though with the family of Adam’s pilgrimage, they journeyed along the river passing the city of Mari and reached Tutul or Sippar, those being a bit north of Babylon.  Without doubt, they encountered the obstacles
    of city-kingdom dominances, and as consequence, they of necessity, protected themselves as shown in the meaning of the name of the son of Methuselah, Lamech – destroyer, vigorous.  The defender of their faith – physically, set upon by army and robbers and looters the closer to Babylon

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    they approached. Abram in the land of Canaan showed himself to be a warrior to rescue Lot.  In Lamech though, the glow of Adamic faith had not diminished, he names, as a prophet can and correctly, his eldest son, Noah, meaning – rest or dove.  Hopeful, no doubt, that this was the “Seed” he was not wrong, in part, that Noah would be a savior.  Here the ark is built and lifted above the judgment with Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives.  From all, only these eight persons of the family of Adam survive.  Out of the Euphrates River lumber was procured from the rafts of logs floating south to Babylon and Ur.
        Judgment comes, the flood waters rose.  From the Euphrates River the ark is pushed by the wind (the Coriolis effect) east but more north, putting the ark at rest close to the Tigris River in the Ararat Mountain region.  God begins anew to build himself a people “after his own heart” in Noah’s son Shem – meaning – name.  Surely in his mind and the longing of his heart Noah must have looked upon this newborn son and mused as to whether he would be the deliverer “seed.”          
      Methuselah died two years before the flood.  He, the only remaining living Patriarch other than Noah.   And the family, now in this one man, Noah, and he is northeast instead of southwest in Mesopotamia in the Ararat region, where the ark finally rested.  In Shem, the covenant of God with Adam lives and is preserved, his name means, name i.e. first; thus assuming
    of the triplets he is the elder of the three.  At the age of ninety-eight he entered the structure of the ark that he had helped his father Noah build: with its hand hewn timbers and adzed boards, the smell of pitch and straw

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    mingled with the odor of  the animals and provender he had labored to gather in, and he rested within, sealed from the rage of judgment without.          After leaving the ark, the Adamic “tradition” of the altar is continued by Noah, he is five hundred and one years old, and Shem gathered the uncut stones into a square around and filled it within with soil.  The wood and fire are laid on the earth and the substitute clean animals upon, a sweet savor in the nostrils of the LORD God who knows thereby, his sacrifice “seed of the woman” will be accepted.  Shem has with him three scrolls now – the Adam scroll, the Enoch scroll and the Noah scroll.  Grandsons are born to Noah there, and they journey each to a separate portion of the earth.  This dispersal of Adamics could be the record of the confusing of the language of the builders at the Tower of Babel.  The flood did not kill the seed of the Serpent either, for it was in the heart of the sons of Adam to give attention to the whims of Satan.              
        Of Shem, Moses, when he “was born was a beautiful child,” but in the earlier line of Adam the son of Shem is Arphaxad.  Shem having named the child thus, because already the wanderings of the family of Adam had taken them southwest again, from the Ararat region and this time near or at Babylon in the land of Shinar.  Arphaxad means – border or fortress of the Chaldeans.  Arriving in the land of Shinar, we have the Biblical record of the tower of Babel, showing the dispersion of the builders.  In the son of Arphaxad who himself surely had in mind Eber – to cross over, the Euphrates, from the ill conceived tower and seek a righteous destination near the grave of Abel,  having the Adam scroll as guide.  But, it is Eber who

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    crosses over and caravans nearly to the Great Sea, west of Damascus near the town of Abel. He leaves his son Peleg – divided, to continue the mind set journey south.  Eber carried with him the scrolls of Adam who walked with
    God in the Garden, Enoch and Noah wrote in the language of  today identified as paleo-Hebrew.  This placed a renewed knowledge of their language (Adam used the script there) into the area of the northern Great Sea and into the hands of another people called the People of the Sea, the Phoenicians – merchants, who spread this writing all about the Mediterranean Sea and beyond.  Thereby, preserving the integrity of the language and in the land of Palestine, where east of the Jordan River it was later used by the Moabites.  Perhaps as well, the language was preserved to the Moabites because of Lot their father the nephew of Abram, also in possession of the paleo-Hebrew written language.             
        Returning to the journey southwest to the land of Shinar.  The family of Adam returned to Babylon in the land of Shinar.  Although, it is doubtful, Noah and Shem themselves accompanied them, but rather traveled from the ark to Haran.  Seeing the huge ziggurats of Shinar the sons of Adam decide to build a tower, an enormous altar, an elaborate tower to reach up to heaven.  A structure to rival the heathen efforts.  It was recorded that Enoch was the man who walked with God and God translated him up into heaven.  Evidently, they chose to climb up to Heaven of their own device, not bothering with the daily intimacies with the LORD God.  In the Holy Writings are found the way of God, without which “no man” can enter, thus the outcome of the Tower of Babel.             

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        Three men escape the journey to Ur – Enoch, Noah and Eber; but, the Adamic generations continues on south along the east side of the Euphrates  and not without difficulty, that began greatly in the days when Eber was given Peleg – the name means – divided.  With the wars, Chaldeans against Sumerians and Assyrian intrusions, social upheavals yielding change occurred in the days of Peleg and the fervor of the faith hides from the tumultuously divided secular world, but faith suffers injury resulting in dullness.  It is seen in the meanings of the names.  The son of Peleg is Reu and means “friend”  of God by birthright, but also by the forced-friend of secularism, the people of the earth.  Reu the patriarch embraces the three scrolls of the Adam covenant.  The family is still generationally journeying south toward Ur and the effects of the closeness to destination, also shows in the meanings of the names, as we see Reu names his son Serug – tendril.  The family is clinging to the promise of Adam by tender shoots of faith that grasp for support and more than just to the LORD God, they seek the support of the newly organized secular inhabitants and those are plentifully spread about.  The wealthy Adam family lifts their heads to meet the people of the earth.  Serug names his son Nahor – snorting.   Snorting, at the gloom of the emptiness of the lack of faith – most assuredly not at the scrolls.  The faith side of this name, that represents a mans life span of one hundred and forty eight years, is that he did not like the odor of the secular world and snorted at it.  But, they still have the three scrolls to clasp to and perpetuate.  Noah and Shem are still alive in Haran and they are a living testament to the newer covenant in the scrolls.  

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        Nahor has a son named Terah – station.  The family has come to station –  journey completed at Ur, the center of ultra sophistication, higher learning and intellectual abilities; but, it is a false and cruel light for the heart of the
    Sons of Adam.  To the superior capacity for intellectual capabilities this Adamic family was now in the other garden, the garden of depressions, very far from the Garden of Spiritual Delights, where the LORD God wanted them.
        In Ur, Terah looks upon his newborn son Abram a goodly child, thinking this surely is the “seed” of promise.  But at the city of intellectual activity the LORD God speaks to Abram, beholder of the Scrolls of the Family of Adam, and steeped in the learning of the Sumerians in the city of the moon god Sin.  From the scrolls Abram recognizes the voice of the LORD God and obeys his bidding and the seed of the Adam family returns, with the flock of Abel, to the city of Haran, that parched and labor demanding place of origin.  But without faith it is impossible to please God.  
        According to Steven in the Book of Acts the LORD God appeared unto Abram in Ur of the Chaldeans and sent him to the land of Canaan.  The Book of Genesis continues with, after the death of Haran, perhaps the eldest son of Terah; he arose, and taking with him Abram and Nahor and Sarai Abram’s wife and Milcah Nahor’s wife, and Lot the son of Haran (possibly  they were triplets) and journeyed to Haran.  This was a major pilgrimage to travel 750 trade route miles with family and servants and the flocks.  Abram was then the next in line for the patriarchal position, his wife Sarai was without child, so that things were not going well for the Adam family

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    in Ur.    So he went forth, taking the flocks of Abel to go to Canaan and Terah and Abram came to Haran.  In the journey, had they turned left at Mari along the Euphrates River they would have come to Damascus along the regular trade route.  But, they traveled an additional three hundred miles to reach Haran.  Without doubt there was sentimental reasons for Terah to name his dead son, Haran, or perhaps a practical reason.  Noah was still living, he lived ten years after the birth of Abram and it is only five hundred miles west from Lake Van in the Ararat Region to Haran and Noah was there.  Of course by the time Terah arrived in Haran Noah had died; but, the information he sought from Noah would have been with the other Adamics, specifically Shem, having returned with his father Noah, to Haran.   A tragedy had occurred in the death of Haran, Terah’s son and then again Sarai was barren: the family of Adam was in jeopardy of disappearing from the face of the earth.  But the LORD God was sending them to the land of Canaan.  Even with the three scrolls with him, Terah was doing what any of the patriarchal fathers before him had.  Seek council of the Elder and he was in Haran.  Yes, they were faced daily with this moon-god Sin and in Ur too; but, comfort had to be instilled in the mind of Terah though he was not confused about his faith.  By returning to Haran, Noah had brought again to origin the family journey to Ur, by Terah seeking Noah in Haran – the true “station” of beginning.
        Thus, Abram, like Adam, with faith in the LORD God left Haran and passed through Damascus, and near Succoth he crossed the Jordan River and entered the land of promise and the way to Shechem.  With the command

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    the LORD God had given Abram and the instructions at Haran, the very long Ur episode closed – the navel of the promised land reached.

        It is perplexing to note that the meaning of Haran, being “parched” in the dictionary, is such a stunning collection of Hebrew letters in light of their pictorial meanings.  Keth – the lotus i.e. righteousness, resh – head, nun – snake, i.e. beautiful; reads like a descriptive sentence.  Righteoous head beautiful or, if you will, Beautiful head of righteousness.  The first Adam’s residence.
        Palestine – rolling, migratory.  The armies of Egypt, the Hittite Kingdom, Assyria and Chaldea and Babylon and others, traveled and conquered through the byway Palestine.
        Four patriarchs live beyond the birth of Isaac – Shem, Arphaxad, Salah and Eber.  
        Shown clearly, the Hebrews are a “writing people” though the name Hebrew came to them some time later by way of the patriarch Eber.  -those who have crossed over the flood.  Then, each year the Euphrates flooded.  
        Also benevolent, is that before the flood the patriarchs are recorded as having begat and then died.  Whereas, after the flood the patriarchs begat and lived.  There is no condemnation for those who are in the Ark of Noah.
                            Joseph E. Swearengin
                            Ohio, USA
                            January/2014                 

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Four novels: Amos,

                 The Argot Canticle, 

                  The Scrolls of Noah's Ark, 

                   The Oxford          






                    Amos


                        a novel
                     written by 

                Joseph Edsel Swearengin




                      January 2, 1999

                    Contents

Morning in the Fold 1
Moab 5
The Temple of Molech 14
Benjamin Juden 27
Amos in the Earth 37
The Captor 54
Pursers 81
Cave of the Ancients 92
Travelers from Zoar 100
Hanoch of Reuben 107
The Moabite’s Reward 123
The Elders of Jericho 133
King Uzziah 147
Azaniah the Levite 155
The Lamb 160
Milcah 170

                    b


  Consider the time involved to build the person who leaves a foot print.  Many or few books, the time it took to construct the words that person leaves behind him when he steps out of this world, are but a minute fraction of time that his life has consumed.  And his life span is even less of an impression upon the immensity of eternity, but God’s words are forever.

                    c

                 Morning in the Fold


In the warmth of his father’s flock, Amos rose from his night’s sleep into the early morning sunlight.  He was scarcely standing when a swoosh of sound shot close by his head.  Nearby he saw two goats reel to face west, their eyes and ears alert.  Turning, Amos saw the dark figure of a man nocking another arrow into his bow.  Dropping onto his hands and knees the youth quickly crawled toward where he knew his mother’s brother had stood at the edge of the sheep herd.  As he clawed through the dust, the sound of the animals breathing was all that Amos could hear.  
He reached the spot where the presence of the elder would give him refuge. Instead Amos found his uncle laying on the ground with an arrow in his back. 
                    #
“Uncle Ira?” Amos said.
The wounded man roused his head to look at Amos and said.  “Moabites, Amos, run.”
Wanting to remain with his uncle, yet knowing to obey, Amos began to rise.  It was of no use.  A black robed man with a sword in one hand firmly grabbed Amos’s coat lifting him nearly from the earth 
 “You cannot run now boy!”  said the Moabite.
Amos continued to struggle until he saw the another Moabite raider then he pulled away to the extent of his coat.  Looking about there were eight or ten more Moabites, but the other two shepherds were missing.  Amos assumed they were dead.
“We had better take this one along with us.  The herd will follow easier and we can get a good price for him - - he is young,” said the man who held him. 
Amos focused his attention upon Ira.  He lay as he had when Amos first crawled to him.  Ira didn’t move, Amos did not want to think he was dead.  One of the captors was robbing Ira of his rod, sling, bag, shoes and coat.  This is the image that burned into the mind of the sixteen year old as the Moabites drug Amos away.
“Uncle..., Uncle Ira,” Amos called.  The sound of his voice echoed in the low valley that served as the sheep coat for the preceding night.  As the band left, Amos noticed that a Moabite had tied the lead ewe sheep.  She followed, without objection, not far behind Amos.  They had obviously watched the herd for some time and carefully planned their raid, Amos thought.
The first day passed with Amos’s attention being divided between his concern for Ira and the safety of the herd that followed him.  Although, still a youth his developing devotion as a shepherd already preempted his mind.  They 
                    #

were still in pasturable land heading east into the beginning of the swale of the ravine that would take them to the Salt Sea. At night fall they stopped the flock, there was no moon light. They ate from their scripts. Amos was given a few husks of carob and a little water. No one slept. In the blackness Amos listened expectantly for what the Moabites feared – – pursers. None came.
A long awaited sunrise started them on in haste. The softness of the
path was giving way to the ravines jagged rocks. By noon-time Amos began to limp from the sharp projections. He had not had time to find his shoes.
Soon, the Salt Sea appeared below them as the troupe descended into the stagnant heat. At the waters edge he tried to escape along the northward route, but they had tied him like the ewe. The Moabite that held him used the lead rope to jerked him into submission. They headed south along the shore path. The Moabites stopped to talk about something that Amos could not hear. Soon, he and two of the captors turned from the path and headed east into the shallows of the Salt Sea. The others, with the drove, continued south.
Tears flowed from Amos’s eyes, but not a sound left his mouth, as
they waded through the salt water. The salt caused Amos grievous pain in the cuts of his feet. Before they reached the projection of land from the east shore of the lake, Amos fell and was dragged to his feet. The stagnant salt filled air made breathing difficult. His clothes did not dry on him. He struggled to walk with the extra weight of his wet clothing. Even the two Moabites with their booty were beginning to tire.
Finally, they reaching the east shore; without stopping they continued northeast on the projection of land. Amos was staying erect by leaning back on the rope, to the irritation of his captor. Dazed from the injuries to his feet, he was barely conscious of the hateful glances being shot at him. We are on dry ground again, Amos thought, why aren’t we stopping?
#
Two long hours later found them at the pool of a dry river bed. This was the torrential river Kur. Exhausted, the Moabite released the rope that held their captive and drank the fresh water. Amos fell to the ground barely conscious; then he rose again to stagger to the waters edge and fell face down into the pool. He was not awake when the Moabites drug him from the pool. The young Israelite lay heavily upon the stones of the riverbed. These
were the smooth rounded rocks he saw first when he awakened some time later.
Amos turned his head to see, the two Moabites squatted near a small fire. It was dusk. It was easier to breath, they were away and above the salt lake air. His feet hurt and the heavy, wet, salty clothing held him to the rocks tenaciously.
The Moabite that had tethered him got up and walked toward him. Amos was not afraid. He walked close enough to throw a barley cake in front of Amos and returned to the fire to watch his prey. Amos, more thirsty than hungry slowly rose and knelt beside the pool. He drank from the palm of his hand. Now, the signs of his being a true son of Jacob became clear. His captors had thrown themselves on their bellies to drink, not realizing the animal nature of their act.

                    #


                    Moab


The voices of his captors awakened Amos to the still muggy morning air.  He could hear them discussing the city they were taking him to, it was Kir-Hareseth. The city was two more days, further east, up the riverbed.  The voice of his Uncle Ira leaped into his mind.  Amos remembered him pointing out the River Kur from Judean plateaus and telling him of the city that was beyond their sight.  Troubled thoughts engulfed Amos as the picture of Ira laying in the pasture returned to his mind.  He had been in Ira’s care when not with his Father in the fields.  Perhaps, as much as his Father, Ira had taught Amos the things he needed to know to be a shepherd and a son of Jacob.  “Do not associate your self, Amos, with the lewd fellows who abuse themselves with their flocks.” he had said.  He had shown him the lands of Edom to the south of the Salt Sea and the boarders of the Fields of Moab along the eastern shore line.  Now, looking across the sea it was the higher Judean plateaus Amos saw.  
                    #

He was still hearing Ira’s words.
“The Edomites are descended from our father Jacob’s brother, Esau, who is also named Edom meaning ‘red’,” Ira said. “Their anger toward us rises from the trick that was played upon him by Jacob, coupled with his own faults and unchecked resentments. And so, we continue to bear the hostilities that were passed down. “Now, Moab’s roots are older. Jacob’s Grandfather, Abraham, had a nephew named Lot. He it is that had children by his two daughters of whom the eldest bore a son she named, Moab.” Ira had been interrupted, unable to continue his lessons. Amos desired to know the remainder of Ira’s story; but there was never opportunity. It appeared to Amos that the time that he thought was close, had passed away forever.
Amos looked about the landscape. Even if these thieves were his relatives, this Field of Moab did not offer any satisfaction for Amos like the pastures of Judah. His head dropped in anguish, I must escape, he thought.
As he despaired, a rough hand rebelted the rope. They waited only long enough for Amos to remove his turban, divide it and bind his feet. Standing, Amos felt like he was balanced on two poles. He could not feel his feet; even though they seemed to bend. However, his awareness immediately returned with his first step. The pain in his feet shot to the top of his head; the turban would prevent further damage to his feet; but only the numbness allowed him to continue after walking a while.
Slower than the day before, the travelers were on the north side of the riverbed, climbing higher along the river’s gouge. The Moabites undoubtedly felt more comfortable on this side of the Salt Sea. The Fields of Moab lay ahead and above them out of their sight. Increasingly, larger rocks began making their way more difficult. The city Kir-Hareseth is well protected from an assault from the west, thought Amos.
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“Aye!” the Moabite in the lead screamed.
Immediately, Amos looked up from the stones he picked his way around. A lion leaped upon the Moabite that had yelled and with a huge clawed paw swung and severed the man’s neck. The man fell lifeless on the stones. The Moabite that led Amos dropped the rope, his pack, and staff and ran north up the bank behind some large boulders. The cat followed a short distance then turned to look at the movements of Amos, who had pounced upon the pack of the fleeing Moabite. From the loose folds of the pack Amos pulled his sling and knife. Before rising again he found a stone placing it in the sling. He stood and began swirling his sling above his head. The cat began toward Amos increasing his speed. Amos let go the stone from the sling. It glanced off the side of the cats head, slowing it only enough for Amos to arm himself with his knife. When the cat sprung upon him, Amos pushed a front leg aside with his left arm. At the cat’s side, Amos swung his right hand with the knife piercing the cat’s neck damaging the spine. Now, it was the cat that lay on the stones paralyzed, but still alive. The knife stuck from a bleeding wound in front of its shoulder. Quickly, Amos lifted a large stone above his own head and brought it down with such force that the single blow to the animals head killed it. Amos stood very nearly in the same spot as he had been in, the instant the lion attacked the first Moabite.
When the Moabite in the rocks saw Amos bring the cat down, he emerged to regain his hold on the rope that bound Amos. Amos noticed that the Moabite’s bow was still in its case with the arrows on his back. These were,
truly, only robbers and thieves. Amos just stood and looked at the man. The Moabites drawn dirk was to protect himself from the now portentous figure of the boy he had captured the day before. The Moabite regathered the pack and
sling, and staff with out relinquishing his sight of Amos.
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“Now,” the Moabite said, “skin the beast and lay some of the meat on the stones. We can have a fine meal.”
“Shall we look about your friend?” asked Amos.
“Oh, he’s dead enough and that is truth, boy. You just do as I told you and skin that lion. That hide and your own living one will bring me a piece of gold in Kir-Hareseth, when I tell them about this. The king himself might even be interested in buying you.”
Amos shook his head and bent over the warm body of the cat. Amos thought of another lion he had seen his father kill in a similar incident. A shepherd’s life is filled with this kind of danger. The scent of the herds draw the beasts in from long distances. His father had told him that sometimes a cat follows the herd for days studying to find the weaker ewes and lambs before attacking the herd. More of a shock to Amos was the disregard of the Moabite for his companion.
Amos rolled the heavy hide like a huge scroll and cut some large pieces of meat. It was midday when Amos gathered the wood for a fire at the end of the tether rope. From tender and small sticks in the Moabites pack Amos built a fire and cooked the meat. Amos even got a large portion, to his surprise, soon, he understood why.
The Moabite was unwilling to risk any delays at getting his prizes to the city and when the meal was finished he motioned for Amos to stand. Moving behind Amos the Moabite tied one end of his staff to the back of Amos’s arms like a yoke is tied to an ox. This immobilized Amos to the satisfaction of the
Moabite; who then tied a cord around the lion hide and fastened it beside Amos on the staff. He lifted the open end of the staff to his own shoulder.
“All right boy, we will be in Kir-Hareseth by tomorrow evening,” the Moabite said.
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The meat had been what Amos needed. A surge of energy rose up in him, but not for the purpose he wished. The perfect time for Amos’s escape had been prevented by the quickness of the greedy Moabite. There will come a time, thought Amos, when the captured will be smarter and Moab will be at my back.
That night there was more meat. The Moabite cooked this time, with some carob and barley cakes and water. Amos sat with the staff still tied to his back along with the lion skin. One man couldn’t walk away with such a load, and neither could the determined figure of Amos. With the tether rope tied taunt to a nearby boulder the Moabite slept. By rubbing the bottoms of his feet on the stones Amos soothed his sore feet. He slept little. The Moabite snored.
Amos kicked a stone at the Moabite.
“Wake up,” Amos said, “its been light for some time and I’m hungry.”
The Moabite woke at the rap of the projectile. Startled, he quickly got to his feet glaring at Amos.
“We’ll be on the way, boy, when I say so. You just sit and be still,” the Moabite said.
When he had further gathered his senses and the pack, the Moabite gave Amos two barley cakes from the last evening meal. With a cake in each hand, that Amos could just reach to his mouth, the march continued. The Moabite was anxious to reach the city.
By noon Amos slowed with his foot injuries and the Moabite finally
halted. Again, the Moabite made a fire cooking the last of the lion meat. The meat began to spoil in the heat, it was good that they did stop, they were both needing the extra nourishment.
“Well boy, we will be in Kir-Hareseth before the evening call of Molech.
I’ll be a wealthy man by dark. And when your herd is sold in Edom and my
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friends return, I shall be comfortable for many years.” said his captor.
This time the taunting did not go without retaliation. The laborings with the lion hide and the thought of approaching the city were too much for the Amos. With the top of his toes he lifted another stone and flipped it at his tormentor; it missed and brought only a broad smile to the Moabites face.
“You will pay in the end. My people are fierce and will come for me. You will only be a dog flea to their swords and axes,” said Amos.
“And where will these warriors of yours look for you, out alone for the likes of me?” asked the Moabite.
“They will find me,” quieted Amos, who again looked to the ground.
Not much affected by Amos’s threats the Moabite finished eating by wiping his mouth on his arm. He grabbed the staff nearly pulling Amos from the rock he was seated on. Amos glared at the man and got to his feet.
The opening of Amos’s awareness to the estimate of his surroundings became more real to him as he trudged on. The land was not repulsive, it was just empty – – nothing. Loneliness made a nest in his brain to raise her young, he would not soon shake away its effects. Remembering the land of Judah, the pastures, his home, his mother and father, his brothers and sisters only intensified the insignificant solitude. And more now, the threat of Kir-Hareseth loomed on the front of his mind; with the sight of the toe of each foot, he could not curse for bringing him closer. For the first time, his thoughts turned to the God of Israel, the LORD of his father. Even that image seemed distant. But he knew from being in the pastures, the comfort of his fathers faith, that held that the LORD was a very present help in time of need. Now, he knew it needed to be his own faith. He may never see his family or his lands again; but the LORD the God of the earth and heaven, who favored Israel
above the other nations, now became his God. There is nothing else to trust
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my soul to, I shall stay myself upon the LORD, thought Amos. The faint sounds of a busy city began to penetrate Amos’s awareness. Kir-Hareseth was not far.
Amos looked up the steep walls of the river gorge. He could see the tops of the watch towers and the guards crotched in the windows. They passed the city dump. The stench magnified his regard for his captor whose steps had livened to pull Amos up the steep incline. Had the Moabite known the help he was giving to Amos, he would more than likely have held back. Amos marked this as the value of the man’s intelligence. Learning the weaknesses of the opponents through this experience may prove valuable to me – – later, when I escape. With the confidence gained in resting himself in the LORD, it was no longer if he would escape – – but when.
At the edge of the plateau, Amos looked amidst black shepherd tents, pitched randomly before the city gate. They wound their way through to the ridicules aimed at Amos and an occasional insult as to the age of such ‘dangerous person’ seeing the heavy bindings on Amos. Near the gate the Moabite stopped and spoke to one of the leather venders, who purchased the lion hide. Amos heard the silver drop into his captors bag. Once more he would hear that sound – – from behind him. They entered the city.
Amos walked relieved, without the burden of the lion hide. His feet were again numb, the turban was nearly torn to shreds about his feet. Amplified by the city walls, the noise of the streets pressed upon Amos’s ears. In a tower above them an off-key low toned bell began to sound. A few moments later, when it had stopped Amos realized that was the call to Molech the God of the Moabites. Surprisingly, the bustle of the streets was not affected. Evidently the merchants, at least, were not overly religious.
The Moabite that had captured Amos held him in front, by holding the
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end of the staff that was still bound to Amos’s arms. They went down an alley passing open stone framed windows of homes. Amos nearly walked side ways because of the staff. They reentered a wide street and went two more blocks before the Moabite pushed Amos up several steps of a large building. He motioned to a boy and spoke something to him. The boy ran inside. Soon two turbaned men in white robes stood in the large doorway. A few at first, then a crowd of people formed to the sides and behind Amos and his captor. The Moabite did not rest from holding the staff as the two in white asked what he wanted. Nor did he relinquish hold of the pole when he began his story.
“Four days ago.” the Moabite captor began, “my comrades and I stole a flock of sheep and this boy from the land of Judah. After leaving the herd, a lion attacked my companion and killed him. Before I could defend myself, this lad bravely smote the beast with his sling and knife killing it.”
One of the men in white that stood in the doorway spoke briefly to the other and disappeared inside. In a moment a man dressed in white carrying a golden scepter stood between the first two.
“My name is Horon, King of Kir-Hareseth, why do you bother me with a another Israelite slave?” said the king.
Amos’s captor bowed low, to the point that he almost kneeled on the steps, then rose and repeated his first announcement of Amos’s bravery. Then he added. “My lord, such bravery should be kept with your bravest soldiers to inspire the same courage in them.”
The King, thoughtful, motioned to his guards with the golden scepter to
seize Amos. He spoke to one of the men in white who had appeared first in the doorway, as he turned and reentered the house.
Untying the staff from Amos’s arm, the soldiers were leading Amos away when Amos heard the sound of pieces of gold or silver being deposited in a bag.
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He hoped it would not be the last time that he saw his captor.
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                The Temple of Molech


Amos spent a wakeful week in King Horon’s dungeon.  Amos’s feet had healed enough that a slight limp was all that remained of the ordeal of his march to Kir-Hareseth.  In the morning of the eighth day he was given clean clothing and he bathed in preparation for his presentation to King Horon.  This he did reluctantly.   Had he spoken his thoughts, they would have been that he was not staying.  However, an opportunity to escape had not happened, seeing that he was under constant armed guard.  The walk through the dressed stone corridors to the Kings chamber had yielded even less occasion.  Amos surmised, that as long as he was in this building and under guard there might never be a chance to escape.  He memorized the passages and doorways; especially noting, the two large exterior doors that he identified as the spot where he had waited on the steps.  The doors were closed and bolted.
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The guards motioned Amos through a door.  Inside, King Horon sat on a raised throne opposite the doorway.  Amos noticed from the light of several pedestal lamps, the coarsely woven woolen curtains that hung on the walls.  This evidently was the Kings private chamber; several women reclined silently along the wall at the King’s left hand.  These were King Horon’s concubines Amos concluded as the guards forced him to kneel before the King.
“Young man, is it true that you, by yourself, slew the lion saving not only your life but the life of my loyal subject?”  asked the king.
“It is true King Horon, I killed the lion.”  said Amos.
“You are a very brave person.  What is your name?”  asked the King.
“My name is Amos, the eighth son of Adin, of the tribe of Judah, son of Israel,” Amos said.
“Ah, and you are a shepherd,” said King Horon.
“Yes, King Horon, as my fathers before me,” said Amos.
“In my province there are many more shepherds than are needed.  Had you not been brought to me personally, you might have been put to any menial task in Moab.  Now, it is common with your kind that you have considered escape.  I must warn you that death will be the reward; if not by the heat then by starvation, before you could reach the comfort of Judah.  And more so, if you should be caught, my soldiers have little patience with an escaped slave.  Consider this, son of Adin, you shall remain in my house as a personal body guard.  Of course, we can not permit you to be armed.  However, your presence and the legend of your courage will encourage my legions, you will be one they emulate.  Cooperate and you will be well treated; but if not, you will still remain if need be in chains as you spent the past week.  Do you understand Amos?”
“Yes, King Horon,”  Amos replied, but his thoughts were far from 
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complying with any wish from a Moabite, even if he is the King of Kir-Hareseth.
Although the King seemed pleased with Amos’s reply, he was still wary of the young Israelite. So, to further persuade, the King began a speech de-scribing the great Father Abraham.
“From the far eastern city of Ur journeyed a great man, in the eyes of God, whose name was Abram. He brought to the land God promised him, his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They both Abram and Lot possessed great herds and flocks. And it came to be that the land could not support so great a wealth. Abram and Lot decided to part, dividing the huge amount of livestock. Abram stayed in the land and Lot departed at length to the cites of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the days that followed God destroyed those cities, but saved Lot and his family from the destruction. However, upon leaving those cities Lot’s wife disobeyed God and turned to see the destruction and was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two daughters fled to the mountains and hid in a cave many days, until his daughters distressed themselves for the lack of husbands. Tricking their father Lot into drunkenness and laying with him in turn, they both conceived in their wombs two nations as it has turned about. The older daughter gave birth to a son son she named Moab and the younger to a son she called Ammon. These each grew into great multitudes of people as we are this day on the east of the Jordan River. And so you see young Amos, we are of the same blood and our Father of the same speech. Perhaps, it is good fortune that has brought you to me, although I sympathize with the loss of your family, you will live a much more comfortable life in Moab. You will see. Go now and listen to my Captain, as he describes the things that you will be permitted,” concluded King Horon.
After nearly backing all the way from before the throne; Amos was turned
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by his guards near the doorway into the presence of a man whose stature told him that he was facing the Captain, King Horon had spoken of a moment before. The Captain turned and walked through the door into the hall, Amos and the guards followed. Entering a stairway they climbed steps that led
upward rather than as last night when the steps led downward into the
dungeon. Turning at the top he was led to a room where the Captain waited for him. A man of average height, the Captain appeared to Amos to be middle aged. The two guards left the room and stood outside. The door remained open. For the first time since his capture Amos was unrestrained, either by cord or by the guard’s firm hands. This sparked a fire in Amos to regain the rest of his freedom. The Captain recognized the urge from Amos’s expression and stood looking very closely at him. He finally spoke.
“We shall come to an understanding immediately,” said the Captain, “there will be no attempt at escape. Do you understand?”
Amos had, until a moment before concealed his fervent intention, and now realizing that the one man he would never want to know had guessed the thought, Amos’s heart sank. Until now, his captors had only guessed; but now they knew. “Yes.” Amos heard the word leave his mouth.
“This is your room where you will stay. The guards will be at the door day and night, and the door will be closed and locked at night. You will be escorted wherever you go by the guards. The food is prepared down stairs at the back of the building, you will eat there. During the days when the King is in court you will be present. You will not be asked any questions, nor will you volunteer any comments. In a month you will have the freedom of the house; until that time you will be confined to this room. The guards will tell you when your presence is required. Do you have any questions?” the Captain asked.
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Amos shook his head and the Captain left. The room was as barren as Amos’s soul. He looked about. The ceiling was very high, the stone walls were plastered white, but there was a window. A narrow window, one that could not be squeezed through. The floor was covered with a wool rug. A bed was placed
under the window, a chair sat nearby. There was an oil lamp that hung from a
cord fastened to the ceiling. Amos looked to the doorway, the guards were standing one each side of the door, they faced into the hallway. He saw the large sword of the one guard that hung from his girth.
Stepping onto the bed, Amos saw in the evening light the pasture of the plateau. His line of sight was above the top of the city walls. He did not see the Kur River; but to his left the fields edged the cliffs that fell into the Salt Sea. He was looking north. The window was not wide enough to see any further west where the land of Judah waited for him.
Amos sat on the bed. His youth and earlier awareness of the bleak possibility of escape made him submissive. It was not the threats that intimidated him so much; it was the emptiness of his soul that drooped him mentally and physically. Presently, the door to his room closed, he heard the bolt fall into place. Amos did not bother to light his lamp, but sat a while longer and finally laid down on the bed.
Early the next morning before the sun rose, Amos dreamed the most vivid pictures he had ever visioned. In his dream his father stood on the edge of the Judean plateaus overlooking the Salt Sea beckoning him to come to them; as he, Amos, stood on the edge of the plateaus of Moab overlooking the Salt Sea, vainly extending his arms and hands to his father. Behind his father were his brothers praying and his mother and sisters. Also, beside his father stood his schoolteacher, erect, firm, holding before him in his arms the Scrolls of the Fathers. Amos awoke. The dream was so real that he did not realize his
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presence in the Moabite room; until, the reality of his captivity again engulfed him. Amos sat up in bed and soon the light of morning began poking its way into the small room and the darkness of his awareness.
The lifting of the bolt of his door startled Amos, nearly raising him to his
feet. The door opened and one of the guards entered and draped a garment over the back of his chair.
“You will come with us now, to wash and eat, it is the feast day of Molech, all will be present as the King commanded. We will return for your robe that is on the chair.” the guard said.
While the guards walked Amos down stairs his thoughts returned to ponder his dream. My father beckons me to return to Judah. There is not a party coming to rescue me, which is confirmed in that my brothers were behind father and praying, as if that was the only help they can give. Amos was angered, they should have chosen two or three to find me, what is keeping them back? As for Simeon the Scholar he stood next to father, because the teacher has nearly more authority in a youths life than the parents. As it is, I left school when I was ten to join my uncle and father and brothers with the herds. I do not understand why Simeon the Scholar would hold the scrolls out to me, one who never excelled in his classes. These things are very difficult for me to understand. But, these things must be pondered for a dream is of weighty importance, as father and Ira have told me.
They entered a room at the back of the house that was full of the odors of food. The guards as well as Amos were given large bowls with portions of cooked rice and rye, a piece of pork, a pomegranate, and figs. Their large cups held fresh fall grape juice. Turning his back, Amos flipped his piece of pork into a large clay jar that sat against the wall. If the stone pot wasn’t of any significance to the kitchen, he supposed it would hold many more portions of
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pig, and meats offered to Molech before he managed to escape.
The cooks were men. Maids whisked in and out delivering trays of food to the various guests of the house and of course to the king. Between their rounds they stirred a pot or fed a cook fire; but that Amos saw they were never idle. The guards remained close to Amos, aware of the opportunity the wood door provided. Amos, through glances out the open door identified a walled court where the fire wood and well were located. The food was brought in through a small wooden door in one wall. A youth about Amos’s age entered the room, received his portions and approached Amos.
“You must be the Hebrew shepherd my uncle is talking about.” Not waiting for a reply he continued, “My name is Ar, what is yours?”
“Amos.”
At the door appeared tall man dressed in red who motioned Ar to follow him.
With his bowl, Ar passed Amos on his way to the door and said, “Will see you again Amos,” and he was gone.
The Hebrew shepherd stood motionless for a moment studying Ar in the picture of his mind, deciding that he liked him. Ar was wearing a white robe with an emblem of a five cornered black star sewn to the front and one on the back. Amos recalled the six cornered star of King David that identified many homes and scroll coverings in Israel. He did not know the meaning of the five cornered star.
The guards quickly finished their food, indicating for Amos to do so too. Shortly, they escorted Amos to the bath where a steam room had been built not far from the kitchen. Neither steam or heat had been provided when he had first been in this room the morning before. The warm water felt good to Amos and the steam relaxed his muscles; but his mind was still fastened on
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finding a way to escape. The guards never lost sight of him, even here. Indicating a door across the hall, the guards made him enter a small room in which the odor was stenching. An indoor privy, Amos’s first. Here, the door was shut and Amos was out of sight of his guards. However, he reentered the
hall as quickly as possible to the grinning faces of the guards.
At the door of his room the guard who had delivered him the robe told him to put it on and wait. The guards again took their places outside of Amos’s door. Amos picked the garment from the chair and unfolded it holding it to the light of the window. The white garment, as Ar’s, had two five cornered black stars sewn one to the front and one to the back, placed upon the chest and center of the back. Dubiously, Amos put the garment on. Something is not right about this he thought, but seated himself and waited. Presently, the man dressed in red, that had earlier taken Ar away, appeared at Amos’s door, indicating for Amos to follow him.
“What does the black star mean? asked Amos. No answer was given.
Amos, following the man in red, was flanked by the guards. Once down stairs near the front entrance of the palace they encountered Ar. He was holding two golden torches that had yet to be lighted. Ar pushed one of the torches to Amos.
“Take it,” said Ar, “it is an honor to acolyte the celebration.”
Reluctantly, with much uneasiness, as when he downed the black star robe, Amos grasp the golden torch. To ease himself of his guilt, Amos tried to convince himself that to go along with whatever was presented to him might help gain their confidence and relax their vigilance, so that he could escape.
After some time King Horon appeared from his chamber with guards for and aft and proceeded through the front doors. Falling in behind were the King’s wives, then some unidentified individuals Amos had not seen. They all
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wore garments with the five cornered black stars, including the King. The man in red, lighted the torches of the young men and motioned for Ar and Amos to follow. More guards surrounded the king and his party along the steps leading into the street. Amos’s guards were close behind him as the column entered the street and turned away from the market place and continued down the street. Many Moabites stood in the street along the buildings and followed behind the procession as it passed and walked two more blocks before entering a large yard that contained pillars, obelisks and fruit trees. From the time the King had entered the street, until he entered a towering temple set in the center of the yard, the crowd cheered and threw leaves and flowers at the King’s group. However, the instant the King stepped on the threshold of the building a complete silence fell upon the whole city. Built of stone similar to the Kings mansion, Amos assumed this to be the Temple of Molech. He was correct.
At the door the man in red turned and stopped. With his hand he motioned to Ar to go along the left side of a pillared room, while Amos proceeded along the right side. They were to light the lamps of the Temple of Molech. Amos turned to observe Ar as he lighted the final lamp. He followed Ar’s lead and walked across to the center of the room meeting Ar and stood behind the King; who was now by himself, facing a door that the three advanced through. Once through the door the King stopped in the pitch darkness. Amos tripped on the threshold nearly throwing himself into the King. He glanced to Ar who had turned and lighted a lamp to the left of the door. Turning to his right Amos found the lamp and lighted it. At this point Ar stood fast beside the lamp he had lighted and Amos did likewise at his, The King walked to a figure centered along the wall opposite the door of the room.
As his eyes became accustomed to the light of the lamps, Amos could see a very still, brazen likeness of a man. It’s head looked like a bull’s head and its arms
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were stretched out as if to receive something. The King stopped in front of the Moabite god Molech and stood waiting. It was during this time that Amos heard loud flutes and drums outside of the building. After that, the man in red entered the small chamber with the dead and still bleeding body of a small child in his arms. Behind him was another person carrying a large urn. They went to the King who took the child and placed it in the arms of the
idol of Molech. Then the King took the urn and placed it in front of the
statue. With his finger King Horon took some of the child’s blood from the urn and splashed it on the shoulders of Molech. The King then turned and walked directly to the door of the temple and stood on the steps of the temple showing his bloody finger to the worshipers of Molech. Amos and the others soon left the chamber behind the king. Amos walked bent with pain in his stomach at the sight he had experienced. The King wiped his hands clean and the pro-cession retreated from the Temple. The crowd of worshipers were again jubilant. However, Amos noticed a husband holding his wife surrounded by relatives who were distraught with grief, but not uttering a sound. Their silence was to indicate the “voluntary nature” of the child’s offering. It was a sight Amos never forgot.
Once at the King’s mansion the city continued in joyous tumult, Amos was permitted to go to his room. As he and his guards approached his room, Amos, in much anger and disgust tore the star garment off and cast it to the hallway floor slamming the door to his room behind him. Casting his anguish upon the LORD, as he had when he approached Kir-Hareseth, Amos threw himself upon his bed.
More humiliating than being captured was having participated in the nauseating ritual of Molech. This is impossible, Amos thought. And the parents of the child, who was to pacify their grief? Amos slept fitfully and in
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the morning refused to leave his room. Two days went by and in the morning of the third the Captain came to talk to him.
“Amos,” the Captain began seating himself on the chair, “We know that being our prisoner is upsetting to you. But are our customs so repugnant to you that we have to force you to do our bidding? If so, we shall. As a father, I advise your compliance.”
Amos did not respond, laying as he had when the Captain entered.
At the door the Captain turned and looked again at Amos. The young
captive stirred swinging his feet from the bed to the floor and sitting up, but he
did not otherwise appear to regard the presence of the Captain.
With this move the Captain left the room, speaking momentarily to one of the guards. The guard entered telling Amos to get dressed, that he was needed in the Kings chamber.
At the door of the chamber Amos straightened himself. He could not bring himself to look directly at the King, and so, bowed his head and entered taking his place as before near the door. The Captain was present. The King didn’t even glance up from the parchment that he was reading. To Amos’s amazement the room was quite well attended with both of his wives rather than the concubines. In addition, a number of older individuals sat along the walls. Among them sat a man that he thought he should be acquainted with; yet his features were not familiar. Amos studied him. The bearing of the man seemed familiar. He could not quite identify the lofty carriage of the – – yes, it was as if Amos was again in the presence of his teacher, Simeon the Scholar. Was this ancient a kinsman? thought Amos. Perhaps the elder sensed Amos’s thoughts, turned his head slightly, noticing Amos’s inquisitive stare. The old man made no motion of recognition, but returned his attention to the con-versation of the chamber – – King Horon was speaking.
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“… and so, this spring, a full assault from Edom is expected at the walls of Kir-Hareseth.” To a messenger that stood in front of him, the King inquired, “This parchment is from our trusted spy Oba in the court of the King of Edom?”
“Yes, my Lord, received into my hands from Oba himself only a day ago,” said the runner.
“Wait by the door, there may be a reply to Oba.” the King said to the messenger.
Looking to the old men seated along the wall the king asked, “How do
you advise that we prepare for this attack?”
The man nearest the King stood and said, “My Lord, in as much as our preparations for our own campaign next summer are well prepared, we could meet them in the field or let them pass by us in the field and trap them between our forces and the city defenses, and thus rid ourselves of the barbarians.”
‘Barbarians,’ thought Amos, how ridiculous, after the useless slaying that has just occurred in the name of a god that can neither talk or see or move his feet to walk – – absurd!
The first counselor seated himself and the second rose to speak. “My Lord the King, considering the preparations for our campaign, would it not seem wiser to remain behind these walls and conserve resources and energies to defend ourselves. With the harvest of this fall, we shall be able to withstand any force by seating ourselves; and when the invaders retire from us we shall still be in reserve to continue our own plans.”
No other advisor volunteered a plan, even while King Horon pondered the matter. Consequently, the King spoke adding his own additional plans to the advise of the second counselor.
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“We will remain within these walls as the invasion proceeds. What is required now, is to gather from as far away as possible, even from the nomad peasants, as much provision as can be acquired or if need be stolen, and gather all into the walls of Kir-Hareseth. The soldiers shall prepare themselves by helping the smiths to prepare additional weapons and further reinforce the city walls. Every available person shall labor to these ends. And a messenger will be sent to the northern city of Jahaz to recruit more soldiers or their king’s army if possible.” Looking to his advisors, the King inquired, “Do we have the
gold and silver to hire our brothers of Jahaz, if necessary?” Nods of confirm-ation of the reserves were made, and King Horon continued, looking to the messenger from Oba. “Return to Oba with my thanks, a purse of gold and instruct him to send you with all haste should any further plans be devised against us. Further, all travel outside of the city will be reserved to the soldiers and messengers only. My own councils will remain in rest at this house from now until after the assault. The execution of my plans will be carried out quietly. Hold all foreigners without giving reasons, and none shall enter the city from this day through the winter. My advisers will avail themselves to examining all aspects of the preparations and advise me of any needs that they may discover.”

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                Benjamin Juden



The same night that King Horon announced his defense plans against Edom, a rap came on Amos’s door.  Outside the bolt was withdrawn and the door slowly opened.  As the soft light of Amos’s room began its intrusion into the dark hallway, it was interrupted by the form of a slightly bent man wearing a white shawl.   It was the old counselor to the King that Amos had observed earlier in the day.  He entered pulled the heavy door closed and turned to Amos.
“My son, do not be frightened it is just an old man that wishes to converse,” said the visitor.
Amos motioned to the chair, where the old one seated himself.  Amos 

sat on the bed. Amos thought that he looked older and smaller tonight than
when he had first seen him. The visitor raised his hand, looking intently upon
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Amos and spoke.
“My name is Benjamin Juden. It has been these forty years that I have thirsted for sight of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem. Our fathers were brethren of Jacob’s loins. You of Judah and I of the tribe of Levi. Privately, I obtained permission from King Horon to counsel you, in as much as the King is con-cerned over your illness,” said the visitor. However, it has been told me that you were captured with the herds of Israel and it is that concern that compels me. How is it that I find you in perfect health?”
Amos expelled a long held breath of air, relieved to learn that his visitor was a country man and someone to speak with, “Your concern is welcome Benjamin Juden.”
“You may call me Benjamin” said the ancient man.
“Benjamin,” repeated Amos. Then the words flowed effortlessly from a troubled soul, “My illness is not of the common sort, that is, it is not of my body. When the festival of Molech was celebrated days ago, I was made to participate in the dreadful event. I wore the gown with the black star of Molech and carried a golden torch into the temple. There they offered a slaughtered human child to their idol Molech with his blood. Afterwards, outside the temple I saw the grieving parents of child. This thing is worse to me than being captive. My eyes and mind are in horror that haunts me night and day. Only days ago as I neared this city, without opportunity for escape, I entrusted my soul to the LORD of Israel. Now, I have served this Moabite idol Molech, and tremble that the LORD disdains my sight and will never allow me to escape as punishment.”
Benjamin leaned forward placing his thin hands on the youths shoulders. “Amos, I speak the truth, those things were not of your own will to
do, the LORD looks upon your heart and intentions not upon what you are
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forced into doing. This captivity is not your doing either, his desire is for us to eat bread in the pastures of our fathers, to enjoy His blessings.”
Comforted not a little, Amos lifted his head from his chest to look into the serene eyes of Benjamin. Seeing the sincerity of Benjamin’s words and that they made sense, Amos asked. “But how do you know these things to be true and what does that five cornered black star of Molech represent.
“Come, we shall see.” Benjamin relaxed from Amos’s shoulders and rose
from the chair walking confidently toward the door. “Come, it will be fine.”
At the door Amos halted at the sight of an unfamiliar guard, but Benjamin took hold of Amos’s arm urging him. In the hallway, they turned a corner and came to the last door of the corridor. The guard followed. Benjamin’s plight was no easier that Amos’s. Benjamin pushed the door open to reveal the soft welcome light of a room not larger than Amos’s. However, Benjamin’s bed was nearly hidden with shelves of scrolls above on the wall. And there was a small table covered with an open scroll and a chair. Benjamin closed the door and ignoring all of those things for the moment, he went to the narrow window on the end wall. It was high in the wall, to high to see from, and Benjamin pointed up to it.
“By standing on the chair I can look toward the Holy City, across the Salt Sea,” said Benjamin.
Worn marks in the wood floor shone where the chair sat when Benjamin was looking. Amos noticed from the tone of the old man’s voice, the desire with which he gazed in the direction of Jerusalem. He suspected that the familiar images that Benjamin remembered were the focus of his mind’s eye; because the city was too far away to be seen. Amos wondered, how many hours the ancient had spent looking out the window, in the past forty years. Benjamin pulled the chair out for Amos to sit on.
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“Perhaps it will be best if the second question you asked in your room is met first. Be seated.” Amos sat. “The five cornered star represents the two fold characteristic of the individual human being, in this life and in the eternal to come.” Benjamin noticed the bewilderment in Amos’s mind, but continued. “We are each made of body, soul and spirit. That makes each person a three part being in this life. When a person dies only two parts remain to enter eternity – – soul and spirit. That makes a total of five points. This is the error that Satan, God’s adversary, wants his followers to believe; because Satan does not have the power of resurrection to include a sixth point. Of course, black represents the darkness that is Satan’s habitation. More than not, only the priests of Molech have this knowledge. The common worshiper of Molech is blind in ignorance and being led.”
Amos’s eyes widened at Benjamin’s explanation but remained silent.
Benjamin continued, “Now, consider the symbol from our great King, King David – – the Star of David. It has six corners comprised of two open triangles, entwined. One triangle represents in this life a person with their three part being. The second triangle represents the eternal life of the same person and like the first comprises body, soul and spirit; although, the body in the second is kept in promise of resurrection, indicated by the entwining of the two triangles. The triangles remain open in the center to represent the light of God. There were many things revealed to King David and this is a precious hidden one, Amos.”
Amos sat silenced at Benjamin’s explanation and he closed his eyes to keep in the marvelous revealing he heard in the old man’s words.
“We will find the words of King David to show you from whence my knowledge of the LORD, for your first question,” said Benjamin. Then Benjamin rerolled the scroll on the table a few turns and pointed to the words
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from the Psalms of David. “You will read, here,” he said.
“Where did you get all of these scrolls of Torah, they are all Torah scrolls
are they not, Benjamin?” asked Amos.
“Yes, truly they are Torah and some replicated. When King Horon
received scrolls from his marauders stolen or taken from our dead, I begged
them of him. And so, over the years they have accumulated. But to answer your questions read here this line,” Benjamin pointed.
Amos remembered Simeon the Scholar. Then he recalled his dream of his father and Simeon the Scholar holding the scrolls out to him. Now, he was seated in a room full of scrolls. Amos was barely able to verbalize the ancient letters on the parchment, and stumbled through the reading.
“Well.” said Benjamin, “How is it that your reading skills need im-provement?”
Amos could not even raise his head and said, “My parents paid Simeon the Scholar to teach me; and that he did, until I left him to join my older brothers with the flocks. It is not the fault of Simeon the Scholar that I did not continue, he is a good teacher.”
“Indeed,” said Benjamin, “and an excellent scholar of the Torah.”
“You know Simeon the Scholar of my town Tekoah?” asked Amos.
“Yes, before my capture, we conversed in the porch that is Solomon’s of the Temple at Jerusalem. During those several occasions we became well acquainted – – there are some minor differences of Torah that we disagree upon, as I recall. But to return to the problem at hand, you will continue your studies with me here. I shall advise King Horon, telling him that you will need much time to recuperate, under my supervision,” said Benjamin.
“But, I shall not remain in Moab very much longer. It is my intention to
escape immediately to my family,” said Amos.
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“In the days that you have been here Amos, have you found any exit that is not guarded?” asked Benjamin.
“Well, no, but I shall find a weak place and be gone from this madness.” said Amos.
“For forty years I have attempted the same thoughts; and as you can see,
I yet remain, a stolen Temple Priest, made into a chamber counselor to a Moabite King. No my son, it is no small thing that you hazard your life to the grief of your parents. Remain as my student and as the LORD gives us opportunity we shall escape together,” said Benjamin.
“What about my serving in the temple of Molech?” asked Amos.
“Ah, yes, I shall speak to the King about that also!” said Benjamin and continued, “More importantly, a matter of urgency must be rehearsed in your ears.” Benjamin stepped to the door and listened, he returned to Amos and close in his hearing he whispered. “Should it come to pass that as we escape or if only you are able to getaway; you must carry this message to Uzziah King of Judah [783-731 B.C.]. The Moabite Kings are planning to attack Judah in the spring when kings go to war. The King of Jahaz will enter Judah through Jericho and King Horon will cross the shallows of the Salt Sea taking the fortress of Rehoboam before Tekoah and continue north to Jerusalem to join forces with the King of Jahaz and besiege the Holy City.”
At the mention of Tekoah Amos was doubly alert not missing any of the words being hushed in his ear. Amos nodded and said, “we must escape this winter before the spring rains.”
“Even during the rains if necessary,” said Benjamin. “Now, we must part for the night, I will escort you back to your room. Fain to be yet in some agony when we are in the guards presence.”
Amos rose reluctantly from the table wishing to remain in the green
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pasture of Benjamin’s care. “Thank you for taking me in Benjamin,” Amos said.
“Is it not of a truth, that the LORD brought you to me for the breath of youth and companionship from my own people, after languishing in the Fields of Moab these forty years? No lad, it is the answer of my prayers that you came
to me.”

The next night Amos took the seat in the room of Benjamin the Priest.  Once inside and with the door closed Benjamin said, “We shall be permitted unlimited time together outside the King’s chamber; provided that you are present in chamber when he requests.  My son, do not ever, not be there.  Temporarily at least, you will not be required at the temple worship of Molech.  I do not know how long I shall be able to persuade the King from that duty; if the time does occur, remember what I have instructed you.  A plan is beginning to form in my mind that will safely take both of us from Moab.  It concerns the Edomites who are in the city, who are probably spies.  The King is very cautious to remove them.  But he will not hurry, so as not to alarm their king and spoil the surprise that awaits their attack this spring.  Enough for now.”
“Amos, tell me of the house of Simeon the Scholar,”  asked Amos.  
Amos looked inquisitively at Benjamin and said, “All of Tekoah unto Jerusalem know that Simeon the Scholar has no family.”
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“Yes, even I, have suspected that; but it is told to me now.  What I inquire after is the man’s presence, where he teaches and where he lives,” said Benjamin.
Amos turned the chair to look upon the old man who sat expectantly on 

his bed, beneath the horde of scrolls that crowned his head.
Amos began, “Simeon the Scholar lives alone in his parents house. The
old ones of Tekoah, that grew up with him, say that he never married because he was always reading and studying, and never went outside to meet any man about his daughter. But, it is probably because his parents, together, joined the faithful ones of the nether world before any betrothal was made for him. Perhaps both are true, because the only times that I ever saw him were in his classes in his home.”
The ancient eyes of the Priest brightened, and he sought to hasten Amos to go on telling him, “What does his home look like?” Benjamin asked.
Amos closed his eyes to get the picture in his mind before he continued. “The house is on the road north to Bethlehem, not far outside of Tekoah.
There is a timeworn sycamore tree in the fenced yard where my brothers and I gathered sycamore fruit. The house is built of undressed stone.”
“Yes,” interjected Benjamin, “like the stones of the great altar.” The Priest nearly drifted away in thought until Amos continued the description. Amos guessed that the many years away from Judah had made a wanton dreamer or at least a desiring captive of the forgotten gentle man.
“At first, when I had been taken to be taught by Simeon the Scholar, there was a worn plank door on the building. A year or two later the people of Tekoah, some in payment to him for having taught their children, hired the town carpenter make a new door for his home. Their door is grandly carved with panels of cedar carved on both sides.” Amos thought a moment. “There
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are six panels, each with a different carving. As I recall, the bottom panels are a palm tree then a dove, the center panels are the lamp stick then a pot of manna, the top panels are scrolls then a star of David. It is a very beautiful door, there is none other like it in Tekoah,” said Amos.
“Yes, go on, and the inside?” said Benjamin.
“Well, there is an hearth in the small room, and next to it a larger room. The large room had once been two rooms but a wall is removed. In the one far corner is his bed and lamp table. The rest of the rooms furniture consists of long narrow tables and benches for his students. Behind his chair, that he rarely sits in when teaching, are the shelves of his library of scrolls. It is a very plain house with plastered walls.”
“And now the man, what is he like?” said Benjamin.
“Simeon the Scholar is a man about my height, who appears to be much taller, perhaps because of his closeness to the LORD God. He has a gray beard and thin fingers that look like they have run acrossed his scrolls so many times that he has worn them down. He wears a tan robe, a wool white shawl
and a flat topped square edged head piece similar to the ones the priests wear in the Temple, only his has a blue band about the edge. His voice is quiet, but somehow forceful when he needs it to be. I really don’t remember much else, except sitting at his desks,” said Amos.
“That is excellent, Amos, you have a keen eye and memory for the important things in life,” said the Priest. Benjamin’s reason for drilling Amos in the way he did, was to set his mind back into an atmosphere in which the leaning experience could take place. There was no escape to the herds in Moab, Benjamin’s room was Amos’s only solace. Benjamin made sure that he had an apt student before he began.

                    #


A month later Amos was reading with the proficiency of Benjamin and devouring the scrolls in Benjamin’s room.  It seemed that Amos had listened 

closely to Simeon the Scholar. All that Amos needed was the proper guidance into the Torah. Benjamin began Amos with Leviticus. The other four books of Moses would follow. Then should the opportunity to escape fail to develop; Benjamin planned to shepherd Amos through the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and what Psalms that he had on his shelf. Unfortunately for Benjamin his favorite, The Song that is Solomon’s had never come into his possession. There were other writings in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem; but these were the ones that the Priests most revered, and Benjamin knew to be divinely inspired. Benjamin was in little want of the correct materials to establish young Amos’s heritage in the Torah. Time was the only hindrance to Benjamin’s intentions, if the opportunity to escape occurred soon, time would run short. Now, a bitter sweet situation had made a parable of Benjamin’s forty years in Moab. A reason to stay and the desire to depart from Moab. Thought Benjamin, I shall now establish in myself to enjoy as much of both or all of either one, as destiny determines. May the LORD lavish His blessings.

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                Amos in the Earth

The next month as Amos was studying deep into the Scroll of Deuteronomy he stopped reading abruptly and sat back in the chair pointing to a line of scripture.  
“Here,” said Amos, “is the ordinance of the heifer.  Once when I was with 

my mother’s brother Ira, with the flock south of Tekoah, we found the body of a Hebrew man who had been killed. There were blue borders on all of his
garments and an amulet of scripture about his neck. Ira stayed by the body and sent me to Tekoah to bring the elders. At the time I did not know about the ordinance and so just delivered the message to the old ones at the well of Tekoah. They summoned the other elders and related the matter. Then they sent a runner to Jerusalem to bring Levite Priests. Also, they sent me with two other men to be with Ira until the body was viewed by the priests. Late the
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next day the runner and two priests arrived in Tekoah. The matter was rehearsed to the priests and they were shown the body. The elders had procured a young heifer that they took down to a valley close by and struck off the Heifer’s neck. The priests came near then, and the elders of the city washed their hands over the heifer saying these words,” Amos stopped to find the words spoken by the elders and read, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. And the priests spoke saying, Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, who thou haste redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. Amos stopped reading and looked up to his teacher. “Then they buried the body, there where it was found.”
Benjamin asked, “The things you have read were all done that day by the elders of Tekoah?”
“Yes,” said Amos.
“And did anyone ever come to Tekoah inquiring about a person of Israel
who was missing?” asked Benjamin.
“No,” said Amos.
“Then it is well in Israel and the land is free from sin; because they performed the words of the LORD that Moses instructed.” said Benjamin. “Now Amos, answer me this. What lesson is there to be learned from your experience and from reading it from the scroll today?”
Amos thought for some time but produced no answer, and shook his
head.
“Amos, did you not pay attention to the book of Leviticus that we read first. What was that book written about?” asked Benjamin.
“It was about the sacrifices at the Tabernacle.” said Amos.
“Yes, and in these days at Solomon’s Temple,” added Benjamin, “how is this sacrifice like those.”
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“At Jerusalem is where the sins of Israel, our nation, are taken away by the death of a sacrifice instead of the destruction of the nation,” said Amos.
“Good, and what is that called in a one word term?” asked Benjamin.
“I don’t know,” said Amos.
“It is called, substitution. The first example of the term is when Seth is born to Adam and Eve. Abel had been slain and Seth took his place. Do you understand now?” asked Benjamin.
“Yes, I do now,” said Amos.
“In our Land there is no difficulty that arises that the solution for it cannot be found in our Torah. Indeed, our scholars work deeply into the Torah to find the thinking of God’s mind for the correct way in that all things shall be accomplished,” said Benjamin.
Amos returned his attention to the scroll appreciating even more the right that he had by birth to the things that he was studying. The month passed quickly in this way. Some days when neither Benjamin nor Amos were required in the King’s chamber; the entire day was spent with the teacher bowing and rising from the table to answer some question or define some unknown word to Amos.

One morning Amos came to Benjamin’s door, with only one guard following, and knocked.  The elder opened the door to the smiling face of Amos.  
“Come in my son, what is the reason for such glee in such a dismal place as Moab,” said Benjamin, glancing at Amos’s guard and closing the door.
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“If your calendar is correct today is my birthday,” said Amos, “I am seventeen.”
“In such a case let us sit together and I shall give you some news that will further cheer your day,” said Benjamin softly.  With Amos seated on the bed and the old man in his chair,  Benjamin began to tell Amos of his plan.  “This plan has been forming in my mind for some time and only a day ago I put into motion the first step of our escape.”  Amos sat straight up on the bed pushing a row of scrolls into the next shelf.  Readjusting the stack Amos again looked straight into Benjamin who said, “The Edomites that will be leaving next week.  I have struck a bargain with them by promising to tell them of King Horon’s plans of retaliation.  One of them has agreed to stay in my place while I leave with the others.”
    “That plan may be good for yourself, but how am I to escape.  Shall I hide under the folds of your robe!” said Amos.
Benjamin raised his hand to calm Amos and said, “There is a way for you to go also.”  However, Benjamin was having trouble finding the soothing words that would convince Amos, and fumbled with the scroll he was holding.  Finally, the old teacher began.  “You know that when we use the privy how that the guard generally wanders into the kitchen?”  Amos nodded rather doubtfully.  When you are sure that he has gone you open the privy door and 

throw your shawl down the hallway. This will make it appear that you have fled through the building.” Amos wasn’t guessing the old man’s next move for him. “You then close yourself inside the privy and lift the plank of the seat.” Now Amos was becoming nauseated, the stench of that place was bad enough without lifting the plank. “You will find that the stones to the floor below are rough enough to be grasped. I would stay to the far left of the plank to avoid difficulties. Be sure the plank is back in place, so the guard will not
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suspect any thing except your flight down the hall way. Also, do not make a move until the guard inspects the privy and closes the door. Any noise from the pit and your escape will be over. I shall do my best to be sure that the slaves flush the pit shortly before we leave; so that your exit will not be too forbidding.” Benjamin was not missing the look on Amos’s face and quickly added. “The shaft leads under the city wall and finally dumps into the ravine of the river Kur. That is where the city dump is and where you will have to be careful not to be seen; because we will be leaving during the daytime. You will immediately go down stream where I will join you at the first pool. You may wash up there until I arrive. I will have clothes for you to change into, so that, we will appear to be Edomite travelers.” Benjamin waited for Amos’s reply.
Amos clenched his teeth. The plan seemed sound enough, but the privy was taking its toll on his enthusiasm. Yet, Amos was not going to pass up an opportunity to flee Moab. “All right,” said Amos, “when do we leave?”
“Next week on Thursday the day after the high day of Molech, there will be no court held on that day,” said Benjamin. “The Edomites will come to my room while you are here. You will go directly to the privy, while I change clothes with one of the Edomites, and leave with the group through the city gates.”
Amos was at ease with the plan; until he thought of one detail that the
elder had not mentioned. “What shall become of the Edomite? He will be found out sooner or later. He cannot just stay in your room,” said Amos. “If he is discovered too soon you will be caught?”
“The Edomite has made his own plans. Once we are gone he will not leave my room until the next day. That will give us plenty of time,” said Benjamin. “Until Thursday we must continue on as we have in the past. No day is any different, until Thursday. Pray my son, pray for the peace of
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Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee.”
In his room that night, and every night after, Amos prayed to the LORD his God for a safe escape and journey. It was Benjamin that he feared for, the elder was nearly seventy and Amos wondered if the old gentle man could make such a flight.

Wednesday of the following week the Captain came to visit Amos in his room.  Rising from his bed Amos stood to face him.  
“Your guard told me that you are much improved,”  said the Captain.
“Well, somewhat,” said Amos.
Jumping at the weakness of his answer the Captain quickly said, “You will be needed at the Temple services of Molech today;  The guard will bring you the clothes you are to wear.  Be down stairs as soon as you are dressed.”
The Captain left and Amos collapsed on his bed.  Oh, last week on my birthday the guard saw me at Benjamin’s door, thought Amos.  Amos laid on 

the bed stunned. No thoughts entered his mind, the repulsion of Molech overwhelmed his soul. In a while the guard brought the garment placing it on
the chair. Amos slowly rose and put the black star robe on and went to his door. Now, the agony of Moab was at his back and before him. He longed to be free from his room and this detestable god Molech, his mind imagined that he was sitting this evening in Benjamin’s room solaced by the scrolls and the old man’s guidance, and his God, the LORD God.
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That evening, Amos’s feet and legs numbly brought him into his room.  The door closed behind him and the guard dropped the bar into place.  The robe dropped on the floor and Amos got into bed and covered his head.  Not only had there been a service at the temple of Molech, but he had witnessed the offering of Ar upon the city wall above the south gate.  This had been done to evoke Molech’s favor to defend the city against the Edomites.  What other atrocities could these Moabites possibly conjure.  He covered his head with the blanket; but the sight would not leave him.  Late Thursday morning Amos’s door opened and Benjamin entered.  Seating himself beside the bed he spoke softly.
“My son, your ordeals of yesterday must not be taken to heart.  You know that these heathen find no favor in the LORD’s sight.  You must not consider their actions as you do an Hebrew's.” said Benjamin.
Amos stirred from beneath the covers, and Benjamin placed a com-       forting hand on the youth’s shoulder.  “Come to my room and spend the day.  We shall read from your favorite scroll,” said Benjamin.
Benjamin was concerned about Amos, his sensitivity was not typical.  Most shepherds, long with the flocks have built a hardness into themselves defending the herds when they threatened.  This hardness was lacking in Amos,  although the capacity to defend either the flock or himself was quite evident.  After a time Amos rose and dressed and followed the old Hebrew to his room.
Once inside, Benjamin set about to rebuild the shattered confidence that he knew Amos would need to escape that afternoon.  Setting him on the bed, 

the elder took his seat and began a story that Amos did not determined to be
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real or another of Benjamin’s parables.
“Once there was a certain King of a great people of God, who was besieged continually by the armies of his strong neighbor. In the passing of time, on the field of battle as the two armies faced each other, the army of the neighbor set their best warrior to challenge any one of the Kings soldiers; promising to retreat from them should the King’s man win a duel with the warrior. Many days passed and the King would not send a man to duel, nor did any man volunteer. And so the standoff continued, until, a young shepherd youth, much as yourself Amos, brought provisions from his father to his brothers.” Benjamin watched Amos straightened a bit at the comparison, and he continued. “Seeing the neighbor’s strutting warrior and hearing his continual ridiculing, the shepherd boy went to the King and told him that he would duel with the warrior in the name of his God. The youth was scoffed at, but finally, the King allowed the boy to duel. With his shepherd’s sling the youth gathered a few stones from the brook and ran to meet the huge adversary. With one stone from his sling the youth brought the warrior to the ground. Running and standing on top of him; the youth drew the warriors
sword and cut the warriors head off, killing him. Well, the neighbor’s army fled that day with the King’s army in pursuit winning a great victory for God.”
Amos’s eyes enlarged as Benjamin told the story of the youth and forgetting his former judgment of the story asked, “What is the youth’s name?”
Softly, Benjamin answered, “David, who later became King of all Israel.”
The inspiration that the story produced in Amos overcame the shame of not recognizing the great King. It was then that Amos realized that he had not yet read the scrolls that told of David. He wished more than anything that he had not left Simeon the Scholar’s classroom.
“Benjamin, when I return to my mother and father at Tekoah, I will also
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return to the classroom of Simeon the Scholar. There are many scrolls of yours that I have not read, and I wish to learn of many more things of my LORD God,” said Amos.
At the moment that Amos finished his sentence, a knock came at Benjamin’s door. Benjamin went to the door and opened it. The Edomites stood without.
“Amos, I have some important business with these men for the King, would you excuse us please.” Benjamin said for the benefit of the guard.
Rising immediately, Amos left Benjamin’s room telling his own guard he wished to visit the privy. The guard followed. Proceeding down the hall to the stairs and to the first floor, they passed the kitchen and its pleasant odors. Once inside the privy Amos listened intently for the sound of the guards sandals on the stone floor as he walked to the kitchen. Benjamin was right on
the first step, thought Amos, as he eased the door open and closed again seeing
two maids with trays of food walking down the hall. He waited. Again he
looked, this time the hall was clear and he threw his shawl well down the
corridor. Inside the privy he lifted the left side of the plank. If the slaves had
flushed the privy lately – – Benjamin! This was not the time to debate the
subject, Amos climbed into the pit. He let the plank back down into place.
The fumes trapped beneath the plank were almost unbearable. With his toes firmly, wedged between the stones; Amos covered his nose with the pit of his elbow. Almost immediately, he heard the guard call his name, then the privy door opened and the guard cursed. The door closed, but he did not hear the guards footsteps in the hall. Amos waited. The privy door opened again. The guard must have looked down the pit through the hole in the plank. Amos was well to the left away from sight and glad he had heeded Benjamin’s caution to wait. This time the privy door did not close, but he heard the guards sandals
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on the stone floor. He must have found the shawl, Amos guessed. The guard began calling for help. Amos was already at the bottom of the pit and entering the shaft, there was no light to dodge the dirt and slowly running water. Amos kept on walking in a crotched position as quietly and hurriedly as possible. Several times he stepped on something that seemed alive. Rats, thought Amos and continued going. His wadded clothing was of considerable help held tightly against his face. Then he hit his head on a stone that had dropped out of place from the ceiling. It nearly knocked him down. He listened for noises back of him, but he was alone, no one followed. Amos slowed his, pace. He had awakened in the fields at night when the sky was over cast and it was dark, but this was pitch black and, well cold. He wondered how deep in the earth, he was. The water must be from an underground spring he thought, trying to keep his mind from thinking about the sore bump, on his head. Soon, he ran into what he thought was a wall. Feeling with his hand, it – – it was another stone fallen into the trench. There wasn’t any way around it. The water is still flowing he could feel it about his feet. He crotched lower and could see a reflection of light on the water. There was just enough space to crawl under the stone. With the sight of the light in his mind Amos got down on hands and knees and crawled under the stone. He tried to cover his nose again but his coat was dirtied. He hurried toward the light for a breath of air. Near the exit of the trench he heard voices. Amos eased toward the opening for fresh air. The voices were from above. When the sound of the voices were gone; dirty and bruised he emerged from the trench stepping through garbage and refuse to reach the river path. At the bottom of the river trench he looked up from where he had emerged.
Outloud, Amos softly said, “I hope the Edomites find that trench this spring.”
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Amos kept moving along the trail. The trench had been warm. Outside
now, and dirty, the cold winter was beginning its work on him. A few moments later, he could see a basin of water. He knew the pool would be cold. At the edge, he slowly decided not to wash at all. He went up into the rocks to wait for Benjamin. If Benjamin did not get here soon, or the LORD forbid not at all, dry and stinking was better than a cold night being wet, thought Amos.
Shorty, Amos heard footsteps picking their way among the stones. A man came in sight. It can not be Benjamin, Amos said to himself. This man was rotund, hardly able to see the ground in front of him. Amos stayed hidden in the rocks. The man stopped at the waters edge and looked about, but said nothing. Then he drug from under his robe some clothing, and laid them on the stones near the water. Cautiously, after grabbing a stone, Amos crept near. The man turned. Amos recognized his friend Benjamin, who held the palm of his hand out toward Amos to stop him.
“I didn’t hear you Son, I could smell you,” said Benjamin. “Hurry now,
wash and get these things on we must be going to get as far away as we can by dark. If it is not overcast we shall go on through the night to reach the Salt Sea.
“My teacher, did you remember to have the slaves flush the tunnel?” asked Amos.
“Well, after considering the risk of some slave giving away your escape route, I rather decided not to bring the privy, to anyones attention,” said Benjamin not looking up from the pool.
“The trench is caved-in in two places and I had to crawl under the last cave-in close to the exit,” Amos said, pulling the robe Benjamin had brought him over his shivering body. “Where are the Edomites you, were with?”
“They continued on the road south, while I took the river path. It’s a
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headache, we shall not be bothered about,” said Benjamin. “Are you ready now.”
“Yes,” said Amos, “but I wish I had my sword.”
At the mention of the sword Benjamin stopped and tore the hem of his robe off, and lifted the garment above his waist to reveal his scrolls bound around him. He took the leather binding off and handed it to Amos. “Would a sling do as well?”
Amos looked at the old man almost unbelieving and took the weapon. A bag had been bound to the sling and Benjamin began tenderly rerolling the scrolls and depositing them into the bag. Amos helped. In a few moments they were on there way; Amos with stones and a sling and Benjamin with his bag of scrolls hanging over his back.
“It is much easier to walk, now that I can see the ground,” said Benjamin.
“And you also look more familiar. Even the LORD may have had some misgivings about your identity,” said Amos.
Benjamin grinned and they continued on eastward toward the dusk of
the day.
Not long before dark Amos stopped, halting Benjamin. “This is the place where we camped when they brought me into Kir-Hareseth. Not long before we got here that night, I noticed someone in the rocks above us. We can not go around them. Maybe I had better go ahead while you wait here. They may have been sentries to notify the city of an invasion,” said Amos.
“In that case Amos, perhaps, it would be a good idea to climb up as high as you can to look down on them. Maybe, it is only one person, but it could be a camp if your idea is correct,” said Benjamin.
While Amos climbed up the slope, Benjamin found a seat behind some
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large stones to wait. For Benjamin this was a freedom that he had only now
realized. All of the planning and excitement of leaving Kir-Hareseth left no time to feel the joy of not being confined. Never in the forty years in the city walls had Benjamin been outside, and now at his leisure, or at least that, to some extent. There was still the threat of pursuit, if things had not gone well in Kir-Hareseth, after they escaped. The warm salt air was beginning to rise up the river gully, it was not quite dark. Surely, Amos will return shortly, thought Benjamin, but Amos tarried. Benjamin worried. He had not a way to continue on without Amos. They weren’t even to the Salt Sea, they were easy prey to thief or pursuers. A noise behind Benjamin alerted him to someone’s presence. He turned to look, it was Amos, he was carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows.
“We can go now. The guard was asleep, so I tied him up. I waited because of the possibility of another sentry, but no one came. The other side of the ravine seems to be clear, he was alone,” said Amos.
“Good,” said Benjamin, “I’ve set here for so long of a time, that I will need a hand getting up.”
Amos took the thin man by the arm lifting him to his feet. He wondered if they would make it to the Salt Sea yet tonight. “Once we are to the Salt Sea we shall be able to safely cross the shallows tonight,” Amos said.
“We shall not cross there tonight, Amos, I will explain to you when we arrive there,” said Benjamin.
Amos thought that Benjamin meant that they would camp for the night, and they began to walk again. A few steps and Benjamin was loosened up and walking fine. When they got passed the spot where the sentry was tied up behind the stones. Amos said.
“Fortunately, the sentry didn’t get a look at me. I threw the skirts of his robe over his head and quickly tied his hands, then his feet. He surely awoke
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fast. We have to hope his relief won’t be coming until morning.”
The moon shone and the stars gave there light until some clouds brought so much darkness on the trial that hey had to stop. An injury would shatter all further plans. They waited not far off the path.
Shortly after midnight the clouds passed and the night lights of the sky were only hazed by the heavy salt air. They were approaching The Salt Sea. Amos spoke first to notify Benjamin who followed him of their arrival.
“We are here Teacher,” said Amos.
Benjamin walked up beside the youth to view the expanse. He was breathing heavily because of the heavy salt air.
Amos pointed south toward the jut of land that started the salt shal-lows. “We must walk out on the point there to begin to wade safely,” said Amos pointing.
“Not so my son, we shall not be crossing the shallows at all,” said Benjamin softly, knowing that their voices would carry for a long distance over the water.
“We are not crossing? but in two hours we can be in Judah. I can see the dark edge of the cliffs,” Amos pointed.
“When they find that we are missing; they will think that very same
thing, Amos, and they will cross and search for us. You recall how deep into Judah that they came for your father’s flock. But we shall not be in Judah
when they search there,” said Benjamin and he turned to the north and pointed along the bottom edge of the cliffs of Moab. “We shall continue our escape this way,” and he began walking north.
Amos hurried to catch up with Benjamin. “We will end up on the east shore of the Jordan River across from Jericho,” said Amos.
“Not if we stay to the shore line,” said Benjamin who then fell to silence
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as they carefully picked there way along the east shore of the Salt Sea.

With the Kur River behind them a few hours later brought the fugitives from Moab into the light of morning.  It was Benjamin that brought a halt to the march.
“My son, we must stop for the day.  We are still close to the river and we might be seen,” said Benjamin.  “Amos, look about and find a shelter for us, a cave or an over hang, as the LORD provides.”
Benjamin searched from his spot on the trail along the cliffs of salt.  He could see nothing.
When Amos returned some time later, he found Benjamin seated on a mound of salt deposit facing north.  “Amos, let it not be said that Benjamin Juden looked back as he was being led away from the city destined for destruction, as Lot’s wife and lost her life.  We will continue on to the shelter 

that the LORD has shown you,” said Benjamin, rising from his place.
Silently, Amos led Benjamin east to the feet of the dry cliffs. As they
neared the cave entrance, a terrible sensation began causing their feet to vibrate. Amos returned to Benjamin to inquire if he felt the same thing. As he neared Benjamin the source of the tremors became identifiable. The ground was pulsating more rapidly and forcefully. Amos grasped Benjamin by the
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upper arm as a violent shock suddenly dislodged large stones and set them rolling. Choking dust immediately filled the heavy air and the two free-men
reeled forward and backwards before dropping to their hands and knees. Amos pulled Benjamin from the path of a large boulder that bounced past them. Then the shocks diminished and the shaking ground again became firm under them. Benjamin held Amos from rising to his feet.
“Stay down a little longer son. It may be that the LORD will again rearrange His furniture,” said Benjamin.
“What was it,” asked Amos as they waited.
“Once, when I was very young, I heard my father tell a story about an earthquake that occurred in a province, to the east along the Euphrates river.
The tale came to him by a merchant from Damascus; who had traveled from the region, shortly after the incident had taken place. It had devastated many large structures in the city from where the merchant came, exacting many lives,” said Benjamin. “We are very fortunate not to have been in the path of the large boulders that were set at liberty. I think now, we can get up.”
Amos and Benjamin dusted their clothing and looked about. The area was disarrayed. Amos had difficulty locating the way he had found to the cave.
Amos asked, “Shall we camp behind some boulders for the day. It is getting daylight and the clouds are thinning?”
“No, my son, we must be safely hidden and not move for several days to be sure the Moabites do not discover us. This earthquake will slow them in
their search, but they are a persistent lot; especially seeing, that the King has also lost the secrecy of his planning. Do you think that you can find the cave,” said Benjamin.
“It is just ahead, if it is still there, come.” said Amos.
Amos stopped after a short while and searched among the boulders.
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“Here it is Benjamin, even more hidden than before,” said Amos.
Amos showed Benjamin the entrance. They picked their way around the
large stones and walked inside. A large boulder had rolled in front of the opening making the sky the only sight from inside.
“This is ideal,” said Benjamin looking about, but not venturing far inside. “We shall remain near the entrance until we are sure the earth is settled again.”
Benjamin set his bag of scrolls near him and seated himself, while Amos explored deeper into the cave. He returned to Benjamin shortly, and seated himself near the entrance. They sat in silence for some time, each reviewing the passage of their escape. Finally, looking at each other they began to softly rejoice with the words of Moses Song that they had read on the past Sabbath in Benjamin’s room:
Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
Benjamin lifted the strap of his script from his shoulder and opened it upon his lap. He handed Amos some bread and dried fruit and little for himself. They ate in silence. For the first time in forty years old Benjamin slept a free man. Amos was a little longer dozing off.

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                The Captor


It was afternoon when they awoke.  They were a little startled at first.  Amos started to take a look around the boulder, but Benjamin stopped him.  They listened intently.  Benjamin knew that any noise or motion could be seen or heard by Moabite searchers.  The afternoon was spent in silence.
Benjamin motioned to Amos that they move further back into the cave.  At the edge of the daylight in the caves shadows they reseated themselves and deposited their belongings.
Softly they conversed, beginning when Benjamin questioned Amos.  “You said yesterday afternoon that you have a sword.  Where did such a young person acquire a weapon like a sword?”
“Two years ago, with the flock, my father and I searched the field for a lost ewe.  Late in the evening, in a remote valley, it turned dusk and we had 

not found the sheep and we came upon an abandoned structure. Some of the
burned roof remained. Father said we would stay under the roof and continue
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to look for the ewe in the morning light. As we looked about to settle ourselves, Father discovered some cooking utensils. He said the clay pots were very old and that the place had not been disturbed for a very long time. We made camp and ate and Father read from the scroll of Psalms that he had in his script. That night we slept under the roof.
In the morning, it was daylight and we could see very clearly the inside of the building. The walls were smoother than a shepherds hut and had been plastered, but the covering was crumbling away. The roof we had slept under
was very rotted and Father commented that we would had been safer under the sky. As I picked up my cloak from the floor to put it on I noticed part of a
greenish metal that had rubbed free of earth as I slept upon it. Scratching away the dry dust I soon held in front of me a large sword. The metal edge of the scabbard was all that remained of the covering and it fell to the tip of the sword upon the ground. The handle looked green as the blade but was beaten round with a large knob at the end. The length of the sword as I held it to me came to the bottom of my chin. It was then that Father noticed my find and came to examine the sword,” said Amos.
“What have you found, son,” he said. “Now who do you suppose this antique belonged to. It has an old copper blade and handle cast of one piece, I would say. I have seen the smiths at Jerusalem forge these weapons, but they are all of iron and not so large. It has been several lifetimes ago that such weapons were formed of copper,” said Amos’s father.
“I watched him heft it and the sword was large even for Father. He returned it to me commenting, that I would have to grow taller and stronger just to keep it from dragging the ground. He was jesting me a little with the
truth. He did not expect me to lug it with me the rest of the day, out alone
back to home a week later. It is still in my corner of the room where I sleep. I
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was almost strong enough to swing the copper sword without it scraping the ground when we left this last time to graze Father’s flock. I am sure that by now I have grown large enough to carry it with me. Many of the town elders have looked at the sword and do not know what to think of it,” said Amos.
Benjamin was delighted with Amos’s story and began to relate to the youth about the giants that lived near Hebron in the days when Moses sent out the twelve spies to search the land of Canaan. They were called the Anakim and the spies caused a fright throughout the army of Israel because of
those giants. But that was far too long ago. The metal would have crumbled away before this age came to be. It must come from a much later time,” said
Benjamin. For some time the Priest pondered the matter and then his face began to shine. “Amos, your father said that copper swords had not been fashioned for several lifetimes. If that is the case, it would place the sword during or before, Solomon’s time. Amos, during the days of King David’s youth herded his father’s flock from Tekoah and in the same pastures and region that your family pastures. The King of Israel before David was King Saul. You remember the story about when David brought down Goliath with his sling and cut off the giants head with his own sword! Well, the people sought after David for that great act of courage. Jealously, King Saul sought to kill David. David went into hiding often times in the deserts of Judah. When he fled from Saul David had stopped at the Tabernacle of Witness to ask for some food for the men that followed him. David, having left the King’s presence hurriedly, was without his weapons and asked of the Priest Ahimelech for any weapons. Ahimelech gave David the sword of Goliath; that was a national treasure stored at the Tabernacle. It may be Amos, that you have found the sword of
Goliath. Because, after David carries away the sword from the Tabernacle it is
never specifically mentioned again in any of the scrolls stored in the Temple at
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Jerusalem. Perhaps it was left behind as he moved about and a newer weapon may have been acquired by David.”
Amos was elated and began to tell Benjamin more about the sword. “When I got the sword home, I cleaned it all very well returning it to its red copper color. From a goats skin, father helped me fashion a sheath and he gave me a wide belt to carry it on. However, when I wore the sword it drug the ground all of the time and so I just brought it out to clean or to show it to friends. Then uncle Ira showed me that I could carry it on my back with the belt over my shoulder. I had not brought it with me when we were attacked by the Moabites. It is probably a good thing otherwise that thief that took me to Kir-Hareseth would have it. I would like to find that man before we leave Moab.”
“Perhaps, it would be better if the LORD took care of him,” said Benjamin. For now, this day should be spent with you sleeping. Tonight, you must find water; the water bag that I brought is almost empty and we will spend several days here. It was the only thing that I could not bring enough of for us. You will have to climb the cliffs and go into the fields to find a spring of fresh water. Be careful in the fields my son, every kind of predator prowls after the flocks of Moab, including human ones.”
“The earthquake surely covered our tracks. Wouldn’t it be as well to continue on after dark while we still have the moon for light,” said Amos.
“The Moabites will come, if they have not already, and from the other side of the sea our movements can be detected. If we wait they will assume that we are far ahead of them safely into Judah and return to their city with that report. In a few days, once we cross the Arnon River outlet we will be in
the land of Reuben.” Benjamin paused saddened and continued. “Unfortun- ately, our brothers the Reubenites and the Moabites have intermingled and a
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warm greeting from those inhabitants is not too likely. We shall cross their land softly and after dark, as you suggested, until we reach the mound city of Zereth-Shahar, close to the edge of the Salt Sea. There we will, no doubt, be able to exchange these Edomite robes for something more suitable for entering the Holy Country. The city Zereth-Shahar is a mixture of Reubenite, Ammonite and Moabite cultures. With this,” Benjamin held up his coin pouch, “we shall sleep in our own room. You see, Amos, this trip has been planned for many years. It was easy for me to learn of Zereth-Shahar and the other cities in the area while in the court of King Horon. The King pays well for the information that he asked. Of course, it wasn’t always the most accurate knowledge, but then, I had been away from my country for a long time,” Benjamin grinned.
“You have not told me Teacher, how you became a captive of Moab,” said Amos.
Benjamin became sombered at the thought. He looked up upon the walls of the cave with a sigh, and began his story. “The Elder Priests at the Temple in Jerusalem, where I was being taught for the duties of the priesthood, sent me down to En-gedi to escort back to the Temple the teacher of the Torah Levi Asher. He had gone down to En-gedi five years before, seeking the quiet seclusion of the caves near the city. He had been expected to return to Jerusalem the year before, but had tarried. In my early youth, Levi Asher had been my teacher. This is without a doubt the reason I had been sent, and he would feel comfortable in returning with me. The death of Levi Asher’s suc-cessor had prompted the Elders, and so the beginning of my descent began. A helper was sent with me and we traveled the road through Bethlehem onto the
long valley trail that leads to En-gedi. Upon arriving at the gates of En-gedi, I approached the elders of the city to enquire of Seer Levi Asher. He had a cave
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south of the city, they told us, not far from the Sea. A large palm tree marked the location. It was late in the day, however, we were anxious to reach our destination and immediately left the city following the shore line south. The day drew to dusk and we had not come upon the palm tree. The boy with me said he would run ahead before darkness overtook us and spot the tree. He returned to me in a short time announcing that he had found the tree. Dark-ness had nearly set when we continued the short distance. Above the sea level and a short distance back stood the palm tree. With the eye of my mind I can still see the entrance to the cave. We tied our beasts for the night, and made our way to the cave. It could be no other with the tree nearby, I thought, as I gave shout to the one inside the cave. No one showed themselves. As we came closer, a faint light came from inside and so we ducked and entered the dwelling. At the far wall, with his back to us was the bent figure of a shawled person. He sat upon a rug mat. An oil lamp hung from the low cave ceiling giving just enough light for the scroll that he held open. I spoke again asking after Levi Asher. With a hesitant turn the man faced me. It was the Seer Levi Asher.
He was totally unaware of the years that had passed, and grieved at the passing of the man who had replaced him at the Temple. In as brief a time as the belongings he possessed Levi Asher had readied himself for the journey to Jerusalem. In his estimation the absence of a teacher of the Priesthood in the Temple, constituted the greatest offense to the Temple. At day break in the morning he intended for us all to be in-journey to Jerusalem.
However, at the morning light we discovered the absence of our pack beasts. I instructed the boy to take Levi Asher on his way to En-gedi and that I
would join them when I was satisfied that the animals could not be found. When they had gone, my search took me quite far to the south of the cave, and
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along the sea coast. This is when I was grabbed from behind by two Moabites, who tied and gagged me, put me across an ass and hurried to the crossing that you and I just rejected on our return. Four days later, I was the captive of King Horon in Kir-Hareseth. There, this one spent the past forty years. It was ten years later when the opportunity to escape came near. However, that was unsuccessful in its conception and I finally resigned myself to my fate. Yet, I remained prepared to escape, that perchance, the LORD’s mercy be shown me. And it did come, when you came into the Kings chamber that day last fall. It is good that my face did not loose its discipline and reveal the joy of my heart. For I knew that from the story told in the chamber, and your youth, that my preparations were justified. And so, we are in the LORD’s embrace in a cave similar to the one where my dilemma began, waiting for the pressure of pursuit to wane, free at last from the will of the disinterested in the LORD God of Israel.”
Amos could barely hear some of his further mutterings about “the burdensome chattering of the heathen in the chamber” as the old Priest drifted into an afternoon nap. It appeared that Benjamin had relaxed, perhaps, for the first time in forty years. Amos looked at the ancient as he slept and could not imagine in himself, the patient waiting for the LORD’s opportunity, could ever take place as it had in Benjamin.
As Amos continued looking at Benjamin his thoughts were changed in him by seeing the comparison that Benjamin had made, in saying that the Moabites were disinterested in the LORD. What were they interested in, these Moabites? They satisfied their conscience by offering their children to Molech.
Am I really any different? Amos asked himself, am I not a slave to my
emotions of love, hate and desires. But in what directions, did or do, we choose our emotions. Is it reward that is sought. Certainly, the LORD offers
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resurrection to his people as a reward; this would justify in following him in his regulations that produced good feelings and thus pleasing actions – – in His mind. But what do the Moabites get in return for what they perform – – worldly gains at the most, sorrows, more often.
So, I could have stayed with the Moabites, thought Amos. They could use another shepherd and I could have gotten used to there way of life. What made me want to return to Judah? My family? The land? Am I just fortunate to have been raised into the only real religion. What if I had been born a Moabite, and heard the truth from an Israelite? Wouldn’t I have been zealously furious over being told what I believe was a lie. Like now, even though I know through the early writings, that what I do believe is true, if someone offered to me a false ‘true’ religion, I would be compelled to reject it. Even so, how can I say of myself that what I believe is true in me, since, I turned down the classes of Simeon the Scholar to be a shepherd. Does that make sheep herding my religion? And if it does, the rewards are no different than those of the Moabite – – worldly benefits!
So then, do I choose? is it chosen for me? do I stumble into? or am I born into? what my emotions are taught to respond to. Rather, I am slave to what set of feelings. I am taught to have the feelings because these are the values that are associated with what my soul clings to. Now that I have chosen to have this set of feelings because of the teaching in the Scrolls, what happens to the bundle of feelings that desires the sheep herding? Who says the one set is stronger that the other set? Perhaps, when I return to Simeon the Scholar’s classes I shall understand.
Amos got up and walked to the entrance of the cave staring at the
boulder, as if he were seeing through the stone. Shortly, he returned to his seat and laid down to rest the weariness from his body.
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Awaking from Benjamin’s jostling Amos sat up.  “Amos it is time for you to go,”  said Benjamin.  
Amos looked to the stone at the cave entrance.  The sunlight was gone, it was replaced with a gray glowing.  Benjamin was pouring what water they had left in the leather water pouch into a basin in the cave floor lined with a piece of leather.  He covered the basin with a flat stone, and began his instructions to Amos.  
“What weapon will you take with you?” asked Benjamin.       
Amos looked at Benjamin, “The sling it is lighter and easier to carry.  The bow will be better for you here, I think,”  said Amos.
“Now, when you reach the top of the cliffs, before you show yourself on the plateau, look along the Kur River outlet and to the other side of the Sea and determine if there is anyone searching for us.  Take your time, the bodies will move slowly at such a distance.  It may be necessary to find a herd or flock of the Moabites and wait until they move on from the watering hole.  The closer you stay to this location up there; the less time it will take you to return here.  Should you not find any water tonight hide tomorrow and return tomorrow night, but do not stay any longer.  You could be in great danger, we 

are not at all that far from Kir-Hareseth in a straight line. Also, when you return to the ridge of the cliffs check again for any signs of the Moabite searchers. I am sure that they are out there. If for some reason I am not here
when you return; you are to continue north and return to Jerusalem with the
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message I gave to you for King Uzziah. May the LORD keep you and bless you with abundance,” said Benjamin, he handed Amos a bundle of food.
At the cave entrance, Amos turned to look at Benjamin once more, then made his way around the boulder of the cave. He stopped in the moon light to let his eyes adjust and began to climb the incline. About half-way up the cliff he thought he heard voices. Alarmed he stopped and waited, but did not hear the noise again. Perhaps, the soft breeze had brought the sounds from across the Salt Sea. Amos, cautiously, continued the climb. The soft limestone crumbled at his touch, and so he meandered his way to the edge of the plain. It was past midnight when he stopped climbing. At the brim of the Fields of Moab in the bright moonlight Amos seated himself to listen and look about him. He listened above him for noises on the plain and looked to the far side of the Sea along the shoreline. No noises came from above on the fields.
However, along the far side of the Sea he clearly saw a camp fire. Dots of black spotted the area around the fire. Had King Horon sent such a large number of his soldiers after Benjamin and me, thought Amos. He sat focused to the spot of fire, and fully realized how accurately Benjamin had judged Kir-Hareseth’s ruler. Had we crossed the boot of shallows we would now be on our way back to the Moabite city, or I would be dead considered Amos. Sitting there starring at the camp of Moabites in there black robes, he rested his chin upon the sleeve of the Edomite garment that he wore. It finally occurred to him that he had not been spotted by that party because of the tan color of his robe. It blended in to the surrounding cliff side. Even so, he thought, it is best to
move slowly, perhaps, the moon shadows of his movements might be visible. Concentrating again upon the plains Amos rose and looked onto the gullied pastures. He knew that in the darkness the herds were found corralled in a
low place in the plain; as his father’s flock had been when he was captured.
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Yet, a shepherd would vigil the high edge of the fields to watch for predators. He first crawled some distance and reached a small knoll in the fields and rested upon the top spread-eagled. Turning every direction Amos searched carefully. Satisfied that the fields were clear, he rose and walked, following the gulch until nearly daylight. There was not time to return to Benjamin tonight, and he had found no water. He remembered Benjamin’s instructions about staying and returning the next night and began looking for a suitable spot to hide. Daybreak found him resting in a depression of the gorge he had been following. Amos ate and slept.

Awakening at mid-afternoon Amos looked about him.  The trapped warm sunlight had made him uncomfortable.  Then, he heard voices.  This time they were real and not far away.  He waited.  The voices continued, and he could hear the sound of cattle, but noises seemed to be distancing.  He crept forward toward the sounds.  There,  around the bend not far away in the valley he saw a shepherds hut.  Or he thought it was a hut.  The herd was gone as he approached and he figured the shepherds too.  This meant water and close by.  

Thoughts of a spring of cool water soon overcame his caution and Amos approached the hut. But as he came nearer he could see that this was a carefully constructed building with mortared stones and not a typical
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shepherds hut, although there was a stone corral nearby. The roof was a cone
of flat stones that acted like tile running the rains away from entering the interior. Acting more boldly that he should have, Amos thought nothing more of the occupants and pushed open the door of the house. Seated on a wall bench was a man – – the same Moabite, that had drug him through the Salt Sea, and had killed his uncle Ira, and sold him like a calf on the palace steps. Amos filled instantly, with rage.
The Moabite on the bench half rose, startled to see again the boy that he had sold to King Horon. He half shrunk back to the seat, then realized that Amos was free.
Amos spoke bitterly through his teeth, “Perhaps you thought my family could not find me, but as you see the LORD brought me to you.”
The Moabite got up and made a dive for his dagger that lay on the table. Amos stepped toward the table, to intercept the move, and knocked the table away spilling its contents about the room. The Moabite swung his fist into the side of Amos’s head sending him to the floor, stunned. Amos’s adversary began kicking him as he lay on the floor. Amos regained enough of his senses to roll away from a swinging blow and countered with a swing of his own foot; catching the Moabite in the calf of his leg flipping him into the air. The Moabite fell backwards onto a footstool; that caught him in the middle of his back. Amos heard the loud crack of bones and the groaning agony of the Moabite. Amos, slowly stood up and looked down at his paralyzed enemy. The Moabite continued to groan, but did not move neither his legs or arms. He
looked at Amos fearfully.
Amos decided there was no longer any danger from his former captor and began looking about the room. He found the knife the Moabite had reached for and tucked it into his belt. He put a few barley cakes into his robe. A water
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bag hung from a wooden peg. He put that over his shoulder and returned to view the injured man. He thought of killing him with the knife.
“Because you drug me through the Salt Sea unshod, with cut and bleeding feet, I will leave you alive. Your friends will return with the flock in a day or two,” said Amos, he kicked a few barley cakes closer to the man. As he began to back toward the door, he noticed a bag on the bench where the Moabite sat when he entered the house. Amos went to the bench and gathered a few loose gold and silver pieces into the bag and hefted the heavy pouch. He tucked the bag, into his belt.
At the door, Amos looked once more at the Moabite; then he opened the door a little to listen and look. There was no one around. Outside, he closed the door. His first impulse was to run toward the cliffs, but he knew his footprints, with all of the weight he was now carrying, would be too deep in the dusty earth to be missed. He looked toward the path where the flock had left and followed in the maze of hoof prints. Once out of sight of the house, he climbed the valley wall half way up and began making his way toward the cliffs edge. By nightfall, Amos was ready to descend to the sea coast. He lay on the edge to hide his silhouette and studied the far shore. The camp was gone. There was no fire along the waters edge, like the night before. Much further north he thought he could detect movements, but he was not sure. He rolled onto his side and looked back toward the house where he had left the wounded Moabite. he felt no remorse over leaving him. If he lived, Amos decided, the retribution that he had gained was enough. He felt like the King David in Benjamin discourse, having vanquished his enemy. And more so, for the meanness that had been shown him as a captive. He hated Moab. Amos turned again and viewed the far ridges of Judah, where he remembered the still figure of his Uncle Ira, with a Moabite arrow protruding from his back.
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In a moment he was over the brow of the cliff and making his way down the elevation. The moon was partly gone. Amos could hardly find his way around the gullies and rocks. Being quiet was difficult. He had to slow his pace. Twice, he had to reroute himself because he had misjudged his direction.
Before suns first light though, the crumbling limestone had leveled off enough that he easily made his way to the boulder and slipped into the cave.
Part way into the cave, Amos stopped to let his eyes adjust to the darkness before continuing. Soon, he found the spot where he had left Benjamin. The old man was not there. Uneasy, he looked about. Benjamin had slowed down before the earthquake had occurred. He hoped his old teacher was all right. Amos lifted the flat stone Benjamin had covered his water supply with. The water was still there. It did not look as if Benjamin had drank any of it. Replacing the rock Amos softly called Benjamin’s name.
“Benjamin Juden?” Amos called.
Amos crept further into the cave. The walls were narrowing and the light was gone, when a hand grasped his ankle. Amos jumped away. A person lay
along the wall. Amos bent to the form. It was Benjamin, but what was wrong with him.
“Benjamin,” said Amos, “are you all right?”
He could hardly make out Benjamin’s voice. “Snake bite!”
Amos gathered the frail figure into his arms and carried him to the entrance of the cave. He could find no bite marks. Slowly, Benjamin reached for his side. Under his robe Amos found the marks, just above his hip. Amos could tell from the size of the teeth punctures that they weren’t deep. Evidently, his robe had kept the teeth from going deeply into the flesh. The flesh around the punctures was swollen and yellow.
Amos squeezed the wounds, a little yellow puss drizzled from the holes.
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With his newly acquired knife Amos made two small cuts into the teeth holes. He sucked out as much of the venom and puss as he could and washed the wound from the water in Benjamin’s reservoir. He got the water bag and made the old gentleman drink.
“You need some water, Benjamin, it will help.” The old man drank a little, but drifted back into a stupor. There was nothing else Amos could do. He kept Benjamin covered with his own robe. He made a small torch and began searching the spot where he had found Benjamin. Nearby lay a small coiled viper. Quickly, Amos killed the snake with Benjamin’s staff and returned to the old man. Benjamin slept fitfully.

The morning of the third day Amos awoke and found Benjamin looking 

at him.
Amos went to Benjamin asking, “Are you feeling better, Teacher?”
“Yes,” Benjamin quietly said.
“You should lay still a while longer. Do you want a drink or are you hungry?” Amos asked.
“A little water,” Benjamin said.
Amos helped Benjamin sit up and gave him some water to drink.
“My side is sore,” said Benjamin.
“The snake is dead that bit you. I found it shortly after I brought you to the entrance. How long after I left to go to the plains were you struck?” asked Amos.
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“Not long,” said Benjamin, “I think, I will lay down again.”
With Benjamin comfortable again Amos seated himself close by the old man. Before long Benjamin drifted off to sleep leaving Amos to his thoughts. Amos opened the pouch that he had taken from the Moabite. He poured the contents upon the cave floor; there were broken-off pieces of gold and silver and a few polished stones. It was enough that Amos judged that he was a wealthy man. It is not enough though, he thought. Had it not been for Benjamin the Priest, I would still be a slave in Moab. Then again, the person that I was before I was captured, was not reverent nor considering in attitude, toward the God. Now, with the guidance of Benjamin I have become wiser. My desire is for the words of the scrolls, even though my skills are with the flocks of the pastures. I have a friend and teacher who is a Priest to the High God. And I have seen my desire upon my enemy and I have this pouch of gold and silver. Nearly, we have our freedom to the land of God. Shall I think it such a small thing to become bitter over what is past, and forget to care for the things that could now be taken away. No Amos, do not do that to yourself and to the
people around you. The humility is past. Care for Benjamin and guard the way to home.

That afternoon Benjamin again awakened.  “Amos, water please.”
Amos took the water to his teacher and watched him drink.  He looked and acted stronger to Amos.
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“Son, bring me some of the food,” said Benjamin, “How long has it been since you returned?”
“Three and a half days, Benjamin.” said Amos.
“Did you see any searchers when you were gone?” asked Benjamin.
“The first night, when I reached the edge of the cliffs, there was a fire across the Sea from the cave.  There were several men close by,” said Amos.
“You returned the second night, then,” asked Benjamin.
“The morning of the second night is when I returned.  At the top of the cliff, I thought I could see men far to the north along the west shore of the Sea, but I couldn’t be sure,” said Amos.
“They won’t go much further than where they found you.  They are looking for our trail.  That is four days.  We will allow them one day more to search, before they return.  That is five days total that we should wait before we start north,” said Benjamin.
“You were asleep for two and a half days after I returned,” said Amos.
“That long?” said Benjamin.
Amos nodded.  This is the third day.  We may leave in two days, if you 

are strong enough.
Benjamin laid back down for a time, then sat back up to face Amos.
Amos was refilling the gold and silver pouch.
Benjamin watched, and said, “Perhaps, I should try to walk. And, you have told me nothing of your venture onto the plains.”
Amos helped Benjamin to his feet. Slowly they began to walk up and down through the cave. Benjamin’s inactivity and the effects of the poison slowed him and he had a limp, but he would not stop making the effort to recover his agility.
“Benjamin,” said Amos, “we should stop for a while. We have two days
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or longer if that is what it will take for you to recover. Do yourself no further damage, that would require us to remain on the edge this salt pit any longer than necessary.”
With that thought, Benjamin conceded. “As you suggest Amos, it is rather tiring.”
“We can walk again before dark,” said Amos. He helped Benjamin down onto his robe, that he used for his bed.
Leaning against the wall of the cave Benjamin sighed in relief. The activity was straining, but it had also made him feel better. He looked to Amos and said, “When you reached the brow of the cliff as you went, could you tell how many men were around the camp fire?”
“A large number, perhaps, twenty four; I do not think there were more,” said Amos. “ King Horon must have thought highly of you as his advisor to sent such an army after such a dangerous league as you and I.” Amos grinned.
Benjamin nodded and added, “It is a serious matter to outwit a king, especially, the pride filled King Horon.” Benjamin chuckled, then sobered and added, “We had better not let ourselves be recaptured; it would cost us our
heads in Kir-Hareseth.”
Benjamin continued his inquiry, “And how did the matter go with you on the plains; seeing that we now have a bag of water?”
“On the night that I left you, part of the way up the cliff I thought I heard voices and became alarmed and stopped. However, I did not hear the sounds again and so continued to the brim of the cliff where I stopped, as you instructed me. It was then that I saw the camp fire on the west shore of the Salt Sea. Thinking back, perhaps, the voices that I heard were those around the camp fire.” Benjamin nodded affirmatively, and Amos continued. “Once on the plains I searched for shepherds along a gully where I thought a flock
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might be being held for the night. When it became dawn and I had found neither flock nor spring; I hid in a particular spot below the edge of the ravine and slept. About mid-afternoon I was awaken by the sounds of a flock and men. In the process of getting closer I came upon a stone house. It is well built, better than a shepherds hut. The flocks were gone and the shepherds, so I entered the house and found the Moabite that had captured me. There was a fight and he became injured so that he can not follow. The water, knife and pouch are from the house. Covering my tracks I returned to the cave and found you. And except, for the two days you were unconscious, you know the rest.”
Benjamin did not respond immediately but languished in his response. “The LORD works many marvels in the lives of those who trust Him. That He placed your enemy in your path indicates that your desire upon the Moabite was not outside His own intentions. It is well that you did not kill him nor the guard that we encountered along the Kur River. The shedding of blood, even justly, restricts the individual in giving praise to Whom has given the strength. You will understand better what I am telling you; when you complete
your studies about King David with Simeon the Scholar.”
Amos became uneasy. He began to fumble with the pouch and knife he had brought back with him and said, “On the way back I thought about my mothers brother Ira. He was laying in the pasture with an arrow in his back the last time I saw him. Simeon the Scholar has many students that he calls “sons.” Ira has taught my brothers and I all that there is to know about being shepherds; we are his “sons” as much as our own father’s.” Amos wiped a tear from his eye.
“Do not think that I am not understanding of your grief in saying this, I do understand. What the LORD has seemingly taken away, he has replaced in
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your finding me at Kir-Hareseth. We are consolers of each others grief and frustrations,” said Benjamin.
Amos looked down at the dirt floor of the cave then back up at Benjamin and asked, “How did you keep your mind from sickness for the past forty years?”
“A parable is my life, Amos,” said Benjamin. “In my youth, when I had been captured, I prayed for wisdom to know how to escape. The LORD taught me to survive and gave me these Scrolls as comfort. And I am old now and have that wisdom; as you can see we have our freedom. But, it took the opportunity of another youth to make the wisdom that I had asked for to function. Now I see, that to have both ones youth and wisdom is a rare thing – – a gift that is not often given. The Scrolls are the reason that I have my mind, Amos. Without them I would have died long ago confined to the four walls of the room in the castle of Kir-Hareseth. As I read from the words, God has placed them in such a way as to cause my mind to enter into the vast realm of His domain and enjoy the infinite reserves of His person. In doing this the walls of my confinement became ineffectual.”
Amos, awed by Benjamin’s answer found no other question for his Teacher. Rather, a response burst out triggered by a word that Benjamin had used.
“You used the word “confinement” like it has no more significance than any other word. How could that not effect you? The confinement in the city and the castle and the room and the locked door and even the bed when I slept nearly drove my mind senseless in the short months that I was there,” said Amos.
“Hope,” said Benjamin, “Hope in returning from King Horon’s chamber to read my Scrolls and the freedom that they gave me. Later on, when
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time upon time began to lengthen the LORD taught me that each person lives in some type of confinement. Whether it is one made for him like at Moab or one that he has constructed for himself or one that he is born into like us Hebrew’s. Some confinements are larger or small according to preference or circumstance. You chose a confinement when you left the school room to join your family in the pastures.”
Amos responded with a look of unbelief and old Benjamin explained himself. “When you were in the classroom, that was a confinement. Am I not correct? You were confined away from what you desired, to be with your brothers. And once with the flocks you were confined away from the school. At the scrolls in my room; you expressed your intention to return to Simeon the Scholar’s classes desiring to learn. Only the consciousness your preferred desire changed. Being held in Moab is like not understanding that it is the unknown desire for what one really wants, that causes frustrations and impatience. Your capture hastened the confrontation of your desires. Even in this escape we are confined.”
Amos looked about the walls of the cave considering the restrictions of their freedom and he began to realize his true desire. ”It is true, Teacher, the mind is a large pasture to understand,” said Amos.
“And not all people ever unravel the tangled cord of life, my son,” said Benjamin.
The next day Benjamin improved considerably. By the end of the day he walked without the aid of Amos. However, even for Benjamin, the confinement of the cave was beginning to darken any confident attitude. By that evening Amos was pacing in and out of the cave, pausing before the boulder at the cave entrance attempting to see through the dense mass.
“Amos, please, sit down!” said Benjamin. “Patience, my son, patience.
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We are here but for one more day. Tonight, in the mid-night hour you must leave the cave and climb up a little to see if it will be safe for us to leave tomorrow night. Until then, be seated. Please! Tell me more of the sword of Goliath that you found.”
Amos turned to the old priest as if in apology and sat down beside him. The evening cool of the cave demanded the additional warmth for them both.
“How long will it take to reach the River Arnon?” asked Amos.
“Two nights, the LORD willing,” said Benjamin. He saw the surprised look on Amos’s face and added. “Once we cross the river we shall be more confident to travel during the day. Now, tell me of this building where you and your father stayed the night when you found your sword.”
After a long thought-filled pause, Amos said. “The roof of the building was mostly broken down. The walls were still standing for the most part. A part of the top of the window had fallen in. It was built of stone fit together without mortar similar to a shepherds hut, but more painstakingly built. The floor was hardened earth around the hearth; like it had been lived in for a long
time. The roof beams that had fallen in were rotted almost away. Oh, I remember something else that we found in the sheltered corner,” said Amos.
“What was that?” said Benjamin.
“They were broken pottery shards with some writing on them.” said Amos.
“Messages no doubt, just as we correspond on these days,” responded Benjamin eagerly. “And what did they tell, my son.”
Amos looked down. “We could not read some of the words, and the names seemed to father to be very old because of the spelling. One was a list of supplies being taken to Tekoah from Zion.” Amos looked at Benjamin and asked, “Where is Zion?”
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Nearly disgusted, Benjamin said, “You should have stayed with Simeon the Scholar much longer, Amos. Zion is the old city of Jerusalem where King David lived, on the south hill.”
Amos, quick to see the old ones disappointment said, “I took the shards to Simeon the Scholar.”
“And did he have anything to say of them when he had examined the shards?” said Benjamin.
“It was soon after that I left the classes for the flocks. I have heard nothing of them since. Are they important?” asked Amos.
“If they are genuine, they could shed some light upon the era that they are from. Perhaps, they mention the Name or were sent from an important leader to his forces. They were written in Hebrew?” asked Benjamin.
“Yes,” said Amos.
The cave fell silent. Amos rested but did not sleep. Benjamin dosed for a time, awakening shortly before mid-night.
“Son, it is time for you to search for any signs of the Moabites. Take your time, listen carefully, but return before day break. We will sleep tomorrow
and leave soon after dark,” said Benjamin.
“Are you sure that you will be strong enough to travel,” asked Amos.
“We must leave. Our food supply will last for only a couple more days, and we cannot risk you making another trip to the plains. The Moabites are alerted by now and will be watching,” said Benjamin.
Benjamin rose from his resting place to see Amos leave and to reassure him that he would be fit to resume the journey. Amos looked to Benjamin, turned, then walked past the boulder and into the salted darkness. It was good to be free from the stone walls of the cave; consequently, it was a few minutes before Amos remembered to be carefully quiet, as he had been instructed. In
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fact, the moon-less night had worked its own way of impeding Amos’s progress up the slope. Twice he stopped to listen but heard nothing. Now, his own footsteps began to resonate in his ears. The heavy stillness made each pebble that tumbled aside seem like a small avalanche. Amos was relieved when he reach a level that gave him perception. There were no fires along the west side of the Salt Sea. He could hear nothing from the top of the cliffs and about him, the night lay in stillness. Amos crotched upon his knees and waited. Three hours passed and there were no voices, nor the sounds of animals. Amos rose and began his descent to the cave. Early day light did not precede him to the cave. Benjamin was waiting for him as he entered.
“What did you find my son? are we to find mercy from the LORD and at last be rid of this cage of stone?” asked Benjamin.
“Indeed, Teacher Juden, the LORD has prepared our way as you have spoken,” said Amos.
In the cave it was not the early morning sun rays that lighted the interior; rather, it was the radiance of two travelers eager to continue their journey home. Sleep came slowly for them as they tried to comfort themselves
on their robes.

“Awaken my son,” said Benjamin.  “We must prepare ourselves to journey.”
The warmth of Benjamin’s hand lingered on Amos’s shoulder as his mind 
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cleared itself of slumber. Getting to his knees he looked passed Benjamin at the shadow covered boulder covering the entrance of the cave.
“Have we slept all day?” asked Amos.
“It would seem so,” said Benjamin, “we must not have counted the hours that we tried to sleep. But, now we must prepare our way before the LORD and request of Him great mercy in attaining the company of our people. There remains some daylight before we can leave. Bring here the Scrolls, Amos.”
Spreading his robe upon the floor of the cave, Benjamin received the bag of Scrolls. Looking through the horde of Holy writings the old Priest drew out the one that had become familiar to Amos, in Benjamin’s room at the castle of Kir-Hareseth. It contained the Psalms of David, Benjamin placed the Scroll upon the robe. Standing with heads bent to look at their own uplifted palms, Benjamin spoke the words that Amos had heard him speak before from Moses’ Book of Numbers.
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
And Benjamin continued his blessing including a prayer that Amos had
not heard. Yet standing, they then briefly bent toward the north placing their hands upon their knees, while Benjamin spoke:
Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!
Whereupon they knelt on the edge of the robe before the Scroll and Benjamin concluded his prayer with: O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we
may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Then, “Amos, you may read from the Scroll here,” said Benjamin pointing
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to the Psalm. It is God’s mercy to us and also that we have it to read.”
Amos read:
How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Benjamin rerolled the Scroll.  “Or entreaties to the LORD are ended Amos, our desires are in His ears.  We must prepare to leave.”  Benjamin took all of the Scrolls from the bag and began rolling them one on top of another until he had two large firmly bound cylinders which he then wrapped with scraps of leather placing them into the bag.  Benjamin looked up to Amos, who was now standing and said,  “The Scrolls are ready to cross the River Arnon and the Holy Stream, Jordan.  Let us gather our necessities.”
“Teacher,” said Amos, “what was the short saying that you spoke about ‘enlarge my coast.’
“Ah, yes,” said Benjamin, “it is one of the prayers of the ancient Jabez, recorded in the Scrolls of the Temple at Jerusalem.  So much had I set my heart upon those words while I was there that the true reality for the need of the exact meaning of the prayer did not occur to me until many years had passed in Moab.  You see, as a Priest my coasts are the Temple and the piece of land that it occupies, plus the contents of the Temple.  In Moab only my person and what it could recall were available to me for comfort.  Then the individual Scrolls began to come to me there.  My coasts began to enlarge     
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with each Scroll and now before me is the Holy Land and Temple. Grief is put away from me, at last, and my heart is full of joy and gladness in my late years.”
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                          Pursuers



Between the boulder and the entrance to the cave Amos and Benjamin poised; to again flee from the King of Kir-Hareseth and the land of Moab.  How could they perceive that lying between them and the land of Israel was an arm of what they were leaving.
“It is time,” said Benjamin, “we shall go.”
Neither, turned a glance at the cave, as they left during the darkening of the day.  Free from the cave their new master became the remaining stifling heat of the day.  With the diminishing of the heat the steps of Benjamin regained their drive.  The old Priest’s feet gave consent to his strong will.  Amos gave close regard to Benjamin.  He thought that his companion would weaken and slow down; but, the longer they traveled the nearer to his original pace Benjamin came.  Yet, not quite.  They sweat and drank their water and that 
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first night, perhaps, the rigor was good for the gentle old man, for ridding his body of the remaining snake venom. Amos shook his head marveling at how Benjamin’s inner strength was hidden under his tranquil ways.
A great distance into the night Amos heard the whispered tone of Benjamin’s voice, “Amos!”
Amos moved up closer to Benjamin’s side. “Yes, Teacher?” said Amos.
“My son, I have been doing some thinking as we walk and I think it would be of benefit if I wash my wound in the salt water. My side is becoming sore again,” said Benjamin.
“As you wish,” said Amos, who twisted his head grimacing. It would be a bit of extreme medication the younger thought. Amos’s silence hid from Benjamin his thoughts and the darkness hid the motion of his head and the
expression on his face. They turned to the shore not far away and walked to the water. Amos remembered crossing through the dense water with cut feet. He stood nearby, as Benjamin laid his burden of Scrolls and food aside, knelt,
pulled his robe up and lifted a palm of the water to his side.
Amos heard a gasp of pain, or perhaps it was relief, he could not tell. It was the only sound from Benjamin that he heard. Benjamin applied the salt water many times forming a salt crust on his side, then rose with his things and continued the journey. He never again indicated to Amos that the snake bite was bothersome to him, although, more applications of the water were occasionally applied.
As the dawn approached Amos began to scan about the cliffs for a high daytime shelter. This day would be difficult enough to get through; without having to fight for every breath in the steamy salt air. Finally, Benjamin stopped and quietly said, “Amos, search around and ahead for a suitable cover. The night is spent, I shall wait for you here.” Whereupon the old man
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crotched down resting upon his knees.
Amos placed the water bag beside the weary Priest and began his search. Eastward and up the slope he probed, and further north. Time began to pressure the young man. It would be daylight soon. No caves. No outcropping ledges. Amos skirted a small salt pool and finally settled himself on a stone cleft that narrowed into a blind end. It would have to do. Hurriedly, he returned to Benjamin.
“We must go immediately, Teacher, for it is far from here or else the daylight will discover us,” said Amos as he approached the old man.
With their burdens hastily slung on them, Amos was in the lead. As they passed the salt water pool their shadows began to progressively lengthen. At the entrance of the cleft it was full daylight. The sun was threatening the
crest of the cliffs far above them, as they finally dropped to the earth well into the cavity. A short time later Amos went to the entrance and searched for any signs of pursuers. Satisfied that they had no company he returned to Benjamin.
“It is well, my son, that the light came to us. These old bones were beginning to object. I have spent too many days in a certain room in a faraway country to endure a longer night on my feet,” Benjamin said.
“We can rest here as long as you wish Benjamin. Can you feel the easing of the pressure of Moab, the further that we travel north?” asked Amos.
“Yes, it is true Amos, and as I sat waiting for you in the dawning I stared across the Sea at our land. Had we a boat or a bridge, we could be safely home in your village of Tekoah by tomorrow morning,” said Benjamin.
Amos shot a realizing look at Benjamin. “No, the village can not be seen from this low of an elevation. However, when we reach the River Arnon, it will be west and a bit north across the Salt Sea,” said Benjamin.
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Amos relaxed, and in a moment offered Benjamin the water. They drank and ate until Benjamin announced. “We must reach the Arnon River by tomorrow morning. Our food is nearly gone.”
“And our water as well,” said Amos.
The words were still in Benjamin’s ears; when a huge roll of thunder roared through the cleft. The light that had been so plentiful earlier, suddenly disappeared. The noise had been deafening, a few rock began to fall from the vibrations. Both men got to their feet and hurried to the entrance, leaving their burdens behind; except for the Scrolls that were still bound to Benjamin’s back.
“It is a winter storm,” said Amos. “It is east and north of us.”
“Even this old Priest thought the LORD’s retributions for our short-
comings were meant, had it been any closer,” said Benjamin. “Perhaps we can wait here until the storm passes away.”
“No,” said Amos. He was staring intently south. He reached for Benjamin and pulled him back into the cleft. “There are some men walking along the shore line.” More fearful of the men than the falling rocks Amos and Benjamin retreated back into their refuge. The storm continued to darken the sky, but the thunder had been only that one sudden time. In the distance above them, a storm raged on the plains. Amos gathered his bow and quiver of arrows as Benjamin turned to him with the empty water bag holding it up for Amos to see.
“Where is the water?” said Amos.
Benjamin hushed any further exclamations by putting his hand to his mouth, then said, “A rock fell and punctured the bag, Amos. It is well that we drank already this day.”
Amos turned and cautiously returned to the entrance of the cleft. There
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was no convenient boulder in front of this entrance, and so, Amos could clearly see the northward progress of the travelers. They were passing them by. Amos watched for a time then returned to Benjamin.
“Are they gone, Amos?” asked Benjamin.
“They are nearly by us,” said Amos, as he lifted the water bag examining the slice in the leather. “Could we repair this? so that I could go ahead and get water from the Arnon River.”
“It can be repaired, and I shall, but you have quickly forgotten the men that are ahead of us now,” said Benjamin.
Feeling rather foolish, Amos dropped the bag beside Benjamin and seated himself along the same wall, he was dreary tired.
“We need to sleep, but we should watch after those men in case they
return,” said Benjamin while indicating he would need Amos’s knife.
“You take your rest, Teacher, I will see after those men and return when I am certain that it is safe,” said Amos.
Again, Amos rose and went to the entrance to watch. Benjamin cut a strip of leather, punched a series of holes along the cut in the water bag and stitched it tightly closed. When filled, the water would swell the strip of leather resealing the skin.
Some time later Amos returned to his companion who was asleep upon his robe along the wall. Amos sat and listened for as long as he could stay awake then fell into a slumber.
About dusk that night Benjamin began to instruct Amos about the nights journey. “We will be at the Arnon River by morning. Do not eat very much now, it will absorb the moisture in your stomach. And do not pass water so that you retain that moisture too. We will wait tonight and leave when it is cooler,” said Benjamin.
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“How deep is the Arnon River Benjamin? asked Amos.
“This is something that I do not know. It is a large river I am told, but I know nothing else about it,” said Benjamin. “The men that are ahead of us must not think that we are other than Edomites.”
“How is it Teacher that the Edomites and the Moabites are confederate,” asked Amos.
“That is a difficult question, Amos. You must remember that that mutual support is going to collapse this spring. Perhaps, only the leaders of each country know that the rift is going to take place. Part of the reasons for their agreements are wrapped up in an economic system and they are nearly dependent upon one another. The root cause is probably domination. Since the days of King David, Moab has paid heavy tribute to Israel. This would, in
itself, cause Moab to lean upon a stronger brother, and that is Edom along her southern boarder. It is like the farmer who only owned a camel and an ox. One day it occurred to him that he should increase the size of his fields so that he could plant more. Formerly, he had always plowed with just the ox. Now, with a greater need, he yoked the camel and the ox together and accomplished his desire for larger crops. Well, as you know from the Books of Moses this is a thing that is not to be done by any of Israel, because the animals are of diverse kind. However, the farmer did increase his yield and in the length of the year both the camel and the ox were better feed. And so unrest is with the people who are not of Israel, nations who do not obey any observance of God’s com-mandments,” said Benjamin.
“But that is saying that it is better not to obey God’s laws, because, the farmer was much better off and was feeding his animals better,” said Amos.
“Ah yes, however, as you know of the evil that is to befall Moab this spring, and the great losses that will occur to both sides; do you think that
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God does not in the end, judge even the ungodly?” asked Benjamin.
“You are a wise Teacher. How did you come to understand such a thing,” asked Amos.
“The Scrolls, my son – – from reading the Scrolls. We of the sons of Jacob have an inheritance in the land of His promise to Abraham. More importantly, as individuals, we have the kindness of God extended to us in His written words. It is not determined, as yet, exactly what Scrolls are to be considered His very words; but we, of the Priestly line of Aaron, do have the responsibility of preserving copies of the inspirations. In my youth it was my desire to seek the task of copying the living words. That dream has been dashed into shards over the past forty years. Is it not even so, that the age of usefulness at the Great Altar has also passed from me? Do not be sad for me, Amos, as the expression on your face tells; my joy is in reading and searching through the Scrolls. When again in the Priest’s Court of the Temple of the LORD my God, I shall hope upon the sight of His person with my own eyes. Nay, do not be sad, that is my hope, The mercy of God’s words each morning brings rejoicing and gladness to my heart. Consider my plight of the past forty years, my son, and learn from them. Pattern each of your days, giving a part of each day to enjoy and lean upon the great promises of God in His Scrolls. Returning to the classes of Simeon the Scholar will be a great benefit in every respect. However, to visit God’s words on your own is something that can never be taken away. Retain the words in your memory, and the LORD forbid, should you again be torn away from the land. You will have laid up for yourself great treasure more valuable than gold or ruby stones,” said Benjamin.
Amos fell silent at the instructions of his Teacher. For some moments he contemplated the words of the voice that were somehow more than just Benjamin’s; as if God, Himself, were imploring him. This was no small task
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that was being ask of him; seeing that he was still a youth.
“Come now. We must be going. The answer of your heart will come forth at the proper moment. For now, let it rest in your mind,” said Benjamin.
The storm had distanced itself into the west. The thunder clap had been the only thing that had penetrated the heavy salted air of the shoreline; the heat remained. Now without water, the dangers of the night’s journey became consciously more menacing. Once at the shoreline, the path of the earlier travelers was evident; even making Amos’s and Benjamin’s efforts easier. Many stones were kicked aside and the way was more visible in the darkness. The Salt Sea was deepening and darkening. The dimmer reflection from the waters surface was offset by the clearer pathway. However, it was the stillness of the area that unnerved the soul. The nothingness that haunted their minds throughout the night.
Nearing the dawn, Amos spotted a fire along the shore line.
“Teacher,” Amos whispered, “there is a camp fire ahead.”
Benjamin stepped forward and gazed at a spot of yellow in the black, then he said, “We will stop here Amos, find us a rock or something to put between us and them.”
After a short search, Amos escorted the weary old man along the south side of the tail of a ridge that sloped toward the Sea. They seated themselves and waited for the defining daylight. Neither spoke. The heat had drained the moisture and thoughts from their bodies.
They had gained little more than rest when the rays of daylight began to cast themselves across the Salt Sea. Sleep had been impossible.
Benjamin quietly spoke. “Amos, see if the travelers are still at the fire.”
Amos, cautiously peered above the ridge of stone watching for some time,
before returning to his seat. He looked at Benjamin who looked more like a
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crumpled robe thrown against the stones than an honorable Priest of the LORD. Only Benjamin’s eyes were asking Amos.
“There is no fire that I can see from here. There is not a person that I can find,” said Amos, “I will take the water bag and go ahead. Perhaps, they will not even be suspicious if they turn out to be Moabites, since I will be alone.”
“May the LORD go with you,” said Benjamin, who did not otherwise move.
Amos slung the bag over his shoulder and crotched low until he reached the path. He thought that by doing so he would better conceal Benjamin. He looked to the spot again where he thought he had seen the fire in the dark, there was nothing. Only then did Amos slowly begin to walk the path. Finally, he came near the spot and could see the blackened bed of coals. He looked about, there was no one around. Then glimpsed a spot of green in the distance of the trail. Amos realized it was the place where the River Arnon entered the Salt Sea. He walked toward the green, beholding the tremendous gorge cut through the brown sandstone and granite shelf to his right. The narrowness of the cut amplified the tremendous height of the plateau, eight hundred cubits above him. Amos was beginning to hear a low roar as he approached the green, that he now saw to be palm trees. He could see no one. The scent of fresh water caught his attention and he hurried to the bulging rivers shore line. The storm the night before had cast torrential rains into the trenches of the fields that feed the river far above to the east. He dropped to his knees at the edge and drank from the palms of his hands. The water was gritty, but it was wet. He looked again to the other side. It would be impossible to cross. The travelers that were ahead of them must have crossed in the night, shortly after Amos had caught sight of their fire, or maybe before he thought. Amos filled
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the bag quickly, and began the walk back to Benjamin.
“Benjamin!” Amos said, as he approached, “the LORD has cut the travelers off from us.” But he stopped talking when there was no response from his friend, and ran to him. The sun was upon the thin figure like the flames of a huge camp fire. Amos loosened Benjamin’s turban and wet it from the bag. He stood letting his shadow shade his Teacher, then began cooling Benjamin’s face with the wet cloth. In a few moments the dark eyes were again examining Amos and he slowly drank the water from the skin.
“You have been to the river, son?” asked Benjamin.
“Yes,” said Amos, “and the travelers that are ahead of us have already crossed.”
“Excellent!” said Benjamin, “then we shall walk on the soil of Reuben’s inheritance that Moses granted him this day.”
Amos looked down. “I’m afraid that we shall not have to hurry for that occasion, Teacher. The storm of yesterday morning has flooded the river and we shall not cross it today.”
Benjamin did not respond immediately and fell back into his resting place, saying, “It is not good to prolong the parable of this old Priest’s life, LORD. Oh, that purpose could be found that those waters would part and this old body might continue its journey to your habitation. But, let what is, be upon me God, only hasten the matter I pray.”
“Teacher, you are tired and exhausted, I shall carry you the short distance to the River Arnon and we shall find a place for you. There we can both recover ourselves and be on our way as the river gives us opportunity,” said Amos.
“This weary traveler can in no way object, only before you give me any more of the water from the River Arnon please filter it through my turban,
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please,” said Benjamin.
Amos gathered their things together and bound them to his back. He picked Benjamin up in his arms and began the hike to the river. The heat was extreme and the sweat poured from Amos. Benjamin fell into a sleep that made Amos’s burden a little more difficult. Amos sheltered the old Priest from the direct sunlight as best he could and hastened his steps.
It was noon when Amos cautiously approached the Arnon River. They were alone. Placing Benjamin under a date palm tree Amos began to cool him with the wet turban until he became conscious. Amos had removed his own robe and was clothed only in his breaches. Removing Benjamin’s robe he placed it beside his own. The flesh around where the snake had bitten Benjamin was blackened under the salt encrustation, that the old Priest had applied, but the wound was nearly healed. Amos carried the thin form into the river. The many days in the cave and two additional ones to the river without bathing induced a slight shock that shuddered through Amos’s body and so he refrained from dousing the old man. With his palm he poured the cool water about his face and head letting it drizzle onto the rest of his body.
“You are indeed a blessing from God, my son,’ said Benjamin. “Let me stand with my feet on the rivers wet sands.”
Carefully, Amos let down Benjamin’s legs into the water. Amos watched him to be sure that the shock of the coldness did not overcome him. He had to support Benjamin when he did stand. The inner strength in Benjamin again revived. Amos could feel the life returning to Benjamin’s limbs.
“We must not spend too much time in the river, Amos. We are still on the Moabite side of the river,” said Benjamin.
Awakened from the pleasures of the bath, Amos began to look about the south shore and the path they had just arrived on. It was desolate.
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                    Cave of the Ancients



 Amos asked,  “Shall I search out a cave for us now Teacher?”
“It will be well if we did that chore together, my son,” said Benjamin.
Benjamin began, with difficulty, to make his way to the shore.  Amos followed closely, still holding Benjamin’s arm.  The heat on the shore dried the wetness of the river from their bodies so quickly, that Amos was nearly dry when he reentered the water to wash their robes.
With the wet robes on they searched for shelter, more out of fear from human beings than escape from the heat.  This time they were rewarded with a stone cavern a considerable climb above the river.  The river, during some much earlier time, had carved the cavity into the soft red stone.  Once inside they looked out over the river.
“We can see the path on both sides of the river,” said Amos, and pointed.
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Also pointing, Benjamin redirected Amos’s gaze across the Salt Sea to the green plateaus of Judah.  “There to the north a bit and inward, is your village of Tekoah.”
The joy of the thought that the old man now placed in Amos; removed any misgivings that he may have had of reaching home.  Amos stood for several moments staring into the distant pastures.
“Come now, we must search the cave while it is yet day for any serpents,” said Benjamin.
In a few moments Amos’s alarmed voice called to his companion.  “Benjamin, look here!” and he pointed along the wall.
At Amos’s side Benjamin examined a broken clay jar.  Lifting the jar from the floor the dust showered back onto the floor of the cave.  He turned it over finding a seal mark on the top of the handle.
“How curious,” said Benjamin, “the seal is Hebrew and the name seems to be Jehoshaphat.  Do not be alarmed, my son, these visitors were our kindred and stayed here about a hundred years ago.  You remember in my room,    when we looked through the scroll of the Kings of Israel?  Jehoshaphat was a good king of Judah six reigns ago.  No, my son we have nothing to fear in staying here.”
Comforted again by the wise reserve of Benjamin’s knowledge Amos continued the search of the cave.  It was not deep, more of a scooped out room with rounded corners, and he returned to Benjamin who was still reminiscing over the jar that had been made and dropped over a hundred years before.
“We are safe Teacher, what shall we do now?” asked Amos.
Looked up from the jar and said, “We have a safe haven given to us by the hand of God, my son; we shall rest.”  Benjamin indicated a spot well back of the entrance as a resting place, and turned his attention again to the jar.  
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Amos relaxed at the sound of those words and soon spread his robe on the cave floor. It wasn’t long before he was in a sound sleep.
Benjamin observed his student as he settled himself. When he was certain that Amos was sleeping, he gathered his Scrolls to him and moved to a comfortable spot near the entrance and sat leaning against the wall in the light. The river and paths were in his sight, and he placed the jar on his lap while he drew a scroll from its bundle. It was mid-afternoon.

Amos opened his eyes.  It was daylight.  Without moving his head he looked about letting his surroundings sink into his awakening.  Slowly, he became conscious of how soundly he had slept. He heard the sound of the roaring river and remembered climbing to the cave with Benjamin.  With the thought of Benjamin he lifted himself onto his elbow to find him.  His eyes stopped at the entrance; where Benjamin sat with an open scroll in his hands.

It was not quite as warm in the cave, as when he had laid down. Amos pulled the robe around himself, got to his feet and went to Benjamin. Benjamin looked up to greet him. Amos sat down beside him.
“Thank you for letting me nap,” Amos said.
Immediately, Benjamin looked at Amos saying, “Nap? My son, it is morning. You have taken rest for the night and part of yesterday afternoon.”
“You mean I slept all night?” said Amos.
“Do not be disturbed by it, you carried two men’s burdens and me
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yesterday morning, you needed to sleep,” said Benjamin.
“You have kept watch all that time, Teacher?” asked Amos.
“I have thoroughly examined this jar you found; and the Scrolls needed my attention,” said Benjamin. “Not one of the pillars of Solomon’s Temple can retain their strength, without that many give attention to the words of the LORD God.”
“Is this true Teacher? what you said about the pillars of the Temple,” said Amos.
Said Benjamin, “For nearly three-hundred years all of the generations who seek to see The Prophet that Moses describes, who will come after him, have sought him in the Temple of Solomon. Among the Temple’s numerous columns are found many voices of knowledge. They are wise in the words of the Scrolls and not necessarily all Priests. However, the hearers who listen for that True Voice, daily polish their senses in the Scrolls; so that they will recognize the Prophet who is in more favor with God than Moses. Be wise in this Amos, for I tell you things that are rarely discussed. You see, this old Priest has been without his place in the Temple, away from his people and without another to whom he could openly converse. The things that have been laid up inside this soul easily tumble from the tongue.”
What Benjamin left unsaid, was that he understood how much influence his words were having on the young man to whom he owed his very life. The words he spoke to Amos were earned. He looked away from Amos out across the Salt Sea to the west side at the patch of green date palms. The chalk earth background of the cliffs emphasized the green. The trees marked the coastal city of En-gedi; where forty years before, his ordeal had begun.
With a sigh, Benjamin motioned to the nearly empty script that held their food. “Amos, my son, we shall eat what is left of our food – – a carob
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husk, a barley loaf and a few raisins; when we have given thanks.”
Amos pulled the bag to them. They bowed heads towards Jerusalem. Benjamin quietly gave thanks, entreating the LORD for their safe return to their homes.
Benjamin unwrapped the parcel of foods to find the carob dried away. The bread was dry and crumbly; he broke it in half. The raisins were hard, but sweet. Only with the water from the Arnon river were they edible.
“It appears that we shall rest here for a time, Amos,” said Benjamin, nodding toward the river below them. The water had not receded. “The LORD has his way. We must be patient. This man had thought that we should continue on in the daylight once we crossed the Arnon River.” He looked to Amos and continued. “In God’s pit of heat how shall we manage?”
Amos was not long in answering, “We shall use a covering of palm leaves over our heads to keep the strong sun from us” Amos grabbed the script and checked the seams. “And we shall fill this with water in addition to the water bag.”
“Excellent,” said Benjamin, “and a search about before dusk should reveal any edibles about this corner of Moab.” They both cringed at the sound of the word Moab.
“Maybe, I should go back and see if anything was left behind by those that built the fire, and there may be dates on the trees below,” said Amos cautiously stepping from the cave.
“Do not be gone long, even your youth can not withstand the heat for very long,” Benjamin said.
Amos made his way down to the river level. Looking about, he approached the palm trees. This late in the winter the trees were bare, except, for one wilted branch that hung down the side of the tree. He studied the tree
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for a moment and decided to return to it before he went back to Benjamin. Now, he picked his way back toward the place where the other travelers had made the fire. He stayed well away from the path. At the sight he found the southern route clear. Then, Amos began to scratch through burnt sticks and ashes. It had not been as large of a fire as Amos had imagined, only big enough to prepare the meal. There had been meat cooked, he could smell the grease filled charcoal. He found nothing. There were many footprints around the spot and many steps leading away. Probably, they were to privy, but Amos thought he should check them. Again, he found nothing. He had counted on finding something, because they had been fortunate thus far. Amos checked the southern pathway and returned to the palm tree. At the tree he loosened the sling and chose a throwing stone. The sling whirled in the hot air making a small breeze about his head. The released stone hit the hanging branch near the trunk of the tree. A thatch of dried leaves followed the branch to the ground. Amos removed the dried cluster of dates from the branch and stuffed them in his robe. He looked about around the trees for anything else that might sustain them, but there were only the dates. He noticed that the river had gone down just in the short time that he had gone to the fire. He got a drink. A little refreshed, yet tired from the heat, he rose to returned to the cave. Downstream he heard the sound of someone splashing their way through the water’s edge. Crouching low and moving toward the disturbance he came upon a silt shallows where a good sized fish was thrashing its way deeper into the mud. Amos wasted no time in scrambling through the mud to catch it.
Benjamin was awakening from a nap as Amos entered the cool shade of the cave. Amos’s sweating hand pulled the small cluster of dates from this robe and he handed them to Benjamin.
“Ah,” said Benjamin, “the good fortune of the LORD is with us.”
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“They are from a broken branch,” said Amos. “There was nothing at the fire sight.”
“Well, even though these are green and dried, along with the water we may be able to reach Zereth-Shahar – – it is only one days journey,” said Benjamin.
“Only one day? Good! What shall we expect to find there?” asked Amos.
“Some nourishing food, new robes, a room for the night or longer if necessary, and a majority of our brothers, the Reubenites. Once we cross the Arnon River we will be in the land of their inheritance. Amos, do not think that we are entirely safe once there. Continue to be vigilant. We are far too close to forget Moab,” said Benjamin.
“I shall not forget,” said Amos. “The river has gone down noticeably, just in the time that I went to the fire. While I was there the LORD provided us this, beached in the shallows.” Amos brought the fish from behind him.
“Praise the LORD,” said Benjamin who then got to his feet, gleaming at Amos. “I was wondering what the bundle of twigs were for that are tied to your belt.”
As Amos knelt, building a small fire Benjamin looked down onto the river and nodded. “Perhaps tomorrow we can cross. For now we shall have a warranted feast.”
As the fish cooked, skewed on two arrows, Amos told, “Once when I was younger, before I joined my brothers with the flocks, Uncle Ira took me with him to Bethlehem to sell summer fruit. The smoke from the fires of Bethlehem told us how far we still had to walk. Ira’s pack animals followed the path without him even leading them. The pastures were green and the air was cool and fresh. That was the part of the journey that I liked the most. At
Bethlehem we came into the market place and unpacked our wares of sycamore
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fruit. All about us were many more wonderful fruits. There were fresh pomegranates, dates, grapes, figs, almonds, walnuts, apples, wheat and barley and olives. And there were dried fish. I can still see the fresh colors and hear the sounds of the busy market place,” said Amos.
“Enough, enough,” said Benjamin, “you are torturing more than just yourself, you know. This journey, the LORD will bring to an end and we shall enjoy those things again. But if you please, spare this old one and serve the fish.”
They ate and Amos went to the opposite wall and leaned his back against the cool sandstone. The floor of the cave was granite, hard and sharp where he sat. He looked about the cave. A bleakness settled in his mind, that he thought was caused by the barren cave. Finally, his eyes settled on Benjamin’s burden – – the Scrolls. An inner brightness aroused in him. Benjamin continued to look from the cave as Amos drew the parcels to him. Perhaps the old Priest was asleep, thought Amos. He opened the bag a drew a large Scroll from around its framework of succeeding windings.
The sound of Amos’s penetrating voice drew Benjamin’s attention back into the cave and onto the Scroll that the youth held in front of him. Those Psalms had never held such beauty and simplicity of understanding as in that afternoon when Amos read the entire Scroll for his hearing.

                    99


                Travelers from Zoar



Along the rivers edge the next afternoon Amos entered the current.  Benjamin stood watchfully on the bank.  To test the depth they had left the cover of the palm trees attempting to cross nearer the mouth of the river as it flowed into the Salt Sea.  Immediately, Amos feet began to sink in the silt and he quickly backed from its clutches to the shore.
“We shall try closer to the trees Amos.” said Benjamin. 
They gathered the burdens and the palm branches.  Near the trees Amos again entered the river finding it solid and only somewhat above waist high on him, as he neared the middle.  He probed with his staff finding the footing to be the same ahead of him and returned to Benjamin.
“Here, it is safe and shallow enough for us to cross, Teacher,” Amos said.
They gathered the burdens upon Amos’s back and Benjamin pulled the 
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tail of his robe between his legs and bound them up into his belt, exposing this bony legs as Amos had done for himself previously. With staffs probing ahead of them they entered the Arnon River. Benjamin fixed his eyes on the north shore as they passed halfway. About three-fourths of the way across Amos shouted a caution about the current. The noise of the water twisted the warning from Benjamin’s ears and the Priest stepped into the stiff current. It immediately knocked him from his feet. Benjamin shouted. Amos turned to see his companion being swept away. Without hesitation Amos swung his walking staff onto the figure of Benjamin. Grabbing the end of the staff the current swung Benjamin’s feet down stream filling his girded robe with water nearly jerking Amos from his feet. With a great deal of struggle Amos walked the staff hand over hand to his friend. Grasping the old man’s robe; Amos managed to set Benjamin upon his feet. Benjamin placed his arm around Amos’s waist and they wrestled their way to the north shore. Exhausted, they rested on their backs in the sand.
“The LORD has again shown me mercy, Amos,” Benjamin said. “You would have found me floating like the drowned ones of Noah’s days, upon the salt water.”
Amos said, “Or like the fish that floundered in the mud yesterday.”
The precarious situation had stunned even the weathered soul of Benjamin. They lay drying in the sun for a time. Then Benjamin lifted himself and declared, “Now, we shall fill our water bags.”
With wonder Amos roused and helped with the task. What was making Benjamin, suddenly, so fervent? He asked himself.
“Come now, Amos, we proceed upon the soil of God’s promise. The inheritance of Reuben,” said Benjamin.
Forty years had placed an appreciation for the common-place in
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Benjamin’s heart. With youthful delight, the yearning soul of a person cutoff from its God-established station became satisfied. Amos understood then, that his short confinement had not built-up within him, a fully frustrated desire as it had in Benjamin. Amos carried the burdens.
Now, it was Benjamin that led a determined march, as they neared the comfort of the nights relief from the sun, and Zereth-Shahar.
At dusk a loud shout arose from the cliffs on their right. Suddenly halted at the sounds, Amos rid himself of the burdens and nocked an arrow, preparing for a confrontation. He pushed Benjamin to the ground and crotched between him and the voice that they had heard. Soon three men came into view. None of them had weapons that Amos could see. He looked behind him and about. There was no one but the three that he now confronted.
“That will be close enough,” Amos shouted, halting the intruders.
“We seek nothing but the days conversation, friends,” one of them said.
“Ask them who they are that we may know of them,” said Benjamin.
“Who are you?” asked Benjamin.
“We are inhabitants of Zoar, the city at the south of this treacherous Salt Sea,” the one said.
“How are they dressed, “ asked Benjamin.
“They have dark brown robes and turbans,” said Amos.
“Then we are more than likely to find no harm to us at their hands,” said Benjamin.
“Shall I let them approach, then,” asked Amos.
“It would seem so,” said Benjamin.
“You of Zoar, you may come closer that we may speak to you,” said Amos.
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A few paces away, at the sight of Amos’s bow the three halted. Amos dropped the arrow’s point to the ground when he saw that they were indeed unarmed. Benjamin slowly stood up facing the Zoarites as Amos looked all about him once again.
“What words do you have that we might exchange a drink of water?” asked Benjamin.
“Water, yes, we are in need of water even though the way is short to the River Arnon,” one said.
Benjamin offered the patched food pouch that they had filled with water at the river. Coming closer and at ease somewhat for the presence of the older man; each of the three in turn quenched his thirst.
“What is the cause of your journey, friends,” asked Benjamin.
“We are returning from Zereth-Shahar, having sold our wares of perfume at the market,” the first man said.
“And, is there any uproar in the city that can be reported?” asked Benjamin. “We, as you can see, are from the Edomite brethren and seek word.”
The three looked to each other and the spokesman said on, “Just two days ago, while we rested in the gate, two Moabites arrived coming from the north. They are seeking for slaves who have escaped their king. The city is every one vigilant; for they brought with them the promise of great reward when they are recaptured. And they were joined days ago by their comrades who came before you.”
Amos and Benjamin attempted to hide their frighted interiors. Benjamin spoke again. “Is that all that the city has found to occupy the winter months?”
“There are some who contend that there is war in the minds of the leaders of Moab, but who could tell such a thing.” And the Zoarite asked, “What might be your purpose in journey?”
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“We travel to Zereth-Shahar to purchase,” said Benjamin.
“Ah, then you shall do well, my friends, the city awaits the taste of your gold and silver. The city is full of wares. Be mindful of the perfume especially, that there may be a need when we return to sell again.” The Zoarites laughed. “Perhaps, we shall see you there; but for now we must take our journey.”
As the Zoarites left Benjamin and Amos, Benjamin offered his good will for their journey saying, “We crossed the Arnon River earlier this afternoon, you shall find it most easy to cross now, after the storm in the east caused it considerable flooding three days ago.”
“Thank you, of Edom, we shall be in safeguard at the ford,” the Zoarite said.
Once the three were out of sight Benjamin softly spoke to Amos, “We must turn aside from the path, and wait to see if any return to give the city warning concerning us. It may be that some suspicions have lent themselves to their minds, in that a reward is being offered.”
In haste, the two night travelers climbed a short distance above and to the east of the path and waited.
“Those Moabites that are at Zerah-Shahar must have been with that party that you spotted when we were in the first cave. They without doubt, have traveled on north and around the top of the Salt Sea to cut off our escape route; when they did not find us along the west coast. And the remainder of that group came back across the shallows of the Salt Sea and unknowingly followed us. We have received a generous portion of God’s favor, in that, they did not detect us as they passed by.” said Benjamin. “Did I not tell you that King Horon is most persistent?”
“How do we get around Zerah-Shahar, climb the cliffs and go around?” asked Amos.
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“It may be that you could, but these old legs, I am afraid, could not make such a treacherous journey; even if it would be much safer. We will wait to see about those Zoarites most of tonight. If they do not back-track by that time, the LORD will enlighten our minds to see the clear path that we shall take,” said Benjamin.

The Zoarites did not return on the path to Zerah-Shahar that night and so Benjamin and Amos rose up and continued their journey.  By mid-day they were forced to stop to rest and eat.  They found the dates nearly inedible they were so dry.  Their water bags were nearing empty.
“Amos,’ said Benjamin, “we are in great jeopardy, whether we climb, or whether we enter the city.  The citizens are likely to take us for Edomites if you let me converse with them.  My dealings with them in King Horon’s chamber have prepared me for such a deception.”
Amos nodded his affirmation, “We are at least prepared for the situation, thanks to the Zoarites, whereas, the citizens of Zerah-Shahar will have to decide our guilt before taking any action.”
“Yes,” said Benjamin, “that will give us time to obtain our necessities and perchance escape past city guards and Moabites.  This man thinks that to wait within the city walls in any comfortable room may decrease our chances to continue on.”
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“A few more days without comforts will not spoil us,” said Amos, to Benjamin’s pleasure.
“Our task now, is to enter the city and be gone before the gates close.  If we could do this, yet today, it would be excellent,” said Benjamin.
With that statement, they gathered themselves and their belongings to arrive at the city.  Before starting out Amos stopped and pulled the knife and sheath from his belt and handed it to Benjamin.
“Since you will be closer to danger you will need this.  I will follow and be at ready with bow or sling,” said Amos.
Sadly, Benjamin consented; hiding the weapon under his robe.  Outloud the Priest prayed,  “In this one matter LORD be merciful to your old servant and deliver us from the shedding of blood.”  Then turning Amos about, Benjamin opened the bag containing the Scrolls and fumbled a small Scroll from a parcel, and reclosed the bag.  Amos watched, without questioning, as Benjamin placed it in the sleeve of his robe.  There were no other words. Benjamin took the lead on another leg of their way home.


                    106


                Hanoch of Reuben



Benjamin pointed toward a way that led up the valley to the plains above the eastern cliffs.  Neither knew that it took a traveler to a city of the high plains called Ataroth,  But then, they had already placed their fate in the hands of the LORD and Benjamin’s skills as a negotiator.  They continued on    along the shoreline path that shortly took them past a ridge revealing the hill 

city of Zereth-Shahar. The walled city set back from the Salt Sea overlooking a wady that they soon crossed to approach the city gates. The gates were still open and they entered the city as unconcerned buyers. Within the gates were the benches where were seated the city elders.
Benjamin turned to the benches and approached. Amos was a short distance behind. The guards on the walls had watched them approach the city and continued as the alerted city elders heard Benjamin’s declaration of his
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business.
Six old men sat with their eyes glued to Benjamin. Turbaned, the bearded men looked, in every way, as honorable as the Levities of Solomon’s Temple. They were well dressed in finely woven blue linen; except for one, who’s robe was tan with blue fringe bands about the sleeves and collar and skirt hem. Immediately, when given bid, Benjamin addressed this last individual and no other.
“Elders of Zereth-Shahar, my name is Nahath and this is my son Korah. We are of the brothers of the Edomites and wish to purchase from your market,” said Benjamin.
One of elders sitting to the left jabbed, “You are new in Zerah-Shahar, what assurance do you show to us?”
“Are these the hands of a workman?” asked Benjamin and he showed the councilman his palms. Pulling his bag from his belt, Benjamin poured bits of silver and gold into his palm and showed them before the counsel. “We seek your finest perfume and clothing,” said Benjamin returning the bag to his belt. Again fastening his eyes upon the elder in the tan robe; Benjamin pulled the Scroll from this sleeve and presented it in both his hands before the man. Slowly, the elder in the tan robe took the Scroll, opened it, and read. He promptly rerolled the Scroll, and turned to the other elders in hushed council.
He then spoke to Benjamin.
“My name is Hanoch, you will be quite welcome to purchase from our market and there are rooms for you and your son if you wish. Here you may take rest before your return journey.”
The gates of the city were being closed as the conversation concluded. The elders dismissed themselves from their duties and left their seats, except that Hanoch remained.
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“Let me show you to the rooms,” Hanoch insisted.
Benjamin consented with a nod and bow. He and Amos followed Hanoch through the cities narrow streets of stone walls and up a flight of stairs. Hanoch stopped a certain individual, momentarily. He spoke something to the man, that neither Benjamin nor Amos could hear. Then he took them under a porch roof of thatched palm branches to the plank door of a room. Hanoch indicated for Benjamin and Amos to enter and spoke to Benjamin.
“Remain here just as you are, I shall send for you as soon as it is dark,” and Hanoch left them.

Benjamin closed the door and they waited in the ebbing daylight that passed through the open window. In a low whisper Amos asked, "How do you know that Hanoch can be trusted?" 
Softly Benjamin spoke, "He is of the tribe of Reuben our brothers. Did you not see the blue fringe of Hanoch's robe.  It shows his desire to follow the commandment of Moses in the book of Numbers when we are instructed: Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the 

fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; said Benjamin.
Instantly, Amos remembered the words and fell silent.
A few more minutes and it was dark and a knock came on the door. Benjamin opened the door and a young girl quietly said, “Hanoch has sent me. You are to follow me.” She handed Benjamin the Scroll he had given to
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Hanoch.
Close behind the girl Benjamin and Amos retraced their steps down the stairs. At the bottom they turned into a street whose walls had no windows.
Benjamin guessed them to be the walls of the granaries. Nearly to the end of the street, a door way framed one wall. The girl knocked and the door opened. She entered, Benjamin and Amos followed. In a moment their eyes became adjusted to the oil lights, and they found that it had been Hanoch who had opened the door. He closed the door and bolted it and led the way into another room that was of a lower level. This room had only the one door where an armed guard stood. They paused while Hanoch drew aside the heavy, reed mat that covered the floor. Under it was a door that Hanoch opened. Stairs led down to a narrow passage that led to another door that Hanoch opened and they entered. Hanoch closed the door and turned to Benjamin and Amos.
“You may put you things down, this is where you may stay while you are in Zereth-Shahar. This is my daughter Orpah, who brought you to me,” said
Hanoch. We are of the children of Reuben the son of Jacob.
“Amos and I are very grateful, Hanoch. We know from the Zoarites, who we met on the path south of the city, that the whole city is looking to receive the reward that the Moabites are offering for our capture,” said Benjamin.
“Now, let me ask,” said Hanoch, “who are you of the children of Israel’?
Holding his hand out indicating Amos, Benjamin said, ‘This is Amos the son of Adin of the village Tekoah of the inheritance of Judah. My name is Benjamin Juden of the tribe of Levi from the Priests of the Temple that is Solomon’s.”
“And you both have been held captive by the Moabites – – where and for how long?” asked Hanoch.

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"We have escaped from Kir-Hareseth, from the chamber of King Horon. Amos, was a chamberlain and this man counselor to the King. Amos was captured from the pastures of Judah three month ago.  This man, and it should be to my shame, has been held for forty years,” said Benjamin.
Hanoch became so shocked at the span of time that Benjamin had been held in Moab that he fell into a chair.  “Brother Benjamin, how did you endure away from the land for so long a time?” asked Hanoch, not expecting an answer.
However, Benjamin would hide nothing and said, “These Scrolls that came to me sustained my soul.  When Amos appeared in the Kings chamber one day it was clear to me that the LORD had sent His deliverer.  With my knowledge and Amos’s strength we stand before the LORD, and you Hanoch; once again, freemen for the service of our God.”
“You have traveled this side of the Salt Sea thinking that the Moabites would not seek you, and they have intercepted you and Amos in our city,” said Hanoch.
“When they did not find us along the west coast they sent the two around the north end of the Sea to Zerah-Shahar to recapture us.  And so we stand before you with a reward offered for us and bringing judgment upon you and your family if we are caught,” said Benjamin.
Hanoch waved off the condemnation by the Moabites. and sat thinking for a short time.  “Benjamin, Amos, first we want welcome you in the name of the LORD as you are our brothers.  We will bring you your necessities and what you will need to continue your journey.  While you are resting, I will send a messenger to Jericho, so that, they will expect you there,” said Hanoch.  “When you leave, I will send my servants with you to bring you on your way to Jericho and up to Jerusalem.  Many Reubenites have melted into the popu-   
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lation of the Ammonites and Moabites on the east side of the Jordan; but there are of the faithful, a goodly remnant. We shall pass you by these treacherous Moabites, and they will never know. It is an honor to have of the line of Aaron a Priest of the LORD God in our presence. We shall look forward, when you have recovered strength, to your teachings from the Scrolls. For now, take your rest. We will be back to you in the morning. This room is under the granary. There is now a guard outside of each door, for your safety. Be at peace,” said Hanoch and he and his daughter left.
Benjamin looked around the room as Amos placed their burdens against the wall. There were two beds a chair and table and lamp. The walls were stone, tightly fit together. The ceiling was constructed of stone arching into a dome.
“How did Hanoch know that we are Israelites?” asked Amos.
“The Scroll that I handed Hanoch inside the gate is the scroll of blessing from the Scroll of Numbers.” Benjamin said. “It was easy for a man of Hanoch’s understanding to perceive our true identity. After all, the guards on the walls were already suspicious.”
“Then the LORD has indeed made our way before us,” said Amos, and he seated himself on a bed.
Benjamin, also weary, laid down on the other the bed. Soon they were both sleeping soundly. When they awoke. The lamp on the table had gone out. As Amos was feeling his way about the room, the door opened and Hanoch entered. He left the door open and called to the guard to bring a flame.
“Good morning, Benjamin and Amos. We have brought some food and water and a change of clothing,” said Hanoch.
Shortly, Orpah entered with a platter of food and a large pitcher of water.
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The guard who had returned to the hallway from lighting the lamp entered again with robes, under garments and new sandals. A young boy entered with a large water pitcher and filled the water jar sitting to the side of the door.
“We are indeed grateful for all of these things and most of all for your kindness in providing this refuge,” said Benjamin.
“Unfortunately, your ordeal is not entirely over, due to the additional travel that you must make to your homes. However, be secure in knowing that all precautions have been taken for you to remain hidden in the city. The Moabites that are in the city were told of your arrival. We think that they are convinced that you were let outside the walls last night and have fled in the way to Ataroth. That was the trail that you passed just south of the wady. We will wait a few days to see if they were convinced. Also, two men have been sent ahead to Jericho to announce your arrival. I am sure that the news will reach Jerusalem.
“Will not the Moabites be suspicious of two men traveling north from the city?” asked Amos.
“Do not be alarmed, they are Ethiopians, of the godly sort who fear the LORD. They will not be challenged. They have been here for some time and even shared in our readings of the books of Moses,” said Hanoch. “We hope to have you in Jerusalem for the Passover; it is only three sabbaths away.”
“Certainly, we are in the hands of the LORD, Amos,” said Benjamin joyfully rising from his bed and embracing his host. “Passover, Amos, Passover!”
“We will return yet this morning, friends. Please, comfort yourselves with these meager offerings,” said Hanoch before leaving them.
Even before the door closed Benjamin was dancing a pirouette. “Passover in Jerusalem, Amos! Praise be to the LORD who has brought us here
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in the way. Amos, have you ever enjoyed Passover in the Temple?” Benjamin stopped, realizing that as an Israelite and not as a Levite Priest, that Amos would have always celebrated the Passover in some room rented for the occasion outside of the Temple. Only their lamb of offering would have been brought to the Great Altar to be presented and slain there, then removed to the rented room for the feast. All of Jerusalem is filled with visitors for the time each year. “Oh,” Benjamin said, “let me apologize. All of Israel enjoys the happiest Passover with their families, I am sure. It is just that this orphaned Levite has enjoyed, from his youth, being in the Temple of the Presence for the celebration. We are only steps away from the Holy of Holies when the mercy of the Living God is consumed by those that work daily in his habitation.”
“It is all right, Teacher, I understand that it has been many years since you have even heard the words of the celebration, a time before I was ever born,” said Amos.
“Tell me Amos, does you family celebrate Passover in Jerusalem,” asked Benjamin.
“Oh, yes,” said Amos.
“Then they will be in Jerusalem when we arrive there or they will come after we have,” said Benjamin. The old man’s enthusiasm did not weaken and he began clearing the table for the wash bowl muttering as he prepared, “Must wash the dust Moab from my pores.”
Amos rescued the platter of food from the table and began to eat, gladly waiting his turn. Even before Amos had finished his bath; Benjamin was happily going through his scrolls to find the Scroll of Exodus where he could read outloud concerning the first Passover.
“Hand me my new robe would you, Teacher,” asked Amos.
“Of course, of course,” said Benjamin looking about for the obvious,
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having just discovered the hidden Scroll.
“There it is under the bag that the Scrolls were in,” said Amos.
Having delivered the robe, Benjamin sat down on the chair near the end of the table and pulled the lamp to the edge to find where he should read. From the door came shouts and the sound of a struggle. Amos went to the door and listened.
“Quietly, bar the door, Amos,” Benjamin said.
With the door barred, Amos went to the wall next to his bed, took his bow, notched an arrow and stood ready with his back against the wall opposite the door. “Benjamin, Amos whispered take your knife and stand back of the door if it should open.”
The shouting and fighting continued for a time, then there was quiet. Benjamin and Amos waited as before, prepared for the door to be broken into, but no more sounds came. They waited.
After a time, Benjamin left the door, went to the table and extinguished the lamp. They waited in darkness, hoping that there hiding place had not been found. It was evening; yet Benjamin and Amos did not move from their chamber of safety. Or was it now a ward built from fear.
“Shall we open the door?” asked Amos.
“No,” said Benjamin, “we must remain as we are until someone comes for us. The city may have been overrun by Ammonites, or the King overthrown, or maybe the Moabites have discovered us and only overlooked our secret place. The LORD has given us Hanoch, a brother we can trust; he will come for us when it is safe. We must remain as we are.”
Benjamin and Amos sat in silence, until…
“Amos, Benjamin!” came the voice at the door. It was Honoch’s daughter, Orpah.
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Amos went to the door and unbolted it. The door opened into darkness with only a small light of the lamp that the girl carried. The door at the top of the stairs was closed. Amos closed their door behind her and bolted it. Orpah relighted the lamp on the table; it revealed Benjamin now sitting on his bed. He stood up.
“Orpah!” Benjamin said, “we have waited for your father, is all well with your house?”
Orpah turned to Benjamin and said, “No, Benjamin, my father has been taken into custody. The Moabites found out about you and Amos. Because father showed you the rented rooms, they are blaming him for not pointing you out to them. They appealed to the King, he is holding my father in the dungeon until he appears before the King to answer his questions in the morning. Mother and I and my younger brother do not have anyone to turn to now; for the whole city had agreed to the Moabites terms.”
Benjamin slumped back onto his bed. Amos placed the chair for Orpah and stood nearby.
“Mother sent me to see to your needs,” said Orpah. “I have brought some things for you to eat and some water; they are on the stairs. Mother thinks that my father will be able to convince the King that he is innocent. Father has always had much influence him.”
“Orpah, how long will you be able to sustain us here without being discovered?” asked Benjamin, who only slightly raised his head. “It is not a good thing that you risk your own safety for us.” Benjamin looked up to Amos.
With head bent Amos paced to the door and back. “Benjamin is right, Orpah. These Moabites must have offered a large ransom for our capture, to have raised the entire city and the King against us. They will throw you in jail as well. It is not a good thing that you continue to help us.”
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“It is not a good thing for Hanoch or his family if we escape either,” said Benjamin. “Once we were gone they would most certainly blame them. The Moabites are still searching the city for us, are they not?”
“Yes,” said Orpah. “They killed the guard upstairs, but did not find the door under the mat.”
“Benjamin, we must not delay. Orpah, can you show me where the King’s dungeon is on the table top here.” Amos pushed the things on the table away from in front of her.
She looked up at Amos and said, “The jail is next to the Kings palace but it is across the city from here. Why do you want to know?”
“Show me on the table so that I can get there. Perhaps, I can talk to your father when it is dark.”
“It is dark already,” said Orpah, “that is how I was able to get here.”
“Good!” said Amos. “Now, show me the best way to get there.”
With a small pebble from the cobble floor Orpah sketched the streets for Amos. “This route is longer, but you will be able to come back that way just as safely as you go,” said Orpah.
“Benjamin, while I am gone you will go with Orpah to their home. You can always say that you are an uncle, or her mother’s father if the home is searched. They are looking for two men not one, and they will believe the women,” said Amos.
“My son, why do you want to talk to Hanoch?” asked Benjamin.
“There is not time to explain now, Teacher. We must leave here, both of us, in the event that the Moabites return and do find the door in the floor upstairs. We will be safer if not together,” said Amos.
“You will have to come to our home when you return and you do not know the way,” said Orpah.
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“Hanoch will tell me the way, but we must go now,” said Amos.
Amos stuffed their old clothing under the beds and handed Benjamin his bag of Scrolls. “You have the knife with you, Teacher?” asked Amos.
“Yes,” said Benjamin.
“I have the bow and quiver of arrows, I shall see you at Hanoch’s later tonight, with word, I hope,” said Amos.
“Do not forget the message that we both carry for King Uzziah, my son?” said Benjamin as Amos escorted he and Orpah up the stairs.
“I shall not forget, Benjamin Juden,” said Amos.
“The floor mat,” said Orpah, and Amos folded it back into place.
At the door Orpah stepped out into the darkness first. She signaled Benjamin who then followed her. Amos was behind Benjamin. When they reached the end of the granary Orpah pointed out the street for Amos to follow and they parted.
Amos had the sketch on the table imprinted in his mind. The way was long, he admitted to himself, but he had not encountered anyone thus far. As he passed through and intersection he could see the outline of a large building against the sky. He judged that to be the King’s mansion. A few more streets remained. The cities dogs roamed the alleys prowling for a morsel of food, their commotions somewhat covered Amos’s clumsy half run through the cobbled and dirt streets. The open windows of the houses no longer shown the light of the lamps inside. It was late into the night.
When Amos crotched against the stone wall of the building where Hanoch was being held; a guard turned the corner of the building into Amos’s path. He had no time to nock an arrow. In a blind motion Amos grabbed a fist sized stone from the street and sent it hurdling into the side of the man’s head. The guard slumped sideways onto the street. Amos quickly ran to the
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unconscious man and removed the sword and spear from him. He looked around the corner. There were no other guards near what he knew, from Orpah’s sketch, to be the entrance to the jail. He slipped into the door. Still no one. The keys hung on a peg outside a heavy door. He could hear voices inside. The door was locked. The voices got closer to the door and Amos backed away. No, – – it was only one voice at the door. The door opened and Amos stepped behind it. Another guard. As he turned to relock the door he was faced with Amos who slapped the side of the guard’s head with the flat of the sword that he had carried in from the other guard. The force broke the sword and sent the man instantly to the floor. Like the other guard this one was unconscious too. Amos pushed the legs of the guard away and entered the room with the broken stump of the sword in his hand. There was no one else. He looked back and saw the keys laying on the floor outside the door. He went back for them and hurried down the row of cells, finally he called for Hanoch who he heard answer from the last cell. Amos looked in the cell; it was too dark to see and he spoke again.
“Hanoch, it is Amos, hurry!”
Amos found the lock on the door and turned the key, before asking if he were alone. Only Hanoch came forth. Amos grabbed him by the arm to lead him away but Hanoch stopped.
“What are you doing, Amos?” asked Hanoch.
“There is no time,” urged Amos, “we will talk outside.”
Hanoch followed slowly until they came to the door and he saw the guard laying on the floor. Then he understood the price his freedom was costing, and quickly followed Amos. Hanoch nearly tripped over the other guard in the street as he followed Amos. There was no turning back. Amos had made his mind up for him. They ran into the first dark alley and backed
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against a wall.
“Benjamin is at your home. Orpah brought us food tonight and the guard above our room was been killed by the Moabites today. They did not find the door into our room,” said Amos.
“This is all for nothing,” said Hanoch, “I could have easily persuaded the King.”
“After what he allowed today, Hanoch?” said Amos. “Even if we escape tonight they would blame you and your family. They will find that room under the granary eventually, and know that we were there. The help you gave us in finding the rented room is what made the Moabites suspicious of you. Don’t you see, we must all escape as soon as we reach your home. The guards will be found or will awaken. We must hurry to reach your home Hanoch; it is the first place that they will look for us.”
“All right, said Hanoch, “it is done now. If we did not have to back track half way to my home… Let’s go – – this way,” said Hanoch. Now they ran through the streets and alleys with no regard for the racket their shoes were making on the cobble stone street. Amos wrapped his arm around the bow and quiver, he had left the spear at the door of the jail when he had swung the sword on the guard. The streets were remarkably empty, considering the turmoil of the day, thought Amos.
They had run only a few streets west when Hanoch stopped short and Amos ran into him nearly downing both of them. Hanoch pointed to the end of the street they had just turned into. There were some people at the other end of the street. They appeared to be heading their direction. Hanoch and Amos ducked to the stones of the street looking about for somewhere to hide. Only the building’s shadows gave them any cover. When they did not see a doorway or niche close by; Amos drew his bow to nock an arrow. Hanoch’s
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hand stopped him. Hanoch was carefully looking at the group.
“It is my family Amos, and Benjamin. There are four figures and two are women.”
They waited, but did not stand as the four people approached. Finally, Hanoch stood up and brought the group to a halt.
“My wife,” said Hanoch. “it is I and Amos, do not fear.”
They began to withdraw until Hanoch and Amos stepped from the shadows.
“Benjamin,” said Amos, “we are safe. Are you well?”
“Yes, my son, we are all safe. However, that margin is as thin as a camel’s hair. The Moabites are at the house, even now. We heard them coming and saw their lights from the house window and fled into the streets,” said Benjamin.
“Come, now,” said Hanoch and they altogether, Benjamin, Orpah, her brother, Hanoch’s wife, Hanoch and Amos hurried down the street that Hanoch had pointed out – – eastward.”
For Amos and Benjamin the direction held slight meaning, for they did not know what course had been chosen for them. They could only trust in Hanoch. The mountains they headed toward were hidden in darkness. They kept to the streets away from the city walls and guards until they came to the street that led to the east gate. There were guards over the gates. They stopped. There was a door in the one gate. It was bolted. There was not a way to approach the door. They stood for a few moments looking at the passage.
Hanoch’s wife moved close and spoke to Hanoch then to Orpah. Hanoch motioned to Amos. He and Hanoch moved along the walls of the houses. They watched the guards. When they turned their vigil outside the walls; Hanoch and Amos dashed to the wall and flattened themselves, one on either side of
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the door. By the time the guards swung there eyes inside the walls Orpah had stationed herself in the center of the street. She looked enticingly at the guards.
“What are you doing out so late?” one guard asked.
“I, also, am watching,” Orpah said.
“And what might you be watching for, young one?” said the guard.
“My boyfriend,” said Orpah, “but he late as usual. I think he is loosing interest.”
“Loosing interest, in such a fine girl as you?” the guard said.
“I am weary of waiting for him any longer, if there were just someone who would show me some interest the walk home would not be so long,” said Orpah.
The guard that had spoken to her, said something to the other guard and disappeared from the wall. Soon, the door of the gate opened and Hanoch grabbed that guard while Amos went inside to the one on the wall. The women the boy and Benjamin descended so quickly upon the man Hanoch had put on the ground, that he did not have a chance to call out. Shortly, he was bound and gagged with Benjamin’s turban. Hanoch left them to finish winding the cloth and followed Amos. At the top of the stairs Amos appeared and nodded to Hanoch that the other guard was taken care of; Amos was still holding a large club of firewood in his hand. The others joined Hanoch, while Amos stayed on the wall and walked to the outside gate. The guard there thought he was one of the guards long enough for Amos to struggle him down and bind him. Hanoch threw the bar off of the gate and swung it open only far enough for them to pass through. Amos climbed the gate to the ground before the gate closed and drug the bar outside. They propped the gate closed from the outside with the bar.
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“We must run, now,” Hanoch said. “the trail of guards we left behind will be waking up soon.”
Running outside the walls proved to be more difficult than running in the streets, although the women did not detain the six as they fled from the darkness of Moab. And so, two became six along the gauntlet between the tall cliffs and the salt water coast. At least there was no Moabite ambush ahead, only the threat of who they knew would follow. It was shortly after mid-night.

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                Moabite Pursuers


They ran.  Amos was in the lead, the youngest next, Hanoch and his wife and Benjamin lagged behind.  But what was in his mind none of the rest, even Amos realized.  He made himself, as he was, the weaker of the flock, the one the lion would easily take down.  If it would be the Moabites themselves that caught up to them; Benjamin, would be the person they most desired to take back to King Horon.
Legs, unaccustomed to running, became tired.  Had it not been for the refreshing stream that Amos splashed into the party might have dragged to a complete halt.
“It is the Wady Maain,” said Hanoch.  “We must quench our thirsts here and now; for it will be into daylight before we find fresh water again.”
Benjamin who had fallen far behind, soon arrived at the shore, breathing 
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heavily. “Amos, we are being followed – – closely,” he finally managed to say, resting his hands on his knees.
Amos went to him. “Amos, give me the bow and arrows you carry, I can hold them here and give you time to hide the others on ahead. They will leave carrying for you and the others, when they have recaptured me,” Benjamin said.
Hanoch came to Amos’s side as Benjamin finished speaking.
“Once we have crossed the stream, we shall be able to run again, no one will remain behind for those beasts to devour,” said Hanoch.
With Benjamin between them, Hanoch and Amos hurried him to the waters edge. As they were entering, when they heard a shout from the darkness behind them.
“Hanoch! Hanoch! we have found you by the mercies of God,” the distant voice said as it drew closer.
Hanoch stopped at the familiar voice and halted the crossing. “It is my nephew,” he said to Amos. “I had planned for some of my brothers to accompany you and Benjamin until you came to Jericho. However, they were not to arrive until noon today from the upper plains.”
“Uncle,” the man said as he ran to Hanoch. “We thought that we might not find you in the dark.”
“How did you find us at all?” asked Hanoch. Three more of his nephews joined the conversation in the Wady Maain. “We are most grateful that the LORD has sent you four and not the Moabites that we were expecting it to be.”
“The LORD did prosper our way from the herds that were near Zerah-Shahar up on the plains. When we arrived at the east gate not long ago, we found it propped from the outside. Some guards were attempting to climb down the wall and open them when we got there. They tried to get us to open
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the gates for them, until we found out who had closed them. Then, we turned and ran north and are with you now,” said the eldest nephew.
“We will go ahead and you four will be surety for us, from behind,” Hanoch said to his nephews. “For now, let us make haste, and be away from here. Amos will be in the lead.”

Daylight shown from the east across the Salt Sea, but there had been no paths to the east to escape from the narrow passage way.  And no towns near enough to give them shelter.  The group of travelers came to a short rest.  
“Beth-Jeshimoth lays east at the north end of the Salt Sea, but it is a half a days walk from the Sea,” said Benjamin.
“Yes,” Hanoch said, “but we may have to go there to find food.  Even at this pace, we will not reach the Jordan much before this day ends.”
“We will need food, the women and the young one will have to eat and there is not water.  I can climb the cliff and find a flock or a deer and bring back for us,” said Amos, who had tried to fill his quiver for a water bag at the wady and found it could hold only arrows.
“There is not a need, Uncle, we still have some provisions we brought with us.  It will suffice for us all,” said the elder of Hanoch’s nephews.
Said Benjamin.  “The Moabites are bound to catch up to us soon, we will need all of our weapons when that happens.”
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“And it might be wise if someone climbs up that next ridge to watch and give us warning if there is anyone following close behind us,” Hanoch said to Amos.  
“You did so much for us already, and now, at the cost of your home, fortune and position, Hanoch; we can never repay your kindness, it is as rich as the LORD’s himself,” said Benjamin.
“My fortune is secured, these days, there are many from all of the tribes of Israel, who are seeking refuge in Jerusalem, and we shall become like them.”  And turning to his wife, Hanoch said, “With our new friends, we shall celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem this season and spend our remaining years in the land of God’s blessing.”
Now, that it had become daylight, Amos noticed for the first time, since they had left the city, that Benjamin still had his Scrolls bound to his shoulders.  Benjamin was saying...
“You tell me a thing, that I can not believe that I hear, Hanoch.  Is there not land in all of our inheritance, of all the tribes, a place that is no longer safe to dwell there, and that the people abandon there land and seek a haven in Jerusalem?  Has such a thing happened during the forty years that I spent in ward in Moab?  Never a word was spoken to me there, concerning such a thing.”
“It is true, holy one, the word of the merchants must have been hidden from you,” said Hanoch.
“Amos, do as Hanoch has bid you and see if we are being followed closely,” said Benjamin motioning to the ridge.
Even as he climbed, Amos could see a force of men bearing down upon them.  He hurried back to the group.  “It is as you said, Teacher, the whole city of Zereth-Shahar is upon us with the Moabites in the lead,” said Amos nocking 
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an arrow.
“Sadly,” Hanoch said, “Zereth-Shahar’s population is only one sixth Reubenite. I had wished that we had made more friends there. But now, Benjamin and my family, hurry on; do not linger here any longer.”
Seeing them leave, Hanoch turned to the trail south. They hurried down the path to put as much distance between the Moabites and his family as possible. Finally, they stopped. His nephews and Amos stood abreast on either his side, across the way. They waited.
Presently, five black clad figures with a score of men behind them came into view, none of them were Reubenites. Hanoch, when they were in hearing distance, stepped forward and spoke loudly. “Men of my city Zereth-Shahar, hear me!” The band behind the Moabites came to a sudden halt. But it was an arrow from Amos’s bow that brought the Moabites to a stand still. It sailed closely over their heads. Then Hanoch continued. “I am Hanoch, your town elder, who sat with the other six judges at your gate, daily. Listen to me! My family and I are seeking refuge in the land of Israel. The land that God promised to our fathers. We are expected in Jericho this day, by messengers that I sent ahead a day ago. If we do not arrive in Jericho by tomorrow morning; our brethren of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, in great numbers, will descend upon Zereth-Shahar and reduce it and its mound to the level of the Salt Sea. Mark my words, they are truth. And – – these trained soldiers that stand here with me, are valiant men. They will, in no wise, spare even one of you; if you persist in detaining us. Be wise my friends and return to your city. Be at peace, I council you.”
Much confusion followed in the group behind the Moabites; who finally, turned and tried to restore heart to the men. It was of no use. Hanoch’s familiar voice and reasoning had broken their justification and courage. They
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began retreating south on the road to Zereth-Shahar. The Moabites followed, reluctantly.
When they were out of sight, Hanoch, stationed three of his nephews to lie in wait; in the event, that the Moabites, by themselves, again pursued.
“The Moabites left too slowly, Amos,” Hanoch said. “We shall go a distance. You and my remaining nephew can set a second surprise for them, should they in some way get by the first three. We will rejoin you at the ford of the Jordan at dark. I shall carry message to Benjamin and my family. May the LORD give to you of his courage.”
“We will see you at the ford of Jordan at dark, the LORD willing,” said Amos.
Hanoch’s nephew and Amos moved to higher ground to be hidden from the southern approach. They waited in the sweltering heat. Inactivity was worse than effort, in an environment in which even animal existence is nearly impossible. At the middle of the afternoon they heard shouts and hand to hand fighting. They waited. Shortly, the three nephews appeared on the path. Amos and the other of Hanoch’s nephew joined them.
“The Moabites are dead,” said the oldest nephew.
“Were they alone?” asked Amos.
“Yes, a determined bunch they were too,” said the nephew. “Shall we find the others now?”
“They will be at the ford of the Jordan. We are to meet them there at dark,” said Amos.
The nephews looked to one another and stepped aside from Amos to talk. In a few moments the elder nephew returned to Amos. “Two of us will return to our herds on the plain. Myself and another will accompany you and Hanoch to Jericho. Our father will want to know of our fortune, and the danger that
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followed you is past.”
“We are grateful for your help and I am sure that the LORD will prosper your return to your family,” said Amos.
The two nephews of Hanoch turned to the southern route while Amos and the other two made haste along the northern path. The heat began to lessen as they traveled north. Date palm and tamerisk trees began to line the road. Soon the the path divided to the east and north.
“It is the way to Beth-Jeshimoth,” said Amos, “we are not far from the Jordan River.”
And, they began to see the activities of fertile soil. However, the late hour of the day prevented the sight of any workers, although their toils were evident. Before the travelers the land along the Jordan River lay green and fresh. Any further threat seemed remote in such an inviting setting.
“The threat of Ammonite thieves, takes the workers from the fields at this hour,” said the nephew, “When we pasture our cattle this far north we must take the same precautions. They are a malicious bunch. Also, the descendent of Lot, they are even more aggressive than their brothers the Moabites,”
“What about the safety of the others that have gone ahead,” asked Amos.
“They are at the ford by now. They have passed this way safely in the presence of the field workers. Do not fear,” said the nephew.
“How were you captured by the Moabites?” asked the elder nephew of Hanoch’s.
“We were with my father’s flock in Judah and a band of Moabite thieves raided us. They shot my uncle with an arrow and may have killed the other shepherds,” said Amos.
“Was your uncle still alive?” asked the nephew.
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Instantly, Amos’s mind picture of Ira laying in the pasture, reappeared. “I do not know,” said Amos dropping his head.
“We share the same occupation. The flocks are our lives, we fight bitterly to keep them from the beasts, less than from the Ammonites and Moabites,” said the nephew.
“It is not so in Judah,” said Amos. “Only in recent years, have the Moabites come upon us. Our flocks are blessed and the pastures green as in the days of our father David.”
The trees became more plentiful and the grasses greener. The three youths continued north, away from the Salt Sea, with the Jordan River on their left. Soon, they were traveling on the road that connected the Ford of Jordan with the eastern city of Beth-Jeshimoth. Stepping into the roadway, Amos, like his teacher did not turn to look back at the forbidding landscape of the Salt Sea. The heavy heat of the salted air was forgotten. A leaf fresh breeze descended upon them from the north. The crisp chill of the open valley welcomed them toward the river crossing. It had become a moon lighted night, when they approached the Jordan ford.
Hanoch with Benjamin stepped forward to greet them. Amos realized that only in the past few hours had he and Benjamin been separated. They embraced. “Are you well, my son?” asked Benjamin.
“Yes, Hanoch’s nephews have slain the persistent Moabites who pursued us,” said Amos.
“We will be accompanied across the ford and into Jericho by my two nephews. The other two have returned to their flocks,” said Hanoch as they entered the ford.
“Forty years – – forty years. My heart grew faint of ever stepping on the
land of my Fathers. It is good, and a warmth of comfort, that my entry is not
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alone. Truly, the LORD heard my prayers from afar and saw to the desire of an old man,” said Benjamin.
Amos stood near Benjamin. The length of Benjamin’s captivity had become Amos’s burden too. Through being in the old one’s room, the readings, teachings and the experiences of their escape together, his mind had grown old.
“Shall we enter the walls of Jericho this night, Hanoch?” asked Amos.
“It is not likely that the gates have remained open into the darkness, Amos. However, we shall hail the guards and announce ourselves at least,” said Hanoch.
The way to Jericho began to steepen while the outline of the mound city was still hidden in the background of the mountain ridge behind her. There were though, waning vendor’s fires along the outside of the walls, whose tents bordered the east gate. In the morning, when the gates opened they would enter the city and set their wares among the others in the bazaar. When Amos and his weary companions reached the city mound; they could not dissuade him from approaching the closed gate. He hailed the guards who only warned him away until morning. Amos returned to the group.
Against the wall they sought refuge from the night air. For Benjamin it was the night in the land; but, without the usual comfort of an open Scroll, for all were too tired to even light a flame. Hanoch and his family chose to refuge to the LORD in the land. The grief that living among so many, other that the LORD’s people, and those of God’s people who somehow satisfied themselves in the things that the people of the earth gloried in, had overcome them. They were relieved to be free of those bindings. Amos reminded himself of his responsibility in getting Benjamin to Jerusalem to deliver the message to the King Uzziah. His goal of escaping Moab had been looked after by the LORD. Perhaps, it was for the purpose that his return home, was yet delayed.
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                The Elders of Jericho



“Hail sir, we offer the best accommodations in Jericho for you and your women,” came a voice at Hanoch.
“Amos, please, take my bag and make the necessary arrangements for all of our lodging.  We must sleep and rest.  Last night was far from attaining any type of slumber among the alien vendors and the long night’s chill.  Also, we must find our contacts in Jericho.  That will take time.  We should be here a couple of days.  Then, when rested we shall go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, together, if you and Benjamin so chose,” said Hanoch.   Hanoch’s nephews had left for their flocks at the opening of daylight.
Amos looked to Benjamin who nodded his approval.  “All right,” said Amos and he took the bag to see to the lodging.  It was for the joy of his family felt at being in the land, that Hanoch extended his generosity.  
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The streets of Jericho held the most diverse display of wares anywhere in the land of Israel.  However, it was the people of every foreign nation of the east who brought their trade that made Amos suspicious.  In some ways it brought to his mind the market place of Kir-Hareseth.  Even though Jericho belonged to the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, Jacob’s son; this prehistoric city of Jericho, possibly older than Damascus, was too busy of an entrance into the land of Israel to risk the safety of his weary group to become careless now.
Moving toward the voice of the man who had called to Hanoch, Amos pushed his way through the market crowd to reach the steps, where the middle aged man who had hailed Hanoch had seated himself.
“Good day to you young man,” he said.
“In the name of Hanoch of the tribe of Reuben, who sojourns now in the land of blessing, I seek shelter for he and his family and for The Priest Benjamin and myself,” said Amos.
“How long will you need the lodgings for, ah..?” he asked.
“Amos is my name, son of Adin of the city of Tekoah,” Amos said.
“You have come the round about way to approach Jerusalem for the Passover, my friend,” said the inn-keeper.
“Indeed, a truth indeed, for this very day the Priest Benjamin and myself return from from being held in Kir-Hareseth of Moab.  And the Priest Benjamin Juden of a forty year captivity - - it is true,” said Amos.
The inn-keeper shot a long look at the distant figure of Benjamin.  He turned to Amos respectfully and said. “The elders of Jericho received word only days ago of such a return.  Two Ethiopians brought the message from Zereth-Shahar.”
“The elders - - they were not at the gate when we entered.  Where may we 
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find them that Benjamin Juden might be welcomed by the city?” asked Amos.
The inn-keeper turned slightly and pointed toward the center of the city to the tall round stone signal tower. “At the base of the tower you will find the seats of the old ones. Now, let me show you the rooms where you and your friends may take their rest.”
The inn-keeper showed Amos the room for Hanoch and his family on the ground level.
“It is large and comfortable enough,” said Amos.
At the top of a flight of stairs the keeper opened a door and said, “This will be your room, Amos.”
Amos stopped short and asked, “And what of the Priest Benjamin Juden?”
“There is a room for him, beside this one, it is there,” and the inn-keeper pointed. “The Priest’s room is without charge. A room will always be open for him when he journeys to Jericho.”
Amos examined both rooms and found them to be larger than the ones in Moab. He said nothing and turned to pay the inn-keeper from Hanoch’s bag. He deposited the required pieces of silver in the inn-keepers hand and thanked him. Leaving the open landing to the ground, Amos began to search for his companions to give them the news of the elders whereabouts. However, he did not find them where they had been when he had gone to rent the rooms. Amos began searching the open market for his friends. How could they be gone in so short a time; they had only been across the street from him the whole time, thought Amos. He searched and did not find them.
After some time. “Amos!” came a small voice from behind him.
Amos turned to find Hanoch’s son standing behind him. He grabbed the boy nearly shouting in his face. “Where have you been, where are your family
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and Benjamin,” he said.
“Mother sent me to you Amos, it is Benjamin; he is ill,” said the boy.
“Where is he?” asked Amos.
“Come with me,” the boy said and Amos followed the boy for a short distance through the crowd and into the doorway of a small shop where the walls were lined with scrolls. Benjamin was laying on a couch near one corner. The others were standing nearby. Hanoch seeing his son had brought Amos went to him.
“Amos, it appears that Benjamin has become ill. He and my son wandered about the market after you left to see about the rooms. My son returned telling us that Benjamin had fallen down in the library. When we got to him the people who keep this store had placed him on the couch, He is awake, but very weak, said Hanoch.
Amos went to the side of his Teacher and knelt beside him.
“Amos, you are here now, good!” said Benjamin.
“Are you all right, Teacher, what has happened to you?” asked Amos.
“It is nothing, surely, it is nothing,” Benjamin said. “After all of those days in the wilderness, pressing to reach home a small thing like this happens. The LORD is merciful, it is true, he will not allow me to die before we reach Jerusalem. We shall without doubt celebrate the LORD’s Passover.” Then Benjamin pulled Amos close to him by his robe and whispered, “Do not forget our message to King Uzziah, Amos. You must go and speak to the elders of Jericho right away.”
Benjamin’s hand relaxed its grip, and the old man fell into uncon-sciousness. Hanoch came to Amos.
“Perhaps, we should take him to the inn. The rooms are ready for us are they not?” asked Hanoch.
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“Yes, the rooms are ready,” Amos said returning Hanoch’s bag.
Amos looked at his Teacher as if he were asking his permission,bent, reached under him and lifted him from the couch. Hanoch proceeded to the door. Amos followed with the limp body of Benjamin in his arms. Hanoch and thanked the store owners for their help, and they followed Amos. Orpah carried the old Priest’s bag of Scrolls.
They crossed the busy street under the inquisitive eyes of the market vendors. At the inn Amos called to Hanoch,
“Benjamin’s room is upstairs – – the one on the right.”
Hanoch held the door as Amos carried Benjamin inside and placed him on the bed. He was still unconscious. Hanoch’s wife entered and immediately began wetting a cloth from the table in the bowl of water. She placed it on his forehead to cool him. Amos took a chair nearby. Shortly after noon she told Hanoch and Amos that Benjamin had awakened, but was too weak to talk.
Amos spoke to Hanoch, ‘The inn-keeper told me the city elders are at the signal tower in the center of town. Benjamin and I have urgent business in Jerusalem. I must go to the elders of Jericho. They will know that you and your family are here and Benjamin. Will you and your family remain and look after Benjamin for me, as the LORD is our witness? I shall return as soon as the business is completed,” said Amos.
“As the LORD is our witness, Amos; we shall be here with Benjamin when you return, only the LORD hasten your way,” Hanoch said.
Amos went near Benjamin.
“He is quite ill, Amos, but he has been strong in his old age through his inner strength. Now, we will see if the LORD will find favor in him and strengthen his body,” said Hanoch’s wife.
Hanoch’s whole family had not left the room since Amos had placed
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Benjamin on the bed. As Amos neared the door to leave Hanoch asked. “Amos, where are the other rooms?”
“Ah… yes, mine is to the left of this one and yours is directly under them on the ground level,” said Amos.
“Godspeed, friend,” said Hanoch.
Amos descended the stairs. At the street he looked back and up to the Priest’s room. Then he turned and began making his way through the thinning crowd. Keeping the signal tower in sight as the streets buildings allowed, Amos made his way. As the dressed stone structure began to loom above him Amos emerged from a street into the stone cobbled way that encircled the tower. He followed the circuit to the east side where he found seven, distinguished, older men that he knew to be the Elders of Jericho.
They were holding an audience with two men that stood before them. Amos determined them to be farmers, probably, from the fields along the west side of the Jordan River. It sounded as if it were a settlement concerning irrigation rights. In only moments after his arrival the elders concluded the matter with farmers.
With the dismissal of the farmers, the immediate area around the seven elders became empty; with the exception of a man along the wall near the elders, who was seated on the ground upon a reed mat. Amos stepped forward. They sat on a long stone bench that followed the curve of the signal tower. A palm thatched awning attached to the tower, protected them from the direct sunlight. They counseled in the cool of its shade. Unlike the elders of Zereth-Shahar where only one in six wore robes with blue ribands; each of the seven Elders of Jericho observed the wishes of the LORD upon their clothing. Amos looked at each of the seven before speaking. He could not tell to whom he should direct his address and so, finally, he spoke to the man in the center.
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“My name is Amos son of Adin of Tekoah. I am sent to you by my Teacher and fellow traveler the Priest Benjamin Juden.”
The seven Elders were unprepared. They sat stunned for a moment at the identity of the youth that stood before them. Then they turned to discuss the matter among themselves. Yes, they had received word from the mes-sengers of Benjamin Juden’s arrival, however, they had thought the particular time of his presentation, distant. Had they only the day before yesterday received the Ethiopian messengers. Now, they all looked again at the young man that stood before them.
The oldest elder who was seated in the center spoke to Amos. “Amos son of Adin, how is it that you come to us so soon after the messengers? We understood that it would be another week or more before his arrival.”
“We had to flee from the city of Zereth-Shahar when our Moabite pursuers found out that we were hiding in the city,” said Amos.
“And where is the Priest Benjamin Juden, why is he not here with you?” another elder asked.
“He has fallen ill and is at an inn of the city. Hanoch and his family, who sent the messengers to you, are tending to him at this time,” Amos said.
“Why is it that Benjamin Juden has sent you to us in such haste?” the center elder asked.
“We have important words to carry to Jerusalem to the King.” said Amos.
At that statement, the center elder rose to his feet and held his palm toward Amos to stop any further conversation and said, “You will come with us.”
The chief elder and the others led Amos into a nearby doorway on the north side of the tower. Amos thought it was odd that the man who sat on his bent legs on the mat entered the room, as well. They closed the door. The
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chief elder, looked intently into Amos’s eyes and said, “The ears of the city are upon us outside. We must know the nature of this message to King Uzziah, Amos.”
Amos had not anticipated being interrogated and halted in his response to think closely about what and how Benjamin had told him about the message. Finally, confident of his answer Amos said, “The Moabites intend to attack Jerusalem this spring.”
“How did the Priest Benjamin Juden acquire this information?” asked the startled chief elder.
“For the past forty years Benjamin Juden has been held as chambers counselor to King Horon of Kir-Hareseth. The information came to him there,” said Amos.
“Yes, we know of the Priest’s long captivity from the messengers. Are you sure that he said this spring, Amos?” an elder asked.
“Yes.” said Amos. He deliberately withheld the specific information that Benjamin had told him, for the ears of King Uzziah. He thought Benjamin would have done the same.
The chief elder, however, anticipated such a move and asked Amos, “Are there more words for the King only?”
“Yes,” said Amos.
The chief elder then motioned to the man seated on the mat. “You have heard the words of Amos, clearly?”
“Yes, my lord,” he said.
The chief elder said, “You will run now, with that message to the court of King Uzziah. Do not be delayed for anyone along the way. Amos will follow with our escorts shortly after you leave.”
Without another word or motion the man that was spoken to opened the
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door and was gone. Then Amos realized that the man was a runner. He sat with his legs bent under him to keep the tendons stretched, so that he could run at an instant and not injure his legs.
One of the elders left the room hurriedly. With the exception of the chief elder the rest of the elders resumed their stations outside. Now, he and the elder stood alone.
“Amos, where is the inn where we may find the Priest Benjamin Juden,” he asked.
“In the market place,” said Amos and he pointed south.
“No doubt, you would care to return to him there. However, the LORD has need of you, Amos.”
“How could the LORD find any use for just a shepherd?” said Amos.
The chief elder could see the concern in Amos’s eyes when he mentioned Benjamin and sought to strengthen him for the journey. “Our men are being brought to us to accompany you safely to Jerusalem, you will arrive there tomorrow. The messenger will have prepared the way for you to have an audience with King Uzziah. When you arrive, attendants will see to your needs first, a bath and clean clothing. Now, listen carefully. After you enter the court of King Uzziah, wait until he points to you with his scepter, then you may approach the throne. Do not let the fears of your youth command your spirit. He is a man also, and you have important information concerning the Kingdom of Judah. As you must with Jericho’s Counselors, do not withhold anything from King Uzziah.”
“I understand,” said Amos.
“We will attend to any further needs that the Priest Benjamin Juden may have, so that, the burden on Hanoch and his family can be lightened. Hanoch and his family will they be staying in Jericho?” asked the chief elder.
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“They have chosen to dwell in the land of blessing. But, they do not know where they can dwell,” said Amos.
The door opened and the elder who had left first returned. “The men are here,” he said.
“All right,” the chief elder said.
“Amos, these are Jericho’s bravest men, you will be in safeguard with them. May the LORD hasten your journey and bring you back to Jericho safely.” said the chief elder, and he opened the door for Amos.
Amos stepped onto the cobble stone street into the presence of not less than twelve armed men. Yet, he was still troubled. The best he knew was that, again, he was leaving a person who was near death, and dear to him.
Now, as he was escorted through the gates of Jericho into the way to Jerusalem his soul leaped from sorrow into an indescribable comfort. It was not as when he had been taken from Ira in the pasture. And it was not the solace of the guards, who now surrounded him, that kept his soul from mourning. Benjamin had instilled in his mind the sight of every instance in the Scrolls that they had read in Moab, of the warming comfort of the morning light that shown through the faith of the writers and holy men. It was always as Benjamin had said, it is not the evening light, but the morning light that followed, that is to hoped for. And it shown in Amos’s heart and he did not yet understand, but he did not mourn for either Ira or Benjamin. He did not even disdain the circumstances that prevented his return to Tekoah. Yes, the ordeal he had endured had matured him as a man, but this confidence came from outside of himself. He had seen the faith in his father and now it was Amos’s own faith; from the soil of need that sprouted his desire, that lived by the veiled words of Benjamin’s Scrolls. For this reason, his eyes were lifted from the dust of the way into the horizon of his presence before the King of Judah.
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The troupe was well away from Jericho. The cliff walls of the valley of the tribe of Benjamin progressively tightened against them on each side, but they were climbing – – slowly, higher and higher. The well worn path led to Judah and Jerusalem, the city founded in peace – – that knew no peace, that was expecting an emissary who would give word, one more time, of trouble.
Amos appreciated that the guards seldom, even spoke between them-selves. He was using the time of travel to prepare his mind, to recall the things Benjamin had told him about the Moabite invasion and present those matters wisely to King Uzziah.
Through the shadows of the valley they traveled into the darkness of a night lighted with the moon of God’s mercy. They did not light their own torches. But, – – the eyes. Eyes peered from the black, stone walls. The green ones they knew to be animals in search of food, stopping to know if they would need to turn and run from the noisy feet of the company. The larger white ones, perhaps they were wild dogs or hyenas. Amos was glad there were few of those. Were we being followed? Amos asked himself. Hauntings of the night were invading the deliberate thinking that he needed. Ignore the night – – “think Amos,” he said outloud.
As long as he had been in the presence of Benjamin or the elders of Jericho all the right words and phrases were clear in his mind. That seemed to be fading the further they progressed from Jericho. He was beginning to feel the need for more than his newborn faith. But what did he lack. Why is my confidence fading with the – – what? Agitated, his mind searched to identify the thing he needed. Frustration was the result. How can I appear before King Uzziah? My mind will never find the right words.
Nervousness soon overcame Amos. It was good that they were walking and he was not locked in some small room. He began to fidget with his bow
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and quiver of arrows that he had never had time to put down. Benjamin still had the knife Amos had given him. He was glad. The old man needed something, especially, in Jericho. His arrows were jammed in the quiver he noticed. If I were to need an arrow quickly, the nocking of it might come to late. He jammed his hand into the quiver. Something had been pushed into it and against the arrows. He pulled out what felt like a piece of rolled leather. At first he could not imagine the item’s identity. Then Amos understood. Benjamin had placed one of his Scrolls in his quiver; most likely last night as they rested near the wall. He unrolled the beginning of the leather. It was too dark in the shadows. There was a spot ahead where the moonlight shown. He kept the scroll open. When they reached the light of night, Amos looked carefully at the stick like letters. Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and Amos looked up from the reading. Benjamin and he had been reading that from – – what Scroll was it? Amos asked himself. It had been at the Arnon River in the cave as they had waited for the river to go down. Proverbs! Yes, that is it, Proverbs. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, The words awakened into his consciousness the very thing that he had been searching for earlier. The fear of God is what the LORD has recently given me. It is knowledge that I lack, knowledge of God’s ways. Amos’s head dropped to his chest, even as he walked. I have abandoned the opportunity to acquire God’s knowledge and joined my older brothers with the flocks. The Lord may require of me inner reserves from time to time, as in this instance, when I must appear before King Uzziah. Amos prepared his thoughts for a prayer. LORD, great is Thy Name. And when you shall bring me into the court of King Uzziah, prepare my mind and memory to give to the King, with proper words, the message that your Priest Benjamin Juden has entrusted me to carry. In Thy and grace grant that
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I may return to the classes of Simeon the Scholar; when you have again, brought me to my family. For great are Thy mercies to thy servants. Amen.
Abruptly, the company halted. A guard pushed Amos down and stood over him. The other guards immediately faced away from Amos searching the darkened lower cliffs. All weapons were at guard. Amos stuffed the Scroll into his robe and drew an arrow. It remained black quiet for long moments. Suddenly, from the southern cliffs they heard scuffles and the sound of falling rocks. The guard that held Amos down jerked him by his robe to his feet and they began to run. Arrows shot through the group as they continued to run. The uphill way had been steepening for some time, the guards and Amos slowed considerably. Even youth did not endure for long the rigorous path that protected Jerusalem. Soon, they were in the lower pastures; the danger from those thieves was over. There were, no doubt, only two or three of the devils and that is why there was no confrontation.
The climb continued in a more gradual incline. The shadows of the deep valley were gone. A full moon bathed the sky and pastures with her soft golden milk light. Perhaps it was the only pleasant part of the journey. By daybreak they had passed through the small village of Ananiah. Shortly, they marched through the olive trees on a path that brought their custody to the Temple Mount Arch, that crossed the Kidron stream. The tall arch gave them entrance to the Kings palace south of the Temple. Amos wished to stop and view the Temple. but he could not. He and his family had always entered the city from the south. This was his first sight of Solomon’s grandeur from the east. A brilliant morning sun shone on the white marble of the lofty Temple. The columns of the walls of the inner court, that surrounded the Temple, and the multitude of pillars composing the walls of the outer court had yet to receive the same morning’s honors. Amos considered how much more exalted
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it must have appeared before the gold had been stripped off of the walls.

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                King Uzziah


They crossed the arch and halted at the still closed gate.  The captain announced their identity.  The messenger had prepared their way, for soon the gate opened and they entered the great court of the Temple.  Walking south to an arched entry they followed the pillar-way to a building not as tall as the Temple nor quite as imposing, yet, unmistakably, the King’s Palace.  At the huge doors of the Palace walls they were again stopped.  Again, only the briefest words were spoken and the gates opened and they entered.  The captain brought Amos forward into the immediate presence of two men, one older and the other about his age.  The older was dressed in a tan robe while the younger was dressed in white, the clothing of the Levitical Priesthood.  
“You will follow us,” said the older and they led him from the court into the building.  The room was huge with columns that supported massive hewn 
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timbers of the roof. Centered in the western wall were a set of seven steps that led up to two doors, more impressively carved than Simon the Scholar’s Amos noted.
“When the doors open we will enter. Do not step forward until the King points the scepter to you,” said the old man.
Amos’s mind screamed. But – – I’m not washed nor prepared at all. He pressed his hand against his robe where he kept Benjamin’s Scroll.
It was too late to prepare his thoughts. The doors opened, they entered, and the doors closed behind them. Just a few steps inside he was stopped by his two escorts. They stepped away from Amos’s side and stopped facing into a room so beautiful that Amos nearly forgot his business with the crowned man seated on the raised ivory throne. King Uzziah lifted the golden scepter and pointed it to Amos. His legs could not be that tired from the march, to cause them to trembled as they did. Keeping his eyes on the King, Amos crossed the
polished marble floor in front of the first step. He was sure that was where he should be. Amos was standing between two ivory lions that guarded the first step of the throne. He bowed, rising to stand before the King of Judah.
“My young brother from Tekoah,” the King said, “we have the same lineage from our father Judah. Be at ease, you are among the LORD’s family. The messenger from Jericho has told me that the Priest Benjamin Juden has sent you with urgent business.”
Amos’s mind settled, with the final negotiation of his release from fear, at the mention of Benjamin’s name. The King’s impetuous nature was in company with his skillful handling of his subjects. Now, Amos was free to speak.
“My lord the King, the Priest Benjamin Juden has told me of a matter of great importance to Judah and to my lord the King,” said Amos.
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“Say on,” the King said.
“Benjamin Juden had been held in the Moabite city of Kir-Hareseth for the past forty years by her king, King Horon. In that dreadful place he was compelled to counsel the king in his chambers. Recently, word was given him there of an invasion that is to take place this spring by the Edomites upon their city Kir-Hareseth,” said Amos.
“Seeing that Moab and Edom were allied, that is of interest. Is there more,” said the King.
“Yes my lord,” said Amos, “Benjamin Juden also was in chambers when the King of Jahaz and King Horon conspired to lay siege to Jerusalem this spring.”
“How do they plan to carry out this campaign with Kir-Hareseth itself under siege?” asked King Uzziah.
“Benjamin Juden was in conversation with an emissary from Edom on
the eve of our escape from the city. He indicated to Benjamin Juden that the negotiations under way to avert such an attack by Edom will be proven. With King Horon free from war at home, he will cross the shallows of the Salt Sea and proceed with his army taking Rehoboam’s old defenses east of Tekoah, then the city Bethlehem and approach Zion from the south. At the same time the King of Jahaz will cross the Jordan River at the ford and lay siege to Jericho. Dividing his forces, King Jahaz will continue on west through the deep valley from Jericho reaching the pastures north of Jerusalem and attack the city.” Amos said.
The confident face of King Uzziah became troubled with those words and he called for his generals and advisors. Amos, he instructed to leave and refresh himself and stand ready on the steps outside of the chambers.
As Amos was escorted by the old man, who had brought him into the
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King’s chambers; a dozen young men hurried to deliver messages to the numerous people who the King had summoned. A decisive looking man, strongly built and armed, was approaching the steps as Amos was leaving.
The old man with Amos said, “He, is the King’s General, Abner. He has been in and out of chamber with the King, since the messenger from Jericho arrived early this morning.”
“How do the messengers get through that valley from Jericho? We were a troupe and came under fire.”
“I do not know,” said the old man.
They continued through the hall into a room where large water pots set along one wall. Here Amos washed and was given clothes to wear while his were being washed. Although aware of the comforts of the bath, his thoughts were centered on his appearance before King Uzziah. From where had his ease of speaking come, that delivered Benjamin’s message. He recounted clearly the
conversation. The memory of the King’s opening words made him realize that his mention of Benjamin had bolstered his confidence; causing him to borrow the old man’s familiar bearing. Again, he rebuke himself for having dropped out of Simeon the Scholar’s classes. I must obtain knowledge of God’s way. And now, the time that has passed is lost for that purpose. However, the knowledge is still there to claim. Not to seek it as soon as possible is the real loss. His heart yearned to be in the class. The recent responsibility thrown upon him prevented that occasion for some time.

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Refreshed, he rested on the steps of the entrance to the King’s throne room.  Benjamin’s Scroll of Proverbs was open before him.  He read, until the efforts of the journey and the sleepless night caused him to slumber.  A rough hand shook him.  It was the old attendant that had escorted him before.  Im-mediately he climbed the steps into consciousness.  It was noon.  The doors opened and they entered.  He stood as before skirted by the old man and the young man dressed in white.  He thought the young man in white was a Levite.  But there was little time to surmise more of the youth; the King was holding out the setter toward Amos.  He approached the throne.
“Amos, we know that you and Jericho’s escorts are weary.  However, I must ask you to return, at once to the elders at Jericho.  There are written instructions to them, bearing my seal.  They know you and will receive you without question.  The information that you carry is as important as the message that you brought from Benjamin Juden, so do not delay.  They will need all of the time that can be given them.”   
General Abner stood a few paces away from the throne and approached Amos.  He gave Amos a roll of parchment and returned to his position.  
“Make haste, young Amos, may the Lord give you a safe journey,” said King Uzziah.       
Amos bowed before the King, rose and hurried from the room.  Amos noticed that the young man in white was not standing where he had been when Amos had approached the King.  However, when he entered the court yard the young Levite was standing among the guards from Jericho with two older men dressed in white.
The young man stepped forward at the sight of Amos and said, “My name is Joel, we shall be accompanying you to Jericho to bring the Priest Benjamin Juden on his way.”
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Amos would not be deterred and said, “We shall speak together in a moment,” and he quickly went to the Captain of the guards from Jericho.  Amos found that the King had assigned his own company of guards along with those from Jericho and that they had already been given the same instructions, for them to hasten the way to Jericho.  Acknowledging Amos, immediately, the Captain gave command; Amos, and three Levites and the guards left Jerusalem for Jericho.  It was early afternoon as the multitudinous envoy began the return trip.   
“My apologies for earlier, when you spoke to me,” said Amos.
“That is quite all right.  It is necessary that we hasten,” said Joel.  
“You stated that you will be bringing Benjamin Juden back to Jerusalem,” said Amos.
“The old ones with me are retired Levite Priests to the Holy Temple.”  Quietly, Joel told Amos, “They were acquaintances of Benjamin Juden’s and remember when he was sent to En-gedi.”
“That will be a great comfort to Benjamin.  He has missed the age in his life when it was permitted for him to serve.  Perhaps, their times of service will live in him to some comfort.  He is not bitter.  Benjamin learned to value his time in the Scrolls and set his heart upon the LORD God.  He will count them as a blessing from God.  More importantly, he wishes to spend the Passover in Jerusalem.  Now, he has fallen ill.  After this scroll is delivered, I shall return to my Teacher, Benjamin Juden.  The Lord willing, I will bring him to the Temple,” said Amos.
“You have spent some time with Benjamin Juden then?” asked Joel.
“Our confinement was common and his limited freedom established.  It was he who sought me out and gave me refuge when there was none.  He taught me to sanctuary in the Scrolls.  It is the greatest lesson that I could 
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ever learn,” said Amos.
“It is also, the lesson that is disappearing from Israel,” said Joel.
“In what way? Have the students like myself abandoned the Scholar’s classrooms?” said Amos.
“Partly. The departure is mostly in the ten tribes in the north. They were led away from the proper worship of the Lord God; when Jeroboam first made the two molten calves for them too worship. The desertion of the way of God is nearly entire. They worship the Canaanite god Baal and make all kinds of sacrifices to his name, including, offering up their first-born sons in the fire of Baal,” said Joel.
Amos nearly stumbled out of place in the column at the revulsion. He turned white to the point that he nearly choked. He remembered the boy that the Moabite in red had carried into the Temple of Molech and the child’s grieving parents. He said nothing to Joel, but continued on the march to Jericho. Finally, he fully realized that that terrible act was the departure. It is what is being substituted for the intelligent substitution worship and reverence for the LORD God that is found in the Scrolls. Israel’s time is being misplaced from reading and studying. Amos clutched the Scroll of Proverbs. The whole of the first part of the Scroll was pleading for a son to seek the knowledge of his God and its reward. How could he know that this seed realization would grow into a commitment making him useful him to the LORD. He yearned over Benjamin, to see him and speak to him.

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“King Uzziah sends these instruction to the Elders of Jericho,”  Amos said and held the scroll with the King’s seal out to the counsel elders of Jericho.  “The King has also sent three Levite Priests to accompany Benjamin Juden back to Jerusalem.”  Amos waited expectantly for good news concerning Benjamin.
“We are grateful, Amos, that you have personally returned to us with King Uzziah’s instructions.  We know that you are dreadfully tired.  A place has been prepared for you so that you can be near Benjamin Juden.  The counsel has moved him into the home of Azaniah of the tribe of Levi.  It is nearby.   I am sure that the Priests with you will be welcome there as well.  One will show you the way.  Benjamin is still ill, but has improved.  May you find grace of the LORD and may He prepare your way to return to Tekoah.”  The Elder motioned to a youth nearby, who came to Amos indicating that he should follow him.

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                Azaniah the Levite


  The Levites and Amos followed only two streets away to the stone structure of Azaniah’s home.  The youth knocked on the paneled door.  Soon the door partly opened.  The youth spoke a few words to a middle aged man who then fully opened for them to enter.  The youth left as Amos and the Levites entered into a large cobbled patio.  To the right and to the left were the living quarters with stairs that rose onto the top of the rooms.  A back wall of stone connected the living spaces.  The man closed the door and asked them to wait.
Soon a wrinkled gentleman that looked to be sixty years of age came to Amos from one of the rooms.
“Welcome, Amos son of Adin.  We had not expected to see you so soon.  The LORD must have prospered your return,” Azaniah said.
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“Thank you, Azaniah, the counsel has sent me to you, saying that Benjamin Juden is sheltered in your home.  How is he?” asked Amos.
“Benjamin Juden is weak, but has improved as the morning progressed.  He speaks well of you, Amos.  My wife and I have prepared lodging for you in the room next to his.  I am sure that you are tired.  These are the garments of Levites that these gentlemen with you wear,” said Azaniah.
“Yes,” said Amos. “This is Joel and the Priests that have come to conduct Benjamin Juden on his journey to Jerusalem.  They are sent at the wishes of King Uzziah.”  
“Welcome, my brothers.  There is lodging hear for you too, and Amos may share his room with Joel.  Please, wash your feet and rest yourselves in your rooms; it has been a long journey,” said Azaniah.



Amos opened his eyes onto the ceiling.  It was made of small branches crossed over larger beams a mud covering made it water-proof.  For a moment he could not realize where he could be.  He had slept soundly.  He rolled his head to look around the room.  There was another bed, but it was empty.  Joel, he remembered.  It is the home of Azaniah.  Benjamin is here.  Amos swung his feet onto the stone floor.  He found his shoes and put them on.  His robe hung on the back of a chair.  He put it on and belted.  The Proverbs Scroll that Benjamin had given him lay on the seat of the same chair.  He picked it up.  Seated himself in the chair and began to read.  Longer than he thought, he pondered over the words; until a knock came on the door. Amos put the scroll 
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inside of his robe. He walked to the door and opened it. It was Joel.
“You slept so soundly that I left you sleeping this morning,” said Joel.
“This morning? It was only afternoon when I laid down to rest,” said Amos.
“It is the next day,” said Joel.
Azaniah came when he heard them speaking from the patio. “Amos, you look much better to day than when you came to us yesterday. You are hungry, come and eat.”
“Yesterday – – yes. That is very kind of you Azaniah. However, I should like to see Benjamin Juden first, if I may,” said Amos.
“Certainly, he has already asked for you,” said Azaniah.
Azaniah showed Amos to Benjamin’s room and knocked. A faint voice from inside bid him enter. Azaniah stepped inside for a moment then opened the door for Amos to enter. Once Amos was inside Azaniah left, pulling the door closed.
Amos approached the bed where Benjamin laid. The old man’s eyes had followed him as he entered. He tried to lift himself onto his elbows but could not; and so, only raised his hand to touch Amos’s.
“The LORD has brought you safely again, Amos,” said Benjamin.
“Yes, Teacher,” Amos said. “The message you sent to King Uzziah is delivered. On our return, I brought the King’s instructions to the Jericho Elders. The King has also sent his regards and deepest thanks to you.
“And so, my son, you have presented yourself before the King of Judah. Without doubt you have found the proper words to address him,” said Benjamin.
Amos pulled the small scroll from his robe and said, “Had you not perceived my needs in that very matter and provided this scroll to me I should
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not have done so well. When the LORD brings me again to Tekoah Simeon the Scholar will find an attentive student.”
“Wonderful, he will enjoy the presence of his prodigal student returned to him. You may keep that scroll, Amos, read them and lay the words up in you heart. There you may always seek their exceptional power.”
“Thank you, Teacher,” said Amos. “Azaniah tells me that you were stronger. Are you feeling much better today? I would have come to you yesterday, but weariness overcame me and I did not awaken until just a while ago,” said Amos.
“Yes, perhaps much better. However, weakness is left in the aftermath of what ever malady the Lord struck me with. Amos, do not think that God can not remove one messenger and substitute in his place a choice prophet. We can not question His reasons, my son, for who can know the mind of God or per-ceive his ways,” said Benjamin.
“Yes, Teacher. Your words are laid up in my heart. When you are stronger we shall talk again. May the LORD hasten your recovery, said Amos and he left Benjamin for that day to recover.

A few days later, on the first day after the Sabbath, four Priests and Amos were surrounded by pilgrims in the way from Jericho, journeying up to Jerusalem.  There were men, youths and women  This time, they were part of a host of worshipers praying their way to the Passover Celebration.  By the great number of travelers, had they all, security from the perils of the wild people in 
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the way.
“The air smells fresher from off the green pastures of Judah,” said Benjamin.
“It is fresher,” said Amos, “it is Judah’s Garden of Eden.”
“My son, you have spoken words that reflect the LORD’s intentions for all of his people – – all of Israel. There are now so few of us to enjoy the goodness of God’s grace. Not that there are not a multitude of people, but that there are so few that fear the name of God and dwell in his land. Once this group we are with now, numbered in the thousands. In my youth with my own eyes seeing, the pilgrims came from every quarter streaming into Jerusalem.
Ananiah had offered necessary rest to the expended Priest Benjamin Juden. His recovery had taken a week in the home of the Levite of Jericho.

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                The Lamb

At the beginning of the day of the Passover that evening, Benjamin Juden stepped onto the Temple Arch from the olive orchard, awed and exuberant.  Forty years and numerous perils that even Amos did not know about, had not robbed him of his devotion to his God.  
“This night, Amos, this night, my head shall rest in its place beside the Holy Presence of the God of Israel.  All praises are to the LORD who has returned me to Himself,” said Benjamin.  “My son, Amos, you will accompany me to my room in the Temple.”
Amos nearly halted and turned a concerned look into Benjamin’s eyes, “You know that it is forbidden for one of Israel to enter the Temple.  It is set aside for the sons of Levi only.  And your room strictly to the Priesthood.  Have you not told me yourself, while we were in your room in Moab?”
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“So it is, Amos, you have been an excellent student it is with regret that we must part,” said Benjamin.  “It is to your first Teacher that I return you and the LORD’s will for you.”
“Your instructions are a part of me, Teacher.  Also, as you said it would be; my heart has spoken to me.  Simeon the Scholar shall have me as his  student in his class, said Amos.
“Ah, you have listened to the gentle voice of God drawing you closer, and given heed to his will.  Do not neglect the time that He wants with you each day in reading and pondering the Scrolls, Amos - - all the days of your life,” said Benjamin.


They walked together until they were past  the north side of the Great Altar.  Nearby, Amos watched Benjamin and the Priests disappear along the side of the Porch of the Temple.  For some reason he did not notice, nor would he understand; why he stood there for so long a time looking at the empty spot where he had last seen Benjamin.  Tonight, the Priest Benjamin Juden would celebrate the Passover near his LORD.  Amos turned slowly and walked past the Altar where Priest’s were working at slaughtering the Passover lambs brought to them by the family head for that purpose.  It is done to remember the LORD’s deliverance of the nation of Israel from their slavery in Egypt.  This single celebration tonight must have held a double meaning for Benjamin after his forty years of captivity in Moab, thought Amos.  As he descended the steps 
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that connect the men’s court with the women’s court, he heard a voice call his name. He immediately looked up from his thoughts at the sound of the familiar voice. He saw his father waving to him in the line of those who waited with their lambs. Adin was at the bottom of the steps – – and Ira was with him. He rushed down the remaining steps and embraced his father and then Ira.
“Amos, it is good to have you home. Our continual prayers have been for your presence with us,” said Adin.
“It is good to be home father,” said Amos. “In Moab my heart wept thinking that you Ira had been killed by the arrow. But you are well?”
“The arrow did its damage well enough that my right arm is still lame, but I am well otherwise,” said Ira.
“A week ago in Tekoah we received a messenger from King Uzziah saying that you were returned from Moab, and would be home soon,” said Adin.
Surprised by his father’s disclosure, Amos stood there at a lose for words, finally, deciding to say nothing.
“You will be amazed at the soldiers around Tekoah and Rehoboam’s fortress these days. They are preparing for the Moabites who are threatening an invasion this spring. There will be plenty of time for that when we return to Tekoah. Now, join us as we wait at the Altar.” Then turning to Ira, Adin said. “This will be a special Passover for our household Ira, for we will all be together for this remembrance. Your mother yearns to see you, Amos.”
Ira held a large pole erect beside him,which he leaned slightly on. Adin and Amos stood with the lamb between them, waiting by steps – – steps of faith. Worshipers with their slain lambs descended the steps with their lambs on poles, like Ira’s, between them.

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Adin’s Passover lamb hung between Ira and himself on the pole.  Ira was in the lead as Adin spoke to Amos:  
“We have the same lodging as always, Amos.  The landlord continues his warm welcome each year with the LORD providing a fine lamb.  Your mother will be pleased to see you Amos.  When we received King Uzziah’s message it was like an oversized weight of wool had been take from our shoulders.  The house became a flurry of lighted activity in which your mother restored her household to order.  All of your brothers and sisters could not lift the gloom that settled upon her when you were gone.  But, now they all await the Passover together.  This year the LORD has not only provided the lamb, but He has brought our son home to us,” said Adin.
“It is good to be home,” said Amos.  “I could only be happier if it were our house in Tekoah.”
“You left your staff and rod in the pasture.  We found them after you were gone.  Yet, now I see that you are in possession of bow and a quiver of arrows and a sling?” asked Adin.
“The Moabite I took these from may still be gagged and bound along the River Kur,” said Amos.
Adin saw the grin on Amos’s face then inquired.  “Were you alone when you escaped?”
“There is an old Priest named Benjamin Juden who at this moment is joyously prepared for the Feast this night.  He had been held for forty years; 
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until he and I managed to escape. He made the plans that brought us home,” said Amos.
Passing through the streets of Jerusalem in silence three men, wor-shipers of the Lord, turned their thoughts to the feast that they were about to celebrate. Truly, the LORD brought Amos to his family. At the door of the building where a large room had been let to Amos’s father the conversation resumed. This time it was his mother who fussed about him, examining him head to toe. Then it was his brothers and then his sisters who welcomed him. Adin and Ira had continued into the room with the lamb. Adin and his sons began to dress the sacrifice upon the large stone hearth before the roasting fire. All hands soon made short work of plucking the wool from the skin. The entrails were removed without breaking any of its bones and it was placed on a green pole spit above the fire to be tended, first by the older brother then as age allowed each of the other sons. Amos, last, took his turn slowly turning the nearly roasted lamb. The skin of the roast held the savory juices in the meat. At the table Amos’s mother and sisters had placed wooden bowls for them each with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Ira held by his side a small vase that held some of the blood of the lamb. Adin took a small branch of hyssop and dipped the stick in the vase. Going to the door way he stepped outside in the cooling evening air. In parody Adin discolored the door jambs and header with spots of the thickened red blood. Not all families celebrated, in this simplest of ways, like the night seventeen generations ago when Israel was delivered from Egypt’s grips, by the LORD. Perhaps, as Joel had related to Amos concerning the northern tribes, modern thinking was wrestling the significance away from the unwary and uncaring. Finally, when evening had turned aside to the engulfing darkness, the lamb was placed in the center of the table. The men stood around the table with their walking staff crotched in their arm and the
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women rested at the table from the preparations, for the Pascal meal. Adin found and read from the Exodus Scroll the words which required the eldest son to ask, “What mean ye by this service?” and that response. With bowed heads the family worshipped the LORD. Beginning with Adin the feast started and on into the night until the entire lamb representing sincerity and truth had been consumed. The bitter herbs, denoting the harshness of the journey, were eaten. And without the malice of leavening, the unleavened bread sweetened the LORD’s meal.
When the lamb was consumed and the herbs, Adin and Ira gathered the skeletal remains together with the viscera and kidneys and removed them in the hide to a place outside the city where they burned them. Throughout the remaining hours of the night they tended the burning. In the early lighting they returned to their family in the rented room to sleep and rest into the first day of the feast of unleavened bread.
As she was preparing the late morning meal Adin said, “Mother, it has always been our custom to remain in Jerusalem throughout the feast. I believe, that this year we shall take our leave and return to Tekoah in the morning of tomorrow.”
“What ever has brought you to such a thought, Adin? We have always stayed for the entire feast,” she said.
“When Amos our son rejoined us in the Temple yesterday, he expressed a desire to be in Tekoah. I am not sure as to his reasons; however, this once will not be frowned upon by the LORD, in as much as He has returned Amos to us unharmed. It will be well, my wife, we shall continue to eat without the leaven as we travel and when we are in our own house. Perhaps, Amos will tell us his heart as we return home.” said Adin.
“It is well, my husband,” she said, and the matter was settled.
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As the time for the meal neared their family returned from the market and their visits with friends also lodging in the city. Relaxing with Ira after attending the morning sacrifice in the Temple, Amos watched as his mother, just beyond his hearing, tell some thing to each of his sisters, as they prepared the table. Their surprise could not be hid but they said nothing to him throughout the day. Outside the building, away from his sight, Adin told the same words to his brothers. Adin did not require that any of his children return to Tekoah; yet, none were reluctant to do their father’s bidding for the joy of having Amos with them again.
Amos learned from Ira that two of the other shepherds, with them the day he was captured, had been killed. However, no matter how much information Ira provided to Amos about the events during his absence he could not get more from Amos about his captivity than he had heard him tell Adin the day before.
By evening Amos was beginning to becoming filled with the relating of the stories of Ira and his brothers about the flocks. Adin too told him of the fears of his mother and himself for his safety and their prayers for his return. Even these last things did not shake from Amos his experiences in Moab. They looked to one another finally settling their minds with seeing that he was joyed and comfortable to be with them, again. Late in the evening Adin said to Amos, “We shall be leaving in the morning for Tekoah.”
When Amos saw that only he was surprised he said, “Was that what all of the hum was about today?”
Adin saw the son he raised sitting before him now, almost. Nearly, but not quite. There was still something – – something that was different about Amos.

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Early in the morning, while the family prepared to return to Tekoah, a knock came on the door.  Adin opened the door giving welcome.  The visitor was hidden from sight of the others, and when he had spoken to Adin, Adin turned and called:  “Amos, there is someone to speak with you.”
Replacing Adin at the door Amos was startled to see that the visitor was the Levite Joel who had accompanied him to Jericho.
“Amos, We thought that you could not be found in this throng, until yesterday at the Temple.  We sent a young one to follow you so we could find where your family is staying,” said Joel.
“But, why?”  asked Amos, “Does the LORD have need of me again, seeing that I am with my family and we are returning to Tekoah this very morning.”
“Not so, my brother.  It is from Benjamin Juden that I am sent to you.”  At the sound of Benjamin’s name all of Amos’s questioning mind became calm.
Removing a bag, that looked quite familiar to Amos, Joel placed it in Amos’s arms that reached to receive it.  “Benjamin Juden sends you this bag and also this knife, that he felt you may have need for,” said Joel.
“Won’t you come in and meet my family,” asked Amos.
“Regretfully, my duties in the chamber of King Uzziah require me to hurry back.  Benjamin allowed me to bring these when I begged him.  But, we shall meet again and again in the Temple at festival times.  May the LORD be with you Amos,”  and Joel hurried away in the direction of the Temple.
“I shall look for you in the Temple,” Amos shouted after Joel.


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As the family was passing from Bethlehem on their way to Tekoah, Ira who stayed near Amos spoke to him.  “About a month ago your bother and I brought the summer fruit to Bethlehem to sell and an earthquake came across the land.  Even the air changed to dust and felt different.”  
That would have been the same one that he and Benjamin had experienced on the east side of the Salt Sea.  That thought did not linger in his mind, instead, Amos looked about.  Now, he again noticed the fresh air, the slight smell of the smoke from a wood fire and the rising heat of the day upon the lush grasses of the pastures.  This was the part of the journey that he had always enjoyed the most.  But there was more this day and it had very much to do with the bag on his back that Joel had delivered to him from Benjamin.
“Uncle Ira?” said Amos.
“I will hear, Amos,”  Ira said.
“Will you help me or at least be with me - - “  Amos struggled not to find the words, but the courage to deliver them.  “I need to speak with Father.”
“This has never been a problem for you Amos.  Your father has always found time for each of his sons, and now you more.  He wishes you to confide in him.  He wants to know that you are truly home.  It will not be difficult, but if you wish I shall be close by.  But what is it that halts your tongue?”  asked Ira.
“During the time that I was held in Kir-Hareseth in the kings mansion - - .”
“The kings mansion - - you were held in the kings palace in Moab?” said Ira, looking at Amos.
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Amos nodded and continued, “I met a Priest, Benjamin Juden who had been held there for forty years and was council to the King.  He became my teacher of the Scrolls.  There was no escape from Moab for a time, so he led me into a deep appreciation for the Scrolls.”
Ira needed no further clues as to the problem Amos wanted to put to Adin, and stopped Amos by saying, “This evening I shall speak to your father.”


Amos was seated with his brothers after the evening meal when Ira approached Amos saying, “Tomorrow morning you may speak to your father as we travel; he is aware of the matter about which you wish to speak to him.”
“Thank you Uncle Ira,” said Amos and Ira returned to his place.  
Amos began feeling uneasy, as he had with King Uzziah, toward his talk with his father in the morning.  Perhaps his father preferred for him to be with the flocks.  And if not, would Simeon the Scholar want him again in his classes.  Finally, Amos moved toward the light of the evening camp fire and pulled a small scroll from his robe, the same writing that Benjamin had put in his quiver before he had reached the court of King Uzziah.  From a distance, Ira watched Amos as he read from the parchment, he had no idea of the anxieties the youth was suffering.

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                      Milcah



Morning brought a cheerful lightness from the women as they busily prepared for the remaining journey that would bring them to their house in Tekoah.  The atmosphere was infectious, the men were soon awakened from the shadows of their thinking into the festive ambience.  Amos had withdrawn a 

short distance shortly before his family began to travel. He followed, attempting to prepare his words.
Midmorning, Ira spoke to Adin and took his place at the head of the column. Adin stopped by the trail and waited until Amos was beside him. They walked together, silently, for some time. Adin looking closely at Amos and inquired: “Has your desire to be in Tekoah diminished, Amos, seeing that you remain so far behind us?”
Amos adjusted the bag on his back that Benjamin had sent him.
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“Father, from the time that I departed Jericho, until now, I have wished to discuss privately with you a certain matter.”
“Your Uncle Ira indicated to me that it is of some importance to you. Please continue,” said Adin.
“When Benjamin Juden and I escaped from Moab we brought with us the alarm concerning the Moabite invasion this spring.” Adin raised his eyebrows hearing that. Further, Amos said, “When Benjamin became ill as we arrived in Jericho, he sent me with the message to King Uzziah.”
“That is how we received notice from the King that you were returned from Moab? asked Adin.
“Yes. When Benjamin sent me with the message to King Uzziah I did not know how to speak to him had it not been for the influence of Benjamin and his Scroll of Proverbs that he hid for me to find on the way to Jerusalem. Father, your faith in the LORD was always clear to me, but the needs that I experienced in captivity caused me to cast my soul upon your God and my God. However, my faith by itself in no wise prepared me for the responsibilities that came upon me.”
Adin began to fully realize the anguish of his son and that it was not alone in the treatment dealt by the Moabites, nor in being separated from his
family. “Does the appearance of the Levite at our rented room, the morning before, have anything to do with you apprehensions, seeing that you carry a great burden and a knife as well?” said Adin.
“The knife is one that I took from a Moabite and the bag contains the Scrolls that belonged to Benjamin Juden while he was a captive. He sent the Levite Joel to me with them. As we waited to escape, Benjamin patiently taught me from these Scrolls,” said Amos.
“Will not Benjamin need the Scrolls himself?” asked Adin.
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“The Priest Benjamin Juden is sixty-nine years old, probably has most of these memorized and now rests at the Temple where he returned and where the national archives are kept. He must feel that he has ready access to many more than these, I believe,” said Amos. Now comfortably relaxed in the conversation Amos began to easily reveal to Adin his purpose. “Father, I was mistaken to leave the classes of Simeon the Scholar when I did, seeing that there was so much more that I needed to learn.”
“Your mother and I felt the same way at the time Amos,” said Adin, but he did not rebuke Amos and let him continue to speak his heart.
“There may be additional times in my life when the wisdom and under-standing of the Scrolls will be needed. And father, I have come to freely love the words of the Scrolls. The Priest Benjamin Juden has taught me to read from them daily. Yet, I need Simeon the Scholar’s teaching to cause those things to live in me. I need to return to his classes, please,” said Amos.
Carefully, Adin responded, “Amos, we are a family that does not lack for tenders of the flocks, you need not worry that you cannot be spared from the folds. And the money for your schooling is still with your mother. However, there is someone else that must be considered as well. In your absence, I have been approached by Ziha your future father-in-law. Milcah your betrothed is of
age and she wishes to be joined.”
Coming to a halt in the path Amos stared into his family ahead. He did not see them in his mind. The eye of his heart placed a picture of a young girl that he had met and talked with briefly with when he had been twelve years old. Her name was Milcah and he had liked her, and Ziha her father spoke well to him. Slowly, Amos returned to the conversation with Adin. “What must I do father?” He turned to face Adin. “As dead in Moab, I committed myself to the classes of Simeon the Scholar the LORD God is witness. And
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now that I have returned to the land of the living I find that I am to receive my wife. What shall I do? It would seem that the pressures of the living are more numerous and enduring than the problems in the land of the dead,” said Amos.
Adin placed his hand on Amos’s shoulder, “Son, you have already bore the responsibility of a messenger to the King. These things that you see as contrary to one another are both meant to be enjoyed. Yes, Our God is a jealous God, however, God allows his people help mates. Your mother has never disallowed nor discouraged my celebrations with the Holy men of Tekoah; when for an evening or a day we meet to read and discuss the Scrolls.”
Their family was nearly out of sight, Amos settled in his thoughts and he and Adin began to walk again. For some time they did not speak, until Amos said. “Then I must go to Ziha and speak with Milcah.” Adin remained silent. They hastened their pace.
Toward evening the family approached the house of Simeon the Scholar. The gate was closed the students and teacher were still in Jerusalem at the feast, and they passed by. And soon the well of the city was behind them and they neared the stone house that set along the south road by itself. Ira’s wife had just returned from Tekoah’s well with water and so they were greeted with an open door and fresh water to quench their thirst.
Amos went to his bed and deposited the bag of Scrolls on the covers. His copper sword set in the corner where he had left it. He sat quietly for a moment and his mother soon joined him, she had spoken to Adin. She brought a small stand that she placed along the wall. “You will need this she said, for your Scrolls. We are happy that you are home, Amos.”
“I am happy to be home Mother,” Amos said as she left him.
He removed the bow and quiver of arrows and knife and set them in the
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corner with the sword. He gently placed his Scrolls on the stand his mother had brought him. Laying down on his bed he slept.

“Hail, Ziha,” said Amos.  Near the brim of the meadow’s edge a large strongly built man turned to greet him.
“Amos of Adin, it is good to see you.  You are well and have survived your capture by the Moabites.  The women have worried themselves over the ordeal, but I knew that my future son-in-law would endure the trial.  Welcome home.”
“Thank you Ziha,” said Amos.  “It is good to be home.” 
Amos stood uneasily for some time clearly without words to speak, and so, Ziha smiled and said,  “You have come to inquire about Milcah.”
“Yes,” Amos said.  “I have brought you these to seal an agreement for Milcah to become my wife.”  He handed Ziha a small patch of soft leather.
“There is no more needed than your words, my son,” said Ziha, but Amos urged him and Ziha opened the leather to reveal three glittering stones that Amos had taken from the Moabite that had sold him in Moab.
“They are between you and I, no other person knows,” said Amos.
Ziha now was the one to be without words.  Such wealth was nearly unknown in this part of Judah.  He looked at Amos and closed the leather holding the packet tightly in his hand.  He placed the other arm around Amos’s shoulder and they walked to the home of Ziha.  Nearing the house but not close enough to be heard Ziha finally said, “You will speak with Milcah, but  
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the women will not leave you two alone. So in their hearing you may speak a young man’s words of wooing. Be sure to mention the slight bluishness of her eyes and she will be yours forever.”
At the house, Ziha’s voice rang through the valley. “Mother, our son-in-law has come to speak with his bride.” Immediately, Zihas’s wife stood in the doorway. Behind her peered the young eyes of Milcah’s sisters.
Without smiling Ziha’s wife said, “Ziha, you will go to Adin and arrange for the ceremony while Amos speaks with Milcah. And be sure that they do not have to wait.”
Ziha turned and began for Tekoah to see Adin. Although Ziha was receiving his son-in-law, actually the newly-weds would be part of Adin’s house-hold, while Ziha would be paying for the wedding festivities.
At the door of Ziha’s house his wife stood aside and shooed the youngsters outside. Then she motioned to Amos with a wide smile and he entered the home. Seated and working the distaff sat an elderly woman that Amos judged to be the grandmother. Facing her, seated on a chair, was a girl who nearly stunned Amos. He hardly recognized her. Amos’s mind picture of the attractive girl he remembered was transformed into a real image of this lovely black-haired maiden.
She rose to her feet when she saw Amos saying, “Welcome, to our home,” and indicated for him to take a seat near but not too close to her. Amos could feel the flint glares of the old lady as she examined each of his moves as he seated himself. It was evident that Milcah was never out of her sight. Amos wondered what if the old ever woman slept. Amos heard words coming from his mouth and wondered who had ordered them, but they seemed to be the right ones for she smiled and sat placing her hands on her lap. For a moment he sat looking at her beauty before remembering Ziha’s instructions.
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Amos said, “Your bluish eyes are beautiful,” and they are, thought Amos as the empathy of his words returned to him from Milcah in a deeper more satisfying smile. She liked Amos, and if ever a betrothal had been effected that better fit the couple it would have had to been Adam’s and Eve’s.
Amos sat a little straighter in his chair and cleared his throat. “Milcah, when…” and Amos told her of his commitment to return to Simeon the Scholar’s classes. At first there was no change in her appearance when she had listened to Amos, but then she straightened herself in her chair, cleared her throat and said, “We both shall attend his classes as the LORD shall prepare both our hearts for His words.”
Amos was a bit shook at her pronouncement, for in all Judah there were slight few women who availed themselves to the Scrolls. Yet, he was pleased too and he looked about to see wide smiles on the faces of her mother and grandmother. The adjustments in thinking and acceptance would come to the men of the Scrolls in Tekoah more slowly Amos guessed, for he had never heard that Simeon the Scholar had taught any female in any of his classes.
Surprisingly without fumbling Amos brought a small leather pouch from his robe and untied the opening and slid a large stoned gold broach. As he was reaching to hand it to Milcah her mother gently took the object from his hand and placed it in Milcah’s hand. Amos drew his hand back. Milcah’s eyes gleamed and she fastened the piece over her heart. She looked into Amos’s eyes.
It was then that both her mother and grandmother seemed to, somehow without touching Amos, escort him to the door-way and he was soon on the road to Tekoah in what seemed to him to be only a fraction of a moment.

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There had been seven days of festivities at the house of Ziha for both of the families and their friends.  Tonight the joys of the occasion would trail through the streets of Tekoah, for tonight Amos son of Adin would be going to the house of Ziha to receive Milcah his bride and bring her home to a small cottage belonging to his father.
Amos’s brothers escorted him in the evening light to Ziha’s home.  The light of many torches lighted the courtyard under the sycamore tree where Amos was received and now rested.  The courtyard stood full of family and friends as the door of the home opened and Milcah with her sisters and friends walked to under the arching boughs of the huge tree.
No one knew for sure who had summoned Simeon the Scholar but rumor had it that it had been Ziha’s wife.  For it was he who spoke when Milcah finally stood beside Amos.
In front of the couple the voice of Simeon the Scholar resonated in the covering of the sycamore tree as he spoke saying;  “Amos, receive the scroll of words for Milcah and Milcah receive the scroll of words for Amos.” To each he handed a small roll of parchment that was kept with a gold ring.
Amos slipped the ring from the scroll and while holding the ring read outloud the words:  Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall 

have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. After which he put the ring on Milcah’s finger.
Milcah slipped the ring from the scroll and while holding the ring read
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outloud the words: Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. After which she put the ring on Amos’s finger.
They exchanged scrolls and again looked to Simeon the Scholar who added this blessing: “In as much as Amos and Milcah are now one flesh: LORD, Bless them and keep them and be gracious to them and give them Your peace.” Simeon the Scholar moved from in front of the couple to behind them and removed the huge white wool shawl upon his shoulders and placed it over the heads and shoulders of Amos and Milcah.
The End

                        178







                                    THE ARGOT CANTICLE
                                                        The First Part



           A novel
         written by:


                  Joseph E. Swearengin 


                 Copyright O 5-2-96    (1st pt)                                      Copyright O 6-13-96  (2nd pt)

                     revised: 3-23-98  (all)          


                         a


                     Prologue


Nearer the warmth of man’s entrance into the realm of light, the rigors of being alive suddenly became terse and collapsed the soul’s structure. Then the simplicity of God's fellowship with His creation clouded and distanced. The human mind in some, made pretense of access to God.  This found ready favor by the majority of the indifferent.   Soon, thoughts of the Originator became overshadowed by the worship of His creation that could be seen. However, by a few, true approach had been maintained, and God's way was to keep that path untainted through generations of men -- faithful -- keepers of His words.  Lost to our knowledge are many like scrolls that the hungry hovered and searched, even perhaps, similar to the fabricated Argot 

Canticle of this story. What is preserved to us though, form the story of countless hearts. Notwithstanding they do not always grasp all of the word’s meanings. Yet, they light upon its Author as their God, and Savior.

The Bible forms from Adam in Genesis, to Jesus Christ in The Revelation, the 

greatest volume of God revealing His Way to all that would behold Him. A few

stumble through life like the characters in this novel. They rarely realize their

shortcomings that God overlooks to keep their hearts for Himself.

                       b
                CONTENTS

                                      page

Title Page a
Prologue b
Contents c
Chapter 1 The Cave 1
Chapter 2 The Cottage 7
Chapter 3 The Bag 13
Chapter 4 The Jar 19
Chapter 5 The Eber Scroll 25
Chapter 6 Cyprus 41
The Second Part (title page) 52
Interim 53-54
Chapter I In Sheshaw 55
Chapter II Opened 68
Chapter III Within a Flower 72
Chapter IV A Communication 77
Chapter V The Book 81
Chapter VI Sehlah’s Holy Scriptures 90
Chapter VII Asheer 94
Chapter VIII The Scrolls 98
Chapter IX The Breastplate 101
Chapter X Jachin 105
Chapter XI The Nawbee, Gershom 110
Chapter XII The Psalms 114
Chapter XIII The Council 120
c

                      Chapter 1


                   The Cave

Beside the nearly buried clay jar the dust covered hands of the archaeologist gathered a small fragment of leather to the palm of his hand. Moving to the cave entrance he examined the piece.  The reverse side revealed a quarter inch single letter of classical Hebrew - - the letter - - (bayth).  It looked like a backwords (P) with a bent tail.  The pictorial meaning is house, if he recalled correctly.  He turned to look at the jar. Taking a plastic bag from his shirt pocket he gently placed the leather scrap inside, and returned the bag back to his pocket. 
The cave had been difficult to find, located high in the Lebanese mountain range east of the coastal city of Tartus. He could see the island of Cyprus from where he stood. It was cold at this elevation, and an icy wind attempted to push an entrance through the cave. How he had come here he couldn't quite tell. They had been searching the lower ranges and he had just wandered higher and higher, alone.
He returned to the jar. The dirt floor of the cave was uncluttered with anything.  The rock walls and ceiling were granite, so he knew the jar had to have been buried,  since there was no accumulation of wall or ceiling particles. The only build-up on the floor would be from the sand shifting winds; 
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which, is probably what had exposed the jar. Now, he backed away with that thought and rested his back against the wall.
This was the lure of every who ever worked a dig – – the temptation! He rose and walked to the entrance. Below he could see some of his fellows still poking among the rough crags. They would be out of sight soon. Returning again to the jar he knelt and began removing it from the cave floor. Carefully, he tapped the earth with the side of his pick, suspecting more containers. No hollow sounds around the jar. He continued until the whole floor was covered with pick imprints – must remember to cover them. Now on his knees he dug, as if removing a tree to transplant. The jars lid he could see clearly was still sealed. He marveled, only one jar. But then the cave was small. No other signs of any parchment fragments either. He was carefully, working very quickly. There was little time to reason now about the presence of a leather outside the jar. He loosed the jar from the earth. Stillon his knees, he turned it in his hands examining the workmanship.
“A remarkable find, Professor!”
Startled he pulled the jar to his chest and stood, facing a very young and stern colleague. He didn’t speak or apologize, neither did his face flush. His possessing the jar seemed to be somehow justified to him, if he could convince her. She strode to him not taking her dark brown eyes off him.
“Well?” That near, brought a change inside her and she softened, but she didn’t let him know. Was it him or the jar or both. She hadn’t let him know of her interest in him, but now he knew, since she had followed him.
“Are you alone?” He asked.
“Yes!” she replied.
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“Listen, Janie this is different,” Richard offered.
“0h, and how?” she exclaimed.
“Here, hold the jar and see for yourself.” He pushed the jar to her. It was about forty centimeters tall with a cap lid on a shouldered mouth and about fifteen centimeters in diameter. Smaller than the jars at
Qumran or others , but obviously a scroll jar. What could be of any difference she thought, until she held
the jar for a moment. Janie tried to overcome the feelings that she suddenly had for the container. This was not the joy of a find of antiquity plucked from the earth by fasted days of bucketed dust. This was a compassion of deep meaning sought for by the unread contents of a vessel finally free from its prison of earth. Its contents could speak again, it seemed to say to her. Of hidden treasures, of some king or priest or scribe prophet, telling of some revealing – – she could not place the correct words of visage that curiously demanded a private audience. Janie handed the jar to the Professor and turned with her back to him, to hide any facial expression she might betray.
His argument was closely considered before she asked. “Alright, then, what will you do with it since you haven’t photographed, diagramed, nor cataloged?”
Professor Richard Boukwais dropped his head exhaling deeply. He was from a small rural
Ohio town taking his masters at Ohio State University and his doctorate at John Hopkins. His pursuit was not glory seeking, nor did he wish to be in charge. The reasons for his career had always been his, privately. A searcher of words, and avid Bible reader, whose personal beliefs and faith lay yet within him. His special interest was in the Phoenician language, which he hoped not without clue, to be found in the jar. The jar itself cast a shadow of himself which he did not discern, or was it the other way around. True, this was the People of the Sea’s coastline. They, Phoenician merchants, had plied the Mediterranean into
3
Egypt since about 1800 B.C. They had shipped people as well as trade goods. Perhaps, it had been left by an escaped slave or a thief hoping to return for the jar’s riches.
Deciding without choice to trust Janie, he motioned her to the heap of wind blown dust near the entrance that he had not examined. ”Janie, see if there is anything in the pile there, while I smooth the floor off from the pick marks.”
The soil was well settled dust with the texture of a pile of wood ashes, her pick easily slid through it revealing her willingness to comply. The Professor removed his backpack and coat to sweep the floor in an increasing cloud of dust, backing to the pile where Janie worked. He stopped, removed his scarf and
grasping Janie’s from the back removed her scarf from her loosened coat in one deft tug. She glanced at
him as he took the jar from on top of his pack that lay on the unexplored part of the pile. Richard carefully wrapped the jar and placed it in the pack. Coat and pack back on, he began at the wall with his pick working toward her. At the end of a pick drag through the pile Janie struck something that immediately began to surface on the pick. Quickly,she motioned to Richard and he brought another plastic bag into which they deposited the dark leathery object. Not taking any further time they finished the mound of soil and reemoothed it. They had found nothing more. Any further delay in not being seen would cause alarm among the others.
They hurried from the cave to rejoin the party of searchers. Soon, Janie and Richard were spotted by the team with knowingly confident glances as to their activities behind the rocks from where they had emerged. Fortunately, it was at a much lower level than the jar cave. “ – but at such a cold elevation -” came the nagging comment from the party, the rest of the afternoon.
A lower cave of considerable size was located, closer to the coast and decided upon as a possible
4
burial chamber and logged into the parties maps. The lower slopes and foot hills they were searching had flourished cedars and firs long ago cut and shipped. A few old stately trees yet resided. The cedars were flat on their tops due to their longevity and presented quite a scene. Logging camps certainly had existed, but only temporary at their time, and impossible to locate now. All that remained were the occasional chopped stumps once covered by soil. Erosion exposed these, and the labors of the early loggers swinging heavy stone or copper bladed axes were still visible in the near petrified remains.
That night Richard lay in his tent, the jar deeply packed in the center of his duffel. The plastic bags he had given to Janie. Now, the slumber he needed was eaten up by anticipation of the contents of the jar. He needed a room to work in. Next morning he would go into Tartus and find a house. If he could. The nagging tauntings of the others made a perfect excuse for such a move. And if, Janie – – he had candidly watched her at the dig of Hazor. She was a lively form of hips and breasts bent into the layered extinctions of past times. Her long brown hair was always in a bun on the back of her head and large dark sunglasses almost had hidden the pleasing features of her tan face. His casual distancing had gotten him through high school and two colleges and was an embedded trait. But, his fortress had been finally penetrated by the opportune timing of Janie. If she would visit the house, even occasionally; he would have the privacy and security needed. He guessed on her intuitiveness as he dozed off.
The next morning found Richard in Tartus. He made some inquiries at the market and then a couple of stops. Orderly and immediate dismissals of possibilities brought him to a small building on the northeast terrace of town. He inspected the two room, flat roofed, stone structure. From the back room he faced Cyprus. There was a privy in the back. The main room had a fireplace in the northwest corner. A chair, stool and table were in the main room, where he now placed his pack. The jar was inside. He paid the
5
turbaned and robed owner for a month.
Looking about, Richard Boukwais, the Professor of Archaeology, recently retired at the age of 53, tried to locate a safe place to hide the jar. The ceiling was no answer, with open round beams. The walls were no better, plaster over stone as was the fireplace. The floor was tiled, yet none were loose. The bed room offered less opportunity. He leaned on the door jamb between the rooms contemplating returning for his tent and duffel with the jar still in his back pack. Moving to the door to leave an interesting thought occurred to him. He glanced to the bedroom doorway. Returning, he pulled the drapes on the windows and kneeled in the doorway examining the jamb. It was setting on top of the tile floor, he gave a tug – – not even a budge. He turned to the other side and with some amount of difficulty pulled it away from the wall it capped. Conveniently, a couple of stones slid out of the wall leaving what would amount to a small vault. He removed the wrapped jar and placed it in the wall pushing the jamb back into place. Gathering the two stones he put them in the pack and scooped up the dust leaving the concealment indiscernible.
This was a time to be nervous for Richard. He was only half secured with his investment. It seemed an unbalanced thing to purchase with his career a single unopened jar, no matter how old the
contents. He was doing it any way. Maybe the jar was only part of his motivation, now. Leaving the jar, he hurried to his tent as if to his broker, contemplating an impending disaster only he could avert, that was about to obliterate his entire investment.
The others, Janie included were in the field. Only a guide had remained with the equipment. He spoke shortly to the guide telling him he was moving to town and would be taking his things.
6

                        CHAPTER 2


                        The Cottage


 On the next day Richard sat at an open cafe, deliberating. Should he seek Janie out or wait for her to find him. His decision was shortly made for him when Janie and two of the lead field searchers appeared before him. 
"Richard," they began, "we have looked throughout the city for you, will you please explain yourself.”  
Not entirely surprised that the group should seek him out, he rose from the chair where he was seated and approached Janie. Taking her hand he pulled her toward the table and the other chair, and seated her beside him. 
"It is good that you have come, Janie and I have waited to explain," Richard announced to his startled guests. They continued standing, looking more than a little astonished at the pair. Richard pushed his glass of wine to Janie, who obligated by sipping deeply. 
Richard called to the waiter  for  the bottle. He  made no  indication to the two  standing to 
                    7

join in, so they remained before the table. Richard now looked to them and began explaining. “Herb, – – Robert, as you know for some time, I have wished to retire to my studies. Janie has agreed to join me in researching. I am weary of the field work. You also know I have been with you in many digs and have been compensated modestly enough to begin my real passion in the books. By now, the two needed confirmation and looked to Janie, who simply nodded her assent and refilled Richard’s glass. The
noonday sun beat down without mercy on the two standers who once again looked to Richard. He was watching three prosperously suited Tartusians puff on their water pipes in the shade of the stone building across the street. The slatted shade of the restaurant patio, cast stripes of shade over the trousers of Herb and Robert as Richard concluded. “This search is for you younger people. My backlog of information and sources is more than adequate for our needs.”
Standing, he shook hands adding. “Our best wishes for your further success along the coast. My thanks for Mr. Montgomery’s support of the expedition. I shall of course, send him my letter of resignation immediately!” At this point his former colleagues finding no other means or need of inquiry stiff leggedly in conference made their way through the crowded street.
Not until they were out of sight did Janie, looking very intently upon Richard, fill his glass to the rim with the red dinner wine. He looked from the glass to Janie and realized how committed he had made himself to the words he had just spoken.
Janie spoke first, “I hope you are ‘modestly’ enough set that we will have a roof and meals for this ‘research’,” she emphasized the word research.
A little uneasy Richard replied to her probing. “I have rented a small cottage on the northeast terrace. Shall we visit the house and you may see. Rising, they emptied their glasses, and left the busy
8
city center. They passed through the market stopping for purchases from the long tables that held vegetables and fruit from the nearby farm lands. Shaded – – cabbage and lettuce, artichokes, squash, tomatoes, lemons, oranges, bananas and kibbeh was being picked over by basketed shoppers. The streets thinned of shoppers as they neared the terrace. They felt good to be together, alone, and free from the life of archaeology and its drudgery.
The team of archaeologists would be moving further north in a week or two, once they had mapped the immediate area for caves. This gave opportunity for the couple to enjoy the pleasantries of the city. Only a week later, Richard had moved from his tent in the back into the house, following a very short civil ceremony. The searchers they had worked with joined in a nights celebration, ending with the two being escorted to the cottage. They were enjoying a languished honeymoon .
Richard knew once the archaeologists had moved on north, the pressure of their concealment would lift. What he had not counted on was the urgency that the jar kept putting upon them. Janie, when
she had moved into the house had, of course, brought the plastic bags from the cave. But unlike Richard she had found time for a preliminary examination of her find.
Brushing and picking away sand particles from the object she had decided it to be a dried leather bag, and from its considerable weight held coins. She did not open the treasure. The fact that it remained intact was short of a marvel. The fragment, could only be explained from the torn edges, as being the remnants of a predator eaten scroll. But, why would a scroll be left without protection in the cave and the bag escape detection. Evidently, the bag was buried deep enough at the time the scroll had been eaten. She guessed again that the bag had been dropped accidentally and that the three belonged together, from what ever period Richard would determine from the fragments character. When opened, the jars
9
contents might help answer the question.
Janie was only eighteen years old, but not behind any of the field workers she had worked with. She had graduated from high school at fourteen and obtained her masters two years later. She had already worked two years in the field at several sights and with excellent teams. Her background gave her the general knowledge Richard could put to use with his plans. She knew this, but something told her that the jar would possibly alter Richards thinking. He still hadn’t made any move to open either the jar or bag and she was soon to learn why.
Richard returned to the house to find the table draped with a tablecloth and a vase of spring flowers Janie had picked from the terrace. Wondering, he placed the groceries on the table. Thinking to find her in the bedroom he approached the doorway, but she was not there. He began placing the food stuff from the shopping basket onto the table. They were using her camp stove to heat water and pans. He lighted the stove for coffee.
Janie entered from the back door and began helping with the groceries. Richard suggested, “Janie, we need to discuss the jar and bag.”
“O.K!” came her reply.
“Homey and warm as this is becoming this is really not the best place to work on them, that is why I’ve waited to say anything.”
“Well, I called my Mom yesterday and told her that we are married; she is very anxious to meet you and she has plenty of room in New York?”
“That will be very kind of her; however, we may need to be close to the cave until we’ve opened them and determined what we have. Today, I noticed an apartment near the market,shall we go and see if
10
its alright for us?”
“These things can wait,” she said and turned off the stove. It was pleasing to know that this time it would be their choice together. She had a more thoughtful husband than she had expected. Richard’s cool distancing had really been a coy deception, that she had seen through. She quickly embraced him before leading him to the door. Richard couldn’t make a peep. It was a good thing she didn’t ask for anything yet, his resistance was at dead zero.
Richard added, “We need to be gone from the cottage in case Herb or Robert send or come looking for us. Best if they think we’ve gone home.”
The landlord was eager to show the third floor apartment of a red clay tile roofed stone building. They climbed the inside stairs. Richard took note of the plastered walls and worn fir steps. The stair case stopped on the second floor hallway and continued at the far end – – a security problem that he saw could be made fast by barring the inside door and using the outside fire escape steps. Richard was keeping close notes.
The three roomed apartment had a bathroom and small kitchen making up the entire third floor. An access to the hip roofed attic was from a closet celling. The whole of the flat was lighted with electricity. Only one other building close on the south side afforded anyone a sight into the amply windowed rooms. Richard noted the extra room on the north as the place for their study. Janie was pleased, though not taking note of the security problems. Richard paid the rent and bought a bed from the landlord for that night, since the apartment was unfurnished.
They left together to bring their things to the appartment. They spent the rest of the afternoon moving in three trips. Near the market, Richard purchased some chairs and a small table for the kitchen.
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The bed was delivered up the outside steps. When they were gone, Richard moved the chairs to the north room and removed the closet door making a temporary desk top. Now to find a concealment for the jar. They both searched. No loose door jambs here, the frame walls were plaster. So now, they looked to the wood floor in the north room. Janie found a short board close to the outside wall. Richard using the flat of his pick, ever so slowly so the nails wouldn’t squeek, pried until a nice niche was found for their treasures. He bent the nails against the bottom of the board leaving the nail heads on the surface. Replacing the board a couple of times, they made sure that it didn’t stick above the surface.
Janie brought the jar and plastic bags and they placed them in the floor. Exhausted over more for the safety of the jar than the moving, the two dozed off atop their sleeping bags on the bed.

                        12


                       CHAPTER 3

                         The Bag


Richard stood at the south corner window looking over the the city, to the island of Ruwad two miles away. Ezekiel of the Bible had called it Arvad.  In his days it was peopled by the ancient family of Arvadites. Arvad was a son of Canaan who was a son of Ham who was a son of Noah. Richard's daily Bible reading had served him well in his occupation. There were Phoenician remains on the island. The Arvadites had provided mariners to the Phoenician city of Tyre, further south along the coast. Modern Tartus is now the terminal of an oil supply pipe from Iraq. Tankers were even at present anchored off shore. The warmth of Janie's breasts and thighs began penetrating his back while her arms embraced.  Her hands covered his heart. It was mid-day before the two rallied themselves to the kitchen. 
"Shall we begin today?"  Richard inquired. He guarded his conversation as they had rehearsed.  A prison sentence for possessing unauthorized Syrian antiquities was definitly  not in his plans.  There was now  no expedition to cover for them.               
"Alright."  She too, was anxious to begin unraveling the mysteries of their treasures. 
                    13
Inside the study they closed the door. Richard began preparing a lamp on his door top desk. Janie got the things from their "vault" in the floor. On the table now were Richard's tools from his duffle, and Janie brought her lap top computer. Only the plastic bags were before him as they seated themselves. Richard pulled a floppy disc from his small library  and handed it to Janie. He pulled the bag containing the fragment to him.  The parchment fragment now  lay on a sheet of paper. 
"Not enough for  carbon dating." Janie was putting what ever comments he made in the 

computer. “The shape of the letter will have, to be verified for dating.” He had a rough idea, but, they consulted his disc which held his Phoenician and Ancient Hebrew data.
“Looks to be about 1000 to 500 B.C. Janie.” The only other evaluation that could be done now was to try to place the fragment with the other objects. “Perhaps a scroll was placed on top of the jar to identify it or to conceal it. Anyone finding the parchment above ground would think that was all there was. The animal that ate the scroll must have uncovered the jar as I found it. Do you see the tooth mark here at the tip of the fragment. It was smudged over and I didn’t notice it before.” She entered the observations and Richard replaced the fragment into the plastic. He drew the jacketed leather bag onto a clean sheet of paper.
“The bag is heavy, bulges with weight at the closed end and is quite flat and dry hardened. It is 11.5 centimeters long, and 5 centimeters wide, and 2 centimeters thick at the closed end. A leather cord has been tightened around the opening, and is much too hardened to open.” Janie recorded it all and uncovered the camera lens and took pictures front and back while Richard decided how to open the bag.
“If we wet prepare the leather to soften it, it will discolor the contents. Since we don’t have x-ray available I’m going to cut a slit along the bottom and a little of the side.” He began cutting with the scalpel
14
and with a little more than difficulty. At last the cut was made. He picked the bag up and twisted the scalpel in the slot and squeezed the sides revealing a group of coins. “Coins,” he said and slid the scalpel between them and the inside of the bag. The coins in one pile, slipped onto the paper. Checking the bag for any more, a darkened silver ring rolled loose. Finally he extracted a gold finger ring. He could see the gold ring had a seal impression on it for marking wax seals.
“Now what is this doing in here, it usually was worn on a cord about the owners neck or on the finger.” He laid it aside and began unstacking the coins.
“Inventory,” Richard said, “One Celtic ring of silver, five merchant stamped Phoenician
silver coins, and six Lydian staters, and one gold signet ring.” He laid them in three rows, the finger ring and Celtic silver together.
He began with the row of Phoenician coins. “Janie, these all six were hand struck, see the unevenness of the strike between them, and five of them by the same merchant. These were used before the collective city states of Phoenicia began issuing around 600 B.C. These Lydian staters today are priceless, their best place would be a museum. I know of one to exist before seeing these. They are an alloy of gold and silver – – about twenty percent silver. They were hand struck. See how they are smooth on the backside. Cannot be sold anywhere for any price, except to some individual who doesn’t share his private collection. The Celtic ring of silver is from the same time frame, who knows how it got in this bag. Traded from Tarshish Spain, or even outside Gibraltar, from anytime before 600 B.C.” The coins and ring were in perfect condition.
Now he took up the signet ring. He studied the reverse writing and reached a piece of soft wax from his kit, that he further yielded on the desk lamp. He made an imprint with the ring. A little pale he
15
looked from the wax to Janie astonished.
“Janie, this is a signet ring that belonged to Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe!” She moved closer, to look for herself. The gold ring began with the same Phoenician letter as the leather fragment. “But, he is not the carrier of the bag, nor the person who buried the jar,” Richard exclaimed. Baruch was supposed to have gone to Babylon,” speaking the realization that came to him. “This ring should have been worn by Baruch, otherwise, in the bag as we have found it – – it becomes a messengers authorization – – it’s the only plausible explanation.” Satisfying himself he went on. “We have a definite setting for the jar now. At least when it was placed in the cave. Think – – just fourteen years from 600 B.C. – – 586 B.C, the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar carries them away to captivity. Jeremiah is the prophet of the time, Baruch his scribe. We have a scroll jar. Perhaps, Baruch or even the Priest Jeremiah sent servants away with the most precious of the Temple scrolls before Jerusalem fell, to keep them from the hands of the enemies of their God. I don’t think this is a special enough scroll to be a Holy one. But, we will know more once we open the jar.”
“What do you think?” Questioned Richard.
A long pause and Janie took the pictures and said, “We should gather these things up and put them back, and sleep on the ideas and see what we think in the morning.”
Janie finished her entry including Richard’s explanation. He gathered the coins together and
with the fragment replaced them and the computer and camera to the vault. They cleaned up the table leaving it as if someone were studying to write a book.
Janie began a meal. It was getting dark and looking for Richard she entered the living room to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, thinking. “Where was your messenger going, and why did he stash it in
16
the cave. You don’t just send a scroll away to hide someplace where no one is ever going to read it?” she said.
Richard looked up at Janie, and walked to the dinning table. “Well, he evidently was in a hurry, the jar wasn’t buried deeply. And he didn’t return to even get the bag, if he had thought he might have dropped it there. The Phoenician silver coins were used by the Israelites even in Jerusalem. But, the other coins the messenger must have taken in change. Perhaps, when he boarded a ship. Let’s say he left from Joppa or Tyre – – Ah, Joppa is closer to Jerusalem. We have to assume from the signet he was sent directly from Jerusalem. From the stops at the Phoenician ports between Joppa and Tartus he could have gotten the staters, and probably, the Celtic silver at Sidon.”
“Why the upper cave? Could he have been chased by persistent Babylonians or Tartus thugs. I don’t think we can really say. As a thought, perhaps the bag and leather scroll were dropped when he was leaving. Maybe our messenger never got any further. Say he just had time to bury the jar and then run.” said Richard.
“Ok, but, where was his original destination?” replied Janie, as she placed two huge plates of spaghetti on the table and left to get the bottle of wine.
Richard, waiting for her, thought outloud. “Well, the messenger was carrying Lydian coinage. Lydia was best known for its wealth and controlled most of the area now called Turkey. King Croesus of Lydia was known to be extremely rich. Even though he was allied to Babylon and Egypt, it may have afforded some degree of safety. Janie was filling the glasses. A plate of flat bread and butter sat near the recently placed bottle of wine. Janie seated herself as Richard reached for the bread.
She made another suggestion, “Perhaps he was at his destination or near it. Cyprus is the next
17
port and the Phoenicians had colonized the island. Wouldn’t that have kept him within reasonable communication range. I don’t think we can resolve why he went so high in the mountains to hide the jar.”
Richard swallowed down a huge fork of speghetti. “Maybe there is some clue in the jar, we will see in the morning. By the way where did you learn of the Phoenicians colonizing Cyprus?”
“From reading before I slept at nights on the digs.” she replied.

They had finished the meal and were resting on their rolled sleeping bags near the windows. Richard produced a gold chain with the gold signet ring on it and placed it around Janie's neck.  "Better keep it inside your blouse,”   he said, as it slid to rest between her breasts.

                              18                      
                       CHAPTER 4



                    The Jar

Next morning the vault opened and the camera and computer were removed. With the table prepared, Richard lifted the still wrapped clay jar reverently from the floor and placed it on the table. The scarfs were removed to reveal a reddish yellow-grey jar. Janie took the scarfs away and a white towel was  spread to receive the clay container. 
“We are correct in the origin of the jar Janie.  Here is a royal potters mark from Jerusalem," he showed her the imprint made by the potter. She made the notes as Richard examined the seal on the cap lid. He scrapped away a layer of cracked wax he had feared to be a broken seal, but which revealed a layer of some sort of gum that was yet elastic. This he removed with difficulty by means of his dental tools.  The gum was saved and set aside. Carefully, he opened the lid. The jar laid on its side. Immediately, the pungent odor of balsam began to rise from the jar. Richard looked on the inside of the lid.  What he thought would be rough clay, was glazed, as was the inside of the jars neck. By now the room was beginning to fill with the pleasant scent from the jar. Looking at Janie he could see a slight dreamy appearance to her inquisitive eyes as she silently watched.       
                    19
Finally, to nudge her he said, "We should record the data of the balsam odor and the glazing. I have never heard of a scroll jar being glazed in this fashion." He closed the lid as Janie recorded. He sat thinking, then outloud said. "If this is a temple scroll jar, the odors we are smelling are more than just the common preservatives used in burying the dead. Janie, is it possible these are the sweet incenses for the altar in the Temple?"  he asked, not really expecting an answer. Slowly, Richard pulled the towel over the jar and went to the bedroom. Drawing his Bible from his duffel he returned to the study reclosing the door.
Opening to the book of Exodus he found the 30th chapter and the 34th verse and read outloud.  'And the LORD said unto Moses, take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense; ... it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.’
"So ends verse :38,"  Richard said as he placed the holy Book behind the jar on the table.. The two were just a little shaken at the finality of the LORD's words. Janie of course, didn’t have the Bible reading background of Richard. Not only because of her age, but due to the crowded courses.  However, she had gone to church with he mother at times. These were frightful words to her young faithful mind. It took Richard some time to calm her fears pointing out that, "We haven't compounded this, nor have we any intentions to violate the LORD's wishes. The Temple worship is not in practice at this time. Remember, we are only observers of the ages."  Or were they.  Something had already drug them from busy lives into the solitude of this moment. "Do you want to stop for a while, maybe continue tomorrow or the next day?"  He grasp her hand.  
                    20
Slowly Janie gained her newly acquired composure and motioned to the jar, "Go on, I'm alright now." The sudden realization of where she had been, and where she now was, had briefly shaken her resolve .
Richard returned to the jar. He laid the lid aside.  There was nothing unusual about it other than the glazing. Adjusting the light to shine inside of the jar he saw a linen wrapped cylinder. Seeing nothing between it and the jar he removed the fragrant treasure. Checking the jar for other contents he found only the bottom covered with the fragrant compound. Replacing the lid he rolled the jar in the towel. He then carefully removed the linen wrapping. Holding the linen outstretched to the light, they noted an unusual weaving. There was standard weave around the edges, then a heavy wide woven boarder. There was a wider band of cross pattern weave centered in the square cloth. A heavy wide weave  rectangle intersected. Very elaborate for just a covering, he put it in the jar.
"Janie get us a plastic bag to put the jar in or we will never be able to hide it in the floor - -  bring two."  
With the jar sealed in the bag, Richard was seated before the tightly rolled scroll.  Careful examination of the ends revealed two manuscripts,one rolled onto the other. 
“The parchments are in excellent condition, no torn edges."  Richard could see the one was much older than the other from its color. "One is quite older than the other,”  he said.
"Which one?" Janie asked.
 "The center one,"  he replied - -  adding, "I'm going to unroll the first scroll now. The two corner ends are still pliable, the compound must have kept them, or at least the first one.” He began unrolling.     
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A  knock came on their apartment door and he stopped.       
"You had better see to the door, Janie!  There is too much of this fragrance on me.  I'll wait until your return,"  Richard said.
She left the study, closing the door quietly behind her. Approaching the entry, she opened the door. The landlord, smiling, asked if she would be needing any more furniture. She bargained for a small couch with cushions and going to her pack got the money and paid him. He promised to bring one in the morning, and left.
Janie bolted the door and returned to Richard. "Who was it?" he asked.  
"The landlord. He asked if we wanted any more furniture, I gave him money for a small couch with cushions, he will bring it in the morning.”  She said.
“Good, sitting on the floor makes the windows a little high.”  Richard commented.
He returned to the scrolls. While Janie had been gone he had covered the length of the table with paper. Beginning at his right, Richard weighted the end of the scroll with his Bible and carefully unrolled it placing the jar as the other stop. The first scroll was thirty-nine centimeters - - one skin with five columns. 
"We had better photograph each column first." Janie said, and snapped two frames of each column.  Richard examined the script.  Rather, he beheld, the wonderfully beautiful figures of the ancient Hebrew script. "For sure, this is not the pen of a Phoenician," he exclaimed, "This is the pen of a faithful scribe, not dutifully drawn, but willingly penned.  Look at the care that's been taken. The columns are about thirteen centimeters wide and twenty centimeters tall."  He sat magnetized to the columns. Beginning to read, he said. "Some words I don't recognize, but - -  there seems to be a list of cities or some places."   Scanning to the final column, he looked to Janie with a faraway stare - - "This is a scroll of 
                    22

instructions to where more scrolls have been deposited with a personal treasury.
After a thoughtful short pause he said. “Let’s stop on this scroll and open the older one and photograph it. Later, we can translate this text fully. The final line here, he pointed, greatly lauds the other scroll.” Janie nodded and Richard rerolled the scroll, placing it beside the jar. He then fastened the older one gingerly, seeing that its age could be against it’s opening freely. With careful hands the roll stretched nearly the length of the door. The two stood gazing at a masterfully executed manuscript. They were instantly held by that desire that had reached from the jar the first time either had held the container. The darkened oak rails and styles of the door formed an appropriate frame, further enhancing the irresistible conveyance of espial thought. Janie placed her hand in Richard’s and moved closer to his side.
“What is it?” She asked.
“Ah – – ” looking closer to the opening lines Richard, with much difficulty, tried to begin reading outloud from the first line and stopped short. “Janie we had better photograph it first.” Which she did as before, two frames each.
“It is seventy eight centimeters long, Janie, and thirty centimeters wide of two skins sewn together between the fifth and sixth columns. The columns are as in the other thirteen centimeters by twenty centimeters. The treasure scroll scribe must have patterned his for size from this scroll,” He observed.
Again he bent to read the first line – – not touching its surface, but with the inquisitiveness of the privilege of faith. He began. ‘Eber, son of Salah of Arphaxad of Shem who lived through the flood, enjoin, that would, to come, to cross over, as this.’
Incredibly, Richard ceased reading and said. “We must stop for tonight, my dear.” He could hardly tear himself from the scroll. Only the fear of detection kept him from continuing. “We don’t usually keep
23
lights in this room after dark – – and night is fast approaching.” The scroll was carefully rerolled along with the other and sealed in plastic bags. The aroma lingered in the room after all was returned to the floor panel. Richard following Janie’s suggestion undressed leaving his cloths on a chair in the study and went to the bath room to bathe. Janie could get by with the perfume, in fact, it was the perfect cover. She hoped no one asked her for the name. They could only think, it was so strong, that she had spilled the bottle.
On rolled sleeping bags that night as they gazed at the salt watered stars over the Mediterranean. Janie asked. “What does the scroll mean, those last words, ‘as this’?”
Richard had produced his, neglected pipe. He hoped to cover the balsam fragrance, and was fumbling with the lighter as he responded. If it is genuine, the writer Eber, refers to himself in that way instead of saying (I). To their sanctified minds, (I) is used only by the LORD in referring to Himself.”
“Do you think this is the original scroll by Eber?” she inquired.
“Doubtful. Eber is third generation after the flood of Noah – – about 2250 B.C. It is more likely a copy scribed before Abraham or by his scribes, is my guess. Too bad we can’t carbon date it”
After a long pause, Richard added. “Perhaps there is a way.”

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                 CHAPTER 5


                      The Eber Scroll

The next morning, Janie left the apartment early, while Richard nursed his pipe over his classical Hebrew dictionary. Mid-morning he could hear the voices of burdened climbers on the outside steps. He walked to the window and looked down. One flight to go.  He returned and began pushing things aside to make room for the couch. 
"Good morning Sire,” said the landlord. We have the couch your Madame purchased!" Richard opened the door clear.  The same two husky, strong smelling individuals who had delivered their bed, ushered the open frame into the room and set it before the windows. Another had brought the pillows. As an important thought, Richard paid the landlord for an additional month's rent assuring him that they had everything they needed. Hopefully, he and Janie would be left from any further intrusions.
Now, as he settled into the seat he could see the city and ocean and the distant sky. His attention though, soon returned to the books.  It was Janie entering with groceries that brought Richard to his feet again.
"Here are the photos, they weren't cheap.  I had to do a lot of persuading to get them done this 
                    25

morning. We’re taking a chance if they made other copies, you know,” Janie warned.
“Richard nodded, cleared his throat and asked. “Have they turned out 0K?” He was referring to the scroll frames.
“Take a look!” She spread them on the kitchen table beside the groceries.
Richard began examining them and finally was satisfied when he laid the last frame down “We will have to keep these somewhere else,” he said softly, “in case the scrolls get stolen.”
They were one meal away from opening the scrolls again. So, while eating they discussed the possibilities and decided to send the photos and to her mother. Afterwards, while Janie cleaned the dishes and prepared the study, Richard walked to the post office to mail the pictures with explanation. He needed the brisk exercise and fresh air, but soon returned to the apartment.
The brilliantly clear light through the south room windows was from the reflections of the sea and the whiteness of the Lebanon mountains eastward. The possessors of the new found treasure could hardly have had better conditions for examining the scrolls.
Richard neither questioned Janies motives nor her choice when she brought the Eber scroll to the table. He carefully unrolled the ancient leather and they again beheld the soul drawing words of a man who beckoned them on. Before beginning, he took from his tools a pair of scissors and cut a portion of the curled end from the scroll. The balsam fragrance again filled the room, their lungs, and it seemed, the recesses of their minds. They were at once oblivious to all things outside of the frame of the scroll. Richard began to read:
Eber, son of Salah, of Arphaxad, of
Shem who lived through the flood; enjoin
26
that would, to come, to cross over, as this.
Eber, whose delights are in the LORD God, Whose mercy shines through the judgment; am this day four hundred years old, bid that would, journey with this.
Stand before such, a river of words whose freshness cleanses the soul of corrupted light.
Turn from this Eden, deviled, and face the streams sweet pounding away of myths cruel lies.
Face and see west’s vibrant shore where paths may part but life gives more.
Euphrates whose waters are speaking the words of the Holy one’s Mind to washing away and reveal His mark of Life.

Together, they began entering the life of the scroll, ever distancing from beyond, the closed door of the study behind them. They took little notice at how deeply they had already waded. Now,  not the oak door table framed the words, but, the unmarked border of the scroll became the aperea of access to the coast pointed out to them. They were beginning to notice the ever deepening water of words. The 
                    27

pressure lapped first to wash their feet, then to the ankles, ever deeper. The leathern frame, now a cavernous wall, kept them without choice to Eber’s way and destination.

The waters of this river take dust from feet that trod to Enki* the god of the deep.
The waters of this river wash from thighs, memories of Dumuzi* and Inanna* the gods of procreation.
The waters of this river take away the works of the hands for Ki* the god of the earth and its inventions.
The waters of this river wash from the mind thoughts of Enlil* the god of the air.
The waters of this river take away the looking to of An* the god of earth’s heaven.

Janie and Richard looked above them.  They were surrounded and buried in the words of Eber's river.  They could see above through to the fainted confines of the leathern ceiling of the adit. Yet their feet kept bringing them on and on.

footnote……..*the gods of Sumer and later Babylon

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The waters of this river take away the looking to of An* the god of heaven.
The waters of this river wash from the mind thoughts of Enlil* the god of the air.
The waters of this river take away the works of the hands for Ki* the god of the earth and its inventions.
The waters of this river wash from thighs, memories of Dumuzi* and Inanna* the gods of procreation.
The waters of this river take dust from feet that trod to Enki* the god of the deep.

Richard and Janie weren't even aware of the leathern frame of the words as they stepped onto a wonderfully light sparkling river’s shore. The words bid them continue to walk from this foot to this word to this word to the next truth until after at time, part of them each could no longer continue.

See, as this has spoken to you of, the luscious fruits of these trees and shrubs of this shore.
Take that you may eat of its nourishments 
        29      

and continue.
Behold, the pear as a small loaf of bread encouraging your body.
Drink of the juice of the pomegranate
and be refreshed for the journey is long.

As they ate and drank at rivers edge, the division between vision and reality became indiscernable - - they could taste the meat of the pears and feel the pomegranate juices flowing in their throates. Their stomach's joyfully received the sustenance, and they walked on until:

Wait my friend, as you journey, for this knows you seek the sparkling lights of these heavenly trees.
They pass ahead of you from tree to bush, not to deceive you but to guide.
Harken now to the Acacia tree that stands thus, smooth and green and tall.
"My thorns are worn of toll you see, my trunk yet strong I stand a King whose roots seize every small stream."
Put off from what repels this sight the mind 
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of flesh with no taste to embrace.

Not only did it seem a part of their minds; but, as it felt to them, chosen molecules of their arms and legs and body turned from them to the left, to wander into the sands of an arid sea. They could hardly contain the desperate cry of their being that watched themselves walk into the heat waven horizon.

Make not distress for yourselves dear ones for soles own divided consciousness.
Take thought of the light of theLight of Heaven that at journey end awaits. 
Turn you this says, to yonder parchness of earth; yet, not of God's own presence.
That walk you take to northern dry, think not others will travel, nor any gone ahead.
Drink, long and deep of Euphrates River light at bend ahead, to safely arrive you,
Traveler as you go, fear not the continuing sparseness of tree then shrub.
With even nostril set enjoy your eternal walk.
Smell now Cedar's lingering aroma, to draw the soul to heights.
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With spice of Stacke the Myrrh of flowing life.
With roasted Onycha and oil that strengthens.
With bitter Galbanum to increase.
With flaming Frankincense that sets apart, these all.
This pray you be forgiven friends.
This pray for you to know the beginning.
This prays that you may overcome.
This prays you may know the GOD.
This prays you may know the 'Him'.
This prays you may be strong.
With the flaming desire of your heart pray.

Janie and Richard could feel the burning desire of craving to see the Presence and source of the light that eluded them at each step. The greeness of the Euphrates grew sparce now, and they yet journeyed in a path they did not need to choose, nor did they attempt to change. With hearts a-glow with hope, they prayed and again walked on. Until, a land of large white mountains dawned the way. Drawing closer they became clothed with the pureness of the visage, yet it was not that light they sought.


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It is this that speaks, even Eber, have you seen that each step draws you closer?
Yet not at this space shall the light hence reveal.
For now, wayfarers to the land of the living, shall you dwell in the district of darkness for a time.
Faint not, this bids on through such, your faith shall be strengthened. Come along take my hand of fellowship, as one who has journeyed the way before.

The remembrance of the whiteness of the mountains passed, as each step drew them into a chamber of enclosing and narrowing darkness, until the walls of the blackened marks on the leathern scroll reached and seized them, and enclosed about even to the depths of their awareness.               “Richard!" Janie called, he drew her close and held her.  However, the words were so close and jumbled and matted together that the lights they had followed quenched from sight the yellowed scroll, that contained them.  With darkness encompassing them, they could not move for fear that a step might tumble them into a pit or against some stone wall. Overwhelmed with the emptiness of the penetrating darkness, their eyes finally adjusted to see the tearing black flames of heat that were in every recess of the cragged walls.
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See now travelers the forms of these souls about you.
They have chosen to remain in this place of lonesome.
These labor and work endlessly, without a hint or promise of refreshment or release, from the pain of their confinement.

Sunken, angry eyes stared at them. Writhering, a child lay in the vomit of his slime. Men without tongues clawed and flailed for their agony to be heard. Some without an ear or ears walked aimlessly. Another without his nose tried to hide among the voices of endless cursings. A woman whose bloody and pussed path belched with maggots, reached for them as they were drawn to the edge of a terrifically deep and insurmountable chasm,  that suddenly separated them from the stench and screaming noise of that burning, smoke stinging, wind swept, sea of torment.

Turn faithful ones from this sight, hear again this voice.
Though having passed through, the darkness has not touched you.
You sought for the light of God and you have 

seen the rewards of darkness.
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Come, follow my words, for the light you seek springs forth from them and them from the Light.
The travel is long and the way difficult with temptations.
Rest for a time under this fig tree and enjoy its shade, sip its honey and drink deeply of the well of water at its side.

Now, the two pilgrims much wearied by the weight of beholding the darkness, could but do, as the voice instructed. Yet, there was no fig tree nor trace of well or water  for the space of two hours. Then to the sand flattened horizson, Richard pointed.  They stood motionless as a great and high rock pushed a tree and a stone well, before it, bringing all to rest in front of them. Richard was first frightened then awed by the very fact of his physical presence in the settings they were experiencing. The figs were real and dripping ripe, the flavor exquisite. They filled from the tree and turned to the well and drank deeply of the earth cool freshness. From beneath the Rock they took welcomed rest in the calm shade. A dream? Richard could not tell, or would not admit. The light they followed, now danced again. Rising they followed.
Pass on refreshed of the LORD's providing in steps of trust.
Pass on your journey in the faith of the 
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fathers.
Behold, on your left the chasm of dead deeds of the living, in this lake of living men’s mistakes.
What, find you not your own? Then follow on, follow on.
The journey is not far until you to may put off the mischance of thoughtlessness and disobedience to the Living Light.
Ahead flows the rushing waters,
Ahead passes the Living Stream.

Richard looked at Janie. They stood with their backs to the river, hardly able to imagine their arrival to the other side. They had placed their steps across the river bed. Yet, there was not the hint of mud on their  feet. Before they even looked to the river they could hear behind them the torrent stream. To their right their eyes followed the watercourse to its origin. To their astonishment a huge pottery jug tipped, pouring forth the Rivers waters. Amazingly, they could see the jugs contents of all types of living fishes and to their left down stream, that dead abyss of the living’s dead deeds. Only now, their own misdeeds had joined the tangled mass. This refreshed them more than the fig tree and the well.  Richards thoughts were interrupted by the scene before them.
A narrow, traveled path led through a fruited river valley past a walled and towered city whose large 
                    36

doors were embellished with figures of date palm trees. They searched expectantly for the light they had for so long followed. It was not among the trees, nor in the path ahead, nor in the city .
Janie asked, “Do we go to the city to ask?”
Richard paused from searching and looked along the path then to the city gates. “We have been traveling this path so far and the gates are closed, Let’s, stay to this trail,” he replied.

Unclothed of lifes' error you choose the Way of Life.
Free from the burdens, choosing steps to the Presence.
In guarded trail through mountained valley, ever looking to He who leads on.
In perils of the waning nights, In temptations to remain in chosen sheltered spot along the way.
It is faith that leads now, not sight of the dancing light.
The path is narrow but expectation numbs the thought, follow on.
To be in the Presence,
To bow to He who holds the heart fast.
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He whose delights satisfy the desires.
Climb now to worthy heights traveler to eternal rewards.
Climb on until received of that seed whose heart of Love, Joy and Peace clasps you to Him, the Daysman who first crossed over.

As the road became steeper other journeyers going before, some after, soon became visible to Richard and Janie. They were no longer traveling alone. They passed a small city of people, standing. These people were not watching some spectacle or some race being won. Rather, they stood as guardians to the way of God.  Richard and Janie stopped to view the setting across a valley.  A ramped arch connected the knoll where they stood, to a large walled and paved hill top across the basin.  Upon this pavement stood a magnificent stone structure. In front of the building an altar smoked from the morning sacrifice. Human forms dressed in white busily went about their tasks within the porched walls. Richard had read of Solomon’s temple from the book of Israel’s Kings. This appeared to be even more exquisite. He soon became aware that they were viewing Ezekiel’s millennial house of the great Prince. He stood dumb-founded. Janie pressed him questioningly. He told  her of the building and purpose. Also, of Ezekiel's prophesy of the return of God to his people, the children of Jacob, and the resuming of the altar sacrifices. These sacrifices would be in remembrance of Christ's passion in the same city of Jerusalem. As he talked to Janie they began to cross the arch-way.  “We are at Jerusalem,”  Richard wispered to her. 
The path was paved with cobblestone. As they walked toward the temple mount, crossing the 
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arch, their feet began rising above the stones. There was another path laying on top, which ever mounted higher. The cobblestones were visible through translucent paving they walked upon. It was a walk-way to a cloud hidden destination above the city. They started to return in order to reach the temple that was still visible through their path. But they could not, the others were pressing them on. The further they drew into the foggy clouds ascending from the altar, the more evident became the visage of a remarkable city.
Its walls were built of fantastic sized jewel stones, refracting rainbows of light. The gates of stone appeared as those at Jericho’s with two raised carved date palms on each door. These doors stood open. The gates appeared transparent as window glass, except for the yellow golden glow of the palm trees.
The open gates compelled them more confidently. They proceeded to the entrance of, The City of Light. Standing at its threshold, an irresistible glow of vibrant white rays from the cities center filled their beings.
Startled with belief. Amazed without questioning, but a bit frightened. Janie and Richard, travelers of Eternity, sat looking at the sooted letters of the yellowed scroll.
“How – – were we just there and yet we sit here,” exclaimed Janie. “It had to have been a dream, a vision – – we fell asleep together.” She grabbed for some rational explanation.
Neither questioned the others awareness of the experience they had together, as differing.
He asked, “What time is it?”
“Richard, it’s eight a.m. the same time you began reading, I remember checking my watch!”
“Is it the same day?” he pressed her.
“Yes” Janie answered.
They looked at each other. Janie terrified into speechlessness stared at her husband. He had
39
sand covering him. His eyes corners rivuleted of tears. Dust covered his streaked cheeks. His clothes hung sand ridden on his body, and his feet were dried and beginning to crack at the nails of his toes. His sandals were about to fall from their straps.
Richard placed his hand on Janies dust covered cheek, “We two had one experience it would seem, in the same desert.” She looked at her own soiled clothes.
They returned again to the mystic scroll that had transported them. Janie in tears, now heaped herself upon Richard.
“But, our bodies were divided, part to the desert and part to the jeweled path,” she recounted.
They rested together in their thoughts when Richard had placed Janie on their bed and he lay beside her. They drifted into a deep dreamless sleep.

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                     CHAPTER 6


                    Cyprus

The sun’s light streamed across the doors surface as Richard rerolled the Eber scroll and wrapped it in its linen. Replacing it to the clay container, he used Janies hair dryer to reseal the jars lid. He was doing this not because they feared the scroll, rather it was an act of ultimate respect and  reverance.  Richard would soon reveal to his wife the jars destination.  Janie was preparing a noon meal as he placed the jar back under the floor boards.  The morning had passed thoughtfully, quietly, and soberly.
"We shall be taking a boat trip to Cyprus this afternoon, if you would care to join me," Richard offered, as he joined her at the table.
”Do you really think you could get there without me?  Where on the island will we be going?"  Janie returned.
"The scroll must be put someplace safe. I thought the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia, on some high dark corner shelf, might be appropriate."
Janie furnished some rather important information of her own. "Forget the dark corner shelf! Everything, and I mean everything, is cataloged. And if you could find a large pithos jar there, it wouldn't 
                    41

be hidden in it. Everyone has to have a look inside one of those. You’ll have to do a little better than that, Richard! Better yet, how are you going to get your jar through the door?”
“Oh, now its my jar,” he shot back.
“Well, our jar,” Janie submitted.
Perhaps, it was the strain of what they had been through, or the destination they had not reached that had made them edgy. Maybe, it was an urgency for the safety of the jar.
After the meal they made their stroll to the docks. Richard paid for passage on a cabin cruiser. They would be alone except for the captain and mate. The Mediterranean was being kind to them today – – unusually calm. As they boarded, Janie was careful not to bang her flat woven basket purse. A newspaper was wrapped around the jar.
They were happy to be out of the apartment, even if a little apprehensive about what remained in the study room floor. The seas fresh air rushed over and about them this time in a more familiar surrounding. Yesterdays experience hadn’t in any way retreated itself from impact. It was Richard’s maturity that they relied upon to stabilize the effects and allow them to function in their professional fashion. In no way did either discount the reality nor seriousness of the Eber scroll. They saw that it needed safe-guarded from misuse.
“Do you know anyone at the museum?” Janie asked.,
‘No, not at Nicosia. But, at Paphos on the western shore, there is an associate professor. That is the reason for choosing Nicosia. If we get into trouble he will surely vouch for us. I’m easily jostled into revealing my secrets, so we shall just appear to be tourists to the copper island. So named, by the Mycenaean Greeks who traded for the ‘Kypros’ of the island,” he added. Richard was succeeding in
42
getting the upper hand on Janie’s knowledge, with the islands history, even if she dominated with the museum’s pedigree.
“Where will we dock?” Janie asked.
“At Kyrenia on the north side of the island,” Richard told her, and continued. “There is a museum there at the Kyrenia Castle Museum that houses the famous Kyrenia ship wreck. Nicosia has the best pottery though. Otherwise, Kyrenia is best known for its habor, you will see.”

As the yacht slowed into the small shallow harbor, Janie understood Kyrenia's reputation;  it had been transformed from an ancient shipping  port into a charming tourist town.  Once there were only warehouses.  Now, there are house hotels and restaurants bay side.  The rest of the city she found, spread back from the scene of small fishing boats and yachts, many like the one they had arrived in.
Finding, without difficulty a room for the night, its window overlooked the harbor. They watched, as the sea drank the last sun rays of the day, that hopelessly clung to the tops of boat swirl crests and the stoned harbor pillar that sentried the port.


                    43


They were on the mountain pass road to Nicocia the next morning. Their cab was about twenty minutes from Kyrenia when St. Filarion Castle appeared on the right. Set upon the rock crag mount, it had guarded the road since medieval times.  Shortly, atop the Kyrenian Mountain range they could see the Mesoria plain of Cyprus.  Sun dried, it spread south of Nicosia against the foot of the Troodos Mountain range.
Nicosia gained their attention though. The road that circled the old Nicosia walls of the business district lay ahead. Only briefly, from the summit had they seen the geometry of the, otherwise, sprawled city.
Their transportation came to a halt on Museum Street and the two clamored from the vehicle to face the fluted columned entrance to the Nicosia Museum. A pair of palm trees flanked the entrance. Open iron gates hung on limestone pillars and a  hedge covered iron fence barricaded the building. The roof was low pitched with red tiles atop a lime stone structure.  
It was Tuesday with a scorching Cyprus sun. Most city residents were "contemplating" during the noon-day heat. Janie and Richard entered the structure .  The cool of the building was most welcome as Janie and Richard consulted their museum catalog. There were few visitors today, to their relief.  However,  the guards didn't have as much to occupy them.  So, cautiously, they wandered through the buildings many  rooms.
In room four they stopped before a large variety of terra-cotta votive figures. One two meter tall 
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image dominated the display. It was centered against the wall. The smallest figure was about twenty centimeters. Neither spoke as they examined the plexiglass barrier.
Soon Janie said, “I’ll be right back,” excusing herself. Richard casually looked to see where the guards were.
Returning, she had tightened her clothing and hair, and handed Richard a pen and tablet from her purse. There was already the outline of a votive figure drawn on the pad. Richard rechecked the corridor as Janie slipped behind the plexiglass with the jar. She carefully stepped to the third tier between numerous smaller statues. Lifting the hat lid of a figure to the right of the large center image, she carefully let the jar down into the clay container and replaced the lid. Richard nodded to her and returned to his position before the display.
There was a guard coming. Janie was just a bit faster than even Richard had anticipated and was soon standing beside him, purse in hand. She loosed her hair a second before the guard appeared at the rooms doorway. Richard, completing the drawing by adding touches that resembled the figure where the jar was now stored, glanced at the guard and smiled diverting his awareness of Janies soul presence within the display. When the guard left, moments later, Janie finished returning the plexiglass panel to its original position. They made the rest of the tour short and found a ride to Famagusta, on the east coast of the island.
Richard suggested they go back to Tartus right away. Janie agreed, more than a little, relieved to be leaving the island of Cyprus, at least for a while. The lure of the jar still remained, and would invade her thoughts many times during her life.

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Stepping onto the pier, Richard turned to take Janies hand to guide her to the pier, but more importantly, to himself. An awakening of his souls desire for hers was growing into need. The times he held her were the most satisfying he had known. The unspoken interchange of those comforts were growing them together. Anxious to return to their apartment, Tartus was hardly a memories walk.




Richard looked up from the first scroll. Janie carried a cup of tea. 
"This one is pretty much a puzzle of names - - at least it gives a good definition of the area,”  he said. 
"What area?" Janie asked eagerly.
"You see here the name appears 'Ziri-Basana', that is, Bashan.“  Richard leaned back in his chair. 
"Where in Bashan?” she questioned.
"That’s the puzzle," and he sipped his tea. Then casually glancing to the scroll he set the cup down. "Something I've overlooked - this name is - ‘Hermon' - Mount Hermon. That changes things.”
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“Hermon was the western extreme of Bashan in Og's days, he was the King of Bashan. Our scroll author evidently followed the eastern route around the Sea of Galilee to Mount Hermon. There are numerous pagan temples about the Mount, Janie. By tonight we should have a definite location for the treasure. Ironic isn't it, Mount Tabor in Galilee was thought for a long time to be the Mount of Transfiguration of Jesus. But modern thought evidences Mount Hermon to be the correct location. More than a treasure mountain of gold and silver.  Rather, a trove of Godly thoughts as well. You might be thinking of how we can get there, while I finish here.”



Janie came from the city market next morning with her basket purse full, and a set of car keys. She placed the purse on a chair, and opened a Syrian road map. 
"We already have Syrian passports. Mount Hermon is just inside the Lebanon border. We can leave whenever you are ready." Janie commanded. 
“Will it be alright if I take my travel agent with me, she is quite attractive?" asked Richard. 
A little set back and a bit melted, Janie gave Richard a determined look and replied, "We'll take her along in that case."
"We had better rest today and leave before day-break. Where is our car?" Richard asked. 
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"Look out the window,"  Janie said. 
He went past the couch and looked down.  “Which one?"
“The blue one below you. We can drive to Safita.” She had the map spread on the dinning table. Richard looked over her shoulder, "We go south to the border, and then to Tall Kalakh, then to Hims, and south straight to Damascus. Finally, a short way to Qatana. Then we will have to see what we can do from there.  It’s about two hundred and seventy kilometers to Qatana, we should be there well before dark,"she told him.
"Yes, if the roads aren't blocked or blown away. What is the purpose of our trip if we get stopped?" Richard asked. 
"Until we get to Qatana we are just inquisitive archaeologists on our honey moon."  
"How clever!" he said. "And from Qatana?" 
She testily said, "Pilgrims on a religious journey to Mount Hermon," and produced new Bibles and a set each of some very conservative clothes and coats.”       
"Well, I don't know,” he kidded her, "I've never really considered marriage."
Janie managed to remain straight faced and ignored his prodding.
At day break they were nearing Safita, everything was loaded in the car, except the bed and couch. 
"Did the travel agent include meals with this trip?” Richard inquired.
"Oh, yes," and she produced, the peanut butter and crackers and soda to prove it too.  Richard frowned and silently hoped Qatana had a restaurant.
At the boarder where they turned east to Tall Kalakh, a sniper aiming for their gas tank put a couple 
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of holes through the back seat. They raced away on the mountain road to a safe distance.
“At least we have been left a road to drive on,” Richard tried to comfort Janie.

Finally,at Catana Richard and Janie inquired, and found an inn, where his long awaited meal was served him. White Mount Hermon was being consumed by the thickening darkness of evening, as they ate.  It was evident from their clothing, that they had changed into outside of town that, they would be following the mountain road to the lower peaks. The renowned three peaks had been visible when they arrived. One of them is named Abu-Nedy, meaning, Father of Dew they had learned.  Richard remembered from his reading Moses’ declaration in Deuteronomy 32:2, "my speech shall distill as the dew." They heard at the inn that, the mountain snow condenses upon it in the summer months. Janie asked Richard who was with Jesus as he was transformed.
He quietly answered, "Elijah and Moses."
Driving the next morning they came to a small farm. Here, they paid a farmer to keep the car while they made the rest of the trek on foot. All of their things were left in the car. Except for the scroll and interpretation hidden in Richards coat, and their Bibles.
Even in Qatana Janie's obvious youth was never questioned. The eastern culture has always recognized youthful brides. In fact, the LORD's mother was, with out a doubt, only twelve to fourteen 
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when she married Joseph. And Joseph, it is thought, was widowed with much older childrened than Mary. Not even at the farmers gate did any hint of ridicule appear. The two traveled on. They stopped when the buildings finally disappeared. Richard checked his interpretation.
“We are looking for a small Baal shrine. It is under the smaller peak of the mountain. I guess, this is the approach we will use. I don’t see another. The spot we are looking for is north of a sacred Canaanite site that has a large altar.”
Janie pointed to the peak. They set out for the base. Colder now, the two hastened in the morning air, thankful for the warming sun of a clear day. It was an hour before they reached a nearly indiscernible stone structure. Richard identified it as an altar, maybe the one they were searching for. They looked about for any other ancient structure. Only a monastery of newer construction could be seen. So, the two headed north, carefully remaining at the same elevation as the altar.
“How far, does it say?” Janie asked.
“Three furlongs – about a mile. Better keep an eye out for anyone from the monastery.” Richard cautioned.
They approached a huge boulder that appeared to be holding back the side of the mountain. They found a recess of only a couple of meters deep, beside the boulder. The presence of an altar stone nearly filled the space of the sand drifted floor.
Even in the cold, Richard could not help marveling in having found the site so easily.
“Under the center stone is a floor chamber.” Richard had seen dozens of these altar stones. Several had such storage spaces. To the priest class who built them it was common practice. And known to any Israelite who was tearing them down, as had Josiah the zealous King of Judah.
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Digging with gloved hands about the stone, the sands of the overhang soon revealed smooth floor level foundation stones. Richard tipped the vertical pillar on its side onto the top of the the new pile of sand. This revealed a small chamber. New problems raced through Richards head. Foremost of the difficulties being, how did the messenger know of this place as a depository. And, how did the jar become sealed with the treasure scroll inside. The scribe and messenger surely were not the same person.
The squared chamber was about twenty four centimeters square and revealed a square stone box of alabaster fifteen centimeters cube, Janie was quite accurately guessing. It was sealed. They placed a Bible and the treasure scroll in a heavy plastic bag in the chamber. Replacing the pillar they smoothed out the sand leaving foot prints as if they had examined the pillar.
Janie carried the box under her long coat. Richard carried the other Bible openly in both hands. They were worried that a monk from the monastery would inquire of them and they wanted to be prepared.
During the mile walk back to the Canaanite altar, Janie tried to balance the rather heavy treasure on the ends fingers,and against her abdomen. Rather than producing the effect of carrying a Bible under her coat, she appeared to be pregnant.

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                THE ARGOT CANTICLE
                         The Second Part

                 TRAVELERS OF LIGHT

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                        Interim

Even though the setting is in the far away galaxy in the formation of the Pleiades, this second part is particularly difficult to put into words. It records, in fiction of course, a people,  life, an era from earth’s history, of which almost no records exist. What there is, consists of a brief statement in the Biblical book Isaiah, alluding to the days during Lucifer's deliberate rebellion against God.  

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? Isaiah ( 14:12-17)

This suggests a well organized system of life, rules, subjugations, acquiring of wealth. Now, going back before that rebellion, let us imagine Lucifer, the son of the morning, (prior to his becoming Satan, the 
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adversary of God) His kingdom and citizens. This is a time well before Adam and Eve. These subjects of Lucifer’s are called in The Argot Canticle, the travelers of light. They leave the earth before this tragic event; having no conception of an adversary to God, sin, or a life without their Creator. There was only Lucifer the High Priest between God and them. There was no sacrifice for sin – – sin did not exist. There were no ten commandments to bring them to Christ, because of the lack of the disobedience.
These Luciferites were the creation of persons, a life form, we can hardly conceive. They were as Adam and Eve before the fall. God conscious souls, without sin to drag them from fellowship with their Creator. We, cannot with honesty, pretend to comprehend life without an adversary, sin, or even a denial of the reality of God. That any Luciferites now exist, escaped from God’s judgment, is doubtful. Therefore, if this novel seems a vain lend of reality, perhaps the shadowed truth will justify the devise. The characters Richard and Janie, partakers of the rebellious nature of Adam and Eve, are not so, as they interact with the inhabitants of the purple planet, Sehlah.

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                CHAPTER I


                    In Sheshaw

The Canaanite altar at which Richard and Janie had rested was a short distance behind them, when they stopped motionless at a sight for which none of Richard's maturity could have prepared them.  Like a night time shooting star, only in reverse,  it appeared small and became larger. An air born vessel loomed as if hung from some high and gigantic crane above the trail.  It was shaped like a deep rounded and inverted diner bowl which completely covered the horizon of their minds.  There was no noise, no thrust blasts.  It was just there.  Smaller crafts in formation, moved above it. There was a band of square,  round cornered windows of red, yellow, green, and blue lights. Alternatingly, these blinked from right to left about the gun metal surface.  The craft was round, and flat across the bottom with a row of round lights half the size of the colored ones spinning on the bottom.  These were about one third the diameter of the rest of the vessel. It so overwhelmed them that they immediately felt a coolness of the shade it produced.  It hovered closer to the path. 
 Janie and Richard stood paralyzed, as if caught stealing cookies from the jar.
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A  ramp dropped to the ground from the center of the circle of lights. Several beings descended to the earth.  They spoke a  moment between themselves.  Two of  them stepped forward and walked to within a few meters of the archaeologists and stopped. 
Richard moved closer and in front of  Janie, to shield her.
A million thoughts collided in Richard’s brain.  Why didn't someone from the monastery see what was happening and do something.  The crazy thought shot through his head.  But Richard settled his thinking when one of them spoke.    
To Richard's amazement he understood their speech.  It was the Phoenician dialect, closely resembling the more refined classical Hebrew.
The being, rather person, that spoke stood about Janies height of five feet. His head was a bit large for his slim limbed frame and his large eyes overshadowed the features of his mouth and nose. His skin appeared in texture similar to Richard’s, but grayer rather than reddish.  They had no hair.   The person that spoke to them was dressed neatly in a body suit of dark, blue. The other individuals dressed in lighter suits of like fashion. They wore dark gray  foot coverings.
Normal individuals would have run or fainted.  But, because Richard understood of their language, they continued to stand there.  Then inquisitiveness and natural openness, adaptability, and understanding of the superior, who obviously either needed them or was just plain curious of their existence, held them. 
"My name is Shawleesh, this is my Lieutenant and part of my people at the passageway."  Shawleesh exhibited the fine quality of expressing himself with only words, rather than mixed with gestures, Richard observed admiringly.  He asked,  "We request that you two, come with us.”
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Richard stammered,  “Ah  - - we were - - well...”
“Please, we mean you no insult or injury, and it will be more comfortable inside."  Shawleesh urged.
  Richard could see no weapons.  They were drawn somehow, to this strange figure.  He was polite, open and seemingly forth-right.  He looked at Janie.  She was a little dazed, but still in command and nodded her consent. 
Being unaccustomed to speaking the dialect, Richard slowly spoke in classical Hebrew as precisely as he could, to the obvious delight of Shawleesh.
"This is my wife Janie and my name is Richard Boukwais, we will join you inside," as Richard placed his arm around Janie, as much to hold on to reality, as to hold her together.  
Following the others into the vessel the ramp drew up to floor level and closed. Richard knew of the so called alien abductions and their confusing accounts.  But this was rather, like being invited to the new neighbors house warming. The room they stood in had six sides. From here they were shown into an adjacent room where they removed their coats. A female person took their garments and left.  Janie would not release the alabaster box though, and so stood holding it in her arms. Richard held his Bible. They looked about them trying to find some fixture that would tell them that this is a light or a heater or air conditioner.  None were visible. The light in the two rooms they had been in so far, radiated from the ceiling, walls, and floor.  The six sided rooms were adequately heated, somehow.  The color of the room was a pleasing yellow. Doors appeared when a dark button on the wall was pushed.   From the button  radiated a vertically rectangular opening, which closed after passage.
Shawleesh had not left his guests. He invited them into another six sided room that was obviously 
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his office. He offered them seats with him at a table of six sides. Janie noted in the table surface an instrument. The keyboard looked much like the writing on the scrolls. She sat with the box on her lap. Richard placed his Bible on the table in front of him.
Shawlesh began. “So as not to alarm you, should you look outside we are no longer on the earth. We are behind the earth’s moon out of the way of any interference. “We will be joined in a moment by my wife and the second in command of our craft, Joawb.” That moment was in fact, that instant, as the two entered and seated themselves.
“This is Joawb, Richard and Janie, and my wife Peninah,” said Shawleesh.
Joawb now, took charge of the conversation. “Since you have willingly joined us we are at the disadvantage. We first, must make account of ourselves. We are from the constellation in your sky called Keemaw – – your Greek culture called them the Pleiades. Our star cluster is the large galaxy near the center. We named our planet Sehlah from its lofty position in the skies. It was not always the home of the people of Lucifer though. Richard could not help gasping at their identity. Joawb looked to Richard and continued, elaborating. What occured was early in the reign of Lucifer, our King on this planet Earth, when he was not fully mature in his knowledge of the Creator. He sent our ancestors to seek the throne of the Living God among the stars of heaven. We have returned to Earth, at intervals, to find land masses much disarrayed and living forms, such as yourself, identifiable as being from the same creator. The throne of Lucifer, however, is not in place anywhere that we have found. In your history we have visited the Greeks. They knew nothing to help us, even denying that we ever inquired of them or even that we exist. So, we very discreetly have inquired no more, but studied your species for clues to help us. You see our body form and functions have adapted through our generations to our planet Sehlah’s environment. Today, we
58
perceive that you can help with our dilemma. We have been careful to stay away from your world leaders, because of the great wars they make. We became afraid after one of your wars. An accident on one of our fleet ships caused us to loose five of our members in a crash in the dry region of your country. Richard nodded recognition of the incident at Roswell, New Mexico in 1946. Can you help us Richard?” asked Joawb.
After a long pause, during which Richard recomposed himself, he said. “Janie and I are schooled archaeologists, that is, studiers of things of the past. In this book on the table are records of the words of the Creator, of all that the Earth ever held. There are recorded here some things concerning Lucifer. Evidently, as I understand you, your ancestors left the earth to travel the stars and were away for a very long time.”
“Yes,” responded Joawb, “Our vessel lay damaged on Sehlah for a very long time, until repairs were effected.”
Richard continued. “During this time Lucifer did mature in his knowledge of God. You will find in this book, written many centuries ago, that he cast away his faith in the living God. His heart became lifted-up and he attempted to ascend the Throne of the Most High.”
Shawleesh and Joawb sadly looked to one another, as Richard continued. “God cast him to the earth and his body was destroyed. Further, in death he refused to yield to God, his soul and spirit. He exists as the adversary of the Living God. His name now, is that meaning, adversary or Satan. After that time of his death, God destroyed that first creation of whom are your ancestors, for many patterned him. Following that time, the LORD God made a new earth and created new beings for his fellowship. We are called Adam, made of the earth. After a time and in a place of great blessing Adam fell from favor with the
59
Creator having been tempted by Satan. Because Adam disobeyed God, he became unable to help himself to regain that grace, and God cast him from the place of blessing, promising to save him from his sin and restore his blessings.
In a time after the Greek culture, God sent His Savior Son the LORD Jesus the Messiah. This is the person that God promised Adam at our beginning. Some of Adams descendants rejected Jesus as their King and killed him. But, he rose from the dead and has returned for a time to the Creator, having accomplished what Lucifer was unable to do. That is, He raised His body from the dead. We await the LORD’s return to the earth when He takes his rightful place as its King, in full favor with God.”
The three individuals from Sehlah sat stunned for some time, before returning their attentions to their guests. “We would like to speak to you more about this at a later time.” Shawleesh said, and continued. “For now, you look tired and must need rest. You will be shown to your room. We are grateful for your words, thank you. May we also examine this book of yours, while you sleep?”
“Yes, replied Richard. “You may keep that Bible, I have more.” He helped Janie to her feet. She still held the alabaster box firmly. They were led to their room by Shawleeshe’s wife. She and Janie were immediately drawn to one another in a female understanding of mutual trust, although unable to communicate verbally.
Inside and alone Richard and Janie embraced. He explained to her the conversation they had just left, adding, “It is evident we are not going to be poked, punched or operated on.” Janie leaned on her husband and they embraced and kissed. Wearied they slept in the comfortable wall bed’s of their room. Janie put the box between her and the wall and tried to sleep. Richard dozed with many inquiries in his mind, that he wanted to make of their hosts. Most of all, he was still amazed at their identity.
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They were met outside their room when Richard himself pressed the button on the door. Shawleesh took them to a room where by just passing through, their bodies and clothing were thoroughly cleaned. No water. No heat. No soap, and not so much as a hair out of place. The rest room was of similar principle.
After as they walked Shawleesh commented, “Your Bible is very interesting.” Startled, Richard blurted, “You have it translated already?”
From that moment Shawleesh conversed in English. “Very much so, we are very appreciative.”
“You are welcome.” Richard replied stunned by another “miracle.”
“Would you care to try some Sehlah food before we talk again?” offered Shawleesh.
They looked at one another, both nodded. Shortly, Peninah arrived, also speaking English. Her and Janie wandered away talking, as Richard and Shawleesh seated themselves at a wall table in the large hexagonal room.
”I have ordered for you and Janie, it will be several moments,” Shawleesh told him. There were not any waiters. There were, however, some buttons on the wall above the table, which Richard perceived Shawleesh had pushed as he was looking about the room. Presently, Janie and Peninah returned and seated themselves. From the wall four trays of food and drink emerged onto the table.
Nibbling, they tested foods that were tasty and nourishing – – most of it. The thick orange colored drink was bitter but satisfying.
Richard could no longer hold back his questions and said. “Shawleesh, explain to me how you travel between stars, so many light years apart in such a short length of time? A life time isn’t long enough to get to Sehlah, much less return.”
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“For many generations we have refined the principle which with we left earth. First you must understand that all things are either light or a resultant of light. Time is a resultant of light, as is gravity. If light, which is particles, did not move there would be no time. The light which we perceive with our eyes naturally has a white spectrum of visible and invisible wave lengths, which limits our bodies existence. Also, there is the ternary spectrum. This spectrum is not discernible to us mortals, not being made up of particles. Due to its lack of particles, time does not occur as a resultant. In this ternary spectrum there is neither yesterday or tomorrow, only the present exists. This is not a principle though, it is an energy. Therefore, when the two spectrums are combined, not only is a hybrid energy produced, but a time balance occurs, so that the beginning is practically the same as the destination. There is some slack time that happens in this process when it is applied to travel,” Shawleesh explained.
“Are there many colors of light in the ternary spectrum?,” Richard interjected. “Yes, similar to the white spectrum.” answered Shawleesh.
”Then this ship is not powered by nuclear energy?” Richard questioned.
“Let me show you the refraction engines,” said Shawleesh as they left the dinning hall. They stepped into a room which took them to a different level of the vessel, in a rising circular motion. Peninah handed Richard and Janie eye coverings. At Shawleesh’s touch a large door opened.
“You will be protected from the white light and enabled to see the ternary refraction with the eye coverings. My eyes already have protectors.” Shawleesh said,stepping through the door. “On the right you see the white refraction engines, on the left the ternary refraction engines. Ahead of you is the octroon engine, where particle energy and viable energy are mixed.”
Richard stood motionless for a minute looking a the two gold engines and the silver octroon
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engine. They looked through the windows of both engines, noting beautiful refractions in both. There was no window for the octroon engine and he looked to Shawleesh for the answer. “Our eyes can not tolerate the mixing.”
“Is the basis for the ternary engine…” Richard began.
“Stones,” answered Shawleesh, “twelve for each spectrum engine and the octroon engine uses a series of onyx stones.”
Leaving the refraction room Richard inquired further. “What about gravity, how do you overcome it?”
“As I said earlier gravity is a resultant like time and is handled in a similar way.” They entered another room. A much larger copper engine dominated the room. This inverter engine negates the effects of gravity upon our vessel and us. It also forms the gravitation force for our ship, so that we don’t float about. The four engines comprise almost half of the ships weight.
Back in Shawleesh’s office Janie expressed her wish to return. She was interested in the things she had seen and heard, and in Peninah’s friendship especially, however, she had practically lost control and Richard was her show.
Richard reached her hand and looked into her eyes. Pleading for what, she could not tell, until he turned to Joawb and asked, “Would it be possible to view your planet Sehlah before we disembark?” He looked to Janie again, who had brightened a little at the suggestion.
Shawleesh and Joawb both agreed. “There are a couple of maintenances being effected. As soon as they are completed we will bring you there, the LORD willing,” said Joawb. Richard was startled, his talk had won readied hearts to the LORD Jesus Christ.
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Later, Shawleesh led them to the  upper windows to view the stars. Wthout the atmosphere of earth to distort the magnitude and colors, it was magnificent. 
“We shall begin for Sehlah very soon.  I would like for you to visit our library.”  And Shawleesh led them to a room, not quite as large as the dinning room, that was their library. There, computer like screen beside screen revealed centuries of life on another planet with their strange names and numbers. Quite a few of the Sehlah family, some rather ancient, others quite young searched through and enjoyed words.  Richard and Janie were invited to browse, and were shown how to use the monitors.  They spent three short days with Richard reading the more important things outloud for Janie.  
On the evening of the third earth day they heard Shawleesh’s voice.“Come, let's return to the windows of the heavens and you may see the our planet Sehlah.”  At a nearby station Shawleesh gave the orders that presently brought them close to a purple sphere.  It obviously had a denser atmosphere than Earth, Richard noted, as the craft hovered. Then zooming closer, cities appeared along the edges of reddish seas with some scattered inland. For some time the travelers viewed and examined their hosts planet from the ported windows. Presently, Shawleesh was telling them that they must return to earth. 


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Six Earth days had passed without Richard and Janie noticing. The conversations closed and  they were being ushered to where their coats were left upon boarding. Janies alabaster box was there.  Peninah had seen to it.  They stood facing the friends who had brought them into their lives and shown them things that balked every train of conventional thought. Richard could think of numerous questions, and feel the pressure of inquiry that his mind had not yet fully awakened.            
Reluctantly, they reconciled themselves to their return.  After putting on their coats, Joawb handed Richard a flat gray object, book size and shape.  Joawb instructed him,  with reassurance, that they could be communicated with through the instrument.
The ramp opened and lowered to the ground along the same path and spot where they had encountered the vessel. Richard and Janie stood on the trail facing the craft, Shesha.   They watched as it flashed into the blue of the sky.
Janie, first put them into motion. "Richard, we can't stand here any longer,  I'm beginning to freeze.”
”Yes, we must return to the car,”  Richard confirmed.  
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Some time later, they took leave of the farmers stead and Janie drove.
"Tell me that didn't happen," she said, a little more comfortable inside the automobile.
Richard looked at the book object he held in his hands. "I'm afraid I can’t. This rather puts that whole matter to rest.”  They both knew their experience in Eber’s scroll and the encounter with the people from Sehlah, to be things that only they could talk about.  A small audience might be found for the space people.  However, no one would listen to, nor believe the journey through the scroll.  Besides they had made friends that they wanted to enjoy, alone. 
"What time is it now,"  Richard asked.  
“Seven in the evening," - - she glanced at the alarm digital she had placed on the dash  before going to the altar.  Janie slammed on the brakes and soon brought the small car to a halt. 
"Richard it was the fourth when we climbed to the altar,  it’s the tenth - - that's six days ago. Richard!"  Janie blurted. 
Stunned momentarily he finally answered. "The ternary engines Shawleesh spoke of when he talked about the light, produce a slack time - - remember him saying amounting to three days to Sehlah?." 
Silently the two, continued on, and into the night, until they approached Qatana.  
“Shall we spend the night in Qatana, Janie.”  Richard asked.    
“No,"  She said thoughtfully.  "Let's drive on to Damascus and we can catch a flight to New York and stay at my mothers for a while.”  Richard knew she needed the company of another female and he was beginning to need some rest.  He agreed.
"How will we board with the alabaster box?"  she asked.   
"Good question!  Definitely in your purse!”
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'What about the metal detectors?"  Janie inquired. 
"I don't know.” Richard conceded.






Richard was passing through inspection with their hand bags, and was being checked. Janies purse still hung on her shoulder, she stood back as the inspector examined Richard.
“Computer?"  the inspector asked Richard. “What make is this - -  haven't seen one like it before,” as he turned it in examination. 
“It's a - - Richard stammered a bit, “ - - a Sehlah." 
"Haven't heard of them, must be new,"  the customs officer commented.   
“Yea,"  glancing about for Janie, he saw she was standing well to the other side of the detector - - she had slipped around it.  Richard soon joined her.  But, he passed through the detector.   

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                               Chapter II



                         Opened

In the horizon of shadowed skyscrapers, Janie and Richard embraced with thoughts of a purple planet. Janie's mother was away for the evening. Their reflections were entwined, though unspoken.  It was a time to talk, a time to love, a time to plan after weeks of visiting and resting.
“We need to be alone again," Janie began as they retreated to the living room to sit facing one another. "I want to open the alabaster box. And we need to finish the record of our trip with Shawleesh, Joawb and Pininah,”  she concluded.
"It would be interesting to read some of the historical writings from Sehlah, wouldn't it,”  mused Richard. 
"Yes, but first things first,”  Janie cautioned.
“Well, my things are at the storage building in Baltimore.  Where shall we live?" He asked.
"This might be over cautious - - away from New York -- Baltimore might be the best, temporarily," Janie said.  "I could tell Mom in the morning and we can leave together, first thing Monday.

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 The apartment was in sight of the storage buildings where Richard had placed his belongings before going to Tartus, Syria.  He had let Janie make her choices.  If he had let it be known, he was pleased not to be bothered by the chore. 
He brought his books and a drawer of his tools to their study. Placing himself at a card table Richard reviewed the photo's of the treasure scroll. He wondered about the portion referring to there being more scrolls at the Baal shrine, where they had found the alabaster box. Unless the chamber had a false bottom there could have been no other spot to conceal scroll jars.   No matter at present, though, he thought.  Janie entered with the stone box placing it opposite him and seated herself.
"Richard, may  I open this?  You can coach me."  she asked.  
“Sure Janie, you earned the privilege, lugging all that way.  Let me get some things."  He replied. 
While he was gone, Janie prepared the laptop computer for Richard to record the box’s contents, then waited for him to return.  The stone box before her was polished smooth.  Only a slim line about its top revealed the existence of a lid. A dark substance seemed to protrude from that seam.  Closer examination revealed it smoothly flush. The stone had bands of stacked colors of browns and grays and creamy white as if pressed one upon the other. The lid, she could see had been cut from the same piece.    
As Richard entered,  "The stone is Egyptian marble without a doubt.  Gypsum alabaster is from 
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England or Italy, not a very likely trade commodity to reach Jerusalem where this was sealed about 600 BC.”
Janie glanced to inquire about the lid. Richard had brought her hair dryer,a brush, some dental tools, and a fine jewelers saw. “The lid probably has a rim that sets down into the opening. Here, carefully warm the side, of the seam with the dryer and see if the seal will loosen.”
Having tried the dental pick to test the material in the seam, which was crystalline, she applied the dryer. Moments later it was clear that she would have to saw the seam. Richard handed her the saw. “Begin at the corners and saw the corner inward. When you detect stone dust, stop, and do the next corner. After you cut the four corners, with the box on its side, cut the remainder of the seam between the corners. Now, place it on this pillow and I’ll hold it, corner up for you.”
After an hour of careful sawing. Richard handed her the hair dryer. She warmed the top edges of the lid, and then, the freshly sawn seams. She slid through the saw cut of one side with a thin scalpel.
“Test all around to see if one side will lift easier than another. Remember, try to lift it as evenly as possible, so you don’t to break the lid.” Richard continued to warm the sides of the box as Janie began testy prying. After considerable time the lid began to lift from its place. After more than twenty five centuries, it was free. Janie grasp it with a small towel, and laid it inside up on the table, on the towel. Again a fragrance filled the room, as it had from the Eber scroll jar.
A cloth of yellowed coarse linen was folded over the jars contents. “Janie, place another towel over the box and invert the boxes contents onto your hand, and remove the box.” Richard instructed. This done, Richard produced a bread board and white kitchen towel which he traded her for the box. “Now, set the board on the contents and invert it back onto the table. “Is it heavy?” Richard asked.
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“Yes,” Janie replied. “More coins, perhaps.”
They sat opposite one another, the wrapped treasure between them. Richard placed the box on the towel beside the lid.
“We will take a moment to record the opening,” Janie announced as she began typing into her computer. Richard it seemed was more interested in the contents of the linen. Admiring her youthful patience, Richard rose and brought a floor lamp for a better light on the table.
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                     Chapter III



                Within a Flower     

Richard finished with the photographs as Janie pushed her computer to the side. The cloth unfolded stiffly,  opening somewhat like the petals of a very large flower.  Revealed, was another leather pouch, and to their surprise a bundle of small scrolls. Janie carefully laid the roll in Richard's hand, and lifted the bag away from the linen, exposing the lump of spices. She set it aside and refolded the cloth replacing it to the box and lightly reset the top.
The bag was still supple enough to remove its cord. Janie rolled the contents onto a clean white towel.  Small boulders of gold and silver soon formed a peak in the center and tumbled to rest.
No coins, no jewelry,  just a priest's personal treasure - - Jeremiah's, Baruch's, or some confederate of theirs in the priestly line from the last days of Solomon's Temple. Perhaps, the scrolls would tell them.
The rolled bundle was ten centimeters high in a composite roll six centimeters in diameter. A writing pen could not be inserted through the center.  Yellowed leathers were yet pliable.  However, Richard could see these were not nearly the age of the Eber scroll.  They were without a doubt, copies 
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made to fit the box. Usually scrolls would be placed in biers with the deceased. These were scrolls or pages of favored holy writings of some individual. What cherished words could these hold that so moved a soul to prepare them in this manner? Richard returned his attention to the lumps of gold and silver and they began counting into two piles.
Richard said, “This we’ll be able to convert. These should provide for you for the rest of your life, invested wisely.”
Janie shot a calculated stare into his eyes and replied, “We!” Gathering the lumps together she replaced them to the bag and into the box. She made some final notations.
Richard, sat motionless for a moment, looking admiringly at his wife. He placed the alabaster box on a shelf along with the tools to clear the table. “It is remarkable,” he commented, ”how that the spices have preserved the scrolls in both the jar and the alabaster box. The scrolls are not deteriorated and are pliable enough to open – – remarkable.”
Janie moved her seat to beside Richard. It was clear if there was to be another journey she would be part of it. She noticed the leather scrolls had a light almost joyous tone to them, as she had handed them to Richard. The irresistible pulling of the Argot Canticle of Eber was not in these small scrolls, yet, she was eager to explore them.
Richard began unrolling the first scroll. It hardly made one turn on the roll and became free in his hand. He held it open and Janie photographed the ancient writing and seated herself again to listen to the words. She leaned close as Richard of his own understanding, described a room of Solomon’s Temple. The beams were of the floor and ceiling were cedar, hand hewn. The cedar paneled walls and fir floor boards were all hand sawn. Pinched clay bowls of olive oil, lighted tables where priest scribes sat
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bowed over parchments, milking deep black ink into letters of the Holy words of God. The words had been given to Moses, King David, Solomon, priests and prophets and humble shepherds like Amos, by inspiration of the Holy Provider of Israel’s glories. When these scrolls had been copied though, the room had been stripped of its gold covering, and was worn and in disrepair. It was a fitting resemblance of Judah, the final remnant of God’s nation Israel. Now, Judah itself was about to be swept away into captivity by God’s wrath.
These scribes sat, no doubt, in a very reclusive and well guarded room.
The wicked hearts of faithless priests, were ancestral shadows of the men whose faith had built the nation, to honor the God of Israel. They, in wait, lurked to cut scrolls to pieces and burn them. Those were the haters, whose fathers once dedicated to the burnt altar in God’s way. Like hardened hearts throughout the nation they had brought about the decline. Jerusalem was closed up, and the siege engines were in place about the walls. Foreign troops stood in wait. The city was starving. The last fragment of the kingdom that once honored the LORD God of Israel was about to fall. It was 586 B.C. Richard began to read the marks of a faithful remnant from that period, on the scroll in front of him:

Praise the LORD, all ye nations:
praise him, all ye people.
For his merciful kindness is great
toward us: and the truth of the LORD
endureth for ever.
Praise ye the LORD.
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Quietly, Richard leafed through his Bible finally stopping at Psalm 117. “Only three verses, Janie,” he showed her the page. He unrolled the next short scroll a turn longer than the first and began reading:

I was the smallest of my brothers
and a child of my father’s house,
I was tending my father’s flocks;
and I discovered a lion and a wolf
and I killed and rent them.
My hands made instruments,
and my fingers fashioned lyres.
And who will declare my Lord;
that is the Lord; that is my God?
He sent his angel;
and removed me from the sheep of my father;
and anointed me with the ointment of his anointing.
My brothers were handsome and majestic;
but the Lord did not choose them.
Then I saw a Philistine
who was uttering taunts from the ranks of the enemy.
I went out to attack the Philistine,
and he cursed me by his idols.
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But after I unsheathed his sword, I cut off his head;
and I removed the shame from the sons of Israel.

"This is not a Bible Psalm, but is definitely about King David, when he was young and his fight with Goliath."  Richard placed it beside the first and it rerolled itself to a cylinder.
"Another Psalm --no-- many Psalms," as the roll kept lengthening in Richards hand. Finally, he raised his head declaring it the Psalms of Ascent 120 through 134. "These when sung, were each a step up from the women's court of the temple into the men’s court level, facing westward with the great Altar in sight." He patiently read for Janie's benefit.
The next scroll he recognized as Psalm 81. "This I suspect, being sung, brings us through the men's court into the Levite court.”   He thought outloud now,  “Psalm 117 must be a comprehensive of the Temple scene with David's Psalm sung through the Court of the Gentiles leading into the women's Court. The women were Israelites of course."
The following scroll he rejoiced in as Psalm 90, the Prayer of Moses. Having read this outloud Richard announced,  “They sang this psalm upon entrance into the Priest’s Court.  The worshiping Israelites would then have been facing the Great Altar in front of the Temple. This was where a person's sins were taken from him, and he was deemed acceptable in the LORD's sight," Richard explained to her.
Richard unrolled the final scroll - - Psalm 150, a Priest's Song of Praise sung at the Altar, The Hallelujah. He read the Psalm.  They sat beck in their chairs, "Quite different from the Eber scroll,"  Janie said.  They relaxed in comforting thoughts of the living God, in the faith that recognizes no century.

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                     CHAPTER IV



                        A Communication

Richard and Janie had returned from New York. In a brief case was the converted gold and silver which they deposited until they established an  investment system. Quickly, detectives of history were learning business technologies. The coins from Tartus were placed with its empty bag and linen wrapping in the alabaster which they placed in a safety deposit box in a New York bank, under Janies maiden name. The coins were a problem Richard would deal with in the future. They held these in reserve in case of investment disasters. Richard had formally resigned his job and would have the comfort of a pensioned income. They made plans for a home, while the process was taking place.  They found a quiet, nearly remote area, where they could live as economically as possible. The place was on a winding gravel road led by a flowing stream in southeastern Ohio. The high, close hills that squeezed the stream, only let the sunrise disperse the shade of the friendly oaks, in the mid-morning. The traffic was minimal, only one very private family two miles back the road.
Janie had chosen the modest sized farm house that snugged the hill, at first sight.  Within two weeks they were moved with new furniture. Very nearly before the furniture arrived she had installed a 
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personal computer connected to the worldwide web for Richard. He wouldn’t need the use of a research library, and she wouldn’t loose him for a day at a time.
In the following days, Janie watched him, as the arranging of the furniture and final move of his belongings into the study were completed. He didn’t immediately begin to study though. He wandered the house. He looked from the windows. Finally, he settled himself in a corner of the study before his ancient stack of National Geographic magazines. She watched, as he seldom stopped to read the articles, as if the pictures alone were reviving some unseen life. That life of interest weaned him, a couple of days later, to his table. There he sat in a huge, solid, high back chair, he had hidden in storage. Then, he began searching his books at some kind of prompting from the Bible at his right.
The unmentioned communicator he had carefully placement in front of him on the table. It was the day when he sat staring at it, that Janie joined him at the table. Richard looked to her, “It has been nearly six months since we were with them. I have thought of trying to contact them.
“Perhaps they are not close enough,” offered Janie.
“Shawleesh said nothing of distance. Maybe you are right, we should wait.” They looked together to the black box with silvered edges and perforations. A single black button on the one side formed its only mechanical function. Although, there were graphed letters, twenty-two in all, marked on the one face side. It did not have a screen like a computer. Richard assumed it was for voice communications, only.
They rose to amble onto the back porch and sat in the swing. The trees were spring fresh after the nights rain. “You will need some flowers won’t you?, Perhaps we should go into town and get what you need. I think the nursery on the other side of the river would be good.

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Richard looked at  riding mowers, while Janie got the flowers.  "What do you think of this one," he asked as she approached, " 
"Well, I don't think you will need one, I hired the neighbor down by the river to mow our yard for us - - his equipment."  Janie told him.
Not a little surprised, Richard meekly followed her to the car, helping her load a couple of trays of marigolds and iris bulbs.


Chased off from her tilling the spots where she was planting, Richard retreated to the study. It had been furnished around both of their needs.  He glanced from the large table to the computer, and was moving toward it.  A  long single sound, similar to a phone ring, came from the communicator.  Immediately, he shouted for Janie. He stood waiting for another sound. Instead, a holographic image appeared.  There were two figures about fifty centimeters tall standing on top of the communicator.  
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The one spoke, "Richard how good of you to be at reception.  We greet you in the wisdom of our God and LORD." It was Shawleesh and Joawb. 
Janie arrived beside Richard shocked at the scene, she stood silent. 
"Richard, they went on, if you will press the black button on the Kawraw and speak your name, our planet Sehlah's name, and my name,we shall have an image of you before us." 
This done, the conversation continued.  Richard asked, ”Are you on Sehlah?" 
“Yes.”  Shawleesh replied.
Richard looked to a surprised Janie. 
“We are pleased that you have called us, is there anything we can do for you?”  Richard asked.
 “We have called to ask of you of a  landing site near your location, should we wish to see you in person.”  Shawleesh said.
"Janie and I are at our home,and yes, on top of the hill back of the house, north a few hundred meters, is a spot.”   Richard related.
“Good, by this call we have your location on your globe."  Shawleesh said. 
“May we ask of you something?" Richard edgedly inquired. 
“If we are able.”  Shawleesh offered.
"When you return, would it be possible to have your peoples history from Sehlah for us to read.”  Richard asked.
 They could see Joawb, receive a message.  The two figures consulted, begging to excuse themselves as if distracted, and disappeared from sight. 

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                   CHAPTER V



                      The Book

Janie and Richard stood frozen to the spot.  They thought the communication ended.  However, in place of the two figures appeared a hologram of a nearly square shallow box. The door was fitted with beautiful stones and soon opened.  Inside was a scroll on a single spindle which very slowly began unrolling. 
"It appears that we will not be waiting for their return, to receive my request."  Richard commented. 
"I guess not."  Janie sustained. They seated themselves.    
“Janie as I read will you record  into our computer?” 
“How about if we set the computer camera, too?”  She asked.
“Good idea,”  said Richard, and he began to read:



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            THE GENTLE SONS OF LUCIFER
            (A History of the Planet Sehlah)

The beginning of the messengers of Lucifer, to the throne of the High and Lofty God. In the year two hundred of the reign of the Son of the Morning. Lucifer, the Perfection of Beauty, wisdom and understanding being with him, upon the throne of all the earth.  From his excellency, we received decree, that we should go forth in the only celestial vessel, Sheshaw.  In purpose, to approach for him the Holy Throne of the living God, to make request for favor. 
In search, we departed for the star formations --Arcturus, Orion, Pleiades and if necessary the Chambers of the South.
All preparations were made for one hundred Princes from the many realms of the Earth’s Kingdom. Their families, wives and children, accompanied.  The first Shawleesh (the Great)  gave command that no weapons were to depart with them.  He was a gentle soul above many, whose ways we follow this day on the planet Sehlah. 
    From the day, that we left the earth, we became travelers of light. Through Arcturus and Orion we searched.  We feared only, that should we not find the Throne of Heaven at the Pleiades, and our search would take us to the Chambers of the South.  We all feared the Chambers, that return from them would be impossible, seeing it is such a great marvel of God’s hand. 
    However, on approach to the Pleiades the magnificent vessel Sheshaw was forced to crash, obtaining much damage on the planet we have called Sehlah.  The great Shawleesh seeing 
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the extent of damage determined we should make the planet our home for the eighty souls who survived. We had only two surveillance vehicles in tack. These we used to explore, and to determine the resources, and provide for the extensive repairs.
Now, the environment was much hostile for breathing, but through the lifetime of the great Shawleesh we altered the atmosphere. And through the self sustaining resources of Sheshaw propagated a number of vegetations in the soil of Sehlah. These plants became different than they were on the earth. The bluish soil and the red waters of the planet combined changing the fruit bearing. And so the consumption of these plants carried the combined substances to our bodies until our bodies too,adapted to our new enviroment.
Near the end of the great Shawleesh a life, for he died,(as did all of that generation), he commanded that we should choose and maintain the office of one to be head of our people. He was to be subject only to the great God of creation and Lucifer our king. He was to be called the Iscar, the gentle one. This, the great Shawleesh felt would disperse confusion and repairs to the vessel would not be deterred. He was not to be disobeyed. We had no means of communication with Earth as the Kawraw’s were not invented until the third generation.
Our bodies remained durable in some cases to the one thousandth year. We grew and multiplied and established cities, accomplishing significant engineering. The very complicated metal of our vessel Sheshaw was duplicated. When the great Shawleesh had died, the first Iscar, with the council of advisors and engineers, decided to extensively improve the celestial vessel, so that it would travel, on excelerated, inverted time light.
We have patterned ourselves after our first Iscar who was raised by the great Shawleesh.
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With a fervor that has kept us from the violence that we have found on earth, we have channeled our energies into enlightenment from the living God, and the development of our needs and conveniences.
The scriptures are compiled from the words of our King Lucifer as he received them from God. Some are words kept in our memories, others since we have inhabited Sehlah. Much to the delight of our people, inspiration sprang up in certain of us. These became our Nawbee’s, from whom we receive the words of God. Our living God cannot be contained to one spot in his creation, but looks to its extremities to care for His creatures.
Only mineral forms existed on the planet. Lacking are animals of any sort. This has never been resolved. The council has considered introducing them from earth in these late generations, but the complications involved have prevented us. Our diet is of the herbs and vegetables and fruits brought with us. Also, some insects were brought, to pollinate our on board plant supplies. These we have carefully and successfully grown on the planet. Sehlah is without any moons. The rotation about our star is approximately the same as the earth. Sehlah’s axis is not tilted as the Earth’s. This gives us a uniform year of one season. The next planet closer to our star has an elliptical orbit and so once a year its mild influence, as it swings close, causes gravity fluctuations to give our planet necessary influences.
It was in the Sehlah year four thousand five hundred and sixty seven. We had repaired our vessel, certain were chosen to return to the Earth and seek out our King, Lucifer, servant of the High God. Much to our amazement they found creatures living in caves and crude huts

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throughout the earth. The creatures constantly hunted beasts and fought among themselves and
their neighbors. Our expedition returned with this deplorable scene in their memories to relate to
us. They further told us, that land masses had changed and great ice fields covered much of the planet.
It had been then the alternative plan of the First Iscar to map the Seal of the Stars, that is, the extremities of the universe. With the improvements in Sheshaw this became possible, and at this time the Shawleesh of Sheshaw charts the Seal. We know from reaching the Seal, that beyond, it is the beautiful endless vastness of the embrace that shrouded the presence of God before the creation. We have found that entrance to this, is accessible only through the Chambers of the South. We have approached, but have never attempted to egress, having received no such permission from our Nawbee’s. We do know that the Seal is impossible to penetrate. Our knowledge of its pulchritude and enraptitude beyond the seal was noted on the fifty third venture, when our explorers looked through the Chambers of the South.
On a return to the earth, three thousand years after the first visit the vessel Captain Shawleesh found on a small island, on one of the lesser seas, a people of certain refinement calling themselves Minoans. But, they would not receive us. Again two thousand years later in like form we visited a people called the Greeks. Again unreceived, we found only that they lived in luxury and wanton diverse pleasures. During a visit nearly three thousand years after that, an accident on board one of our explorer crafts caused the loss onto the earth of five of our people.
We wait again to visit the home of our ancestors, hoping to discover the throne of Lucifer our King.
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Our daily life is retained much as it was on earth in the days before the vessel Sheshaw left. We have wives and families and homes. Our enterprises include the manufacture of the metal Stalbesil, with which we build nearly everything, including the celestial vessels. We are employed now in the construction of several vessels like Sheshaw. With these we desire to hasten the completion of the mapping of the Seal of the Stars.
The surface of the land masses are covered with a layer of blue mineral. The iron and mineral content of the water causes it to be unpotable and red in appearance. When we added nitrogen and other gases to the extant carbon dioxide, argon and oxygen, into the atmosphere, we were able to discard our breathing apparatus. Then the haze of atmosphere caused Sehlah to take on the purple color as it is this day. The winds, of course, were ferocious throughout the first one thousand years, so that progress at any project was minimal. Yet, we are provided with high mineral resources that have not been depleted significantly.
The reproductive cycle of our bodies much slowed, so that, child bearing requires a full eighteen months and conception is not frequent. We are certain this also to due to the influence of the planet. Our cities which are many and large, look to the Iscar in the Capital City of Asheer, the city of peace, for spiritual comforts and religious guidance. From the Nawbee at Iscar’s side, the advisors to each city are provided with wisdom and understanding to guide the people. Our planets population is about two and a half billion.
With the singular mission set before us, and the value of the pleasant attitude of gentleness, taught from our youth, very little rebellion takes place. There are no enemies to our system or culture unless we bring them here. That could only be from earth, as it is the only planet,
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“created to be inhabited,” in the universe. As the Holy words of the inspired first Nawbee taught, “The earth was created to be inhabited and the stars to give light upon its surface.” The people of Sehlah live as God gave them power and commandment, as it was before we left the earth and the rule of Lucifer our King.

Sehlah’s Iscar’s, their reigns from the time of the Great Shawleesh:

The Great Shawleesh, of the mission from the earth in the celestial vessel Sheshaw and its demise upon Sehlah. His reign: nine hundred and sixty seven years. He being two hundred years old when Sheshaw left earth.

The first Iscar, the righteous Anawvaw, who accomplished making the planet Sehlah our home and proposed the our mission to map the Seal of the Stars. His reign: eight hundred and seventy years.

The second Iscar, Tola, In his days the atmosphere became suitable to breathe without breathing apparatuses. His reign: one thousand and five years.

The third Iscar, Phuvah, In his days repair work on the vessel Sheshaw began. His reign: Nine hundred and five years.
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The fourth Iscar, Job, In his days the mapping of the Seal of the Stars began and the comeliness Chambers of the South were explored. His reign: One thousand years.

The fifth Iscar, Shimron, In his early days the earth was returned to for the first time. His reign: Nine hundred and sixty nine years.

These are the great, Iscars of our planet Sehlah, after whom all other Iscars pattern themselves.

The first Holy Nawbee, Gershom, Priest with the great Shawleesh. His life: Nine hundred and ninety and nine years.

The second Holy Nawbee, Kohath, Priest with Anawvaw, the first Iscar. His life: Eight hundred and seventy years.

The third Holy Nawbee, Verari, priest with Tola the second Iscar. His life: Nine hundred and seven years.

These three each recognized as the way,  Holy inspiration from God to our people on Sehlah and      scribes of our Holy Scriptures of Peace.
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As Richard stopped reading, the scroll rerolled itself onto the spindle and the holograph image of the jeweled box disappeared. A voice, not Shawleesh's, told them the Holy scriptures would also be made for them to read the next day.   
"Did we get all of the scroll on hard drive, Janie?"  Richard immediately asked.    “Yes, there is a copy being made to a floppy disc and a printed copy,"  she said.
"Fantastic revelations of things unimaginable,  - -  a great seal of the stars - - incredible.” Richard said and sunk back into the recess of his chair. He gazed through the window at a vivid blue sky. At least, Janie thought we aren't being scared to death by mutations of ourselves that had not chosen God's ways.  

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                    CHAPTER VI




                Sehlah”s Holy Scriptures

The next day found Janie and Richard, sitting expectantly at the table. They had reread and studied the book of The Gentle Sons of Lucifer .  One of them always remained at the Kawraw.  Their patient expectance was rewarded late in the morning.  The long single sound of the communicator came and a new hologram of a long scroll appeared before them.  They read and recorded.

                      The Book of the Creation

Bringing into being from nothing God stretches out with His Right hand the stars and all of the heavens, containing them in the seal of the stars until His clothing of glory are very much pushed back from Him; choosing from His loneliness to invent all that exists, choosing man to be his companion and the angels His wise and strong servants to laude His magnificence and presence. Upon His Earth that He prepared for man He created the great Lucifer. This man the King, the end of God's aloneness, the brightness of the beginning, the Morning Star, of Creation 

opon earth.
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A vision of words came to Gershom the Nawbee, as he rested in his room:
Asked our God: How find I you on this distant star, far from your leader, my servant Lucifer. Do you think that I could not find you? Yet, I have heard your prayers and know of your course through the works of my hand. Even this day, have you not been sustained through my provision? Do you blame me for your plight? Caused I to send you forth in search. Sent I you? Not! But, you live, a remnant of the Sons of Lucifer, on an inhospitable globe not prepared for any.
I shall bless you, even now, for my own sake. You are wise to your needs, and ingenious in your thinking, have I not created you thus? May the soils of Sehlah yield unto you. Be not slow to possess this planet. The man Shawleesh is humble above many and fears my Holy Name. Hear him and he shall lead you. I have placed my wisdom and understanding in him, and he shall cause you to do well. Obey me and live.
Now, you shall see my grace, for I send to Sehlah my holy angels to watch over you as many as you shall become. My blessing shall never depart from you for we know that your hearts are pure and that Shawleesh will command you wisely.

And it was so, from that day on, that above them, hovering and watching, were the holy angels of the living God.  For each had his own angel, as they counseled inside of the vessel Sheshaw. Looking through the central window in the top of the vessel, they saw them eighty in all.  We take much comfort in them even as they remain with us this day.
On the second day, the Shawleesh and his council entered a surveillance vehicle to view our new 
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home. They saw the pink ice caps of the polars, the volcanic region of the near back side, the largest land mass to the west and the seas that keep them apart. It was a planet of no rivers, only sea or land.
On the evening of the third day on Sehlah the great Shawleesh was resting in his room when there appeared before him the likeness of a man whose gleaming visage could only be taken as the LORD, holding a rams horn and scepter.
The Shawleesh bowed and the figure spoke: “Behold, I am, the hand of the living God to anoint and bless you and grant your request.”
With great fear, the Shawleesh could not utter a sound as the horn moved to above his head. The oil was warm and smooth flowing through his hair onto his forehead and face, dripping and soaking into his clothing. “All of the days of your life, the lives of these with you shall be upon your shoulders. They shall look to you as the expression of the Holy God. The grace of the living God shall not depart from you. What now, shall be your request?” spoke the LORD.
“My request, my Lord, is to ask for all wisdom and understanding to guide these thy people into the comfort and fellowship of the great and Holy God, our provider,” said the Shawleesh.
“As you have asked, it shall be unto you. Only be not forgetful to maintain yourself before Him who has chosen you. Remain humble in all of your ways and days, that your reward be not taken away.”
That night as he slept the Shawleesh dreamed. And he saw before him, as it were, walls of enclosing gold, and within, a garden of love. Its trees were fruited plums and pines casting,their delicious nuts. Carefully planted about were delicate purple – blue lilies, and he saw this sight, and heard the words of the garden.
“In the garden of my delights, a branch of the fig tree reached toward the fence. Softly touching
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its tender leaves was the arm of this years rose, stretched forth through the fence.” When these words were spoken the Shawleesh awoke, perceiving that God had fulfilled his request. On his table laid the Scepter of the vision and the spicy fragrance of basil and of balm filled the room.

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                  CHAPTER VII



                                     Asheer

In those days God spoke to Gershom the Nawbee, who stood at the side of the Shawleesh, saying, "Go forth now from this vessel and build you dwellings so that you may inhabit the land, for you have stayed long enough in your vessel."
Then the Shawleesh spoke with the engineers and they devised the breathing apparatuses.  The people went forth onto their planet Sehlah. They found that the stones of the fields and of the hills to be too crumbly to use as bricks. They mixed the blue powder with the red water and an excellent block and mortar were produced.  A product of much harder substance was achieved after various testings.  It was called cemtar and proved to be much superior to the hardest stones of earth. The walls and ceilings of  their buildings could be poured rather than layered. The building of a factory to produce the material, allowed them to turn out huge quantities.
The site was chosen and the people of Sehlah built their homes.  These were entirely constructed of cemtar.  Due to the tremendous winds, the buildings were tubular and domed with common  atmospheric systems.  Later, individually supported structures were afforded. Soon a small city 
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formed that was to be called Asheer. This today is the capital of the planet Sehlah.
From the technology gained in the constructing of their homes, a larger atmospheric devise was built. With it the engineers began to fabricate the planets atmosphere. The project had begun with the use of the celestial vessels engines. It would remain seven hundred years before the coverings and seals on their living spaces would be taken away, and the breathing devices discarded.
At the same time the gardens began to overflow from the vessel into small protective nursery houses. Nursery techniques had to be changed drastically and many plants did not survive the move. However, the environment improved with the addition of the atmosphere and the subsequent subsiding of the severe winds, allowed gardening to be moved outside. Then, the gardens began to flourish. The struggle to survive slowly lessened, and the sons of Lucifer began to thrive.
After leaving the vessel, to live in their homes, the central worship of God discontinued. The home became the house of praise. Each met God at his own door entry, and each resolved his own prayer.
It came to be, such a one, Zerah, upon entering his home for the first time, bowed to his God and prayed, saying: “Originator of us all, to Whom belongs all praise, continue to bless us, the Sons of Lucifer upon Sehlah. May our cities abound and enlarge across the soils of this planet.” And god granted him his appeal.
Then, the grasses began to grow across the face of Sehlah. The blue-green beginning seemed to be easy, indeed. It thrived upon the warming soils and about the compass of each city. The grasses began to vie for its own space over the silted blue. Not quite with out plan the daffodils with their yellow-green bloom, tubered their way along the stretches of the seas coasts. The grains of the various
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grasses, wheat, barley, rye and rice were the first to be harvested. The first crop was harvested by hand. The plants, however, did not retain their green cast as on the earth but produced, as the grasses, blue green foliage.
At the bringing in of the crops, a joyous celebration was inaugurated, with a gathering in the main hall of the vessel. The newly designed body clothing meant to shun the winds were put off. For the feast they chose their clothing from their days on the earth. The women wore full length, fringed, wrap-around dresses, covering both shoulders. Their hair was worn in a bun at the back of the head. They wore beautiful heavy necklaces of crystal and carnelian beads. The men also, wore similar wrap around robes. But, the left shoulder and arm was covered while the right shoulder, emphasizing their strength, was exposed. The men wore wide banded head covers that were studded with mother of pearl buttons about the band. Woven sandals were worn by both the women and the men. The feast was ethereal with music from the pan flute and lyre. The celebration was dedicated to their God and his blessing of the increase of the crop. The poet Hushim wrote a poem that was read for the occasion by the great Shawleesh:

                  We Lift Our Hearts

0 God, the joy of our lives,
the rejoicing of our hearts.
Hear, our Comfort, in all difficulties
receive our prayer of humility.
0 God, Provider of all needs,
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you furnish our stores to overflowing.
In thanks we raise our hands,
as splendor of the fruited orange
whose juices in refreshing.
as the noble olive,
whose oils are pure.
In thanks we raise these songs for your ear
as the bloom of the oranges brilliant white,
may the notes of the flute reach your ear.
as the batons of thin petaled live flowers
may the fragrance of the lyre reach your ear.
as the violet blue blooms of the sage, of all, our hearts rejoice in God,
Provider of the heavenly seed of faith.
May the joyous sounds of our voices
and song reach your ears.

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                           CHAPTER VIII



                     The Scrolls

Richard paused reading and to his surprise the scroll stopped turning. “Janie I've just noticed these scrolls are not leather. There are no sown joints and the appearance is like papyrus, but of finer weave. Evidently these are archive records because they could have just kept the information on their computers.”  He began to read the scroll and again the unrolling continued:

Then the days of the great Shawleesh drew to a close. He gathered all unto him into the city of Asheer, those that had arrived with him and those born on the planet Sehlah.
"This day, I am nine hundred and sixty seven years of age. In the strength of the Holy One I have walked before my God and his people the Sons of Lucifer, whom we are upon the planet Sehlah.  And it is He who has given this all to us. In the multitude of blessings God has kept watch over us. Look and see above us, even this day, His Watchers look over us. They are our witnesses before the throne of the High and Lofty One, Who beckons me to eternal bliss.
As in the days when we first arrived;  our craft Sheshaw was in dire need of repairs, and 

even now remains. Look well to these repairs. In doing so you shall be able to return to the throne
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of Lucifer upon earth. Report to him of the misfortune of his mission and our habitation of this planet Sehlah. At the direct command of the living God, through his captain, even this Shawleesh who stands before you this day, I admonish you, I adjure you, to bind together in peace to this task of repairing Sheshaw.
Gershom the Nawbee has shown unto you God’s words received upon Sehlah and those collected in our hearts while on earth. These we have recorded and remain with us in the Archives of Asheer. Strengthen yourselves in the words of our God.
Concerning the words of God, teach them to the children to cause them to know the originator and rehearse the words before them, telling of God’s mercy and grace toward us as we came to dwell upon this planet. Remember to them how that God visited me in vision and dream, delivering to us this Scepter of the Sovereignty of His rule over us giving to whom he will, in His endless love and knowledge.
Be mindful to care for the Nawbee’s that the Holy One sends to you and listen to them. As a scroll their lives are wrapped up in Gods words like the cinnamon whose spicy rolls embrace the senses of the nostril. They are to remain at your leaders side, who from this day shall be called, the Iscar. He shall be as I have been among you. His leadership will be wound into God’s will, and the members of the counsel, and the Nawbee’s. He shall make unto himself a copy of the Holy Books and read from the Oracles of God. You have known one on my Council whom I have raised from the day his family was lost in the crash of Sheshaw. He is a man, as my own son, who shall lead you
in honesty and truth. His name, as you all know him, is Anawvaw. My honor, I bestow upon him, to

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lead this courageous people.
Moreover, the God of our provision sent us forth from the vessel Sheshaw to inhabit this planet. And you stand this day in the city of our beginning, Asheer. It has been prosperous here. Therefore, we sent out that other cities should be built, and as it is there are many cities. However, there lacks a central body to those cities, since they all give devotion to Asheer. From this day forward they shall pattern themselves after Asheer in forming themselves a leader and guidances. They shall look to the Iscar for matters pertaining to the planet and anything outside the planet. But, lead wisely, as before God. Therefore, choose carefully from among you. May the city states grow across the land, as the spreading rose with its thorns of radiant strength. Become like the exceeding beauty of its peaceful pink blossom whose aroma satisfies the expectant soul. Be many and honor God in that comeliness.
In my days we have also planted and grown upon the soil the wonderful apricot. Content along the blue-green fields its white blossom fills the bluing skies with perfume. May God increased us.
Our engineers have manufactured for us our homes. They have given us a way to breath, through the wisdom given them from God. Now, a nearly formed sky will let you breath its freshness. The time nears when the Gentle Sons of Lucifer shall rejoice in the atmosphere. My steps take me the only way, to the throne of my God. I relish this walk, as another sweet oily kernel of the butternut that bids me, one step closer to the Person who desires my soul. He takes me from the rigors of this life to the pleasant solitude of His Presence. Lay my body in the sepulcher
prepared for me, until it please the Originator to raise me up in eternal strength.”
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                  CHAPTER IX



                       The Breastplate

    It came to pass, on that day of his inauguration Anawvaw stepped through the door of his office.  With him were his counselor, Yawats and the Nawbee, Kohath.  At that moment, an exceeding bright light shown from above his empty chair and a voice spoke, "Anawvaw, come closer." 
    The Iscar moved to stand in front of his desk.
    "Place the Scepter of your power upon Sehlah, in its place,"  said the awing voice. 
    Carefully, Anawvaw laid the stone studded golden tube in the holder near the front edge near the center of the desk.  Bowing deeply he said humbly, “Your servant, Lord.”
    "Lift up yourself, first of the Iscar's, for there shall be many after you. It has been spoken before the throne of God, by his holy Watchers, of the greatness that is being accomplished upon Sehlah. Your peoples perseverance in building suitable atmosphere to breathe in is very commendable. The living God knows also, that many more years are needed to its completion.  Therefore, He has spoken, that the atmosphere is complete, and so it is even from this moment.  
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Moreover, He has commanded that the Breastplate should be brought to you. The purpose, is that you with the Nawbee, Kohath, may consult with the High God in matters that you can find no answer for or guidance.”
In the glistening of a rain drop upon a leaf, there appeared and rested upon the
back of his chair a Breastplate. The square linen held twelve stones, set in golden ouches. Attached to the two upper corners were to two golden chains. To each was attached at the shoulder of the chair, a single ouch holding an onyx stone. As they stood dazed at what they were seeing, the piercing Light that spoke, began to decrease in size like a morning glory flower whose violet trumpet cup was being touched by the warm late-morning sun. When the sparkle of its center disappeared and they were alone in the office.
Without the recipients suspecting, God in his just wisdom had placed with His remnant of the Sons of Lucifer on Sehlah, into the great Shawleesh’s possession, the Scepter of the reign of Lucifer upon the earth. It had been during the days that Shawleesh and those with him had traveled to the Pleiades. In reality, even more shortly after they left the earth, as they had searched Orion, sin was found in Lucifer. The Son of the Morning transgressed, in that, he lifted himself up against God. And God had cast him to the ground in physical death and rinded the things of his kingdom away. Ultimately,the entire earth was judged for the error of one. Others conglomerate to Lucifer, also, fell to ruin. None survived upon the face of the earth. It was only the chains of the Almighty that kept Satan (formally Lucifer), from touching His remnant on Sehlah. Now, the coordinating Breastplate came to Anawvaw, the first Iscar upon Sehlah.
Yawats and Kohath urged Anawvaw to take his seat,as they lifted the Breastplate from the
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chair. Extreme exhilarated emotion filled the room. The onyx stones were attached to the white robe of the Iscar. Other counselors began arriving and were told of the visit of the Angel of God.
The council conferred quietly before him in a semicircular formation of chairs.
“We have found much favor in the sight of the Originator and much responsibility over such a growing people,” they concluded.
Sered his design advisor spoke first, “My Lord, we have noted that there are twelve stones of the Breastplate and we have but ten cities planned, either constructed, or under the builders. Shall we not provide two more, in pattern with the stones, that we may better conform to the things of God?”
The Iscar considered carefully the proposal and said, “Well spoken, Sered, you and the council shall make designations of possible sites for us to consider.”
“Kohath, do you or the council have knowledge of reading the Breastplate?” Anawvaw asked.
”My Lord, this thing, not practiced these past hundreds of years, is only found in the memory of the Ancient Ones who came with the great Shawleesh, and they are few, in deed, these days. It will also take research into the archives, I believe, to find the the way in truth,” replied Kohath.
“Very well, may the favor of God help you in that work, and the holy angels guide you,” replied the Iscar.

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    After that, on another day, as Anawvaw rose form his desk to walk in the garden he was greeted by Kohath.  From the patio they walked to a bench, before which rich clusters of yellow flowers of dill spice bloomed under a chestnut tree.  The trees long yellow catkins trailed in the evening breeze as they seated themselves. 
    “My Lord," Kohath began, "in the search I have been making, it is written describing the Priests gown, that small golden belles and red, blue, purple, and white woven pomegranate shapes hung from the fringe of the garment.  We know nothing of its meaning, perhaps the great Shawleesh before his death spoke to you of them?"     
    "Not a word, Kohath!"  replied the Iscar.
    "It would seem we shall never know, unless of course, the God of mercies, would show us," commented Kohath. 
    "Be mindful to remember this matter in prayer, should it become of importance to our people, I am sure we shall receive an answer. Have you any information of the Breastplate?"  the Iscar asked.
    "Nothing, as yet, my Lord.  There is one of the Ancients named Aaron, with whom I have an appointment.  We are very hopeful that he can help us.  We are working with longsuffering and trust, that the things may be found."   Kohath confided.

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                    CHAPTER X


                       Jachin

Enclosed within the stone jar was a small book, which the youthful hand of Jachin soon drew out. He was the son of Ard whose father Shuni had come to Sahlah with the great Shawlessh. He was tending gardens to the homes of the Counselors and the Iscar himself.   But, today he had been called to the small town of Socoh west of the large city Asheer. An Ancient lived there by the name of Arphaxad. His was to rework the elders garden and return the next evening to his widowed mother.  On his way he had found the jar.
Now, the bottle had rested against a large blue rock. The crystal sparkles had attracted Jachin, and he had turned aside to examine it. Such fine color could add  just the correct tone to a  garden, he had thought.  This was becoming a day of blessings. He sat upon the rock and opened the book to find a short prayer and psalm. This was a personal writing and hand written with the stylus of a rough hand, perhaps such a soul as he. Reading the prayer - it ask for favor from the Designer of the universe, offering a following psalm of praise, Jachin decided to read the Psalm that night and continue on to Socoh. Loading the stone onto his two-wheel cart of tools, he 
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thought the days ahead would become less laborious. His schooling was coming to a close and he was promised a job, to work on the new celestial vessel at Zenan to the south of Asheer. This idea lightened the step of the young man, but, the newly burdened cart was soon pulling him slower and a wind was rising in the mid-morning sky. The dust the wind carried was biting at Jachin and he turned his head and shoulder to continue. The day was shortening and the wind increasing as he struggled to add a few more steps. And now, he found himself on a steepening incline through some boulders. The dust swirled about his feet. He was floundering through the path, tenacious to keep the blue stone for the garden.
Resting against a large stone he was sheltered from the dust filled wind. Jachin tried to fight his way back to awareness, from the relieved drumming. Soon his head began to ache, caused he thought from the dust. Then came a throbbing that unrelentingly tried to burst his head. He slumped to the ground.
A figure appeared along the path and came toward him. The frame was larger than his own, larger than many other Sehlahians. Dazed, the features resembled those of his grandfathers, as much as he could remember him.
He was speaking to Jachin now, “Greeting of the way, my friend, I am Jahzeel. What is your name if I may ask?”
The unexpected had caused a slight stir in Jachin and he half rose to speak, but fell back to his place, holding his head. “I am Jachin on my way to Socoh.”
“You are not well Jachin, what is the matter, are you injured?” Jahzeel asked.
“No,” came Jachin’s response, “not injured, it is a headache – – from the dust, Ibelieve.
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“How is it that you are on the path to Socoh?”
Jahzeel said nothing, looking about him, then wandered among the boulders and soon returned with what Jachin could see was a small gathering of some plant.
“These are bergamot,” Jahzeel said, “I shall make a tea for your headache.”
He went to Jachin’s cart, grasp the jar and water flask and returned to Jachin. From the pouch on his belt Jahzeel drew a folded silvery white cloth. Opening one side of the fold he rolled a glowing crystal into the jar and poured water on top. A sizzling steam rose from the jars mouth. He prepared the leaves of the dark blue-green herb. By then the water boiled and Jahzeel retrieved the still glowing stone with a spoon, also from the pouch. He returned the crystal to its silvery bed. He placed the palm crushed herbs in the boiling water and laid his pouch across the mouth of the jar. Jahzeel spun the mauve blooms of the leaflets in his palms. A mint scent the filled air. The winds had subsided, but Jachin’s headache had not.
The contents of the jar cooled shortly, and Jahzeel handed it to Jachin, “Drink as much as you can,” and again filled the night air with the flowered spikes smell. Soon Jachin slept.

The movement of Jahzeel awoke him to the morning wetness of the nights dew."
"How is the headache my friend.”  asked Jahzeel. 
In a moment Jachin responded, "Gone!  Your tea has cured the pain!”  Slowly he rose, 
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noting the lateness of the hour and reached the bread in his pack.
“Will you eat with me Jahzeel?” asked Jachin.
“It is a kindness,” said Jahzeel.
“Little that could repay for your tea of last night Jahzeel,” said Jachin.
They ate, talking of the way and Jahzeel ask him if he would like help with the cart.
And so as it became, the two travelers approached the place of Arphaxad, a field distance from Socoh. Jachin could see the huge tree in the garden, as they drew closer. Nearing the shade of the tree Jachin noticed a Watcher nearly the height of the tree.
“See Jahzeel, Arphaxad must be in the garden, his Watcher is there.” Jachin pointed. The headache, his new friend, and labors along the road to the garden had kept Jachin from noticing the absence in the sky above himself.
“Ah, Jachin,” came the venerable greeting from the garden, “you were expected last day at this time.” the Ancient inquired.
“A wind drove my journey longer and a headache, from which Jahzeel healed me.”
“Welcome, Jahzeel, thank you for bringing Jachin safely, come and be seated with me. Jachin as usual, is already gone to his task,” said Arphaxad.
Jachin placed the stone under a pink fruited sorbus bush in the middle of a bed of yellow iris and finished the work. Nearing the bench where the two were seated, it sounded as if Arphaxad was giving a dissertation about the similitude of the garden.
“Behold this magnificent beech tree,” Arphaxad was saying as Jachin sat down close by
them. “The splendid smooth trunk is strong like our God. The blue-green of its foliage are two
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colors, blue and yellow. These are the colors of the two heavens. The branches are His arms reaching in prayer. And the leaves are His hands. See how the stepped edged leaves are patterns like our own hands, that offer the seeds of life. When this trees seed capsule opens a four pointed cup reveals two mated, three cornered seeds, with paper thin shells, whose sweet flavor can never be matched. They represent the covering cherubim of the Diety.”

Reluctantly, Jachin and Jahzeel were making their way toward Asheer. Jachin had wanted very much to hear more of the wisdom of the Ancient Arphaxad.
As they reached the boulders, where Jahzeel had given Jachin the tea, they stopped to rest.  Jachin began to read outloud, so that Jahzeel too could hear, the Psalm of the book from the jar.  Jachin was totally captured by the words, as he read. So that, when he had finished and was closing the pages, he looked about for his companion.  Jahzeel was not anywhere to be found.  Jachin was greatly perplexed,  there was only above him his Watcher.
After a time, Jachin proceeded home to his mother.   He stopped at the spot where he had taken the blue rock.  To his amazement, another blue stone as beautiful as the first, set in the same spot.  Considering that the stone was alone,  he put the book back into the jar and placed the jar beside the new stone.  
Jachin continued his journey home. 
                    109


                            CHAPTER XI



                The Nawbee, Gershom

Near the day the Sons of Lucifer came to the Pleiades,the word of the God came to one named Gershom. He was a good man, and feared the 0riginator daily with prayer and praise. 
And the voice of God spoke to him saying, "Gershom, your words are heard in heaven and before the Throne of the Living One. Thy people of whom you are among, will need someone to tell them my words."
Gershom spoke saying, “ God of the earth and all the stars, but say the words and they shall be in my heart as if carved in stone.  With your strength I shall deliver them to the people.” 
"As you have spoken so shall  it shall be.  Now, hear my words in the days ahead great calamity shall befall this people of your vessel Seshaw, and some shall die. However, many more shall remain with you.  Among them shall be a man named Shawleesh.  He is a wise man who walks before me in great fear.  The things I have said,  you shall take to him. I shall be with you and this people to encourage and sustain them through the days ahead.  Further, you shall be exiles on a planet whose galaxy your vessel approaches.”
                110
From that hour Gershom sought the great Shawleesh to speak with him. A lieutenant approached. "Gershom, you seek audience with our captain?" 
"Yes, I have words for Shawleesh from the living God." Gershom told him.
Slightly stunned, the lieutenant led Gershom to the navigation compartment. This was the only part of the vessel where any centralization of controls existed.  The reason being the complexities of the passages through the galaxies, generally  required the attention of several individuals. Once the determinations were made, the information was transmitted to the captain and control officers,where ever they might be scattered on the vessel. The books they carried with them, paged every phase of the flight. Flight status was constantly updated to these books, including a screen visage display page for conferencing.  Any of them could command the the ship, but Shawleesh was the designated resolute. Any physical conferencing was discouraged, so the possibility of total disaster of command was impossible.
The lieutenant presented Gershom, outside of navigation, to Shawleesh and stood by silently. 
Gershom spoke first, "My Lord Shawleesh, I have words for you from the Originator.” 
Shawleesh turned to his lieutenant and excused him. Then, to Gershom he said, as he began escorting him,  “Shall we talk in my room, Gershom?”




                111
After the briefing in Shawleesh’s quarters he said,  "Gershom, the validity of your words has yet to be tested;  however, personally the establishment your Nawbee office is not doubted. Until this time we have had no position in the receiving of the Words, other than what is written.  It will be then, your duty to remain at my side every waking hour.  I will have a room prepared for you beside mine.  You may begin your preparations immediately.”
Shawleesh began to examine his command book, asking officers and especially navigation for status, and giving reserved alert.  He continued to check the vessels status.
However, the time came, that system failure in the vessel Sheshaw caused them to crash onto the planet they later called Sehlah in the galaxy formation Pleiadies.  From that time on, Gershom's words and office were established among all the remnant of the Sons of Lucifer. And Gershom remained from those days at the side of Shawleesh. He was with him when the engineers designed the breathing gear, and when the project of hologram communication was begun to connect the cities.  Indeed, when the planning for the city locations was established Gershom was present.  And when the liquid stone process was developed.  Importantly, Gershom delivered the  confirming words of God to Sbawleesh, to leave the vessel Sheshaw too inhabit Sehlah.
Now in the declining days of his life, like when the honey suckle borne upon the fence, whose mid-summer bloom’s fragrance wanes, Gershom reflected upon those events.  His joy had always been, as the refreshing ripe fruit of the pear, to deliver the Holy Words. The words had already been delivered to Kohath to be Gershom's successor, and even now the great Shawleesh himself acknowledged that his own days were coming to a close.
                112
One last time they stood together on the platform at Asheer.  Shawleesh had  delivered his  final  message to the people he had led, in misfortune, onto the planet Sehlah.  Gershom’s words were first, God’s.  Then his kind and encouraging, giving God the glory.  And truly so, for Gershom often delivered them to Shawleesh.  The gentleness of Gershom’s thinking was like the crushed myrtle bud used to spice a summer squash.   It permeated the Holy Words he delivered.
And so, the days of Gershom ended. He died being nine hundred and ninety years old, the faithful Nawbee.
                    113

                   CHAPTER XII


                     The Psalms

 The psalms of the gentle Sons of Lucifer,

since the day they came to inhabit the planet Sehlah.

             Psalm 1

0 God of eternal strength,
we remember the words of your comfort,
how beautiful are you In all your ways.
The passion flower in its radiant petals,
attests to your magnificence.
The date palm with abundance of fruit,
reflects the generosity of your soul.
The almond offers its palm shaped nuts,
114
food of firmness as sustaining faith.
The mint of the field fresh with the dew of heaven,
gives the flavor of God’s sustaining life.

               Psalm 2

This I see with the eye of my heart,
the grand form of God.
Behold, the loveliness of his person.
As the violets of spring enlightens the garden,
our hearts are lifted with your presence.
The frost of fall mellows the fruited persimmon,
your silences hungers our expectation.
A little grinding from the nutmeg flavors a milk,
A bit of your truth binds our faith.
As the ginger root is dug with bent back,
you reach down to your people to raise up.

Psalm 3

0 God, Captain of our physical house, we can not hide
115
from you,
our soul the eye of our bodies you have made,
your spirit quickens our awareness of you.
Like the clematis flower rises above the earth,
you teach our soul to control our desires.
The grape whose juice we love as your life,
rises above, its fruit like our praise of you.
The walnut you have made with springs drooping catkins,
our souls bow to your ways in likeness.
We look to you 0 God to know.
As the hyssop springs from terrace wall to quince thirst,
the ways of God, our Master, we choose to refresh
our lives.

Psalm 4

See the God of our faith from the written words,
these words tell of the great Supreme.
And with eye then bent downward, to God we obey.
Even the lovely tulip bends its neck,
before the presence of the God of Heaven.
116
The fruited fig bends its laden branches,
saying silently this, “what I have is from God.”
The hazelnuts crooked branches cannot brag,
because you have made it so.
A humble bay leaf we become to your meal Master,
only, once God has plucked it from the shrub.

Psalm 5

Far from the habitations of man, thus Holy is our lod,
yet a door He makes with h1i words,
those separated from earths cares, are His.
The blooming allium stands on to its tall reed alone
above the earth,
an example,we are instructed from You.
The quince fruit alike as its savour is singular,
as when our pattern is like yours.
Huge and alone in producing its nuts,
the pecan Vree is noblest of all.
The dinner garlic cluster perched so high above the soil,
adds its flavor to meals as You do to our lives.
117
Psalm 6

Borne upon the words of life we see our God,
His labors are manifest to our understanding,
His strength of days cannot be found.
A crocus first in spring to show its life,
your life in our dulled hearts brilliantly shines
The fruit of the tree has no equal to the apple,
And our God has no worthy mentor.
Nuts of the pistachios’ much valued fruit,
as we cherish our Originator.
Then as a single clove upon the tongue,
its freshness reveals the flavor of God’s life.

Psalm 7

0 God, holy and true,
understand our brevity, in praise;
It only belies our confidence in you:
as the wife silently clings to the shoulder of her
husband,
118
we linger with You.
Praise to the God of our Peace.

                    119

                  CHAPTER XIII


                    The Council

Janie and Richard leaned back in their chairs. A glance at the computer confirmed the recording. They watched the hologram above the Kawraw communicator as the scroll rerolled, and the the hologram ceased. They were rearranging the desk when the Kawraw signaled and saw again, the forms of Shawleesh and Joawb.
"My friends,"  Shawleesh began. "We were called away by the meeting of the Iscar and his council.  Certain determinations have been established by which we must adhere.  It was a very joyous day for us to receive your Bible.  We now understand many things, such as, who we are, now.   Importantly, we know that the great Lucifer once our leader, has become the living God's adversary, Satan. Over this , we deeply grieve. We have established among us, to the very smallest and last voice,  that we will not follow Satan in his error. The Son of God, Jesus Christ has taken our hearts. You understand that we live as we were upon the earth, before sent upon the mission.  We are you see without sin.  Neither does it beset us, as you children of Adam are burdened, with sin. 
Therefore, we are prevented by the Iscar and the Supreme Council of Sehlah from bringing you 
                    120

Sehlah, as we had planned. This would possibly have brought the dread of us all – – any separation at all from God’s comforting presence with us.”
Richard disappointedly slumped to his chair. He had hoped for just such a visit. Reluctantly, he gathered the appropriate words and responded. “We are very deeply honored that you had considered inviting us to your home on Sehlah. And we are without measure saddened at what you so insightfully perceive. Your Council is, without question, is correct in their thinking and precautions. We trust that we may be able to learn more of your people as we have today from your scrolls.”
Shawleesh answered, “Many of our technologies will be made available to you. We trust, they shall be used peacefully. We will, at a later time speak with you. May the good fortune of the God of heaven and all mercy, be with you in the name of his Son Jesus Christ.”

                    The End
                                                                                       121








                             THE SCROLLS
                         of Noah’s Ark



                          A novel written by:
                              Joseph E. Swearengin




             Copyright O 1996 Joseph E. Swearengin
                      revised February 10, 1998
                    from   AT SCROLL

b

                                   Dedicated to:


                    The LORD Jesus the Messiah

                       Son of the Most High God

c

                                                                                       The Scrolls

                              Prologue

 Cradled comfortably in the eastern reaches of the fertile crescent, a cluster of Sumerian city-states nestled the dislocating rivers, Tigris and Euphrates. This was the land of Eden. Lord Kichunna reigned at Larsa, and Lord Emenduranna reigned at Sippur, and Lord Alalmar reigned at Eridu. In western Eden the third dynasty of Egypt had yet to begin building the great pyramids.   It was 4004 B.C.
 God, west of Eridu, planted a garden of delights, strengthened from all; and placed in it, the Adam - - the man he created in His own image. Here Adam and Eve met and fellow-shipped with the LORD face to face. Their physical needs were altogether supplied. Until, another form and voice cunningly devised its vicious way to obtain the attention of our faith forefather. Alienated from the Creator, cursed from God's presence, now benefactors of the spirit of disobedience, outside the place of blessings, to labor the fields of Sumer. Wanting to return, unwilling to become part of the people of the earth, now faith people, they camped between, to await the promised reconciliation.
 The curse becomes painfully documented when the righteous Abel is slain by his brother Cain, both sons of Adam. God banishes Cain from the tents of his father and he wanders east. Now God's adversary tastes the “sweetness” of his bitter intervention, seeing a perfect mixing pot for his poisons. Cainites -- to spread the perfection  of  the  disease  of  hate  throughout  the  people  of  the earth. Yet, Eve gives  Adam                                                         I                                                 
                                                   The Scrolls

a third son Seth, and the generation of faith people was preserved.
Viewing and warning, they peddle their faith to the God-resistant people of the earth. That any of their scrolled writings came to be glossed into legends or even “accounts,” through the generations of faithless peoples of the earth, can easily be understood. The earth hungered, but rejected what would satisfy them by venerating a “strong” literature of what they understood naturally. Augmentation, robbed God of his words by ascribing them to the wicked, and their ways, and saying the glosses are the authority. Thus even thinking that God is made like man, when of faith, man is created like God. Still, faith prospered in the generations of Seth.
Sumer city-states enjoyed a democracy of type. Their “peer among peers” city governor held political power. But basically, citizens, landowners, farmers, scribes, cattle breeders, artisans, boatmen, canal builders, craftsmen, fishermen, and merchants were the government. After the flood of Noah, and in the pattern of the founding Obaid City culture, the kingdom of unified Sumerian cities reigned unto the Mediterranean Sea. Until in decline, Bablyon seized control. Incorrectly identified “Semitics” who infiltrated the Sumerian culture were the Cainites, decendents of Cain who murdered his brother. And in addition, he carried with him the Semitic alphabet.
The cuniform script was invented by the Sumerians. So that, it appears man’s capacity for intelligence has suffered little through the millenniums. Only his time in obtaining his necessities has greatly decreased. In addition, one man, such as
II

                                                  The Scrolls

Abraham, is created by God with a God-conscience, and the ability to show another

without, that there is a life and a way to obtain like favor. And he places that part of his being above earthly valuables. With his attentions toward that consciousness, does not mean that he is any less or more sophisticated, or guiltier of favor, than who he reaches out to. Except, in the Person of God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah. His bloodline is from Adam. His death burial and resurrection is from the Father. His utterance, “I and the Father are one,” forever shook the foundations of soul and worlds.
Yet, why does the knowledge of these early peoples from before the flood, exceedingly fascinate us? — because, it is hidden information, intriguingly! But, in the case of the generations of Adam, we, not secretly, search in our hearts for the excitement and refreshment of a faith, as it was at its start. A faith full of the vibrant hope Adam and Eve felt of the promised deliverance from God’s curse. That again, all that would “might be partakers of the divine nature?”
The Sethites, as our story unrolls, lived on the fringes of these cities with a written and spoken language of their own — much as we have seen in recent times the existence of Godly Jews. Who continue from their Sethite origin through the great father of faith, Abraham, to preserve the written words of the living God. Which scriptures among the shelves of other books is set apart from them, and becomes a reward to any who will pull it from the wall and read. Such is the man Elnathan and his Targums of requital. It was the year 927 (3077 B.C.).

                       III


                                Contents    


                                      page 

Prologue I thru III
Targum of Michael 1,2,3
Targum of Adam 33
Targum of Seth 43
Targum of Enos 66
Targum of Cainan 73
Targum of Mahaleleel 81
Targum of Jared 85
Targum of Enoch 90
Glossary of names and terms 111
Terms and Definitions 112
Bibliography 113
The Generations of Adam 114
Map of Elnathan’s, Wayfaring 115

                                       IV
                                                          The Scrolls


                         Targum of Michael

               1


                                                           The Scrolls

                   Targum of Michael

In all the, magnitude of thy name,
whose name is with God.
In all the glory of Thy Name,
whose name is GOD.
The head of all that is GOD’s,
of those in the heavens.
The Leader of all that is God’s,
of those upon the dry land.
He, the fruitful one,
by whom God created.
He, the pleasant one,
for whom all, God created.
In the firstborn of the creation,
is the life.
In the Holy One of the Creator,
is presence with the invisible GOD.
In the Heaven of heavens He created,
the seraphims to serve His presence.
The voices of them are always heard,
Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts. Isa.6:3
He created an Habitation for His throne,
High and lifted up, Isa.6:1
He created a temple for His seat,
High and lifted up, Isa.6:1
Between the stars and the clouds of earth,
created He a want of the watchers.
Between the throne of the LORD and the men,
created He angels watching.
Between the men and the watchers,
created he birds that fly by wing to the clouds.
Between the men and the watchers,
the wings to stir man’s heart to His God.

The Great One of the dry land,
Lucifer, Son of Shahar,1 He created,
The High Priest of the Nations,
Daystar, covered with the twelve precious stones.
Perfect in thy ways, Ezek28:15
from the day that thou wast created… “
Perfect in beauty,Son of the morning, Ezek28:15
full of wisdom. “

                                                                              2 


                                                       The Scrolls


    Targum of Michael - 2

Till iniquity was found in thee Ezek28:15
till sin was found in thee. “ Thou didst cast away three stones,
prepared for thee.
Thou hast walked up and down in them,
and they, created for thee.
The stones, gentleness, peace and faith,
the stones, gentleness, peace and faith.
You exchanged them for your,
gold, silver and pride.
Your heart is lifted up upon
merchandise, corruption and violence.
How art thou fallen from heaven, lsa.14:12-1-4
0 Lucifer, son of the morning! “
how art thou cut down to the ground, Isa.14:12-14
which didst weaken the nations! “
For thou hast said in thine heart, “
I wilI ascend into heaven, “
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… “
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds… “
I will be like the Most High. Isa.14:12-14
The LORD God shall speak, saying;
I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Lk.10:18
The LORD God declared His judgment,
I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God Ezek28:16
The LORD God confirmed with witnesses,
… and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, Ezek28:16
in the sight of all them that behold thee. Ezek28:1-6
The LORD God destroyed thee from ruling His people,
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, Isa.14;16
and consider thee, saying, is this the man that “
made the earth to tremble, “
that did shake kingdoms; “
That made the world as a wilderness, “
and destroyed the cities thereof: “
That opened not the house of his prisoners? Isa. 14:16
I beheld the earth, and, Lo, Jere.4:23
It was without form and void; and of “
the heavens, and they had no light Jere.4:23
Then the waters, before the mercy of the Living God,
whose Spirit brooded upon its face.

                                             3                              
                                                  The Scrolls


    Within the rough stone walls of the small home light from a cooling hearth flickered across the shawled figure of the holy ancient as he read the final words of the leather scroll. Above him round beams and crossed branches and twigs held  the compacted earth roof. The grandeur of the recently read words echoed in the stone columned and paved mind of Elnathan. 
How wonderful the sight of faith, the words told. Some were difficult to grasp, the others pleasant to read again. The scroll of Michael, a copy of one in Adam's tent had place in the old one's script. There were others, but, the words of this were often read. Adam had never revealed the origin of the writing. Elnathan knew, though, from his father, Methuselah, that Michael the Ark Angel was  keeper of the words of God. One could fit the rest together.
 The dying flame of the evening cracked one final time, sending sparks across the cobbled floor. EInathan glanced at the open door. The days were becoming warmer. Nothing about the walls comforted his soul. The time-spent building made little demand from the scrolls, unlike the impressive round stone columned buildings of the nearby city  Obaid. 
It was an impressive sight,when his wife and daughter walked into the bazaar to trade or purchase barley grain and lentil beans. The years of preparation and construction with even fresco painted walls was indeed considerable.
     "My husband, shall we get this new cooking pot?" She had lifted it toward Elnathan. The large, round-bottomed clay bowl was of good quality, Elnathan observed, decorated with incised cross markings about the edge. "It is good my wife." Her  well-favored features were a joy to Elnathan's heart.  He  could  
                                   4
                                                                                   The Scrolls

not have refused had she asked for seven bowls. He watched with admiring eye as she bartered with the
merchant for a woven wool rug of which she had labored. But, it was to Elnathan the merchant turned to give the days report.
“The sons of Cain are in Obaid today, my lord. Best keep your women close at hand.”
Startled, Elnathan looked about, pushing his daughter toward Nawsheem, his wife. There were none in view. These, the Sethites feared, for these Adam and Eve had sent Seth, their son, far away, fearing Cain’s temper would again quench the righteous seed. And only in fear had Sethites returned to the area of Adam’s tent. It was known that the Cainites were taking wives of the sons of Seth. And much to the elders dismay Sethite men had gone into the daughters of Cain.
In all,these things were not good. Most devout parents kept their children in the tents pitched west of the city near the flocks. These Cainites were large, lusty men and always heavily armed. They were loud talking brawlers. Their children of the daughters of Seth devoured the food of the land, for they were a kind of giant of the earth like those living east of the white mountains toward the Great Sea. The Cainites were originally from the city of Enoch in the land of Nod, east of the Khiddehkel River. God had punished Cain to Nod, but the unruly off-spring and Sethites who had joined themselves to the Cainites, knew no bounds. Their noise rose to the heavens.
They knew no respect for the Holy Scrolls, nor sought the way of God. All their time was spent in every craft pursuit that they or man invented or had learned from the fallen angels who had left their first estate to join Satan. None taught the understanding of departing from the evil to read the Holy Scrolls for
5
The Scrolls

any amount of time. Ultimately, the sons of Cain mingled their knowledge with the people of the earth, and

so the fairs and markets overflowed with both the good and bad results of the interaction. Better pottery

was beginning to be produced, many with images of the demon angels or of human forms with sexual over-tones, indicating the rise in pleasing of the physical senses. And more of the wicked temples rose about the city and ever higher toward the clouds–temples to the imagination of their minds.
“Quickly now, gather our purchases, Nawsheem, we must return home,” urged Elnathan.
A four wheeled wagon drawn by oxen groaned and creaked past them as they prepared. It carried copper and hard stones from the docks of some northern city along the Perawth River. The ships sailed and rowed north after discharging their cargoes at the docks, reladened with the products of Obaid — baskets, pottery and skins to barter and return again. These stones were for the palace floors. The walls of sun baked bricks were plastered with fresco paintings of daily life scenes depicting the trade of its owners, potters, bakers, weavers — unless the wealthy had with great pains of the Sethites been converted from such paganism. Then, only geometric designs of pleasant colors appeared not unlike Yatzar’s with whom they had just traded.
Yatzar spoke quietly to them as they began to leave. “Be still my friends, I pray you take refuge in my home until the rascals have passed. Stay a moment,” he urged.
Elnathan and Nawsheem consulted and the three followed Yatzar around the corner of the markets and entered his home across the street. Safely inside Yatzar closed the heavy plank door and bolted it, he placed their purchases along the wall. Calling to his wife he announced his guests.
6

                                                  The Scrolls


She came, delighted to see Nawsheem and their daughter. 
Yatzar had dipped  from the chest high  ceramic pot and was pouring water  into two large bowls on

the polished stone floor. “My friend Elnathan, your sandals, please,” he said as he stooped with towel to wash the guest’s feet. Yatzar’s wife, Reyoo, likewise, gathered a towel from the small stand and washed the feet of Nawsheem and her daughter. Yatzar then washed his own, whereupon he and Elnathan entered the courtyard around which the home was built.
In the center of the yard was a seated open well of stone. In each of the four corners of the yard a tree grew — two pomegranates and two apricots. The yard was otherwise paved with cobble stone. On the right wall were three doors, on the left, one. Beyond the well was a door that led to the back entrance through a small room. The even wealthier homes of Obaid were similar but two storied.
Elnathan followed to the opened door on the right, they entered and seated themselves on the brick bench. There were rug covered benches along all the walls in most of the rooms except for the wood room and the entry. At night, one reclined on them to sleep. This room’s floor was covered with rugs such as Nawsheem had woven from the wool of Elnathan’s flock.
“Yatzar, you are looking well. Has the pottery business been good lately?” Elnathan inquired.
“Thank you, we are enjoying a small profit. My sons keep busy at the shop, and their sisters, too. Our oldest daughter will be married soon. You and Nawsheem will come to the celebration, please? Elnathan knew that declining would be too large of an insult to Yatzar, and he was of the like faith that Elnathan preached though not a Sethite. Yatzar was of the people of the earth. “Yes,my friend we will attend, the LORD willing.”
7
The Scroll

   The women had been visiting in the hearth room and now seated themselves opposite the men. 

Yatzar rose and closed the door so their voices would not carry from the house yard to the streets.

“Elnathan, you have with you the Holy Words, as you always have them in your script. Would you be so kind as to read for us. We are very anxious to know of God the Creator and His way for us.”
“Blessed are you of the earth, for your heart is toward the living God. Yes, friend, yes,” Elnathan comforted.
He pulled the leather shoulder case to his lap, opened the worn sheath and removed only one of the parchment scrolls. Hands,soft and satin from the sheep’s wool began unrolling the whited leather. Elnathan began reading:

 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.                                          Gen.2:8-15


Elnathan raised his eyes from the inked letters,  to be greeted with both pleasing  and  questioned

gazes. It was obvious that a verbal Targum was needed for his faithful host, so, he began as concisely as
8

                                                  The Scrolls

possible:
“It is the self-existant Deity who formed Adam and breathed into him the breath of God conscience, and man became alive to communicate with his maker. Wherefore God fenced Adam about in the Garden of Eden not far west of Eridu, the place that you know. And in the garden the LORD God caused to grow the trees pleasing to the sight and for food for Adam. Also two pillars of trees the one smooth and effortless, the eternal Life tree; the other tree of knowledge of good and evil for which one must labor — to obtain the good and put aside the evil.”
“Now, Eden is all of the land that forms a drawn bow shape of fertility from the great sea of Nod to the lands of the great Black River. There is a river that flows south into the Sea of Nod that waters the Garden of Eden. It is not long, like the short trunk of the fruit tree with two great limbs by which the River of Light is fed. These two rivers are the Khiddehkel — that sharp, light and swift river from the good and gracious land toward the east which flows by the city Ninua. The second is the Perawth River that sweet water which flows past Sippor and Ur, the cities of light.”
“Now then, there is the long Dark River which flows north into the Great Sea,contrary to the River of Light which flows south. There are also, two rivers that feed the Dark River. First the Gheekhone River which compasses the land of Koosh, whose spring rains force the black silt into it. The other is the Peeshone River from the land of Khaveelaw, like a high branch of a large acacia tree, to fully flood the banks of the Dark River.”
“And it is,that the two large rivers are separated by the land of the city of Yereekho and the Sinai,
9
The Scrolls

as the light of day is from the darkness of night.”
“Now the man Adam ate of all the trees of light of the garden,for the River of Light watered them and they could never have died. But, the LORD God expressly forbade Adam to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for it is a long- trunked, black tree that darkens ones awareness from giving attention to the eternal light. And so Adam was warned that he would die from such a disobedience.”
Elnathan’s Targum was much to think upon. Some such things, Yatzar knew from earlier conversations, had occurred nine or ten hundred years before. It was good that it was recorded, and even more that the Sethites had retained the meanings.
Yatzar spoke kindly to his wife, “Reyoo, we will dine with our Holy guests. Please prepare.” It was common courtesy when invited into the home to remain for a meal or even a feast if the host chose. Nawsheem was pleased as Elnathan could see.
“Your dwelling is very comely Yatzar,” Elnathan commented. “I can see that your walls have been repainted of very attractive designs. Your colors of the sky and earth are impressive.” Diagonally crossed lines made a border three fourths of the height of the wall, with green below and a light blue above on three walls. The doored wall was a tan below with darker browns and some blacks making its border.
“Only a shepherd’s eye could have discovered my secret, dear friend. We find little time beyond the city, and the thoughts of the fields quiet retreat are brought to our minds behind this door. Forgive the slight likeness, I pray thee, to God’s creation.”
Elnathan nodded, “It would be of considerable comfort to Nawsheem and myself if you would
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                                                  The Scrolls

journey home with us and refresh your souls of the green pastures. You and I could walk to the tents of my sons and daughters who are with my flocks.”
Through the door Yatzar’s younger daughter and Reyoo entered. A low, long, porous stone tray was in the daughter,s hands. She set it in the middle of the room and left while Reyoo placed two large pottery bowls of figs, dates, and almonds beside. In the tray were chick-peas, garlic, onions, leeks, and black and green olives.
The daughter returned with two baskets, one with barley loaves and goat cheese and the larger full of beautiful, fresh red grapes, and half a dozen deep pottery bowls. Politely these believers of the people of the earth had refrained from serving meat of any kind to their Sethite guests.
Yatzar’s daughter wore a skirt of goat doe’s skin, floor length. Another soft skin covered her shoulders to her thigh. The men’s garb was of buck goat skins of like pattern. The upper robe was worn over one shoulder but, as today, was worn by the men not at all due to the heat of the day.
All stood — with hands, palms toward face, shoulder level and away from the body, as Elnathan began to pray. “O LORD God, the only Holy and the Just, Creator and maker of all that is, we present ourselves for praise and thanksgiving. 0 LORD God the only Holy and Just, 0 Preserver supreme and righteous, Creator and maker of all that exists, Originator and Former of all things, we stand in garments provided of Thee, servants of Thy will, offerings scrolled in hides. For praise and thanksgiving we beseech thee. With homage and gratefulness our prayer desires thee. Praise to thy sacred Name. Glory to the Holy LORD God. In thanksgiving for the fruitfulness of this Eden in which we live. In gratitude of the
11

                                                  The Scrolls

overflowing bounty of this land, and for these friends from whose abundant table we partake. For Thy very great promise we await Thee. For the glory of the heavens and earth, Thou art. Amen and Amen.”
Now, Yatzar and Elnathan reclined to the rugged floor and pillows, while the women sat to reach the further dishes and to squeeze the luscious red grapes in the sides of the cups for the wine drinks.
“We are most grateful to you Elnathan, and for your Nawsheem, for your presence with us at meal. But, more that you have shown us the true LORD God and His words that we now hope upon in this corrupt and violent earth. It is not safe for us to venture beyond the bars of the doors after dark. And these clay tablets that the dreamers write are so filled with their imaginations and devices that a soul cannot even glean one truth.”
“The things you speak are true, Yatzar. Our scribes’ hands are as the LORD’s themselves with darts whose blood upon the sheep skins can never lie nor change. The scribes of Methuselah, my father, prepare me a new scroll to walk with. It is a copy of his father, Enoch’s scrolls. Enoch is who scribed for the LORD God Himself, and is who walks with the LORD through one scroll to the next, recording his ascention through the heavens by the power of the LORD’s Holy Angels.”
“Now, my friend Yatzar, you spoke of the nights in truth. We should be going, perchance the son’s of Cain have passed on. Your excellent greetings and fine meal are of comfort to us and attests to your faith in the LORD who dwells in the Garden of Eden. Arise now friend and prepare to go with us.”
With arrangements secure, and careful vigilance the six walked hurriedly west through the city past a temple being built by Annipadda King of Ur, for his queen, mother goddess. The masons and
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The Scrolls

bricklayers were noisily in the stir of erecting.
The futility of such endeavors of the people of the earth was only evident to such as were of Seth. Each succeeding generation was attaining great skill in stacking their stones a little higher and a little neater. To think the soul was already housed with a body of more grandeur construction than ever Ur’s king could build. Enough of this evil, pointless thinking, Elnathan chided himself. They were leaving the city now. Only a little further and they would reach the lodging of he and Nawsheem. It was dusk.
As they approached the conical thatched and mud roof, shoulder high stone walls forming a base for the poled roof, offered a welcome doored opening. Another way in the roof showed a wisp of smoke as they neared. An older daughter reservedly greeted the guests and her family.
“Have any of your brothers returned from their tents?” Elnathan asked.
“Not yet, my Father.”
Elnathan turned to Yatzar, “Tomorrow you and I shall go to the flocks. At present, please make ours as your own home. Nawsheem will prepare mint tea for us.”
The floor from the centered hearth was covered with rush woven mats, while the continuous wall bench had many woven rugs. The guests seated themselves on the rug coverings as the fire came to life again at the hands of the girls.
The evening was spent with intervals of conversations, and quiet contemplations. The fire grew to embers, as each reclined at intervals on the benches around the wall and slept.
The fire cracked into flames as the dawn overcame the night. Elnathan drew himself to a sitting
13

                                                  The Scrolls

position, pulling his robe about his shoulders. His script lay at his head and he drew it toward him. Nawsheem had slept at his feet, and she now tended a pot of gruel with dates at the hearth. The guests yet slumbered as Elnathan unrolled a short scroll.
As the guests awakened, each received a bowl of the oats and dates and more of the mint tea. “The fields we passed will soon be ready for seed,” commented Yatzar from below the dried fruit and herbs which hung from the poles of the ceiling. At one spot on the benches sat large pottery storage jars of grain, and a water pot. The vessels were from Yatzar’s shop. And yes, a large, lidded vessel held Elnathan’s scrolls from the moisture and rodents.
“True,” confirmed Elnathan. “The pastures gleam again with fresh green.” The men finished their bowls, and rose to leave. “The LORD willing, we shall return this evening, Nawsheem.”
The two entered a sun-lighted morning of heavy dew and glistening foliage. They walked westward into the morning. The sound of the millstones faded as their conversation meandered through the scrolls, and their walk through nearby stream and the low hills they now crossed.
From one hill they turned to view the Perawth River. The haze partly hid the view of the fertile Eden, stretching from their right at the Sea of Nod north way to the horizon – – a green and active basin of light and life. The cities of Obaid, Ur, and Eridu appeared and an area not far west of Eridu – – cloud covered, not like those of the sky – – hovered from which lightnings and thunders appeared.
The two gazed upon the spot. At the east, the entrance was sealed, so the scrolls of Adam spoke. Within, the lonely figure of the LORD now brooded in His garden of delights, without the man Adam with 14

                                                  The Scrolls

whom He had so freely communicated, face to face. From the day Adam had been expelled, to the day of the flood of Noah’s prophecy, none had dared enter — the pains of death the penalty for such a supposition. The words upon the scrolls were as close as one could obtain to an audience with the LORD God, since the day Adam and Eve had been driven out. The elders yet heard His voice or saw His Angel in visions or dreams, but none entered the Garden of Eden.
Silent watchers wrapped in their individual thoughts. Elnathan like his father Adam stood five foot seven and a half inches and wore a full beard upon the earthy coppered skin of his face. He was this spring fifty years in age. Because of his lineage in Adam, and their all vegetable diet, and the ideal climatic conditions of the land of Eden, Elnathan’s longevity was assured. The patriarchs in Adam’s line were all nearing, or in, their nine hundredth year. Yatzar was a Sumerian. His skin not as dark as his companions and with a yellowish cast. He was typically barrel chested, and stood about five foot four inches. Yatzar was just forty one years old, but would not attain the advanced age of the Adam patriarchs.
They returned to the hike. Each reverenced the other’s thoughts as the tents of Elnathan’s sons came into view. The flocks could be seen on the low rolling hillsides. They walked on to the larger flock. It was with this herd they would find Elnathan’s eldest son, who kept his own flock, with his father’s.
Khawyaw bowed as his father approached, rising to kiss and embrace him.
Elnathan spoke first, “Is all well, my son?”
“To which Khawyaw replied, “Well, my father.”
“Khawyaw this is Yatzar of Obaid, a friend in the faith.”
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                                                       The Scrolls

"It is good that you walk in like steps of my father, welcome.”  And turning to his father related,   “Father, last evening a leopard attacked the flock. Thanks to the keen eye of a  servant he no longer  lurks. The sling and smooth stone were his undoing." 
"There are many  lambs this year. The LORD is indeed blessing," spoke Elnathan.  "My son, Yatzar and I will take from the flock to sacrifice on the hill there.  You will  join us, please."  Elnathan pointed with his staff.
 'Khawyah spoke to the servant who had killed the mountain lion, he would gather the wood. Khawyaw brought from the herd, at his fathers bidding, four of the finest lambs and a he-goat. They four began toward the hill.  
There, between them and the mysterious cloud of the Garden of Eden they built an altar of rough stones, large and small, until a square flat surface was reached just above waist high. Elnathan crossed the wood in layers to shoulder -height. From the pack a fine cooper knife was taken from its sheath and, with single, downward stroke, each of the held animals were bled, flayed, the heart, the fat, and the liver removed. The otherwise intact sacrifices were placed upon the wood. The entrails were placed on top, respectfully. 
From the leather pack Elnathan drew a carefully folded leather. Inside, among layered green leaves, bright orange-yellow embers glowed.  Khawyaw had placed dried moss and grass under the wood and Elnathan placed an ember in the midst. 
As  the  smoke  began  to  ascend,   the  four  looked  beyond,  seeing  the  faraway  lightnings  and
                       16
                                                       The Scrolls

clouds that hid the Garden from sight. Soon the flames and smoke of the altar obscured their view and their eyes now rested upon the sacrifices. There were four lambs of offering for Elnathan and his three sons, and the he-goat for Yatzar to represent the redemption of his soul.
Elnathan produced a scroll and read outloud. “…and Abel was a keeper of sheep… and Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering.” [Genesis 4:4]
Elnathan continued in a prayer. “0 Holy Father, creator of all that exists, Holy One of all ages, Maker of us each, find between Thee and ourselves appeasement for Thy anger, discover partition from us to slake Thy Holy rage of our separation, accept we beseech Thee our offerings for we desire to be accepted of and serve Thee. Honor I pray Thy increase, to Thee we bow. O LORD…”
The four were on knees with hands raised, palms upward and at eye level, and gazing into the smoke, when appeared to Elnathan only the visage of the LORD sitting upon a throne in much honor with the seraphims, each having six wings. Two covered his face and two covered his feet and with two wings it did fly. And they spoke to each other saying,” Holy, Holy, Holy, the LORD of Hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the voice that cried caused the columns of heaven to shudder.
Elnathan spoke, “LORD Thy servant is humbled and sees now the uncleanness of the disobedience that is in me. I walk among people who do not know Thee. I dwell with the children of the fall, even the Sethites. Who am I to see and to speak to the King of all the earth?”
Gathering a hot coal with tongs from the altar a seraphim flew unto Elnathan and touched his head,
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The Scrolls

and said, “Inasmuch as this hath touched thee, your sin is removed away.”
It was then that the other three heard the voice, yet saw they not he who spoke. “Who shall go for us?” The voice said.
Then Elnathan answered and said, “Send me!” And he said, who sat upon the throne, “Go and gather from your Fathers even — Adam, and Seth, and Enos, and Cainan, and Mahalaleel, and Jared, and Enoch — the scrolls I have bid them to prepare, and deliver them to the cave of Adam. The journey shall be as fragile as the parchments you read from. Record not my bidding for it will be known only to this generation upon the earth; but, your name is written in the scrolls of heaven.”
The words ceased and the appearance to Elnathan rose from his sight within the smoke of the altar. Several moments passed as the four recovered themselves. The skins of the offerings were slowly folded, to be used in clothing and for scrolls.
They returned to the flock, Khawyaw inquiring quietly of Elnathan concerning the voice of the words he had heard. The servant stood with Khawyaw at his tent when they briefly halted. The black goat-hair tent spread low to the ground, the women and young children all but went unnoticed by the four as Elnathan and Yatzar began for Nawsheem’s hearth.
The conversation was sparse, the walk seemed but moments when they entered the lodging of Elnathan,
The women noticed the quietness of their husbands in the light of the olive oil lamps as they removed barley cakes and flat bread from the hearth. “Have we news from Khawyaw?” inquired
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Nawsheem.”
Replying, Elnathan said, “Two nights ago a large cat threatened the flock. It is dead now, and the LORD is gracious to us in the increase of the lambs.”
At that moment the daughters entered. “Behold, this, my friend is a feast to the words of our ears,” Elnathan proclaimed to Yatzar. He had yet to tell the women of the vision. The women, now busy with the hearth, would wait until later when they were alone with their husbands to hear that Elnathan was now sent of the LORD.
The late afternoon passed quickly as they ate of the barley cakes, milk, cheese, and butter, and discussed the springs awakening. Yatzar spoke of returning to Obaid. His business required him, and with little formalities the three returned to the way to Obaid to be home before the darkness.

    Darkness had been about the coned roof home for sometime. Nawsheem and their daughter slept while Elnathan yet read and pondered the vision of the altar and his mission. A Sethites anguished desire was that words of the LORD, now on the skins would find their place again in the heart. If they would just somehow leap from the scroll and dwell inside the soul. If one could then somehow be what God's words represent. The promise was a seed, and judgment, but that thousands of years yet to come. The Sethites, unknowing, could only be hopeful in the seed with each birth.
Pausing from the scroll he held, a burden of strife began to gnaw at the cords of Elnathan's soul.  
                        19
                                                                     The Scrolls

Companions for the journey to be chosen. Food to prepare. Pack animals to assemble. Guardians for their homes and family to acquire. The even heavier weight of being long away from the comforts of his wife, Nawsheem . But his thoughts were interrupted…
From close, Elnathan heard a small voice call his name. Then again. He arose and walked to the door, looked about to see the others In deep sleep. Then, facing the rough plank door as he removed the bar, he heard his name softly spoken beyond. The door swung open and Elnathan felt himself drawn across the threshold toward a standing figure. The door closed of itself behind him and he faced the caller only an arms length away.
“Reader,” the Angel of the LORD spoke, “You must descend the generations and gather from your fathers the scrolls as each have prepared, and deliver them to the cave of Adam. The days are approaching when my wrath will be poured out upon this earth. However, my words will be kept in a most marvelous way until those days be passed.”
The words somehow found utterance from Elnathan’s mouth, “Of truth LORD, I am but a child. How can I go, seeing I know not how to present myself before the fathers? Behold Lamech, is he not my older brother?”
“At my words have I enabled you, and without fall you shall accomplish this great journey. “
Elnathan fell to his knees and bent head to the ground. He had heard from Methuselah, his father that the LORD yet walked the earth as in the Garden of Eden before, making Himself known unto the patriarchs. But, tonight, was this appearance to Elnathan one not in the Holy line of the elder patriarchs.
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     "You shall go first to your father, Methuselah, and learn of him to continue this journey. You shall not record the conversations nor your journey, for only those of this evil generation shall know. To you whose comfort is in the scrolls, shall, your name be found in the scrolls in heaven.''
     The Angel of the LORD then disappeared from Elnathan, and as Elnathan rose he felt a light rushing of the night's cool air where the Angel had stood, and the smell of His breath. Standing in pause to absorb and preserve each moment in his memory, it was only with reluctance that Elnathan returned to the door.
     Nawsheem and his daughters yet slept. He lay wide awake, his mind unaware of the napping slumber of his body. All his thoughts and concentrations centered on the holy  mission.
     The morning was spent with patient rehearsing to Nawsheem the vision of the day before and the event of last night. He would leave a trusted servant with his wife and daughters, retracing his steps to his son Khawyaw. Elnathan and Khawyaw would make the trip to Methuselah at Sippor.
     "My son, we must accustom ourselves to journeying," urged Elnathan.   Obaid lay two days behind them and Sippor eight days ahead along the Perawth River. They followed the lush green banks of the waterway northward, with a group of river merchants. Their skin flotation gear was deflated and secured to the pack asses as they trekked upstream to reload the sheep and goat skins from the large herds of the upper river. They traded and sold far south to the quiet rivers mouth and adjacent coastal cities, including Ur. Roped barges of cedar logs from the white mountains along the Great Sea, floated south to like destinations, small huts atop, sheltering from the cool nights on the river.  Barefoot oarsmen, 
                       21
                                                       The Scrolls

lightly clad at the waist with goat or sheep skins, plied the river. Some were wood boats’ ribs and keel were made from the limbs of the crooked branched fruit trees the pear and plum and others. The boards of cedar were formed roughly to shape before the ribs were fastened in place with iron or copper nails. Then there were the sleek high-bowed crafts with tradesmen who came to the river cities at intervals to trade or sell wool, and barley, or woven mats from the swamps where they lived. Their homes were built of reeds bound together to form high arches, one beside another in long houses covered with woven mats. There were mats on the floor and a space in the floor for a fire pit. They had lived for many hundreds of years this way.
Some fishermen cast their nets or threw wide-pronged spears from shore. A merchant, who was the group’s cook, stopped and bought from them for the approaching evening meal and rejoined his group.
“Rawkhal!” began Elnathan as they walked. Then there appeared at the bend in the road a runner from the north, from Sippor. He seemed to glide without exertion passed the journeyers and disappeared behind them on his message errand to Obaid, or even Eridu itself, thought Elnathan.
Elnathan began again, “I have noticed in the evenings by the fire that you read from the clay tablet you have with you. From what epic, friend do you seek enlightenment?”
The now, fish burdened Rawkhal began apologetically, “Of early age I was taught at the schools of Sippor. However, my parents needed me for the work I now accomplish. I am only able to read with difficulty. The tablet I carry is The Worm and the Toothache.”
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"You have a toothache Rawkhal?"  asked Elnathan. 
"No, traveler.  But I too noticed that late at the fire you read from the leathers. What is it may I ask, since you are without doubt one of the holy ones."      
"Ah, you mark well," replied Elnathan. "Indeed, we be Sethites on journey to Sippor to visit my father, Methuselah.  My scroll is the Targum of Michael the Ark Angel, and invested with the secrets of creation." Elnathan would not have revealed Michael but for the clay  tablet’s creation epic. "Shall we share our words after meal tonight?  My name is Elnathan." 
"That we shall do Elnathan, for I know that you will share none of these fishes. But, rely upon the nuts and fruits your companion carries. I have heard of you Sethites and your peculiar diet without meat.  How do you survive?" The question went unnoticed as the days march came to a close.
     Beside the sweet waters of the Perawth River Khawyaw and Elnathan unrolled their prayer rugs, and facing the direction they had come from, they stood barefooted upon them, with palms up, elbows bent and small fingers parallel and touching. They peered into their palms, as if reading from the scrolls for blessings. 
Elnathan first, then Khawyaw, placed hands upon knees, kneeling now on the rug with head bent.  Elnathan began to pray, "The LORD bless us and keep us, the LORD make His face shine upon us, and be gracious unto us: the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, and give us peace." [Num.6:24-26]
Bending again at the knees,  his head upon the rug and palms down beside their heads,  the words they prayed together were of such muffle that Rawkhal,  at distant hearth,  could not make out the 
                      23
                                                       The Scrolls

chanted utterances he knew were prayers. As the two rolled their prayer rugs, Elnathan related to his eldest what blessing he had received. He spoke softly of “the many prayers I have made, only this evening did it come to me that this rug your mother has so carefully woven is as my own Garden where all the world is shut away from me to the very present LORD.”
They silently moved toward the fire and the warmth of the camp. The mist of the river began to thicken and Elnathan drew the square shawl to cover his head from the smoke of the fire and the night’s thickening cool mist. They ate of the food Nawsheem had packed, nuts of almonds, walnuts,pistachios the dried plums, palm dates, and raisins.
Khawyaw, after the meal, went with the water skins to refill them from the nearby brook. In a moment Rawkbal appeared and from his pack took the tablet to sit facing Elnathan. He began to read from the triangular marks between the parallel lines incised in the clay. The twenty-seven lettered, alphabetic language was familiar, as Elnathan had been schooled at Obaid and this was the Sumer speech they conversed with. Only the Sethites between themselves spoke the language Elnathan’s scroll was written in — at least in this camp.
Rawkhal read:
After Anu had created heaven,
heaven had created the earth,
the earth had created the rivers,
the rivers had created the canals,
the canals had created the marsh,
(and) the marsh had created the worm-
the worm, went, weeping, before Shamash,

                       24
                                                       The Scrolls

                His tears flowing before Ea:
                          "What wilt thou give for my food? 
                what wilt thou give me for my sucking?"
                 "I small give thee the ripe fig, 
                (and) the apricot."
                          "of what use are they to me, the ripe fig 
                and the apricot"
                          Lift me up and among the teeth 
                and the gums cause me to dwell! 
                the blood of the tooth I will suck,
                                          and of the gum I will gnaw      
                its roots!"         
                Fix the pin and seize its foot.         
                because thou hast said this, O worm,        
                May Ea smite thee with the might        
                of his hand!                                                                                                                Ancient Near East V. 1, Pritchard   


"The instruction to the dentist is clear enough, Elnathan. Seize the painful tooth, pull it out.  But what of this Michael you spoke of earlier."  The angel's name that Elnathan had mentioned had pierced the boy's consciousness. 
Elnathan began slowly,  "Our father Adam, who yet lives, at first had good conversation with the Creator and he spoke to him these words which Adam was instructed to write upon the skins:  'In the beginning Eloheem created the heavens and the earth.'” Elnathan paused to let the words do their work. Khawyaw returned with the filled bottles.       
Elnathan  removed  a scroll from the leather shoulder bag that he always carried and handed it to  Khawyaw.   "Read, my son, for Rawkhal, myself, and the LORD."   Khawyaw's soft  smooth hands  received
                        25

                                                       The Scrolls

the scroll and, unrolling it, he glanced briefly at Rawkhal and began reading the Targum of Michael.
Unnoticed by Rawkhal, Elnathan steadily looked upon his guest as the reading proceeded, noting his reactions as he saw his heart respond to the words.
The reading concluded, Rawkhal’s back straightened, and he mentally returned to his surroundings, looking to Elnathan. He spoke softly, “We shall hear more of these things tomorrow night. Thank you my friends have a restful night. We have watchmen for the night.”
Increasingly the wildness of the cities was overflowing into the highways. It would take a king system late in the days of Elnathan to control the unrule. And as in the time before Adam, the scrolls spoke of the great King Lucifer and his tragic error. It would end with a final judgment from the mouth of God, indeed already uttered. But that time before none survived the flood of waters.
Even now travelers armed themselves, sword and dagger, some with wooden clubs. Khawyaw was armed with sword and, on this trip, he was never far from his father, who would only burden himself with his script of scrolls. The road consisted of one overnight inn, several night camps, and they neared the city of Sippor.
The noise of the fairs and confusion of traffic unsettled Elnathan and Khawyaw, even as the other cities they had visited. Methuselah’s tent lie north and a bit west of Sippor and so travel with these boatmen was nearly over. At parting, Rawkhal reminded them to visit the docks and take a ride on the river, a much safer and effortless journey back to Obaid. It was a suggestion they were quite glad to hear.
Beginning now to pass through Sippor and the mud brick walls of the houses it formed seemed
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an endless hallway of mazes. The shops of the trades now began to become more frequent. The weaver
was at one. His wares bundled and draped for display, sat working with his feet in a pit, his loom above his knees. The woven material ribboned into a basket beside him, and the long threads of flax stretched in front of him. Bent to his work, the frame of the loom fastened in the ground appeared to frame him in the arduous task.
Further on, a potter worked at his kick wheel, forming pots and bowls, the smoke of the kiln in back of the house drifted to the dirt street in the early morning calm.
A temple soon loomed into view. There were many in the city, this one dedicated to Enlil, lord of the air. All expense was put into these zigguart structures, the building atop housed the god. Stone paved buildings about the base housed the priests and priests in preparation. There were great libraries and close-by tablet houses where their voices were heard in the streets– first the school father then the responding school sons.
Elnathan remembered the difficult classes, which caused him to refuge in the simplicity of the leather scroll language of his people.
Leaving the temple area they encountered more libraries. Inside one, when Elnathan could refrain
himself no longer, he found rows of clay tableted shelves and large reference cylinders–quadrangular, pentagonal, and hexagonal, mounted on stands. Here, the law, science, literature and religion of an increasingly honed society rested. Elnathan had never been to so vast a library. For this, the city of Sippor
was renowned. The atmosphere here was contrary to the street scene. Quietly the robed patrons
27
The Scroll
browsed and read the contents. Still, the compositions did not hold the truths that satisfied the souls longing for the living God, and so the two wrapped themselves and reentered the street, passing on.
At the edge of the city as the road again closed to the rivers edge, Khawyaw motioned to his father. Some unknown activity was taking place outside a small home and they stopped. On a couple of lines along the street wall hung squares of strange sheets.
Elnathan said, “My friend, what trade do you craft here?”
The young man in his goat skin skirt looked up from an odd looking rimless wheel on a platform and greeted them, his hands still slowly turning the wheel. “We are working the new craft from the Dark River where the great reeds grow. It is called paper. You can see, if you come closer, the crossed strips of the papyrus reeds we have cut. I now squeeze the water from them and then we dry them further on the lines.” He could see the questioning look on Elnathan’s face.
“What is it for, these hand size – papers?” Asked Elnathan.
“They are used to write on, like the leather scrolls, once we glue them together into scrolls. They are more fragile, but of good writing surface.” He handed Elnathan a dry page, as he urged Khawyaw to purchase a scroll that he had produced from the house.
Elnathan was impressed, yet at length they parted without buying. Methuselah’s tent was near and he hastened his steps toward his father.
With tents in sight the two met shepherds in the way returning the flocks. Elnathan recognized now the aged Yawd among them — he had a heavy hand in raising a younger son of the aged patriarch.
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And he too had instilled in Elnathan his Sethite heritage of the scriptures of God. They embraced for a long time, it had been years since Elnathan had seen Yawd.
“Yawd, how good to see you again,” said Elnathan.
“And you, my lord. You are well I can see. And who is this with you?” inquired Yawd.
“Yawd, meet my eldest son, Khawyaw.”
Khawyaw bowed,but the aged servant would have none of that and lifted him up.
“Not so Khawyaw, I am the servant of my master Methuselah and you his seed,” demanded Yawd.
“We come to my father, Yawd, on an errand from the LORD God, to seek his guidance,” said Elnathan.
“We shall three go together. Your father is in the tent. He will be pleased that his son does nothing until he has spoken with you.” Continuing, it was of course Yawd who entered first into the presence of Methuselah. “My lord,” he began, “the LORD God has brought again your sons.” Methuselah raised himself to greet them.
Elnathan spoke, “My father.”
And he said, “Here am I, who are you, my son?”
Elnathan said to Methuselah. “I am Elnathan, your younger son, and I bring with me Khawyaw my eldest. We seek guidance of thee having been sent to you by the LORD God.”
“Sit my sons. Yawd will bring raisins and figs.”
Elnathan, opposite his father, seated himself upon the thick wool rugs with Khawyaw at his right
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hand.
“Tell me Khawyaw you are keeper of the flocks of your father?”
“Yes, my father,” answered Khawyaw.
“You have many young lambs this spring, with the LORD’s blessing, I trust?”
“Yes, father Methuselah, the good fortune of our GOD is with my father ‘s flock and mine.”
Yawd reentered with the bowls.
“Enjoy the fruitfulness of Gods providing my sons,” offered Methuselah.
“My father, I can not rest until my errand from the LORD be made known to you and your instructions known to my ears,” countered Elnathan.
“Continue on, Elnathan,” said Methuselah.
“Just twelve days ago the LORD, in a vision, came to me as we made offering and again in the night as I read from the scrolls. The Angel of the LORD, blessed be God’s name, came to my door. He requires of me to gather of our fathers the Holy Scrolls and deliver them to the cave of Adam. I am sent to you, my father, for guidance and instructions in the journey seeing I am but a child.”
“It is well, my son, that you have been sent to me, for the LORD my God has indeed prepared me

wonderfully,” responded Methuselah. “It has been shown to me in many dreams, that a judgment of flooding waters will take away from the earth all that has breath – – because of the extreme evil of the inhabitants. And in my dream, I saw the dead carcasses upon the waters, and many of our Holy Scrolls floating upon the surface of the water. Yet, the scrolls remained dry and unharmed from the flood.
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Further, my soul saw, the visage of myriads of eyes that sought to and did read the scrolls. The eyes were, as it seemed to me, like the waves of the Ocean of Nod, as they come to the shore without ceasing. Moreover, your journey will be very long and tiring; yet, without harm. Prepared for you are seven elders to travel with you and Khawyaw. You know of course our father Adam is near Eridu. His son Seth who he sent far away from Cain to Koosh is at the head of the Dark River. Enos, his son, who first began to convert the people of the earth that they to may call upon the name of the LORD is near Yereekho. And Cainan, his son, is near Harran. His son, Mahalaleel dwells near Ninua along the Kiddehkel River, and his son, Jared dwells north of my tent on the other side of the River, and his son, Enoch the great scribe, lives near Ur. It is necessary that these seven sages accompany you for, as the LORD brought you to me by my servant Yawd, these in their turn will approach the fathers before you. You have noticed my scribe Mooth. He will prepare all of these things and more in scroll for the journey. Now, receive and rest yourselves this night, and tomorrow and the next day be on your way with my blessings. Eat now, my sons.”
Yawd set a bowl of water and towels for their hands, and servants brought the flat bread and milk of the flock and butter, nuts, and more fruit. A low round table held bowls of cooked grains, barley, and wheat. They feasted long into the night.
On the next day they were invited to the old one’s tent. This time they enjoyed the music of his musician’s lyre, and when final notes ceased the treasure of the scrolls Methuselah were uncovered.
Elnathan had seen these as a boy and they would be passed to Lamech in time. But now, the reader unrolled and began.
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There were targums and Holy Scrolls.  However, prized were the comments about the readings by Methuselah. The day passed quickly this way, the meal remembered only vaguely until the light of the evening passed to shadows and the two departed to their tent. 
It was with the early light of day that the envoy of ambassadors appeared at Elnathan's tent door. All Sethites, he gasped with hesitant remembrance and began to recognize a couple of them from his youth. They were sages, greetings were of the short sort. Their pack asses and mules were in ready. 
Elnathan and Khawyaw glanced to Methuselah's tent.  He stood at the door. They went to embrace him and receive a blessing for the trip that was to begin from his father's door post.
     Methuselah spoke this blessing in the day that the travelers began the journey:     

The wilderness and the solitary place
shall be glad for them;
and the desert shall rejoice
and blossom as the rose.
and an highway shall be there and a way,
and it shall be called
the way of holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it;
but it shall be for those:
the wayfaring men …. Isa. 35:1-8

              And so, Elnathan, God’s wayfaring man, begins his journey in the year 927  [3077BC].

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                Targum of Adam


    0 LORD of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee?            Psa.89:8,9
        Thou rulest the raging of the sea:                      “                               0 LORD, thou arose and rebuked the wind,
          and said unto the sea, peace, be still.
    I will praise thee, O LORD with my whole heart,               Psa.9:1
        for the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.         Mk.4:39                    And the great God dispersed the thick cloud of dust.
          and God removed away the scales of sin.
    And God spoke to give Light upon the face of the deep.
        and God said let the excellence of intelligence be faith.
     With time the Holy God made home for Light
        and with time the praise of eternity made faith.
    With time the Holy God made the darkness flee
    and with time the Holy One placed knowledge below.
    He it is that named Light day
    He it is that names faith day.
    He it is that named darkness night
        He it is that named knowledge night
     Until time has passed to evening there is no day 
        until time has passed to morning there is no night
    This is the first spirit after that judgment 
        this first the day that God made.


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Returning to the seven they turned to Eridu, a small troop of servants, asses, and mules followed the group of travelers.  The tops of staves danced in the air, the sound of hooves and feet, and the taps of the staves waned in the ears of Methuselah.
     It was evening when Elnathan was done bargaining with the boatman of the barge at the docks of Sippor. The pack animals and servants would ride the raft, the sages, Elnathan and Khawyaw would refuge in the barge. They spent the night on the docks, the servants pitched a small tent from the rivers chill, they slept.
Early morning found the travelers on the river passing the edge of the city, its tall buildings as towers against the horizon, the date palms and fruit groves more predominate, and the farmers homes and huts further from the shore line and the irrigated fields next to the river. Men with ass and plow, were arriving to the fields. Women with the bags of planting seed would follow the plows planting, and others with laundry would go to the rivers edge. There would be voices of the young children excited to play in the water. 
Further south the only sight of men would be the stick fishing huts perched on poles above the reeds and waters. It was then that an Erudite group on board the barge became acquainted with Elnathan's.  Unfortunately, there were no converts made of them.
The day of rest given to Elnathan and Khawyaw by Methuselah, so that the sages could be brought, now, was beginning to be a memory much set upon by Elnathan.  He would think of it often during the journey.  It was quieter there, free from  interruptions.  And they learned the Holy Scrolls.   
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Sethite ways differed from the schools of Sippor, indeed, any of the schools of the people of the earth.  A schooled Sethite learned from his sage or sages. It was not that their privacy was secret from the people of the earth, rather it was to refuge with faithful men of the true God, who know that the fear of the LORD is his treasure. 
Now, in these days, the necessary interaction with the people of the earth had brought about unions, and some had strayed from the quiet tents of their prepared helpmates. These were the men of renown, mighty men, but, not to seeking the LORD God. They began not only to seek the daughters of the people of the earth, but also to seek the things of the earth, until the resulting conflicts within them brought forth rages and noise heard throughout the cities and road- sides and Heaven.
     The sages sat facing Elnathan, not as in a school class but rather as ministers to his health -- his spiritual health -- as one after another read from their scrolls and commented of the heaven of God's throne. The mist filled morning and evening sunsets and sunrises went nearly unnoticed as these holy men took advantage of a rare opportunity  in being together. Unfortunately, the time on the river was only half that on the road and having already passed Fara and Obaid they prepared to disembark at the great city of Ur. 
Looming the shore line was the huge ziggurat to Sin the moon god and there dwelt at its apex Ningal, the wife of Sin. The square terraced tower built of solid brick with trees and shrubbery, a large number of shrines, and small-room living spaces for the priests, priestesses, and attendants was where King Meekalam worshipped. He reigned in gold and silver ornaments from his throne room not far from the 
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shrines. At necessary times the king would climb the flights of step’s continuing opposite cases from each terrace to worship at the shrine of Ningar. As ever, the worshipers of the things of creation needed something to do with their time. Only the most simple of their people were deceived into believing it real. But, what else was there to believe in, except what was to be seen or felt? This made converting the people of the world difficult. Like Rawkhal, his interest in words was the only lever Elnathan could use.
“Come, we must pass Ur to Eridu, and we should do so by evening,” urged Elnathan. They threaded their way through the city of bricks, the asses hooves clacking on the sometimes stone paved streets. Indeed, with the persistence of Elnathan, they arrived at the tents of the Faith Father Adam.
It was Ore forefront, who was greeted by servants. Returning to Elnathan, Ore said, “Adam and Eve have gone to the high cave, we may see them there.”
“It is well we should see them there where the scrolls are kept.” replied Elnathan. “‘We will leave the servants and pack animals here and proceed.”
A servant of Adam’s led a path as the quiet file continued on.
The trail rose slightly as the low hills came into view. To the south lay Eridu, its buildings commanding an audience, but not receiving it. They were set to visit the cave of Adam.
Approaching, Adam’s servant and Ore entered the cave. As the group neared, they saw that a room of stone had been built over the cave entrance.
The servant said: “My Lord Adam, an emissary of your children wishes to speak with you.”
Eve was seated at the room window that faced to the Ocean of Nod. The ancient Adam was
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seated to the back of the cave wall. Various comforts such as mated flooring rugs and pillows furnished the room.
Adam looked up from a scroll, the lines of his face trailing from ear to eye. A full white beard covered his chest and the kept white hair glistened yellow from the olive oil lamp near the low table that rested on the woven rug. He wore a lambskin robe that crossed his right shoulder.
Eve arose, bringing with her a shoulder robe that, she placed around Adam’s shoulders before seating her self at his left. She wore a doe skin that fell to her ankles, patterned after Adam’s. Her black eyes sparkled as she came to rest beside her mate. Her long hair was full to the waist and pulled over her left shoulder covering the robe and her breasts. The lines in Adam’s face were not evident in Eves. Her complexion was warm and tan, her hands small and folded on her lap. She Iooked to the visitors as Adam began to speak.
“Say on Kawbar,” Adam’s voice betrayed none of the age his face showed. It was clear and forceful, not overbearing, rather humbled, still mindful of the offense.
“My Lord, this is ,Ore son of Enoch,” the servant said.
“Speak, Ore, are you alone?” Adam inquired.
Ore rose from his knees saying, “My Lord, my name is Ore a Sethite sage of the Enoch family. I seek audience for the younger son of Methuselah, Elnathan, who has come seeking of thee in behalf of the LORD God who saw fit to appear unto him giving him a task to perform.”
“An appearance, you say, it will be my pleasure to listen to my son Elnathan. Of course, you two
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are not alone on such a journey. Please, let the others join us as well.”
Ore returned to Elnathan. “We are all called by Adam, come.”
Elnathan had turned to receive Ore’s message. He had been gazing eastward to the parcel of earth where lay the Holy ground of the Garden of Eden. A deep cloud covered it all and even Eridu beyond was obscured from view. Adam and Eve must have spent many times looking and remembering the pleasures of paradise of the LORD God and the bitter memories of their expulsion. Would, or even could, any have done any differently? That old serpent and his deceitful ways seized every opportunity.
Now, Elnathan stood before the ancient patriarch. Bowing respectfully, he spoke, “My father.”
“Here, who art thou?” Adam spoke.
“I am Elnathan, sent by vision to your feet.”
“Say on,” responded Adam. Servants of Adam and the handmaidens of Eve had left the chamber, some to deeper in the cave, others through the doorway through which the sages had moments before passed. Indeed the room, though not overcrowded, was comfortable in content and the presence of the sages enhanced the meeting.
“My Lord Adam, eighteen days have passed since the LORD visited me in a vision as we made sacrifice, and again in the night as I sat at scroll. He has sent me to gather scrolls from the fathers to preserve them in this cave in preparation for the flood of judgment. He sent me first to my father Methuselah, where I received certain instructions and the seven sages who accompany me my son Khawyaw also is with me.”
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    Then Adam spoke saying. "It is so, my son, that the ways of God do not change neither does His mercy depart from those who desire Him. Not long after we fled from the Garden and we, by command, took up the ways of the people of the earth in plowing and planting for our food that, as I plowed and Eve sowed the seed behind the plow, she called to me. In the furrow she had found the corner of a stone tablet with the Argot Canticle pencraft2  that we speak today. Which language the LORD showed me, to write the names of all the animals that I have named. We worked all afternoon to free it from the earth and returned here to the cave with it. It is very heavy and remains today in the back of the cave. The stone tells of a time before a flood like the one to come, but from which no faith survivors emerged. During the time before that flood, so the tablet reads, a great man lived, created by God with much beauty. His life was that of King and High Priest of all the earth, and his power absolute. This man, as you know from the targums, sought to take the throne of God, and such was God's indignation that he cast him to the earth, his body struck through with the sword and arrows of the living, God. The Nations looked upon his body that rotted and decayed never to rise from death. His name was Lucifer, but from that time when he refused to relinquish his soul and spirit back to God, he is called Satan -- the adversary of God.  It was he who entered the body of the serpent in the Garden of Eden to beguile us."
     Adam continued.  "The LORD God instructed me to record the vast time of the earth's creation and Lucifer's demise in but a few opening words. 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.' And I recorded, as He instructed me,the earth's recovery from that flood, describing until the day in which he created me. This Holy Scroll has been prepared many years ago. It will be well my son, for you to 
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                                                       The Scrolls

place it with the others you bring. It is in a room further within the cave that I shall show to you.”
It was Ore who spoke next. “Please forgive the intrusion my father Adam. There are times we would like to know of, times when in the evening in the Garden you spoke face to face with the Holy LORD God. What were those times like, for now even our visions are clouded by the division of our attentions.”
A motion of Eve brought again her handmaid to whom she spoke softly. Adam looked about the group understandingly, then to Eve. The light of the day had shrunk to darkness and the travelers had only washed feet at his door.
“We shall hear more tomorrow, my sons. Now we shall eat and rest for the day is spent.”
The meal passed with discussion of Elnathan’s preparations. The wayfarers covered their feet near where they sat and the ancient couple retreated within the cave.
Elnathan sat facing where Adam had been seated last evening, his eyes were fastened to the scroll he was reading from. The others, yet slept in the mornings early hour:

                      Bless the Lord, O my soul.
                      O LORD my God, thou art very great;
                      Thou art clothed with honor and majesty 
            Who coverest theyself with light as with a garment: 
            Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
                      Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters:
                      Who maketh the clouds His chariot:
                      Who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
                      Who maketh His angels spirits;
                      His ministers a flaming fire:
                      Who laid the foundations of the earth,
                      that it should not be removed forever.
                      Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment:
                      The waters stood above the mountains.
                      At Thy rebuke they fled;                                        
                                 [Psa 104:1-7]

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Adams hand came to rest upon Elnathan’s shoulder. “My son, come with me.”
The reader closed the scroll and as Elnathan followed replaced it to his script. The cave was deep and they walked a goodly distance to a room whose wall reflected the flickering light’s they carried and on the many clay jugs. A large, flat stone leaned on the wall far to the left.
Adam opened a jar and removed a scroll whose edges were badly worn and it’s skin yellowed. “This is a record of the names of the animals I have named. After leaving the Garden, I made this copy from memory. The original lies, I suppose, upon the large rock in the Garden where I sat and wrote and the LORD read from, when He came to see what I would call them.” Replacing the scroll and re-covering the jar, Adam moved to a large clay vessel and removed its contents. Dropping the lid to the floor and removing a linen covered scroll he placed it in Elnathan’s hands, explaining. “This scroll I have prepared with my own pen. It is the one to be preserved.”
Too large for his script, Elnathan stood frozen to the spot. Adam noticed his concern for the remaining writings. “We have many targums and Psalms, my son. Care not for them as for the one you hold. Revealed in the hearts of the faithful the words will arise again, but the scroll in your arms and those you bring will be in safe-guard here. It was then, that Elnathan noticed the empty jars, left of the one that had held Adams scroll. Taking the scroll from Elnathan, Adam replaced it to the jar and reclosed the jar.
Reluctantly, Elnathan turned and retraced the steps returning to the chamber entrance, finding Ore waking the others. Adam and Eve entered the room as the others now readied.
Bowing low, they retreated to the door while Elnathan took leave of the couple. “We shall return,
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my father Adam. We must make haste now to continue our travel.”
“And to whom do you travel next, Elnathan?”
“To your son, Seth, my Lord at Koosh.”
The speaking of his son’s name moved Adam to step forward. “We sent Seth so far away, before Cain could even see him. We have never so much as placed eyes upon him since. Please return, Elnathan, when you are rested from your mission, and bring his mother tidings.”
“It will be so, my father,” promised Elnathan.
Shortly past the door, Kawbar caught up with Elnathan. “My Lord Elnathan, my master Adam has sent a gift to you.” Placing a scroll in Elnathan’s hand Kawbar returned to the cave door. Elnathan, in the rear watched as Ore approached the waiting servants and the asses. Slowly he placed the scroll in his script and returned to the sages and the long journey. The trail to Adam’s tents would be less tiring with the targum. However, the ease was matched by the reluctance with which they left the cave dwellers.
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                          Targum of Seth

My God, when Thou spoke, the judgment removed
when Thou spoke, it was established.
My God made from the conclusion of judgment,
when Thou lifted up above the deep.
My God made to remain below the dark waters
when thou placed above the conclusion
My God made in the midst of below and above,
when Thou set above thy words of faith
My God separated with what came from below
the words without and the words of Life
And God made the resolution of His judgment,
and separated the words below from words above.
and separated the waters of death below from the words of life.
The Holy God spoke to call the conclusion,
and spoke to establish a good name,
and God named this, heaven, in the presence of the faithful he dost dwell.
Until time has passed to morning there is no night,
Until time has passed to evening there is no day,
This is the second spirit after that judgment
This second, the day God made.

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     EInathan looked northward. The land of Eden spread between the rivers. He planned to travel to the west of Sippor continuing on north to Hit. The land was sparsely green this far from the river and irrigation ditches. Their destination would draw the wayfarers closer to the river as the group made their way north. The evening pasture would become more plentiful.
     In the east that night they could see the distant city of Obaid.  Not soon would Elnathan again be so close to his tent, to remember the tender touch of Nawsheem. His God sent him on. The armed servants, seven, plus Khawyaw, then the seven sages and Elnathan began the trip through the eastern tip of fertile Eden.  That land was between the rivers, but the green overspread the east and west side if each natural water passage.
     Once they reached the work city of Hit, Elnathan would attempt to find a caravan crossing the desert to the Great Sea.  Methuselah's instructions were explicit and he was grateful for the burden they lifted from him. This far from the Perawth River, the threat of bandits was possible, yet not as dangerous as it would increasingly become as they neared Hit.  
Three days from Adam's cave they could vaguely see the outline of a city they knew to be Fara. Elnathan and Khawyaw had passed closer on their way to Methuselah's.  Now the group halted in the noon day heat.
"Ho, travelers," came the call. "Are you on journey to Sippor or lost in this plain wilderness?" It was approaching nightfall. A shepherd far from his herd had a lamb in his arm and was approaching them from the west.  One of the servants hurried to meet him. 
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"He wishes our company this night, master." 
"Bring him in,"  replied Elnathan. 
The servants began tethering the pack animals. No fire was needed as the warm breeze of spring hung in the air and their food conveniently needed no cooking. 
The shepherd faced EInathan. "You are alone, my friend?" 
"Yes, save for this stray lamb.  Our flock is on toward the river and night is overtaking me. May I rest with your servants and be on my way at the light of day?"
"Nay, my friend you will labor not in this hermitage, but lodge with the sages." 
Now sat the six and the shepherd, candidly investigated each other.  The shepherd, noticing the scripts, was at no loss to know who's presence he was in. Rather the others noted only the staff and pouch and sling at his girt, which were Sumerian enough, but the best clue was his staunch wide build.
"From what city are you pasturing on the edge of paradise?"  they inquired. 
"Obaid, my master is Dungi, my name is Ibi-sin.  You are Sethites?"  
"Yes my friend." 
Elnathan rose to speak to the servants and the six continued in the conversation.  From the distance Elnathan watched them with Ibi-sin. How often the Sethites reach out, and only how often their hands returned empty.  Ibi-sin would listen and be polite and be gone in the morning,  Elnathan could see.
     The way to Hit was otherwise uneventful. Enjoyable were the moments of each day, when he joined the sages in reading and discussion. 
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Coming upon the travelers he beheld a small river side-city, not planned at all as Obaid or Ur, with one story dwellings of the humblest sort. The resource taken from this area was likely the reason. Bitumen from the asphalt pits provided mortar for the brickwork of the buildings at Ur and the other cities. This material they shipped laboriously from pit to port to sites aboard the river barges and boats. Unpleasantness was the stamp of the product emitted from the steaming fusses and noxious odor, and the sticky substance of the pits. Yet, for a traveler, this was the point at which one either continued on the river road to Mari and Emar north, two months to port at, the same spot in the Great Sea, or caravaned the desert in half the time.
     Immediately Elnathan, taking a servant, began the task of finding a caravan while the rest found spot and set camp for the night.
Returning at dusk exhausted, Elnathan explained, "A caravan is to arrive back tomorrow and another leaves in two days. We will be joining it. The master of the caravan has instructed me as to the things we will need, and so we shall send servants tomorrow to find what will be needed. Now we shall rest."
     Caravans came and went from the docks where four wheel carts carried the merchandises  into the cities. At Hit, though, most was loaded into boats for transport south. Barley, wool, gold, silver, copper, tin, iron and painted pottery, with cedar from the coast of the Great Sea, passed and was loaded from Hit's docks. The caravan, Elnathan and the sages, would travel was carrying herbs and spices. These, the watchers had taught the sons of Cain to use. Thus, Satan gained another foothold on man's attention, 
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whether Sethites or people of the earth.
The Cainites at their city of Enoch needed no distracting. But, the sages rumored that a Cainite had humbled himself and came to fare with one of the sons of Seth, having heard of God’s judgment coming to flood the world. This was before – – and Elnathan knew this from his scroll – – the watcher angels left their first estate (in the heaven next to the earth), for then their home was above the earth and their stations above the tents of the Sethites. The angel’s vigil was to warn of the Cainites, should they approach. Sorrowfully, they looked upon the people of the earth — and with careful planning made union with the women. From such unions came giants of the earth, the Anakims of Bashan and the Zamzummins east of Ninua. And so, fully drawn away from their Godly purpose, they now hover above Enoch, the city of Cain.
The astrologers of the people of the earth had taken note when the watchers disappeared from their cities skies and devised a method of connecting the stars to pattern the missing angels. Semyaz was the leader; Tame taught the pattern of the stars, Armaros resolved incantations and the cutting of roots, Kokarer’el possessed the knowledge of signs, Azaz’el taught of weapons and cosmetics and jewelry, Amasras, Ramel, Baraqyal, Batar’el, Zaqe’el, Kestar’el, Yamoyol were all carried away by that old deceiver.
Elnathan thought of the scroll now as he rested for the perilous trip across the desert. The smell of the pits had drifted away from the travelers tent and finally Elnathan and the others slept.
Three of the sages were at Elnathan’s tent. He rerolled his scroll and stepped outside. “My brothers, what shall I do for you?”
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"We came, said one, "to ask you to join us in making sacrifice and prayer for God's mercies during the desert journey.  Behold the lamb."
"It is well as you have spoken." 
The four, one with the fire, one with the wood, one with the lamb, and one with the knife, went west from sight of the city. The servants were in town purchasing and three sages waited at the tents.  
The sages soon saw Ore and Khawyaw approaching the tents.  They had gone to the river north of Hit to draw water for the trip.   "Your father and the brothers have gone to do sacrifice and the servants have gone into Hit for our caravan necessities." 
Certainly the need for water had been pressing. They feigned no super strengths, they were exhausted and glad for the night of comfortable slumber. Joining the sages on the shaded rug they awaited the others return.
The caravan slowly passed from Hit, laden with the spices, incense gums, pottery, and wood carvings -- into the sands of the desert. The bells of the pack animals began to be noticed by Elnathan, then the sand softened clop of hooves, and the sound of the voices of the black-robed caravaneers, whose intervaled chants boosted the morale of man and pack ass. 
The quiet of the desert would now penetrate the souls of weary travelers and merchants until darkness becomes the welcome guest. A dried dung fire in the sand provided heat from the cold and a bed of glowing embers received the water glazed bread from the caravan master. No one went hungry in the caravan. A bitter tea quenched the thirst. Elnathan and his brothers adhered to their own diet, though 
                       48

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not refusing the caravans water.
As a scroll on a spindle, Elnathan wrapped the goatskin cloak a little tighter to guard himself from not only the blowing sands but the piercing thoughts of the people of the earth. Often the remembrance of the voluptuous libraries at Sippor, a seat of worldly learning entered his mind. He was impressed by the dictionaries,cyclopedias,complete works of law, science, religious psalms, hymns, incantations and omens, and literature. Truly a book, town. Even at this moment scribes plied their styluses to the clay tablets — “sacred writings” to bury, that could be dug up after the flood. This was not a secret among the Sethites only.
Yet, what futility, their writings were an intermingling of Sethite truth and of other culture legends with the idea of personifying every natural object and force – – myths – – still set only upon this life. The truth, however, would be wrapped and sealed in jars within the cave of Adam designed by the God of creation – – fragile vellums as any man’s heart – – each with its own life span and copious offspring, with the approving eye of the God of Judgment preserving.
Carrying these thoughts, Elnathan barely felt the hot sands puff beneath his sandals and trickle between his toes, leaving little more than a trail of air borne dust. Days and nights, days and nights, until mid-way a most pleasant sight, Ar-rutbah, an oasis of mud buildings and date palms. A relief from the tension of bound-up fears and hot blowing sands.
The animals threaded through the narrow streets tied head to tall until safe within the center of the city bazaar. Children played in the street sands. Men and women with their wares sat and stood – – the men
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with sword and dagger and the women their own protection of groups. They rested now within a building on a second floor, rugged with wooden carved pillar braces and slatted screens. This safety of the caravaneer was never breached by the well-supplied Sethites. That night, they heard from the balcony, chants and drums, flutes and fires, that held captive a wondering audience. Then began the clapping, and high shrills of women’s voices as they touched hands and rubbed hands in songs.
Three days later, as quietly as it had entered the city the caravan removed to the southern edge of the mountain ranges the reddish sand and blue brownish clouds of the desert sky. And more of the desert sands to traverse.
With the White Mountains in sight, after another two weeks, the caravan stretched through a small city of weavers then through the mountain pass, exposing the Great Sea. Traveling down toward the coast they crossed a small river. Only a morning’s journey lay ahead of them to the city of Gebal. That night, Elnathan and the others of his party listened to the conversation of the caravan master as he told of the gods of Gebal.
“Dunuz-Tammuz is her name. At the beginning of this river Nahr Israim is the magnificent fountain of Apheca.” He spoke softer now. “The women of Gebal repair this temple each summer to celebrate with great licentiousness the death of Tammuz. They are perhaps there now. The city is regarded as a holy city by its ancients.”
EInathan and the sages bowed their heads and set hope upon the end of this caravan. The rites were not unheard of in Obaid or Ur. But the tainting of the Sethite way of life, with the descriptive
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repugnances of these practices, was disdained by the holders of the truth of the living God. Morning must come quickly that they may be away from these waters.
On the bluff of the foothills of the White Mountains before a small harbor of the Great Sea, the travelers entered the city of Gebal. The smell of the sea was refreshing to them. At times the winds brought such freshness from the Nod Sea. The homes here were similiar to Elnathan’s, except that these low stone walls were oval with a short ridge at the top. Beside one, an enormous heap of empty shell fish, evidenced the homes owner trade in purple dye. The substance was extracted from the shell fish to dye cloth. This city is the center of a whole district stretching a six or seven day journey along the coast with Gebal as its capital.
Above the bluff in the foothills, loggers were bringing large cedar trees to the boat builders and merchants. Looking along the coast, Elnathan pointed for Khawyaw. “Over there, see, the ship builders?”
Khawyaw acknowledged him. And in the harbor several ships were anchored.
“We shall find our way prospered by the LORD, Khawyaw, for certainly one of these must be going to the Dark River.” They made their way to the docks leaving the others to graze the pack animals.
“A ship may not leave for a month or more, father.”
Elnathan was aware of the dictating trade winds. But he chose to ignore the reality of the statement. His God had sent him, and the LORD, his God, would make the way.
One more ship owner to speak to, the others would be one or two months before embarking and then not to the south. “Have you room for more passengers to the Dark River.” called out Elnathan.
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"If not,I have not enough passengers to pay for a voyage and will be here all winter,"  called back the shipper. The bargain was struck and Elnathan and Khawyaw headed back for the others. 
"A few days."  Elnathan exclaimed as he approached the sages. "There is a problem though.  Only enough room for our baggage and we Sethites. What shall we do?" 
The group retreated to thought until night fall found them without answer. Morning rather revived them, and it was Khawyaw who spoke. "My father, could we not send the servants and in their care the asses back to the weavers town to wait for us there. Most of the journey from here to Seth is by boat."
The proposal was readily received, and Elnathan went to pay passage for them on the ship. While Elnathan and Ore went, the others decided that the servants should remain until the ship put from shore.  And so a suitable spot was found for a more permanent camp, with the owners permission, on the edge of town.  Khawyaw went to bring his father. 
As he approached the city, Khawyaw met a funeral nearing a burial site which was a natural cave in the bluff. He stopped to watch and he supposed to be respectful. As they proceeded he could see that the body had been wrapped for placing.  Some, he knew, burned or boiled the flesh away for bringing home if they had been far from home. Moreover, Khawyaw noticed the number of pottery containers with food, tools, weapons, and water. Although these people of the earth knew little of why they practiced the custom, it was clear to Khawyaw that the expectations of the Sethites had overflowed to the people of the earth, or even perhaps some Cainite origin was in their culture. For Cain had not been ignorant of God's promises. 
The entrance to the cave closed, the relatives would wait for sometime before replenishing the 
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jars and water and rearranging the deceased bones. The chambers were small and it was a family grave with many burials already.
After some time, Khawyaw continued on and soon came upon his father and Ore, to tell them of the new camp site.
“We may begin loading our baggage now, Khawyaw” Elnathan instructed when they reached the tents.

The servants could be seen threading their way through the hillside, retracing the steps of a week before.  Now Elnathan looked seaward, as the ship was underway the sail billowed toward the Dark River. She was forty five cubits long of fir planking with fir paddle rudders and fir oars. There was cargo below deck bound for the Dark River city of Mennofer on the west bank after the delta. 
The salt air felt good to them after the sand winds of the desert, and the fact they were traveling on their gold and silver bags rather than on foot was good for their morale. The captain was an amiable enough master to the crew as well to his passengers, especially when fair winds seemed to be favoring 
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him. He had come with the same vessel from the islands north of the Dark River outlet, where trade winds were treacherous and hugging the coastline was the practiced difficulty.
Elnathan overheard the captain say, with the wind they were having, it would be two days sailing, to reach Mennofer. An exuberant Sethite proc!aimed the news to the others and they all rested easier on the cedar decking.
The next day and one port behind them the captain asked Khawyaw if he would like to see the hold of the ship. Below and in a dim lamp, Khawyaw was taken aback at what was being revealed to him. Four large clay storage jars were roped to the structure, their bottoms resting on a bed of sticks and surrounded with the same. The vessels were full of olive oil and sealed until port. Smaller amphoras of wine were carefully packed together, again with packing sticks. Stone anchors with the holes in them lay on sticks one atop the other at mid-ship. Under the layer of stick packing lay the ship’s ballast — ingots of copper and tin, shaped like the opened hide of a kid goat lay stacked. And baskets of amber glass, and pots of spices, and arrow points, spears and swords filled the hold, so that Khawyaw emerged rather stunned from the experience.
The ship had begun its journey up the delta of the river and slowed somewhat, for now the palm trees and taller vegetation of the delta interfered with the winds. Small shore towns began to appear, the larger of clay brick were fortified with rows of sharpened poles extending toward the river with well guarded gates. The peoples of the north islands sometimes raided these riverside farm villages.
It was at Mennofer that Elnathan would note that the formidability of its existence was enough to
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strike fear to the heart. Here reigned the great, Mene of the Dark River land, and it would be to him that Khawyaw and Ore would seek an audience to ask permission to pass up and through his realm.
Now past the neck of the delta, the river had returned from inundation and left the black silt that gave it its name. Although too wet to be cultivated this far north,the dry sun-light grey of the low flat mountains and the yellow duned sands that stretch to the horizon was still visible.
Elnathan and the others were waiting on shore for Khawyaw and Ore. Mene’s soldiers with spears and swords, watched the ship unload. A river cargo boat waited off shore, its sail lowered and loaded full.
“We have passage, father.” Khawyaw, showed him the folded papyrus which Elnathan examined. This was the writing material they had seen at Sippor, stamped in wax with Mene’s seal, not unlike the cylinder seals of Obaid. Elnathan looked incidentally along the shore, and the reeds growing there were papyrus.
“Father, King Mene when he heard of our mission, has also made ready his bark for us to travel in, see.” Khawyaw pointed to a magnificent boat at the docks. The wayfarers boarded the king’s boat grateful for his kindness.
The boatmen swung the yard up and the sail filled with the winds that brought them so helpfully this far. Should the wind not prevail, Mene’s oarsmen were seated and ready.
“This man Mene is very great, Father. The buildings they construct are of stone, as stone tree trunks hold the cedar beamed roof many times the height of a man. They carve gods here, too, for in our wanders in the south city there is a great carved stone bull called Apis.”
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"This is the Dark Rivers good haven as the name implies, my son. The buildings and stone works keep the people busy, their religion, false as it is, binds them in unified, supreme authority that only Mene can interpret for them and so he makes himself subject as well."
     The city was disappearing behind them, the sun shone down without mercy. The farmers had begun their irrigation ditches. Had the river continued to flood past seeding time a famine would occur. Fishermen cast net and hook to these waters, gathering in the rivers perch and catfish from their small reed boats or the stick fishing huts perched on long, vertical poles in the shallow marshes.
     Mene had very kindly sent soldiers and his emissary Ehbed. For what purpose Ehbed, Elnathan could not tell - - until three hours later when they neared Gerza on the west bank, Ehbed came to Khawyaw, who brought him to Elnathan. "Father, this is Ehbed, ruler Mene's emissary on the river. He wishes to advise and inform you of the cities along the river."  Khawyaw told his father. 
"We welcome with honor your master's thoughtfulness Ehbed.  What knowledge may you impart to us?"  said Elnathan.
"It is the city Gerza, my Lord.  As you are now beginning to see,it is well settled and there is much activity there. This you can see from the boat. There is no other city before this one where the crafts and industries we use today have been developed from."  He continued on the rest of the day teIling of the cities construction and of the people Mene ruled.
About noon the next day, at the east bank city of El Badari, again Ehbed approached Elnathan and the others. "You will notice at this town there are no stone edifices or statues. This city makes for us, 
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from imported ores [especially copper from the otherside of the Papyrus Sea] our farm implements and other important articles. Our scribes place identifying marks upon each chisel, and record its going out and return.” Again Ehbed further discussed these matters.
EInathan could see that this Dark River people had become quite developed in a way similar to, but, he thought, not exceeding that of Sumer. He sat watching hunters from reed boats with throwing sticks, downing the water fowl for the market-place. What a wonderful resource the Creator had provided the people of the earth to feed them – – rivers of waters.
Ehbed stode forward and announced with much pomp and pride, “Behold the city Thinis. It is not set back in vain from the river but in honor, and due to the land being so low as to allow every farm field to be close to the river for irrigating.” Indeed the river was lined with farmers and levered buckets, emptying river water into hoed ditches running through the thirsty green fields. “This is the city home of our very first rulers.”
And in the bend of the river, two days later, Ehbed announced Qus. “Through the low valley eastward to the Papyrus Sea laborers bring the copper ore to Qus. The ore is mined from the other shore near the mountain Serabit al-Khadim. Qus is separate, in purpose, from all others. The farming tools and cutlery are being made in various cities. The ore is smelted here for shipment on the river barges. Qus observes rest from craft work in that the dust from the furnaces settles upon everything making it impossible to apply any skill.” Elnathan could see the black smoke from many furnaces rising into the sky.
Two hours later and again on the east bank the most impressive sight Elnathan had ever seen came into view, the city of Luxor. The workers were like ants pouring over so many large out of place rocks.
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These were the honoring monuments to the fathers and mothers of the people of the Dark Land, the desires of Kings and Queens — sandstone and granite masterpieces of gigantic proportion.
The next day, Ehbed quietly approached the sages and Elnathan. “My travelers, on the west bank shortly is the city of Nekhen, where lived ,an early ruler of rare quality. He perfected our system of writing here, as you will see.” Seeing Elnathan a little more than interested, because of the writings, added, “The bark will stop here for this evening and in the morning resume our trip. There are foods needed and a time to rest your feet upon the earth. After you have visited the city be sure to return to the boat before dark. There are unruly vagabonds that will lay hands upon anyone after dark and shall not hesitate to kill, for even a sandal.” They found as Ehbed had said, the slate palette of the conquerors record and the pleasant rest of walking on the land. Heeding his warning they returned to the boat as instructed.
In the late morning Ehbed began to relate. “Idfu, on the west bank,is an adultered city having given itself to both our people and the black men whose gold is most prized. They speak a language peculiar to their king and are resistant to our way of life. Yet, they have introduced a rice grain into our diets that you may taste this meal. For the most part they keep cattle.” Elnathan thought on these things as he watched the leviathans laying in the afternoon sun on the eastern shore.
Standing nearly to a military attention two days later, Ehbed faced the approaching city on the west bank. “Because the river banks are not so wide at Buhen, the importance of the city cannot be stolen away. It is an important defensive position on the river.” This they soon understood when they were closely examined by the city soldiers, who boarded the boat in spite of Mene’s bark and his guards. In fact,
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Elnathan’s papyrus had to be resorted to, which with delay they opened and read, before allowing the boat to continue.
After meandering with the river for two and a half days, Ehbed said. “At Kerm, as you see on the west bank, the river returns to its fields and lush trees. It would be a false witness for me to say that we could be entirely safe from the black people whose nobles and families are buried here in the large circular tombs.”
The homes also had changed. These circular structures were walled of stick and clay with coned thatched roofs. Interesting enough for Elnathan to note that these were the same size and shape as his own. Perhaps, a root thought from the same Maker patterned the similarity. But it was to Nawsheem his thoughts rested.
Six long days later. “We will dock at Omdurman on the west bank tomorrow. The river divides at Omdurman. From the west is the Peeshone river. A quiet water, from Khaveelaw ‘where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.’ From the mountains south its beginning labors through a vast papyrus swamp and exhausted joins the Gheekhone at Omdurman. These two form the Dark River.”
Ehbed continued. “After obtaining supplies for your journey we will bring you to the Gheekhone River opposite Omdurman. We do not covet your overland journey, but shall wait at the city for your return.” It was Elnathan that thanked Ehbed and talked to him of some of the difficulties that lie ahead. It was done, as they were told, and the sages were now advisedly armed. They, Elnathan, and Khawyaw
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continued the journey to the face of their father, Seth.

The beginning of the Gheekhone River was south east, and the holy group walked along the south west bank.  It was the turbulent Gheekhone River, flushed down from the mountain lake Tana, bringing the darkening silt, in the spring deluges, that caused the Dark Rivers inundations.  Lake Tana was their destination. 
Surrounded by a small stockade a legendary mountain spring that feeds the mighty Gheekhone marked a beginning, the west tip of the Fertile Eden. They had paused to view the spot revered by the black natives. A small group stood and squatted a short distance away, herds of cattle at quiet, spears in hand.  They politely looked upon the visitors without intruding. This hardly seemed the possible source of the river that dropped three hundred cubits, gorging, surging and pounding its banked way each spring. 
The rounded rocks rubbed at their ankles, slowing their journey as it were a valley of death. EInathan looked to the lesser mountain that lay ahead for them, where the village camp Ababa was located, and hopefully the tent of Seth.  
Ehbed had told them to look there. Adam and Eve, to ease their fears for Seth of Cain, had sent Seth here. Abel, the first father murdered, and Seth the second father of the life of faith, were lively 

branches of Adam.
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Elnathan urged his companions on, the journey to Seth was not without difficulty. Although the land here was beautiful to behold.  Sole could only guess at what next turn in the earth trail could spell another delay. They were bound to themselves, in fear that the precious scripts might fall to the curiosity of the people of this fearful Iand.   
Only once, since leaving Omdurman had they come into any real danger. A band of men had chanced upon them in a night camp. A scroll was open when the naked intruders sprang from the darkness to grab man and scroll. The largest, a tall fellow, came to the scroll and immediately began to back away, until finally falling to his knees with head to the ground as if he were worshiping. The surprise was over almost quicker than it had begun. Upon seeing his reaction to the scroll,his companions backed away into the shadows of the night. They were superstitious of the marks that talk, unable themselves to read. These had been the people of the earth unmarked in the conscience of their minds with the presence of God in the earth. From these only a handful could be converted, almost never did any come of their own to learn of the living God.
Elnathan looked skyward amongst the many branches of the huge fig tree that they rested in the shadow of. Some were eating of its fruit. Higher in the tree he could see the browning fruit hanging with drops of golden yellow juice beaded and ready to fall from the seeded pendants, like sweats of blood from a season filled with winds, sun, and rains.
     Near the village, Khawyaw and a sage were sent ahead to inquire of Seth. Elnathan up from his scroll walked to the edge of the camp and gazing to a stream, saw a ghostly white figure with black rings  
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around his eyes. He began washing. He was a cattle herdsman. This was his morning bath after having slept in his dead fire pit to keep the insects from biting him. In a short time, a tall, black figure walked to the shore and disappeared into the trees. The thick goatskin robes of the wayfarers protected them.
These herders Elnathan remembered from below Omdurman. Their shelters were of mat and stick, rows of bundles of sticks side by side woven together with cords like a ground mat. A stick shade shelter was nearby for a young herd animal staked nearby to protect it from the hyenas and the leopards. All the stick barriers, and even those of the huts, were bark chewed and bright yellow against the grey sand.
The camp stirred and the sages, Elnathan joining them, went to the stream to bathe. The chill of the morning was past, yet the cold waters of the stream brought them quickly back to a fire ready to receive them. A sage that carried the brand had set the small hearth where a rice and barley gruel warmed in the coals that had been scraped aside for the purpose.
Khawyaw and the sage returned. Seth had moved his tent to Lake Tana. Ababa they learned resembled the reed houses of the Dark River. After a quiet meal the group gathered themselves into an additional two days journey.
Traversing the rolling hills and crossing the Gheekhone, the travelers climbed the side of a mount they were told lay between Ababa and Lake Tana. On the north side now, Elnathan stopped and looked upon the destination.
“Khawyaw” he called, “look, the lake is in the shape of a lambs heart.” Much taken aback by the
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sight, he stood for a very long time gazing at it.
Later on the lakes edge, they walked its bank around the eastern shore, arriving that early evening at the northern bank of an impressive village backed against the green of the mountain trees.
A black goat hair tent spread itself before them. Round coned reed homes appeared as columnars to the blue sky and a course way to the seat of faith – – the new born son of Adam – – the dwelling of Seth. People stood about, yet not in the path way. The wayfarers had been expected, obviously.
Khawyaw spotted a tall black man he had seen at Ababa. The people, though, were not as the blacks but of dark olive skin, with favorable and straight-imaged features, lively black eyes, and long straight hair – – unlike the peoples they had encountered since entering the dark country. Certainly they were Sethites.
Khahee, the sage, with Khawyaw at his right, moved forward as instructed to the servant at the tent door whose name they later would learn was Shawrath.
“We come, Sethites of the family of Methuselah. His son has a mission of the LORD,” Khahee explained.
Shawrath entered the tent and in a moment faced the two again. “Seth will hear from you the matter you have spoken.”
Returning to his father, Khawyaw brought him to the door and the other sages followed. Entering, they spread themselves in array before the patriarch. Elnathan, centered, bowed deeply, rising to gaze into the eyes of the precious seed of Adam. “What is your name my son?” questioned Seth.
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"Elnathan,my father." 
"And has the LORD God brought you safely on your journey?" inquired Seth.
"In truth my Lord, God allowed only the fears of our shadowed minds to harm us. We have come into your presence from your father, Adam, to seek word from you to comfort your mother,'' answered Elnathan.
Noticing Elnathan's further desire to continue, Seth spoke, saying, "Say on, my son." 
"In the land of Sumer where our tents are pitched, the LORD has visited me in vision and person to seek of the patriarchs scrolls for the cave of Adam, that comfort may be taken of them after the judgment. We seek of you, as we know the LORD must have surely burdened." 
The conversation continued as if, Elnathan noticed, he had been raised in this very tent. The elder's words breathed life into the hearer and seer. The events of the journey discussed, Seth spoke to Shawrath.  Others joined him and places were taken by the guests.  Meal was taken as the conversation continued into the night.
     It was no small matter, the arduous trip up the Gheekhone river.  Time would be needed for these travelers to regain physical strength and courage. The tent became the life restoring substance of their further journey.  Scrolls were read, targums shared and near its close of the rest, Seth and Elnathan together made sacrifice to the living Creator, LORD God, and  prayed for mercies and safe journey. 
It was then, privately, that Seth placed in Elnathan's hand a, targum. My son, keep your heart in the scrolls and your feet in the path of my father Adam. Tell my father I am well and prosper and wish that I  
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might embrace them again. You know that my son Enos is at Yereekho, we journey closer to my father in generations. May the LORD visit Enos with goodly wealth and the blessings of God.”
Shawrath now brought to Khahee the Holy Scroll in wrappings which he received in the sight of Elnathan and Khawyaw, who wrapped them additionally. Khahee placed the scroll in a wooden box and sealed it carefully. They watched as the sage tied the box to a pack animal.

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                                       Targum of Enos   

Spake God, the waters I have judged with below
the words that condemned over rebel heads.
Spake God, bind together, their work complete
let the dry appear, let the land be toward the waters above.
Called God, the dry of solid rock to stand
and called the land resurrection.
Called God, the waters bound together, seas
the words of all knowledge, the law.
Seeing, God saw the trust of the rock, to
gather the dew from above, good.
Said God, to the rock, sprout forth faith,
wheat and corn and barley.
Rock grow from thee,
wheat and corn and barley, faith.
Said God, to the rock, bring forth, hope
endive and mint and spikenard.
Rock grow from thee,
endive and mint and spikenard, hope.
Said God, to the rock, sprout from the seed
the fig tree, giving seeded fruit
from the seed of the trees of kinds.
sprout from the fig tree, hope.
Saw God, the rock very wise to follow his word.
Saw God, the rock’s, faith, hope and love, as wise,
good is this thing from the rock.
Until time has passed to evening there is no day
Until time has passed to morning there is no night
This is the third spirit that God made after that judgment.
This is the third day God made.

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  Shawrath led the way to Omdurman northward from Lake Tana. Elnathan could not tell whether the trail was more difficult or if his legs were responding to his desire to remain. He guessed it was the latter and took heart for the trail ahead.  
Ehbed had, as he had promised waited at Omdurman. They embarked for what they thought would be a long water course, which was, as far as Elnathan could remember, quite short. The sages engaged him in so many discussions and readings that a dream became interrupted when Ehbed announced Mennofer would be passed by. Elnathan was instantly reaware of the journey before them. 
They had consulted Ehbed at Omdurman of their further journey and he suggested he take them through the delta east, along the coast to Arish. This small city lay on the edge of the green of the Dark River's release into the Great Sea. Farewells and gratitudes were to be delivered by Ehbed to Mene for what would have been a rather long trip. 
It was from the brick city of Arish, only half a days walk, that the greatest sight unrolled before them. Not as dangerous as it could have been, just fascinating. Huge beasts built solid with short legs like the hippopotamus of the Dark River, except with heavy leathered hide and small long heads with just one horn forward of his eyes - - the legendary Unicorn. Noted for its great strength they only watched- as the small group passed by them. The merchants they traveled with called them Rhinos.
The coast and eastward became a little more arid as they journeyed north from the coast crossing low through the mounts then striking east toward the descending river, before which lay the ancient City of Palms, reputed the most pleasant scented and situate and most visited place on earth.  Older than 
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Sumer or its beginnings, the city Yereekho.
There in the low mounts, between the Great Sea and Yereekho, Elnathan stood transfixed. The others passed by without him noticing. He stood staring across the valley of a small stream to a mount where threshers in the afternoon breeze forked the grain filled chaff into the air and an ox yet stood unmuzzled, resting from the treading of the day. Khawyaw, carefully approached Elnathan. Five hills clustered before the valley, two hills behind and three before, as the traveler noted the activity on the center mount.
“Father, we must be going to reach Yereekho by night fall, the others are well along now.” Elnathan barely heard the sound of his son’s voice. What held him here he could not tell. Yet, he could almost be certain the vigilance for that spot was not his alone. He felt a presence he only was familiar with, as when he had relished the moments in the scrolls with Seth. A hand came close to pull at his cloak of goatskin, never before had Khawyaw, trespassed the elders privacy.
“But father,” he begged, “the sages are even now beyond the olive trees.”
Elnathan turned reluctantly yet held the spot. The others, slowly pulling Elnathan, his eyes now rested upon the gnarled olive trunks as if they writhered from some tremendous torture. The leaves silver and green shimmered in the winnowing wind that swept the tops. His thoughts were confused and clear, troubled and calm. How could such a spot retain his attention, or was it the other eyes he had felt, watching. He looked again west, now east, to Yereekho, his sons footsteps ahead of him.
They walked faster to regain the others, Elnathan’s thoughts would remain embedded forever.
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The tent of Enos lay ahead.
Regaining the sages and his sense of the journey, nothing was said for sometime. When a sudden landslide nearly knocked them from the passage. Fortunately, only a couple of asses without packs, were lost. But, it was after grueling hours that, they regained the narrow trail on the east side. Passing on through the mountains they found a green of earth that stretched north and around the river city, Yereekho. The evening darkness was upon them as approached. They sought the well east of the city for information on the whereabouts of the tent of Enos. The group would camp without the walls of the city, as many others were doing. They would have welcomed the tents with the servants. Tonight, as several before, would consist of a fire and sole’s coat, they would seek Enos in the morning.
Two of the sages, Elnathan sent into the city for necessities. The others sought and found the whereabouts of Enos’ resting place. He was half a morning to the east.
Elnathan and the others made their way across the fertile valley of river. The sage Khokmaw came forward, “My Lord, permit Khawyaw and ,myself to go before you unto Enos’ tent.”
To which Elnathan replied, “Go.”
They had not been gone long when they returned. “Father, Enos is not at his tent but is gone to the river.”
“Then we shall go there as well,” replied Elnathan.
From a distance he could see quite a group gathered near the green river’s edge. Upon a large rock stood a figure whom he could tell was speaking.
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A large number of the sixty or so people out of the city had come to the river to refresh themselves away from the congestion arid smoke and city stench. Others seemed to be travelers from the packs they held. 
Elnathan, approaching was surprised to find the speaker a Sethite, from his appearance. Others gathered around him. To Elnathan's amazement, he was talking about the future judgment. 
"God In His wrath will destroy all flesh from the earth with a great flood of water, for He has come down to see man upon the earth.  It is that the roar and riot of His creation is come into His ears. Be warned, God will not change His mind concerning His words." Holding a scroll out to them, he beckoned, "Come, read the words He has spoken to His righteous servant Methuselah concerning the things that are to come." 
Stepping from the rock he handed the scroll to one of his attendants, who in turn opened it for a small number of the listeners that had not turned away.  Obviously, the message of Methuselah's dream had reached Enos before his son.  Elnathan watched as Khokmaw approached the man, with Khawyaw close behind. It occurred to him what the LORD had already revealed to Khokmaw, that this was the man Enos. Elnathan drew closer, Khawyaw motioning.
"My son, who honors me?" asked Enos
"My name is Elnathan, younger son of Methuselah, on an errand of the LORD in fear and trust of His Name do we draw near, my father." 
Enos paused knowingly,  "We shall go to my tent, wash our feet, and refresh ourselves and 
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hear of your journey. Come now.”
“My father Enos, as your name means, man, and father’s scroll attests, in your days the men of the earth shall call upon the Name of the LORD, and we see through your words this day or ever we spoke to you.”
“It is true a small number are persuaded concerning the faith and now trust the LORD, at the ford of this very river. Come now.”
Enos was a slightly larger framed man whose voice was strong but kind and his ways very persuading. Elnathan and the others before long found themselves seated in the goat hair shade of Enos’ tent. Servants brought the rich dates and nuts and other fruits, some fresh. Again they dined of milk and cheese and butter with the barley bread, wheat and lentils, all comforting the travelers. The flocks of Enos were blessed of the LORD in this valley as the very wise Enos was blessed with the persuasive words of his ministry to the people of the earth. Again the scrolls opened and they dined again on the Holy Words.
The long journey was discussed, and then Elnathan spoke, ”The LORD God has appeared unto me at offering time and again late that night while I was at scroll, instructing me to gather scrolls of the fathers. Having received council and the seven sages who travel with us, from my father, Methuselah, my oldest son Khawyaw and I present ourselves to your mercies, and indeed your kindness is already extended in your greetings.”
Enos spoke softly to his servant who soon produced a Holy Scroll, again wrapped as the other
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and placed it in Khokmaw’s arms. Elnathan sent him to their packs outside where another wooden box was taken and the scroll placed inside and sealed with bees wax about all of its edges. He returned within to hear Enos urging Elnathan.
“Pease, my son, stay with us this night and be on your way in the morning.” said Enos.
“It cannot be so, my father, as you can see only five of the sages are with me, two have gone to the city for supplies and we must rejoin our servants at the weavers city, for fear they leave of caring over us.” responded Elnathan.
“May it be as you wish my son, the LORD’s pleasure in you is justified in your fear and trust of Him. God’s speed.” Enos arose from his seat and embraced Elnathan. Then he turned to his servant, who gave him another scroll smaller and not wrapped. He handed it to Elnathan. “For your script and journey.”
They returned to Yereekho and the two sages who waited for them were there. It was only then that Elnathan noticed the huge city walls of stone high above their heads. They stood outside the gates near a round stone tower that was even higher than the walls and topped with a wood shelter. There stood the watchmen of the city. The city was noisy with the traffic of wagons and animals and the shouts of the markets that overflowed outside the gate. There was jangling music and even a brawl nearby.

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                           Targum of Cainan

Spoke God, allow lights of heaven to fully show,
in the resolution as to separate.
suffer lights above to fully prove,
in the conclusion, let them assign.
as omens and for seasons and days and years.
as signs and for seasons and days and years.
Spoke God, permit them for lights to the resolution,
from heaven give light to the rock, thus.
Spoke God, grant luminaries to the conclusion of the day,
cause to go the thick dust of heaven which
has stopped all light to the earth.
And so the two great lights rule,
the great one the day and when
the night the smaller to reflect in
the darkness the greatness of the larger.
to remind in the darkness to turn to until
the days light the angels also luminaries to earth.
And so they rule the great and the small
they urge to turn from the darkness of judgment
they divide the light from darkness thus, and good.
Until time has passed to evening there is no day,
Until time has passed to morning there is no night.
This is the fourth spirit after that judgment.
This fourth the day God made.

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They went north along, the Descending River and then around the east of the large sea of drinking water at the river's edge and there they spent the night. As they went Elnathan checked the boxes of Khahee and Khokman. The weaver's city lay ahead they were told by travelers going south.  The wayfarers were encouraged, knowing they would soon reach the comforts of their tents. Indeed, at length of two days they heard shouts. A servant was calling to his fellows - - their servants. 
With gigantic relief, they descended the hillside to the edge of the weaver's city, where servant and ass waited, jubilant. They were at the cross-roads of their journey and could have taken a few days for rest, but it was not to be. Elnathan would only spend the night. His determined pace would injure none of them. It was, perhaps a bit slow, but never without progress, as his faith.
The servants had news - - a caravan could be caught up with, it had left that morning.  At daybreak with little time to enjoy their tent, the wayfarers passed through the weaver's city, up the small mountain beside it, and made mind to be with the protection of the caravan.
They had gone a short distance, when Elnathan could see what he thought was the caravan.Yet, the longer they approached and the more they hastened the same stayed the distance, until after a considerable time.  Finally, close enough to identify they found to their surprise a small troop of giants - - Nephilim.  By this time it was to late to escape.  These beings were twice the height of a normal man.  They stood now, arrayed as a wall of bronze before the small group.  Helmets, coats of mail and shin armor, sword and spears all made of copper.  
Having missed the caravan, these Nephilim with practiced order stripped the sages of anything of 

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any real value. Mostly it was the sustaining goats and lambs and food supplies, knocking to the ground any resistant. The arms the holy men carried were of little use against these. Elnathan soon gave the word to let them have what they wanted. Khawyaw, traveled the rear of the group and carried the gold and silver. When he saw the huge opponents, he quickly buried the metals in the loose sand and so saved what recovered the journey.
Elnathan feared most for the scrolls and the lives of the sages. The sages were spared but a servant fell by a Nephilim sword when he tried to protect the scrolls. Each of the boxes were broken open and the scrolls spun open like ribbons in the wind and let loose. A kind of amusement for the looters. The Nephilim soon disappeared with their long strides and the pillages.
Elnathan with unusual speed reassembled the group and scrolls, realizing another attack from not even the Nephilim would be fatal. They hurried almost at a run to catch up with the caravan.
Some time later, “Ho, friends!” called Ore to the rear of the caravan column. Falling back a man on his mule, came back to greet them. It was the caravaneer. Elnathan spoke with him and paid him a sum for the comforts of the night camps. Pacing themselves to the steps of the caravan now, the group would be with them that evening with only the space between them further. That night they learned the caravan was bound for Harran and ultimately Ninua.
On the other side of Ebla the huge, slowing white moon seemed to prefer the flat of the horizon, or perhaps it struggled to free itself from the earth. Elnathan stood at his tent door and pondered the sight. He had often felt this way. The evils of this life, like the toilet shovel, the attention to the harvests or
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the troubles of the herds – – any of which pried him away from his scrolls. Just as real as any those things, he preferred the scrolls and they were a work too – – the work he would rather do. He remembered his father and the obedient son Lamech and watched as he was taught the disciplines of the scrolls. After the loving instructions sole came to prefer the Holy Scrolls.
Ebla, which they had passed was a palaced city kingdom whose monarch, Mikail, welcomed the commerce each traveler brought or took with him. It was a large sprawling city with libraries to match those of Obaid. Many city states and villages bowed knee to this greater, more powerful neighbor. Between the Great Sea and the Perawth River, it was in a position to bargain demandingly with all of Fertile Eden from Eridu to the people of the Dark River. And it did.
Finally the constant noise of Ebla shook Elnathan from his thoughts even at this distance, and he returned to his slumber if it would be possible tonight. The Nephilim raid still preyed heavily upon him , so much had been lost.
Days later they forded the Perawth River in the morning hours. Ebla lay far behind them. Sandals strung across shoulders, skirts girded, and holding the tails of the pack animals led by the servants. The cold waters were the refreshing the wayfarers needed, washing away the road dust. Nearing the shore, from behind him, Elnathan heard a splashing commotion. Turning in the knee deep current he saw a pack animal attempting to right itself, after being swept over. To Elnathan’s horror, it was Khahee’s animal that was swept as a fish on a taunt line yet held firm by a servant. The beast finally finding footing was bare backed, its cargo propelled away upon the waters south seeking journey.
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Helpless, the sages watched the burdens and the box with Seth's scroll disappear.  It was Elnathan that rallied to motion to Khawyaw, his son, who had just entered the river.  Words were useless above the shouts and rushing waters.  Khahee then returned gaining dry ground and Elnathan watched him gird and begin to run downstream after the priceless box.
In despair the sages gathered to Elnathan on the east shore and stood dazed by the loss.  The middle of the afternoon found the servants preparing camp.  The sages and Elnathan were in fervent prayer apart toward the rivers edge.  Two days later and exhausted, Khawyaw appeared on the western shore and began to cross the river, he was empty handed.
"My father," as he stepped on eastern bank, "I have run for a full day and could glimpse only once, in the beginning of my run, the box with Seth's scroll."  He fell into Elnathan's arms.  The sages lost hope slumped them to the ground in laments, for much time.
The next morning, sages spoke to one another in groups of two or three, some of returning to Seth, of others to returning to Obaid, deciding the journey's doom.  Elnathan seeing this start, arose, to word with each.  They agreed to make a burnt sacrifice to seek the LORD's mind.  The event passed and the sages bowed in prayer.  It was again Khawyaw the youngest, who stood to speak, the others decidedly stilled.
"My fathers, it is very strong in my heart to speak the words of my mind since the sacrifice.  We should remember the mercies of our God and continue the journey to gather the remaining scrolls.  Should the LORD wish, He can place in our hands again, the scroll of Seth or upon return we shall send to 
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Seth again for a new scroll.
Startled by the young man’s courage, the sages with some difficulty settled themselves in the hope spoken by Khawyaw.
Now, Harran lay ahead and the tents of Cainan, tomorrow would bring them to the patriarch.
What Elnathan could hardly comprehend was the structure of the stream-parted city he looked upon. The square basaltic columns were thicker than the height of a man, and lifted above five times the length of an ass, with an arched roof. Leaving the work of men’s hands Elnathan’s group reached a shepherd’s well, refreshed, and inquired of Cainan who, as it turned out, dwelt near by. Elnathan spoke to Soor. “My friend, take Khawyaw with you to the tent of Cainan and bring us word.”
That evening, Elnathan anxiously awaited their return. Nearing darkness the two arrived at his tent and he brought them inside. Clay lamps of olive oil burned with flickering, light from their movement, his scroll, and a targum, lay open before it. “Welcome, do you bring good news?”
Soor spoke softly, “My brother Elnathan, Cainan sends you greetings in the Name of the LORD, saying, that he desires our presence from the heat of Harran’s sun. We are expected in the morning. We spoke also with his servants and have found that Cainan spends little time outside his tent. He reads the scrolls and teaches the letters to the Sethite children. He hasn’t been to Harran for many years, disdaining the people of the earth’s ways.”
Elnathan responded, “Ah, but that we all could continue as he does. Only our hearts are proof of our desire for the presence of the LORD, and only his eyes can see the the truth. Inform the others we
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shall see Cainan in the morning. The caravan is not leaving for two days and we shall rest with my father, Cainan, the LORD willing. The servants may see to our needs of the journey.”
Rising the next morning early, and soon after standing before Cainan, Elnathan rehearsed his encounter with the LORD and his mission, which Soor had already done in part. Cainan spoke warmly and kindly, scarcely the attitude the world would expect from a man who so hated the earth’s ways. It was a separation that a man chooses; God demands little more than one’s full attention. All of the reading of the scrolls, is persuasive and can make a person choose God as his companion. The shepherd comes home from the fields to his wife, and only necessity takes him away. But he returns to be with her. They become more acquainted with each other through the years. The farmer likewise each evening departs the fields to his home and family. Love for each other grows, the ties bind ever tighter.
Here before Elnathan was a father whose resort to the written scrolls he understood. The desire for the Seed of God grew daily because, he chose that desire. Yet, he knew it was not without struggle. But when the struggle overcomes, the person finally realizes that all his desires and labors to give God the attention he wants, are futile. And so the seeker is forced to throw himself upon God, who promised Adam and Eve the seed, Who would deliver them and their offspring from the struggle to regain God awareness. Understandably, each Sethite generation expectantly looked to each male birth for that deliverance. And so the man who chooses the Living God begins when someone tells him of God and hands him the words of a scroll. God’s reason for a people called Adam was that since the destruction of

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the age of Lucifer there had been no faith people upon the earth. And faith is the vehicle God uses to fellowship. A Sethite was for the purpose of preserving God’s written word, as well as communicating to a faithless multitude, God’s love.
Elnathan was now hearing Cainan read a Psalm:
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire,even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the
earth.
They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.
Psalm 57

     Ever so reluctantly, Elnathan  and Khawyaw joined the caravan. Two days seemed so short of time to spend with so great a lover of God.  Even now, with the vision of his mission it was difficult to leave.  Elnathan felt his leather script, the targum of Cainan was there.  He looked to the sage Soor.  The boxed scroll was in place on the asses back - - the Holy Scroll of Cainan.  Had it not been for the devastating loss of the Seth scroll he could have taken solace in the short visit with Cainan.  Elnathan continued the journey.
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                    Targum of Mahalaleel

Spoke God, favor the waters that judged,
that moving creatures with life abound.
blessed the words to justify,
souls enlivened to be fruitful.
and the winged that fly in the resolution of earth,
the soul that soars to the heights with God.
God created noble whales
and every life soul of the water
each like its kind plentifully
and every wing to fly
each like its kind, seen good.
God blessed them, saying Gen. 1:22
be fruitful, and multiply, “
and fill the waters in the seas, “
and let fowl multiply in the earth. Gen. 1:22
Until time has passed to evening there is no day,
Until tine has passed to morning there is no night,
This is the fifth spirit after that judgment
This fifth day God made and created.

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  Between the rivers, the land of Eden rolled as low hills of green pasture and wooded low lands. The pack animals pastured eagerly at the night camps and were docile during the day. They progressed very well making no stops at the small villages or occasional distant cities. Twenty days from Harran, they approach the Khiddehkel River at a point where a smaller stream flowed into it. 
On the east bank was the city of Ninua, walled on three sides with a lower wall along the river. The size was impressive but, unlike Sumer this city was built of limestone from the low hills near the east mountains. A great priest king named Auspia ruled, according to the caravaneer. The caravan brought to the city not only the Sethites, but copper and silver from the coast of the Great Sea.  They prepared to cross the river into the city.  
A servant had spoken to Khawyaw. "Father, we need not, cross the river, only follow the field of corn and grain north to find the tent of Mahalaleel." 
EInathan looked impatiently northward. "How far my son is the camp? 
"Half a day Father, shall we continue on and send servants to the city?" 
"I believe, if we continue, this day will bring us near,"  decided Elnathan.
  Passing the fields, deer herded close and pigs were being chased from the corn fields by, young children. This was an abundant land they traveled through, the people industrious and, although not as given to learning as Sippor, the pagan priest was moving them to the pencraft of the clay tablets and a sophisticated society.
Much to Elnathan's pleasure, the Sethite tent they sought was only half a day walk and Elnathan 
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soon would be presented to the patriarch by the sage, Tsehdek.
“Father, please come,” called Khawyaw.
With the others following Elnathan entered the tent. “Who are you, my son?” Asked Mahalaleel.
“I am Elnathan younger son Methuselah from near the city Obaid.”
“Come and sit and take rest from the journey.” The servants of Mahalaleel were already bringing the meal, wheat breads, barley, pomegranates, apples, figs, olives and nuts of every sort, and milk. The meals patriarchs served to guests and, in this case, angels of the living God. Much favor was being poured upon Elnathan and the others could see the greater kindness which Mahalaleel bestowed upon him. Perhaps Mahalaleel sensed the unspoken loss of his guest.
As the meal was to begin, Mahalaleel, spoke, “Elnathan, please come and sit at my right hand and sup. Rest yourself as your son Khawyaw tells us of your journey and mission to my tent, and enjoy the LORD’s presence in these scrolls.”
Indeed, the scrolls uncovered, lay to Elnathan’s right and some behind, he noticed as he reseated himself to the aging patriarch. The servants began serving him first and when the bowls were passed about they returned to rest before Elnathan.
Mahalaleel, looked at Khawyaw, “You may begin, and leave out nothing.”
Khawyaw did, understanding the worthiness of his father to be seated in honor. From the tent of Methuselah to the banks of the Khiddehkel River and the altar in the pastures near his own tent, Khawyaw left out nothing.
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Mahalaleel looked intently opon his guest, "Elnathan you will remain with me in the tent until you journey again."  Now the loss of the Seth scroll was known and Mahalaleel was easing the injury. It was also in praise to raise Elnathan to the same honored position as himself.
It was in this tent that Elnathan heard and saw the cooperation and intercourse generally extended to the Sethite kings.  Auspia, ruler of Ninua came to Mahalaleel's tent to visit and to meet Elnathan. The honors could never be forgotten.  Auspia brought with him scribes who, with lightning speed, plied their styluses to the clay tablets, recording the visit of the three. 
Many recorded tablets were left with Mahalaleel and, in turn, certain scrolls were sent with Auspia from which his scribes would obtain truths that, unfortunately, would only be intermingled with the Dumuzi shepherd god's traditions. 
Two days expired before Elnathan emerged from the tent with the Holy Scroll in his arms. "We must be on our way,"  he announced to Khawyaw as he gently helped Tsehdek seal the scroll in the prepared wooden box, momentarily unconscious of the smaller scroll in his hand.

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                          Targum of Jared

Spoke God, Let earth souls exist in kind as
the herd animals, the creeping soul, the beast-kind, thus.
God made, the beast of the earth in kinds as
cattle and creaping soul upon the earth in kinds, good.
But separate from the earth souls God made man,
man in His image after His likeness,
man in His Image, body, with soul and language.
having control over the fish of the sea,
the fowl of the air, and earth souls.
Thus, holy, from water and earth souls God created man
in God’s image created he man, male and female.
And God blessed them and said to them, be
fruitful and multiply, and refill the earth of the past judgment,
have dominion over the sea souls,
the air souls and the earth souls.
Spoke God, behold, I give you, wheat, corn, barley,
endive, mint and spikenard
the fig tree giving seeded fruit,
these shall be your meat,
faith, hope and love.
And to the earth souls and air
souls for their meat the green herbs, thus
Saw God, all that He had made, very good.
Saw God, all that He had made, very good.
Until time has passed to evening, there is no day.

Until time has passed to morning there is no night.

This is the sixth spirit after that judgment.

This is the sixth day God created and made.

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Again they journeyed, until, along the river Khiddehkel, they began noticing the ripening grains of early fall.  Farmers would be coming to gather in their crops before the journey would be completed. For now, they were content to be on a road walking south toward the land of their nativity. The commerce between the cities along the river negated the need of caravan, and besides, they could travel faster without the long night camps. In fact, the tents were left packed, lessening camp time.  
Along the Khiddehkel River many small villages existed as mostly fishermens' homes, where the swift currents permitted fishers with nets to pull in their catches. Children played at the river's edge, a life stream that ever pulled man to its complexity of unexpectedness.
     Leaving the river, they traveled now from the river trail on a more direct route toward Sippor. His father made mention of Jared being across the river from Sippor,so they would be well if they stayed In the middle land between the ever narrowing sliver, the Land of Eden.
     As Elnathan had thought, the tent of Jared would never be along the busy river, but set apart from noise and the people of the earth who little understood the Godly need of the quiet.  Ahead now was the tent of Jared. 
The sage Kodesh came forward beside Elnathan and Khawyaw. 
"Please my brother take Khawyaw and inquire of the patriarch Jared. We will follow a space," Elnathan said.
     Elnathan watched as Khawyaw queried the vigilant servants and Kodesh bowed and entered the tent. Pillared, smooth, tan bark of the acacia trees surrounded the tents to form a sanctuary within the 
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encompassing vegetation.
They soon came to Elnathan to bring him to the tent. Inside, the Sethite Jared stood to welcome him, “My son, Elnathan, your journey is well spoken of. Please, join me.”
They seated themselves on the reed mats and wool rugs. “The LORD has hastened the mission, my father Jared,” spoke Elnathan.
The others waited about the tent for Elnathan’s return. Khawyaw returned to the sage Kodesh, while the others rested in the shade of Eden, comforted to know they were close to their homes.
“My father, you know that we have come to receive of you the Holy Scroll to place in the cave of Adam. May we receive now and I shall relate to you of the journey?” Asked Elnathan.
“Yes, my son, the scroll is here and has been prepared by my scribes for some time.” Jared uncovered his cache of scrolls and in its midst was a wrapping, undoubtedly the object of Elnathan’s visit. Jared placed the Holy Scroll in his arms and Elnathan delivered it to Kodesh at the door and returned to seat himself with Jared. “My father, concerning the vision of the night when the Lord sent me to Methuselah?”
“Say on my son,” responded Jared.
“It was a very strange thing to see a form with the voice of the scrolls spoken by it. I have told, no one of this but to you and at this time.” Elnathan said.
“Yes, my son when I was very young, the LORD came to me also, to confirm my care of the Sethite scrolls – – of which you see none are missing – – and my scribe works daily in preparing more, that we all join
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in the mystery of His person and His judgment. Not that I lift myself up in the matter, but the vision of my youth undergirded my task for the LORD in my life upon the earth.”
“Yes,” replied Elnathan. “It is true, His presence of that night often has prodded me on this very withering journey. The foot journey through the mountains to Seth was most languishing. Had not his thoughts of that night been with me, I might have pined away there in the land of Koosh. Seth, I believe, is closer than we other Sethites to the LORD. It is quite a sight to see the form of his habitation. Even the people of the earth safe- guard him.”
Jared perceived that Elnathan was not anticipating the change of returning to his life without a mission. “My son we elder sons of the fathers are taken with the responsibility of keeping the Life Scrolls. This is our work for the High and Lofty Creator, and we are bound even as you must know, having seen Lamech grow into his duty. You my son are drawing to the close of your mission. You, have collected a number of scripts of reward like this targum I extend to you now. Rest in them until your time be gathered to your fathers. May the blessing of the Living God continue with you as you complete the journey.”
Elnathan stood and returned to the door, looking once more upon Jared who stood as Elnathan had first seen him – – erect, alone, but at rest. He left the tent softly and quietly, not wishing to disturb the bearing of the Holy man.
Joining Khawyaw and still thoughtful of Jared’s words, Elnathan placed the targum in his script and Khawyaw said. “We have sealed the scroll and Kodesh awaits you with the others.”
“We shall spend the rest of this evening and night in camp and continue in the morning,”
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concluded Elnathan.
However, morning’s light brought a decidedly different set of conditions. Khawyaw was summoned. Elnathan could not be roused from his tent. He had angrily sent away his servant when that servant had begun to strike Elnathan’s tent. Since that time he had responded to no one. The sages were afraid to approach.
“What have we done to provoke him Khawyaw?” They asked.
Khawyaw attempting to speak with his father, feared when a gruff reprisal met him too. Elnathan refused to eat that day and the next. This Khawyaw had never seen in his father, from the early days of his youth until now.
A week passed before Khawyaw could enter the tent. He found the usually docile man exhausted from anger and frustration. It was the loss of the Seth scroll. The again, amiable figure leaned upon his son and accepted the morsels of food Khawyaw had brought. Khawyaw could not see that any of his father’s scrolls had been opened. He encouraged his father, further, with the confidence Khawyaw had spoken of at the Perawth River.
Emerging two weeks from that first morning Elnathan had regained his former composure. He wished to continue the journey. The sages had feared not only for Elnathan, but that without him any more efforts at gathering the scrolls would be lost.
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                         Targum of Enoch

With His words God, restored the heavens
and the earth after that judgment.
With his words, were they finished,
the heaven of heavens refurbished from
the fallen angels with hosts of angels.
the heaven of the stars and planets,
moon and sun allowed to shine the earth.
the heaven between the stars and
earth made to receive the hosts of fowl.
the sea received its hosts of fish.
the earth received its hosts of earth souls
the earth received its hosts of men
the earth received its seed of heaven man
Upon this seventh day God ended His work
which He had made and created.
Upon the seventh day God rested from all
His work which He had made and created.
Blessed God the seventh day and set it
apart as clean from the six days that He worked,
in making and creating.
This is the seventh spirit and God Blessed.

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Elnathan was comforted somewhat, as he thought of the father Enoch, to whom they now traveled - - Sippor behind them and Ur before. The myth of these cities ironically typified the original cast of this part of Eden. Sippor worshiped the sun god, Shamash and Ur worshiped the moon god Nannar.  This was the region of the land of light. Even the river Khiddekel meant sweet and swift, and the name Ur  to become light. 
The land of light corrupted now, the Sethite group became more fearful of the Cainites, for they had already detoured this second day. The Cainites would destroy the scrolls. A sage related how he had seen a Sethite tent torn apart, and the inhabitants murdered, and a huge fire set, upon which all of the scrolls had been burned.  Khawyaw later learned it had been the sage's own family.  It was not clear exactly what the group's lives would mean any more or any less, to the Cainites.
With swiftness a different kind now surrounded the wayfarers.  And they were so close to their homes.  Men with close fitting leather helmets, and leather shoulder coats, armed with dagger swords at their kilted waists, stood at arm with arrows knocked in their formidable bows.  No one moved and Elnathan knowing that resistance would be fatal, signaled his group to lay aside their swords.
This was no marauding band of plunderers.  This was a detachment of an immense army.  Sumerian to be sure, but from what city-state, and to encounter what other, Elnathan did not know.  An officer  stepped forward and loudly called for the groups leader.  Elnathan walked forward.
Elnathan and Khawyaw, for since Sippor he had stayed at his father's side, were quickly escorted away.  As the mist of the mornings dew dried away they began to see an army of ten thousand.  These 
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                                                       The Scrolls

were citizen soldiers from Larsa well south of Fara, so the standards gave witness. They were led through the standards bearers, past light infantry men clad in light single shouldered cloaks armed with axe and dagger, others with scimitar and short spear. Then on through the ranks of the bowmen, like those who had surrounded them. At last came the four wheeled chariots each drawn by four asses, comprising perhaps a fourth of the army. The chariots contained two men, one driver the other axe in hand. Quivers of arrows protruded from the shielded tank.
Since the holy group had left Ninua, traveling south, the air had continually become heavier. The moisture of the two rivers, as they came closer together, mixed with the canopied atmosphere, caused the vegetation to flourish. Also, the aroma of the earth was rich in the air. Now in the midst of the army, the smells of the men, and leather, and horses intensified. And the brackish odor of the metal weapons stuck a different kind of fear.
Standing in front of the more decorated chariot was the king. With plumed copper helmet, broad blade spear and an adze he waited for his new prisoners. Elnathan was led before the King of Larsa. Khawyaw was at his father’s right hand.
The captain spoke. “We have encountered these and a handful of others, my lord. They are brought to you for examination.”
Fear immediately smote Elnathan’s heart – – the whole group could be drafted into this army at the king’s command.
“I am Naplanum, king of Larsa, who are you?” the king demanded, thinking they could be spies.
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The Scrolls

"We are Sethites, my lord.  My name is Elnathan, this is my son Khawyaw.
"And where are you people going?"  the king questioned.
"We journey at the command of the LORD our God."  Elnathan hoped by bringing up the Higher Diety to gain influence with the king.
"And for what purpose is this journey that you say your on?"  Questioned the king.
Elnathan continued to look into the eyes of the king and said,  "We are bringing the scrolls of our fathers that will continue through God's judgment of the flood.  Elnathan opened his script and produced two of his targums.
"Yes, Yes, we have heard of these myths of yours and you skins of words.  Where came you from and where are you bound for?"
"We travel by Sippor, king Naplanum, on our way to Ur."  
"I see, and what of Sippor did you see?"  asked Naplanum.
"Nothing," replied Elnathan and in fact the group had taken the straighter shorter road to the east of Sippor.
The king climbed back into his chariot, looked about over his army and spoke to the captain who had brought them.
"Let them go."
With a signal of the kings arm, the army moved noisily on northward.  The captain returned his captives to the sages.  "Be on your way, quickly."  the captain shouted.
                       93
                                                                     The Scrolls



Some time later Elnathan said to Khawyaw,  "We have escaped a fate worse than death my son.  We must look too imbecile to make into soldiers."  Khawyaw nodded, only then fully understanding the encounter.






They traveled between the rivers until coming to Ur on the west bank. Elnathan hired a raft upon which they and the pack animals boarded.  "Hail, my lord Elnathan,”  who was seated on the raft.  Elnathan raised his eyes to see a somewhat familiar figure standing upon the shore-end of the raft plank.
"You do not recognize me?  The cook Rawkhal, whom you shared the evening and your scrolls with many months ago."
At those words Elnathan revived considerably.  He had been contemplating sending Khawyaw back to Seth for a scroll to replace the one lost.  Indeed he had sadly reflected it could have passed by this very spot.   
They embraced and Elnathan invited Rawkhal to be seated.  Rawkhal sat placing his leather duffel across his knees.  
"Are you crossing?"  Elnathan inquired.


                       94
                                                       The Scrolls



"Nay, my friend, this is my cousin's raft, I am up-river a space preparing to sell my cargo.  My cousin told me of the Sethites who had hired his raft.  And so I made haste to see if it were true, and much better that it is you.
"I see that you have your reading tablets with you."  Elnathan offered.
"More than those, Elnathan.  Since the day you showed me your scroll of Michael I have been searching for the same type of scripts I saw that night.  Perchance, about a month ago as we fished the river for the evening meal, we spotted a box  floating in the river.  Not knowing  what it held, as it was tightly sealed, we opened it."  Rawkhal reached into his duffel and slowly removed a linen bundle.  Elnathan watched breathlessly as Rawkhal removed the linen to reveal a leather scroll.  It could not possibly be, Elnathan thought, as Rawkhal handed the roll to him.
"Would you read for me, Elnathan?"  Rawkhal almost begged.
Elnathan began opening the scroll and sat astounded.  It was the lost scroll of Seth!  The sages noting the change in Elnathan came close about.  Rejoicing with a fervor that had not been enjoyed since the journey's beginning, Elnathan waited sometime before he could fulfill Rawkhal's request, and relate to him of the scrolls journey.
The waters above where the rivers joined were quiet, but strong and so the crossing was accomplished safely, but slowly.  Elnathan read the entire scroll to the attentive Rawkhal, who returned to the east bank.  One of Elnathan's precious targums was bound close to the heart of the rescuer of Seth's scroll. 
                       95
                                                       The Scrolls



On shore they again planned the journey to Enoch by going around Ur. Enoch's tent was south of Ur so they would follow on foot a canal that flowed south west. Elnathan had been to Enoch's tent as a boy and sat in his classes, for Enoch was an instructor as his name means.  It was more than likely they would find him in class.  Elnathan took note of those classes and recalled now a part of a scroll of Enoch that he had read in his father's tent: 

And behold I saw the clouds: and they
were calling me in a vision;
and the fogs were calling me;
and the course of the stars
and the lightenings were rushing me
and causing me to desire;
and in the vision, the winds
were causing me to fly and rushing
me high up into heaven. and I kept coming
(into heaven) until I approached a
wall which was built of white marble
and surrounded by tongues of fire;
and it began to frighten me. I Enoch Pseud.

     The tents of the prolific scribe of righteousness came into view. Spread before them in the open shade of a huge figs tree was a great number of students to whom one man was speaking - - Enoch. The group of Sethites drew closer when Enoch took full notice of them and immediately suspended schooling for the day. He ran to Elnathan and embraced him. 
"We have been expecting you, Elnathan.  The news of your mission of the LORD came to us months ago and we are honored to receive what words you have. Please come into my tent."        
The exuberance of Enoch's character had always been admired by Elnathan and he was glad that 
                    96

                                                                     The Scrolls

Khawyaw was along to learn from the great teacher of the faith. They were all seated, and Elnathan began one last time to unroll the story of the vision and journey. At this tent, however, the good news of the recovery of the scroll of Seth was related. Scrolls and scribes surrounded the sages and Elnathan. He was overwhelmed by the voluminousness scrolls.
Enoch’s exuberance quieted and he spoke softly to one of the scribes, who shortly brought a linen wrapped Holy Scroll and placed it in Elnathan’s arms. “The LORD is not short in providing His word abundantly,” Enoch said, as Elnathan handed the scroll to the sage Shawlome, seated at his left.
Producing another wrapping and the final wooden box the sage gently placed the scroll inside and sealed the box. All silently watched the procedure then awaited Enoch; who produced other scrolls which he passed to the sage’s servants. Then fixing his eyes upon Elnathan, Enoch began, “My scholar, Elnathan. It would be well to make a peace offering to the LORD God of all things that have come to pass this day. The scribe Zehbakh will bring the ox for the offering.”
They went to the task of preparing. The scribes prepared the altar built of unhewn stones and earth, and the servants, with Elnathan gathered the wood. Enoch brought the fire brand and Khawyaw the knife. Enoch and Elnathan came to the ox and placed their hands upon its head.
The ox was then slain. The blood was collected by Ore, which he sprinkled upon the altar, the fat of the intestines “and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys,” [Lev. 3:3] were burned upon the altar on the burnt offering, with salt.

                       97
                                                       The Scrolls

This was a sweet savor unto the LORD.
Khawyaw then separated the breast and the right shoulder, laying aside the shoulder – – it was for Enoch and Elnathan. The breast was lifted by Khawyaw at arms length and waved before the LORD symbolically. Then it and the right shoulder, was given to the seven sages who kept the six scrolls, for them to eat roasted from a separate fire. The rest of the flesh was prepared for the scribes and servants of the sages.
This meat of the offering was a symbol of being spiritually fed with the mercies of the kingdom of God with resulting satisfactions. Brought forth by the scribe also were, “unleavened cakes, mingled with olive oil,unleavened wafers anointed with oil having been fried in a pan of fine flour, and leavened bread,” [Lev.7:12,13] of which a portion of each kinds of bread was placed on the altar and burned with salt – – a type of spiritual food after which one spiritually labored for its rewards. Scribes provided also fresh squeezed wine of the vine, a portion of which was poured upon the altar as a figure of vigor and refreshment. All then ate of these provisions in a feast of love and joy, which symbolized the right of sitting In the tent as family of the LORD. The feast concluded, Enoch took Elnathan aside into his tent. He bestowed his blessing and placed in his hands the Targum of Enoch.
Retracing their steps the group of restored wayfarers followed the canal road. Now they were north of Eridu and traveled west, passing much north of the Garden of Eden. Intending to reach the cave of Adam shortly, they found however, spread before them the tents of Adam. Elnathan sent Ore to announce their burdens and ask permission to deposit them in the cave.
98
The Scrolls

The sage returned shortly with Adam's emissary, and confirmed Elnathan's request.  The group moved on.  At the cave Elnathan found sprawling black goathair tents with hidden heavily armed men.  Born after Seth these he found to be the younger sons of Adam.  
Adam's emissary with Ore approached the tents, and  conversed at length with who seemed to be the captain.  A bit of tension prevailed.  Elnathan watched from close by the scrolls.
Some time later at the cave entrance, the nine filed past the spot where month's earlier they had spoken and eaten with Adam and Eve.  Elnathan and Ore led the way to the room of jars.  Khawyaw followed behind the six sages carrying the six scrolls.
"Ore, be certain of the contents of this jar," Elnathan quietly asked.  Ore opened the lid for Elnathan's examination and when confirmed, reclosed the vessel.  The jars stood two cubits high and were raised above the floor on broken stones.  The six entered now and almost simultaneously placed their linen wrapped treasures inside the remaining six empty jars. Elnathan placed each lid while the sages heated wax and strips of linen to seal all seven of the containers.
Not until then had Elnathan noticed, that none of the numerous jars he had seen before remained.  Only the large flat stone still leaned against the wall.  "We shall leave now my brothers, the safe guarding of our labors is now in the hands of the sons of Adam and the wisdom of our LORD God,"  Elnathan said.
They retreated to their servants and pack asses.  The holy ones prayed together for some time within the semi circle of the tents, and with quiet emotion, parted to their homes.  Elnathan and Khawyaw        
                       99
                                                                     The Scrolls

had one final errand.
The tent of Adam and its refuge from the labors of the afternoon was now in sight. As they approached, Adam’s servant escorted them inside. Adam and Eve were seated as before, Elnathan bowed deeply.
Rising, Elnathan spoke: “My lord Adam.”
“It is my son, Elnathan. Welcome.”
“I have a message from your son, Seth, father Adam.”
“Say on Elnathan,” said Adam
“Seth has ask me to tell you that he is well and prospers and wishes that he might embrace you.” Eve who had set quite tense, leaned gently on Adam now. The two were much comforted as Elnathan continued to unroll the details of the journey, and the health of the generations, and the deposit of the scrolls in the cave.
Elnathan had but let the final word from his lips when the couple before him and the interior of the tent blurred and a muffle of sound entered into his ears and as if it were a whirl of wind surrounding him. And in what seemed like the unrolling of a scroll he was standing by the hearth of his home and Nawsheem stood startled before him. He reached his hand to her …
100

                                                  The Scrolls



And so returned to his pleasant wife and home, Elnathan lived on, reading his scrolls with only the knowledge of the judgment of a flood.  Adam had died three years after the journey , and the scrolls remained in the cave under the vigilance of the younger sons of Adam.
Now, when Elnathan was one hundred and ten years of age, he received a letter from his father Methuselah, of a happening that could only be ascribed to God.                        

Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, to my son Elnathan.  Be in good health. 
 My father Enoch who has walked pleasing the LORD these past three hundred and sixty-five years, is not, for the LORD has taken him.  His family who had watched him the many years, whiles his God showed to him the mystries of the heaven, saw him that evening past, read from his scrolls and after prayer slept upon the rugs.  Because of the many scrolls kept in the house his younger son slept upon the threshold of the closed door, there are no other openings.  In the early hours of the morning his younger son awakened, while the others slept.  He saw the figure of his father rise up from the bench, and stood speaking to what appeared to be an angel whose wings nearly touched the poles of the ceiling.  In the course of moments the son saw the visage of his father changed into the appearance not unlike that of the angel, though without wings.  It was then that another angel appeared beside him.  And Enoch spoke saying, as often he had written:  “Behold, the LORD cometh with ten-thousand of his saints...”  Now when he had stopped speaking the three disappeared from the room and there was a great calm.
My son, father Enoch walked those many years with the scrolls he had been bidden to write, in a script bound to his thigh, just as you or I when we journey.  To him were revealed many mysteries, but none as abstruse as this example shows.  It is that the reward of our faith is immortality.  For God has taken him and he did not see death.
Of the Elder Fathers Adam died. Abel died at the hand of his brother Cain , and we see their graves.  These are witnesses.  But, now my father Enoch has, as his name means, initiated for us the revelation of life everlasting.  May the LORD God be magnified.
My son, with all diligence I exhort you, hold fast to the faith.

                       101



                                                       The Scrolls



Again, and in the one hundredth and seventy-ninth year of Elnathan’s life, a message and scroll came to him from his father Methuselah.  The message was to announce the birth of Lamech’s first born son, Noah.  Stated also was the great confidence in this new born concerning the judgment.  
The scroll read:

reflecting the expectation at the birth of the extraordinary Noah:

Then I thought in my heart that, the
conception was from the watchers,
and the … was from holy ones
and belonged to the giants; and
my heart was changed concerning this
young man. Then I, Lamech, was alarmed,
and I came to Bath-Enosh my wife and
said, ‘ … by the most high, by the LORD
of greatness, by the King of all ages …
sons of heaven, until you show me
everything truly … show me
truly and without lies …’
Then Bath-Enosh my wife spoke
to me with great vehemence and
with …, and said, ‘O my brother,
and my Lord, recall my delight …
The time, and my breath in its sheath,
and I truly everything … ‘ Greatly
was my heart then changed; and
when Bath-Enosh my wife saw that
my face was changed, then she constr-
ained her spirit and spoke with me
and said, ‘O, my Lord, and O, . . . of my
delight, I swear to you by the Holy
One, by the King of heaven, that
from you was this seed and from you
this conception and from you the
implanting of fruit, and not from
any stranger nor from watchers nor
from any of the sons of heaven.
what has so changed and marred
your face and so … your spirit? I am

       102


                                    The Scrolls

speaking truly with you.’ Then I,
Lamech, ran to Methuselah, my father,
and told him everything … his father,
that from him he might learn everything
with certainty, because he was loved and
… his lot was assigned, and they showed
him everything. —– part of the Genesis
Apocryphon, D.S.S

When Elnathan was six hundred and fifty-nine years old - - for  he like all of the Adam Patriarch’s lived extremely long lives - - that Methuselah was visited by Michael the Ark Angel with words from the LORD saying:  “My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” 




Then again a final time, Methuselah sent word when Elnathan was six hundred and seventy-nine years old.  Triplets had been born to Noah, and instructions had been given the righteous Noah to build an ark to the saving of his household, from God’s flood waters of judgment.




Still, Elnathan remained at his home, and the scrolls in the cave of Adam.  Until, the day Elnathan walked in the fields.  A   figure of a  man came walking toward him.  The steps were sure and true and he carried a staff.
Elnathan heard his name being called, and the figure came closer - - it was Lamech, his elder brother, the patriarch.  They were alone in the field and they embraced.  Elnathan was now seven hundred 

                       103
                                                                     The Scrolls

and twenty-nine years old and Lamech three years older.
“My brother,” began Lamech. “It is good to see you.”
“And you, my lord.” “But what brings you, to such as myself – – is our father well?” the braced Elnathan inquired.
“He is well, my brother,” stated Lamech. “It is of the scrolls that I have come to you. As when you gathered the scrolls unto Adam’s cave, so must you deliver them into the Ark that Noah builds at Fara. Already, there is a chest to receive the scrolls. And therein is the Holy scroll of Noah with the LORD’s commands concerning the Ark. The construction continues very well. Noah and his three sons are busied at the task. Our father Methuselah is sending to you the seven sages.
Elnathan, as relaxed and confident as his advanced age had made him, yet quietly gasped when realizing the remembrance of Methuselah’s dreams of the eyes, so many years earlier. “And so, my journey is not completed.” Standing straighter, buoyed by the importance of the task, Elnathan set heart to fulfill his God’s wishes.
The two brothers returned to Elnathan’s home. They ate and conversed the evening and slept. With the piercing light of morning, the faces of the sages of years ago and Khawyaw, greeted Lamech and Elnathan. Lamech took journey back to his home, and Elnathan and the sages set out for the cave of Adam.
Nawsheem was no longer at her hearth. She had passed away some years earlier. But to the elder daughter, Elnathan comforted with confidence at his return in two weeks – – “the LORD willing.”
104
The Scrolls

The group walked, only Khawyaw and Elnathan had servants with them on this trip.  Although  their pace had slackened, from that of the first journey, their steps were surer and minds set harder upon this final work for their God.
Remarkably, the scene of Adam’s cave was little changed.  However, obtaining entrance proved to be a bit more time consuming.  They pitched their tents, and waited.  “Khawyaw, I can see we have caused quite a stir.”  The tents of the grandsons and great grandsons of Adam were full of activity.  The younger Adam’s were better fitted to do battle, and Elnathan had heard rumors of skirmishes with some vagabonds and inhabitants of Eridu, from time to time.
“ Do you see, my father, they send a messenger, but to whom?”  asked Khawyaw.
Two days later Khawyaw got his answer.  The messenger returned with an elder of whom Elnathan recognized as having been the captain in charge when the scrolls were deposited.  Elnathan stood to be recognized.
“It is good to see you again, Elnathan.  The LORD has asked you to continue, your journey of renown?”  The elder captain inquired.
“As you have said, my  lord.”  Elnathan responded.
Upon this the elder captain walked to the tents of his sons and soon the matter was settled.  
Soon Elnathan and the sages found themselves standing before the clay jars, untouched, and still sealed.  Repacking the scrolls into wooden boxes, similar to the first journey, they turned to leave.  Elnathan, spoke to Khawyaw and the two servants.  “Bring the stone that Eve found, as Adam spoke to 
                       105
                                                       The Scrolls

me of keeping it with the scrolls.” The heavy stone was taken to a pack ass and tied to the saddle pack. The scrolls though, Elnathan and the sages decided, should be carried. In the backs of their minds lurked the near tragedy of Seth’s scroll.
The group set for Fara and the Ark of Noah. Fara was situated between the rivers Perawth and Khiddehkel. And so the time consuming task of hiring a barge and crossing the Perawth river had to be accomplished. With a patience created from the words of eternity, these wayfarers of the longer journey and a life walk with their God, barely felt the resistance of time.
The thick trees obscured from view – – but not quite from hearing – – what one of the servants led them to: a tented camp and the skeletal structure of the largest vessel Elnathan had ever seen. He was immediately greeted by his older brother Lamech, to his surprise. “It is good that you are here, my brother. We have heard and now we see. Come that you may visit this great work set before us. Come and speak with my son, Noah. He is expecting you.”
From a staircase within the structure Elnathan proceeded to the third story. The roof beam had not yet been fit, but the partly planked third deck held a large covered and paneled room from which emerged his nephew, the patriarch Noah, the eldest son of Lamech.
“Welcome, we have prepared for you. Please, come in.” An invitation so much sounding like one might hear from the lips of the LORD.
The plank door hung open as the sages and Elnathan entered the room. This would be the habitation of Noah and his sons and wives. Kezia, Noah’s wife, gazed respectfully at Elnathan. “Be seated
106
The Scrolls

now and enjoy the resting niche of the LORD. We have brought food for the day, we shall all eat and there is fresh wine,” declared Kezia.
Noah brought Elnathan to the edge of the incomplete deck and they beheld the structure. Noah began pointing to the ribs of the outer walls. The bottom was planked with one cubit planking and sealed. Work was being done to the roof beams and from the looks of things, more than a barge-full of beams would yet be needed. As they looked through the hand hewn timbers onto the river northward, Elnathan thoughtfully remembered the timber barge they had traveled on from Sippor.
Lamech spoke, “We have many people of the earth working for us, furnished by Fara’s king Utnapishtin, who is quite interested in the work. But pretentiously, it is our gold and silver and flocks that he receives that keeps the cooperation mutual. We need his laborers in the forests as well as here. Noah’s sons are at their tents for some much needed rest, so I am come to help in their stead.”
A couple of men were driving huge iron nails through hot poker-burnt holes in the planking and ribs, with a large mallet. Head flush with the planking the amenable spikes were being clenched over against the inside of the ribs. Others outside, were dressing planking for the floor and roof. And still others were handling the boards up to the third floor deck, which obviously needed completion in order to safely place the roof beams. Noah motioned to some of the workers and Lamech went to confer with them.
As they reentered the room, a quiet settled about as Noah opened a large standing credenza, shelved and divided. Already three scrolls had been placed within. EInathan knew these were Noah’s. Ore
107
The Scrolls

then stepped forward with the yet boxed scroll of Adam, which Noah placed in the Credenza. Khahee, then with the scroll of Seth, Khikmaw with the scroll of Enos, Soor with the scroll of Cainan, Tsehdek with the scroll of Mahalaleel, Kodesh with the scroll of Jared, and Shawlome with the scroll of Enoch, all came forward in turn. Noah placed each scroll in the credenza and finally the remaining scrolls of Enoch. There remained spaces should the LORD so direct for more. Noah closed the doors and latched them tightly. A watch of mindful Sethites was set until the day Noah and his sons entered the Ark and sealed it closed from inside. As Elnathan had been instructed. Khawyaw and the servants, brought with difficulty Eve’s stone placing it on the floor beside the credenza. Not knowing of its existence, Noah was much taken with the ancient writing.
Noah caused them all to be seated and offered prayers of thanksgiving. Taking cup and bread, he began the feast meal of celebration, ending with his blessings.
The folowing morning, Elnathan and Khawyaw and two servants reentered the roadway. “Khawyaw, my son, after guiding the sages in their way you may return to your tent, we will see each other when I return. The servant, Koom, will go with me.” And so they parted.
Koom huddled closer to Elnathan. They stood between Eridu and close to the Garden of Eden. Elnathan did not know why he had come here. The hovering cloud of lightning flashes revealed an impenetrable wall of vegetation, roundabout and under it. The cloud almost covered the wall from sight. In the center of the east wall that they faced, a way had existed and indeed the faint line of the opening was visible. However, even more frightening than the sudden lightnings were two tall creatures, almost

              108
                                               The Scrolls

obscured by the pulsating smoke.

They each had … the likeness of a man
(Each) one had four faces,
and (each) one had four wings.
and their feet were straight feet;
and the sole of their feet
was like the sole of a calf’s foot:
and they sparkled like the color
of burnished brass. And they had
the hands of a man under their
wings on their four sides; and they
(each) had their faces and their wings.

As for the likeness of their faces,
they (each) had the face of a man,
And the face of a lion, on the
right side; and they … had the
face of an ox on the left side;
they … also had the face of an eagle.
thus were their faces:
and their wings were stretched upward;
two wings of every one were, joined …
And two covered their bodies.

As for the likeness of the living creatures,
there appearance was like burning
coals of fire, and like the appearance
of lamps: It went up and down
among the living creatures;
and the fire was bright,
and out of the fire went forth
lightning. [Ezek. 1:5-15]

Between the creatures a great and tall fire stood infolding itself and a brightness was about it.  And out of the midst was as the color of amber, of fire shaped as a sword. The earth beneath shook from the noise of the lightnings and the earth's heat from the presence of the sword came up through the soles of their sandals.
                        109    


                                                  The Scrolls


 Trembling they backed from the sight and continued north and west around the Garden of Eden as little children might tiptoe unseen past their sleeping parents.

                                                 The End
                                                              110

                                                       The Scrolls


                 NAMES

Nawsheem Elnathan’s wife
Yatzar The converted potter of Obaid
Reyoo Yatzar’s wife
Khawyaw Elnathan’s oldest son
Rawkhal Cook on way to Sippor
Yawd Methuselah’s shepherd servant
Mooth Methuselah’s scribe
Ore Sage to Adam
Kawbar Adam’s servant
Dungi Ibi-sin’s master
Ibi-sin Shepherd
Mene King of the Dark River
Ehbed Emissary from Mene
Shawrath Seth’s servant
Khahee Sage to Seth
Khokmaw Sage to Enos
Mikail Monarch of Ebla
Soor Sage to Cainan
Tsehdek Sage to Mahalaleel
Kodesh Sage to Jared
Shawlome Sage to Enoch
Koom Elnathan’s servant
Kezia Noah’s wife

               111

                                                             The Scrolls



 Ancient terms            Definitions

Argot Canticle The Phoenician or Ancient Hebrew
Language and writing
Khiddehkel River Tigris River Gen. 2:l0-14
Perawth River Euphrates River “
Gheekhone River Pibon River “
Peeshone River Fison River “
Khaveelaw land of Havilah “
Koosh Ethiopia “
Yereekho City of Jericho
Great Sea Mediterranian Sea
Dark River Nile River
Papyrus Sea Red Sea
Nod Sea Persian Gulf
Ninua City of Nineveh

  • sites on map Places where Elnathan stopped

1 cubit = 18″ (inches) the distance
from tip of finger to the elbow

               112

                                                             The Scrolls

                Bibliography



 The Scrolls pages 24,25                            "The Worm and the Toothache"    pgs.  75,76
                                                             from: The Ancient Near East,  Vol. 1
                           Edited by James B. Pritchard                                         Princeton University Press                                          Princeton, New Jersey

The Scrolls pages 102,103 “Genesis Apocryphon” (birth of Noah)
[The Dead Sea Scrolls]

The Scrolls pages 96 “I Enoch” 14:8,9
from: The Old Testament Pseudepigraphia, Vol. 1
Edited by James H. Charlesworth
Doubleday & Company, Inc.
“Garden City, New York
USA

The Scrolls pages 97,98 The People’s Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by 0. R. Barnes
The People’s Publication Society 1921,
Chicago, Illinois
patterned referencing from pages 955, 956

General referencing Halley’s Bible Handbook – 24th edition
by Henry H. Halley
Zondervan Publishing House
Grand Rapids, Michigan
USA

                       113
            The Generations of Adam

yr brn.     patriarch       age died
0, created  Adam            930
             *
----------------------------------------------------------   Abel
             *
130     Seth            912
             *
235     Enos            905
             *
325     Cainan                        910
             *
395     Mahaleleel      895
             *
460     Jared           962
             *
622     Enoch,  365     changed
             *
687     Methuselah      969
             *        *        
874     Lamech      *       777     yr                            
             *        *- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -877           Elnathan    born        1056        Noah                                      *
             *                  902                           Khawyaw               born
             *
             *
             *
             *                                927                          Journey of Scrolls
             *                          to cave of Adam
             *
             *
1556        Shem ,     Ham,      Japheth
             *                *               *
             *                *               *
             *                *               *                 Journey of
             *                *               *         1606                        Scrolls to Ark of Noah
             *                *               *
             *                *               *         1612            Elnathan dies    
             *                *               *         
             *                *               *
             *                *               *

flood * * * 1656 flood

           *         *              *
        Noah
        Shem,     Ham,      Japheth         
                                                                          114        




                             THE OXFORD
                              a novel by


                         Joseph E. Swearengin


        Copyright   c    1994     Joseph E. Swearengin


                              Contents

                        page

Chapter 1 1
Chapter 2 4
Chapter 3 7
Chapter 4 10
Chapter 5 14
Chapter 6 17
Chapter 7 21
Chapter 8 24
Chapter 9 28
Chapter 10 31
Chapter 11 35
Chapter 12 38
Chapter 13 41
Chapter 14 43
Chapter 15 45
Chapter 16 47
Chapter 17 49
Chapter 18 50
Chapter 19 53

                                                    CHAPTER 1


 Joshua’s eyes stopped and rested on the old Bible, placed there by the ancient carpenter in the midst of his tools upon the workbench.   A shower of light beamed through the dusty panes and spot lighted the shavings and chips pushed back to receive the prize. Indeed, more than a prize, for when new, the cover and binding .alone were a costly item. A bright copper frame work with hinges and black soft goat skin with gold plates of engraved, told of its priceless contents. The snow white pages banged the sharp black print into ones eyes, perhaps the intent was meant for the soul.   It was what the buyer had searched for, a long trail of cities, stores and small shops behind him.   But it was not even new then, only in appearance.   No name written in the cover page, no pictures or references to clutter this volume, no notes to discover its previous owner, no paper clippings, and the bespectacled gentleman behind the counter wasn't about to reveal either; his long standing policy in a sunken to eye level street height pawn shop, cluttered with all the items of distraction right down to the figure head of an old wind jammer.
   It was true what  the carpenter hadn’t noted, the book had been published in Oxford England in the early years of the presses beginning, and even lacked the usual verse numbers.   Only the familiar chapter integers  interrupted the flowing words.              From Oxford its bearer had passed through the by-ways and dirt roads into                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          1

the stone hedged fields of crops and sheep to the sea north of Avon and Bridge water Bay. in the square rigged merchant ship Beulah it rested secure within a duffel, while the bearer last looked from Bristol Channel, then toward the New England shore, beyond the Atlantic. Perhaps the waves parted a bit as the ship set her course.
At Boston the duffel again in hand, the days stretched into months the pages of the Covenants occasionally giving up His treasures to the bearers eyes. Jobs were hard to find and lodging even more difficult, until a printer needed a deliverer. Then, the days were long and the trips endless and the pay meager ,until, to settle the rent the landlord received the guilded Book. Their hands too parted its pages on Sundays when it was carried for its outward appearance and it accomplished that purpose as well. But one warm summer a tussle of the children in the living room knocked a floor lights sharp edge into the goat skin leaving a deep cut in its wake. It rested untouched there for many years but of the maids duster.
The young minister, in route, upon parting the parish took his meal with the church folk and once again the Book enjoyed the handling of warm hands and heart. He was in Pennsylvania now. Somehow, he attracted people to his sermons in spite of his youth and they listened,but like him of little wealth; so he, of necessity kept moving further west with his messages and the Bible. At Cambridge Ohio after crossing 2
the bow- bridge a small poster announced quietly that evenings Bible study. The teacher was an older likeness of himself, only the years of constant study and devotion had tamed the greyed stooped gentleman to the disciplines of his task; and not only taking in hand the young preacher, but — the treasure. Beautiful for reading and cherishing God’s words; but, unhandy for the classes of teaching and quick referencing. When left one evening at his room a thief spied the glittering metal and made off with it.
His flight wasn’t far before he pitched the heavier bounty beside the alley steps at the rear of the pawn shop, under yesterdays boxing. The proprietor was a little set back by the discovery this morning that such and article as this at his very threshold. The carpenter placed the cash on the counter, there was a scar on the back of his hand, not much less than the one in the goat skin. Those loving hands had from use worn the leather dimples of black to a soft speckled brown and the deeper colored frame to thinness. The gold engraved plates too were becoming delicate and the thick pages though not torn were none the less not quite as white nor the ink as black. Had its brilliance sunk down into the old man? No question for Joshua.

      3
    CHAPTER  2

        Outside the window stood the  tree.   The wind as well as the sun shown through; but, now the wind not heavy but  slightly more than the usual breeze could be heard.   And many more things,  than just the wind from where it stood now swishing a shadow of its branch across the Book within.  The old man had planted the young slip sixty years ago.   He’d gotten the seed from his minister’s daughter who with her husband had traveled to the near east, beginning in Egypt on the island of Pharos, where seventy of Eleazar’s  priestly embassy translated the books of Moses from Hebrew into Greek for Ptolemy Philadelphos, whose father was one of Alexander the Great’s generals and then king of Egypt, to increase his library at Alexandria.
 They traveled by camel caravan through Hebron where lay Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and some  the twelve patriarchs as well, and to Jerusalem where after the return from the Babylonian captivity Ezra is said to have recited from memory the entire 38 Books of the Hebrew Bible to a handful of scribes who penned them them  on sheep skin scrolls. On north to Shechem,now Nabulus, where Joseph’s bones lay and the land was divided by lot to the remaining seven tribes.   North they traveled with a Bedouin band who’s hospitality is note-worthy in their generosity to the guest, right down to the last lamb. In the evenings cool breeze, they recounted their conversations,recognizing the poetry of the recitations and perhaps,hearing even the same words as they were recounted with hushed and reverenced silence from the expectant hearers within
4

Abraham’s tent some thirty five hundred years ago. Now, we call ours Bible study, but theirs their posterity. Could they possibly be descendants of the Rechabites of Jeremiah’s time they mused, there was for sure no wine at all in the tent. At night a light rain was unable to penetrate the black goat hair tent that sheltered them, when earlier a cool breeze had filtered quietly; but, detectably to the ear through the same wall of hair.
Surely, Paul was familiar with the habitat as he plied his trade further to the north and their destination, Tarsus. The same man who’s thirteen writings comprise the bulk of the New Covenant. A holy man whose mission was begun by God himself and to whom he longed.
Between them now lay the mountains of Lebanon. There she would gather secretly, seeds from the cones used to cook the evening meal, hiding them in her kerchief. But for now, with her “Rechabites,” she enjoyed the round low plate of cooked rice and roasted lamb, with butter she had watched a little objecting girl churn in a goat skin hung from the tent pole; and camel milk laboriously gained from the contentious creature held at bay by no less than four men.
Sailing from Tarsus she noted the direction of a small island along the coast of Turkey named Patmos where the Apostle John received the Revelation, completing the book of the New Covenant. She couldn’t see the island; but, perhaps she thought,she might if for only an instant, hear the sea pounding the islands shore.

5

 As the kerchief was opened the man could see -- almost, the snows of the white capped mountains of Lebanon and hear the winds from them through the cedars, rushing toward the sea.   Carefully, the seeds were picked from the linen, five in all and only one would survive to mature.
Small clay pots revealed the next spring the small green hairs of leaves.   A few more years and only one pot could boast its produce.   He set it out there kneeling on both knees with shovel and fertilizer.   He planted his “miracle” and watched it grow and favored it, as he called it his, “Tree of Life.”   Growing strong, but not at six thousand feet as on the mountains over there; yet, containing within its wonderful fragrance and beauty.   Hundreds of years from now it would lose its conical shape and become flat on top, like the old man.

                                                     6


                                                       CHAPTER  3
 Joshua, of course, had not watched the tree planted, neither would he see it grow flat on top; but, he knew the carpenter most of his life and he had watched the greyed hairs grow white and his ways narrow.    At the orphanage home, many babies were taken away, yet he remained.   Before he could remember and for just a short time, his mother had taken him with her, and the home burned.   Rebuilt, she had returned him.  A nurse had told him when he became old enough to be moved  to the second floor. She never came for him again.   But what he  could remember was the carpenter who had built the cabinets in the rooms and kitchen addition.    Later he would go home with him or to another job. The carpenter and his wife became  the parents that he would remember.
 Carpenters helper at first, then more serious jobs caused the helper Joshua,  to make it his trade.   It was more than the experience it was the carpenter that kept Joshua steady.    Taking a job away, the carpenter and his wife had come looking for him.   Only when the job was completed did he return to their trust.   The job had  been out of state for a wealthy man who had planned and prepared long before it began.   Along a river, the lower level had been blasted from the rock and the drains had to be chiseled through the rock.   Twelve inch blocks were hand carried to the footers in those days, from the bank above.   It had been hard work, but the only way to get to do the wood work.   His boss was a demanding man and the experience good, it was his business now.   He enjoyed  framing the large home with many rooms for the owners

7

and their many guests. The den, rather office, as the man always worked, was paneled with solid three quarter inch wild cherry lumber from the owners own woods.The outside door took six hinges and two men to fit it in place, and the oak floors were plugged with walnut plugs. The ceiling beams of the living vaulted to twenty feet and when the walnut mantel beam had a wain of white wood in it Joshua watched the painter match with stain to unnoticeable the total beam. The wood work had no nail holes in them. A knife had been used to lay aside a sliver while the nail was driven and the piece glued back. The kitchen and main entry halls were tiled floor, Joshua had tended the tiler, each tile set in concrete and grouted. Large balcony windows overlooked the flowing river below. The soffits and facia, work completed with thee same skill as the inside. The entry doors and molding work the finest
he had ever seen, the builder himself completing that work, a testimony to the work within. They live there now the man and his family; Joshua returned to the old man and his wife. But, the memory of the building remained as alive in Joshua as the guests it now receives.
The cities historical society had contracted with the old man to reconstruct a log home and peg barn. He was just beginning when Joshua returned. They worked as one now seldom the need to speak to one another, each knew the next step and each his job. They dug deep into the ground for the corner footers and mid-supports a bit more than the original. The soil lacked the clay content of the other surrounding areas.

                                                                      8 

The logs were furnished but they had to be hand hewed with side cut axe and notched in each end. Slowly the building rose, the logs seemed to match each other the grain’s color working together, and so straight that caulking the joints was easily done. The floor boards were plank split, the old man hand hewed with a foot adze as smooth as sawn, never a blade mark on board nor on beam. The stairs they pegged together to reach the loft. There were no nails in the buildings. Even the split shingle roof was fastened with pegged beam, most leak, this one didn’t. The old journeyman carpenter was an expert with eye and froe and Joshua the roofer.
Standing inside the fresh new home one could see the same care upon the plank table and table ware, benches and spinning wheel. The stones of the fire place were from brook, so carefully fit that, as with the original, there was no mortar, as with the footers, and it didn’t smoke the room.
The barn not as large, was, a stable for a cow or two and a horse with roof extension for a buggy. Again, the beams were hand dressed, the boards split plank, with froe cracked shingles. The beams were mortised and tenoned. In the entirety of the work the society was well satisfied, as they knew it would be.
And Joshua did all things well pleasing to the old man in all of his work. Truly
the knowledge of the old man was in Joshua and the skill of a journeyman perfected.
9
CHAPTER 4
Levi watched the boy grow, he had seen his interest in what he was doing and taught him. However, the old mans skill hadn’t come from teaching — observations, experience and trial and error had been a demanding task master. By the time Levi had married he could think far enough ahead to make up for costly errors and eliminate the problems before they arose. His youth had begun in the woods where he was raised, and hunting and trapping were the things he knew and enjoyed while furnishing the table with a good supply of meat. But the times changed and so did Levi; with one exception, his mother and father were Bible folk, that is, they believed in the written word, reading from it daily. Levi grew to be no different, not by force but by their example, although his older brother and younger sister tried to no avail to argue it from him; but never that Mom and Dad knew of. The example of that life never changed throughout his life, the reading habits he’d learned and his love for the Bible seemed only to increase.
Levi had taken a job with the cabinet maker in town but was only able to stay with him a month or better and his family moved to a larger town and he’d found work as a laborer toting lumber for carpenters. His taste had been wet at the cabinet shop, no matter how secretive the carpenter’s were Levi was determined to become better than any of them, and so he watched. The only tool he had never earned was an old then

                    10

beech beam fore plane that was given to him by a crippled Canadian carpenter who’s hours of bragging Levi never tired of, because that’s how he learned the trade, by listening and seeing. The doing wasn’t difficult for him, it was the mechanics of the trade he needed. Occasionally the Canadian pointed out how to accomplish a cut easier or mortise quicker. This made Levi more valuable to each job he went and eventually he began framing. A few small repair jobs in the evenings and in several years the community became to depend upon his hard earned skills.
The war broke out. The need for volunteers left Levi no alternative, like it or not he’d probably have to kill to defend his country. He wasn’t certain as to claim conscientious objection in his belief, or to trust the Lord to deliver him from the evil. He chose the latter and the Lord’s escape was to serve in the engineer corp. No chance or time to carefully fit and figure each corner, a good puddle to breed sloppiness in, he would rediscipline himself when he returned home. But he wasn’t fighting with a gun so the damage was outweighed by the benefit. The scar on his left hand had come from an incoming round near the dozer he had just climbed down from. His hand was fully exposed on the upper side of the blade as he knelt otherwise protected from its blast to dislodge a rock from the track. On R&R now, he visited out of country with “buddies.” Lives thrown together, backgrounds different as the grains of tree species:
11

their tastes weren’t quite to his liking. A couple of them manned him one on each side into a street home whore house and forced him to remain while one went to the back rooms. Had the Lord delivered him from one evil to consume him in another! No! He bolted from the house, very nearly running into another G.I. Levi issued a warning to him but as a lamb to the slaughter… To Levi the thought of such an act was repulsive, yet alluring; but, the words of the Book prevented him and he knew possibly for the first conscious time, the reward of obedience. Sure he knew in his youth the rewards of foolishness and the bonds of its strength as he wrestled to free himself of the cursing he had learned from the secretive and ungodly carpenters, but this was real victory, not that the one act was more or less acceptable than the other; but it was the joy of obedience to the words that he was increasingly loving each day. The first war was for a time. The damage, only the wound to his hand and it would heal. The second was he had won a battle; but, this war was for the rest of his life and the victories sweet. The real hero is the Lord who enables.
Returning home, the Canadian had died, his only help now was the encouragement Levi felt when he used his plane, bringing to remembrance those boisterous instructions. Once, he had handed Levi his framing square asking him to note the series of numbers stamped on its body. “Now those numbers aren’t there for decoration, I’ll teach you to cut rafter lengths, lookouts, and truss elbows, and miters
12
with them.” And God’s word isn’t just to decorate only one day a week either, Levi silently reflected.
13

               CHAPTER 5

 The boy’s first voyage with his father, was for his youth, the reality of what the captain told in his sea tales when at home; only the Beulah seemed in his excitement larger then the stories, with more cabins and fixtures to explore than described. And when not exploring the vessel, was at his father's right hand learning the rigors of command.   Not the captains first son, for the oldest had died of disease three years before this; but he was the beloved of his mother and cherished of his father. Only the grim news was the captain able to withhold from his boy.  However, the gallows fore ship needed no explanation to him, mutiny was not tolerated nor punishment withheld even in these late days.
 He heard on board from a seamans son, now in his late fifties, of the voyages of Captain Cook.  His father had been the Endeavour’s gunner.   He (that is,Captain Cook) the seaman described as "the most moderate, humane, gentle cir-

cumnavigator who ever went upon discoveries.” And the tales of his visits to South America, Tahiti, Australia and Africa of that first voyage of Cook’s, were made. He had made three, but, the Endeavour was that first that the boy heard and it only
enlivened his interest and zeal. For the ship Beulah became enchanted beyond metage, and Captain Cook, unknown to the boy, was the first step towards meeting the Perfect Seaman who could still the winds and quiet the waters.
14

       He hadn't met the passenger  bearer, yet; but he soon would as he peeked from cabin to cabin.   In mid-Atlantic and in his youth the Lord reached out to prepare an impressionable boy.   The bearer sat upon the duffel.   As the cabin door came ajar, the gunner capped his head as the boy intruded the stale wood salty smell of the under deck cabin.    The Bible was open upon his knees, he looked at the boy.                                   
      “Come in, boy, and sit.”                                                                                                     
The boy thought perhaps a pirate story or another explorer, he was right.   He would learn in later years that the words he would hear had begun to tear him away from the things of the world and to show him the thing's concerning God’s Son.
 “ Do you read boy?”
 “Yes!”   Came the answer.   A captain’s son was learning to be decisive but not at the price of a lie, at least not a total one any how.   His mother had taught him some words and he had read a little of James Finemore Cooper’s sea-going tales; yet an eager reader he was not.   He thought of leaving.                                                                                                                                                

“Sit and listen a spell.” The boy paused then eased himself against the panel wall and seated himself on the floor opposite the bearer. The floor was rough and hard. The bearer began reading, “In the beginning was the word…” the Gospel of John. To the bearers surprise the boy never stirred, until he reached, “they seeing Jesus walking on the sea…” They sat looking into one anothers eyes, then continued.
15

 It was a few days later on the aft deck above the Captains room that the boy spied the bearer and asked him if they could read again from the Bible.

“Of course boy!”
Escaping the salty penetrating wind they descended the stairs beside the capstan and entered the same cabin where they had read before. The bearer lit a candle and opening the duffel extracted the Book. They sat as before. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And… “ until – “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the Ark…” the Boy looked slowly about the room, how much like Noah the two appeared, safe from the salty hands of water that slapped the exterior of the ships two layers of planking on the outside of the twelve inch ribs of the ship and a wall of planking on the inside. The cabin was painted, but not with pitch, a Iight green to reflect light was provided, so much like the ark. Again the boy heard the words as if from afar, then ever so evenly penetrating his thoughts until his attention was fixed again upon the words.
The boy asked to read and the bearer stopped, turned the Book and placed it across the lads lap. He showed him where he’d left off, and the boy read. “ …after these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram… and he believed in the LORD…”
As the bearer left the ship he looked up and saw the Captain’s son above upon the deck, he is safe in more than just from the sea he decided.
16

               CHAPTER 6
 Earlier mariners returning with papyrus from Egypt along the Mediterranean coast of the Canaanites, hugged its beaches in their hand crafted vessels,stopping from time and place to barter.  Spreading their wares upon the sands they retreated a bit to let the cautious customers examine the purples of cloth dyed from the seas crustacean excretions, gold earrings, silver bracelets, tin and copper and even glass from the Etruscan people north and further west.   These mariners plied their crafts far about the Mediterranean and perhaps around the African coast.   But, unknown to them, their #real ware was the writing they used upon the papyrus paper they made. Their origin was in Ham the cursed son of Noah who was to  serve his brother Shem of whom came Abraham.  So it was fitting, that this language they possessed and preserved  be in their hands, as the scribes of Shem.   Before the flood the writings of Enoch recording the first chapters of the book of Genesis and others, kept  by Noah,  from which faithful copies, carried by Abram to the promise land from Haran, were all penned in this interesting twenty-two letter alphabet on animal skins.  Then when the LORD brought the  children of Israel from Egypt,   those records came by Moses with Joseph’s bones, yet recorded in the same symbols of certain images, known today as Phoenician or Ancient Hebrew.   From this alphabet came the Greek language and virtually every modern alphabet.    After  Israel’s long seventy year Babylonian                                                                                                                     
                                                                    17

captivity; but, before the birth of Jesus the Messiah the modern square Hebrew was taken from the Phoenician alphabet retaining the same number of letters and copies of the Holy Writings were made by faithful scribe in that script.
In the earthly visit of our LORD the Aramaic language was spoken in Palestine,another language taken from the Phoenician. The New Covenant was written either in part or totally in Greek with perhaps a couple of its books in Hebrew.
Wyclif in 1380 produced an English Version of the Bible from Latin and many others followed until in 1611 the Authorized Version was translated from the original Hebrew and Greek into English, by some twenty-four scholars at the instruction of England’s King James the First. My, but the labor and blood through so many generations to bring accurately and alive to us, God’s Word.
The copper guilded Book lay open upon his lap as the thoughts of men’s entire lives, of sometimes a hundred years or were recorded with only a few symbolic marks of black upon the snow white pages. The ancient Bible teacher again leaned over the words. Loving to read and reading to love – his God a little clearer to him each day, a holy man.
His life had begun as other people setting his sights upon secular success and attaining it, he believed in motivation, to give all one has for what he is doing. He had sold his business when the Bible had been opened to him and gone without reserve
18

to college, with wife and children yet to raise. He preached Jesus and as the years went by the constant reading and studying made him increasingly the more adept, teacher of God’s word. His wife would leave him in the years following, but one son would remain with his teaching and when possible in presence.
The young preacher was listening now, as the present day Elisha worked his miracles upon the group before him, with the words. The class tonight he thought would be even more noteworthy of remembrance. But, tonight as well the Bible he was listening from, that he had carried from so far, would be taken from him, but never the words laid up in his soul. The teacher had a student to teach and the splendor of a cover cannot conceal the ecstasy of its contents; two lessons in one night, one evident the other belated in impact.
The guests for the evening arrived at the home of a childrened couple, the children were heard upstairs making those children noises throughout the evening, yet it seemed never as the teacher spoke. All with Bibles, all eager to hear what the old master would miraculously pull from the words they were already familiar with, messages for all ages.
Finally the teacher and student reached the door with the creaking of each step. The auburn haired hostess answered the knock for all present. The warm hand shake, his kiss of love, as he preferred to call the grasp. The cordial gazes at each,no one was ignored, the introduction of his guest, a few settling words to the attentive 19

group and they were seated.
Heads bowed, the old teachers prayer summoned, it appeared, God’s presence and the Bibles opened to biddened passages.

                                                                     20

CHAPTER 7

Levi helped load the last chair from his shop, received the payment and returned to the building.   Joshua and him had built the structure.   It wasn't large, only fifteen by forty five feet and eighteen in height.   The roof was flat with custom built wood trusses allowing plenty of height for ceiling storage and work space below.   The door he had entered at , on the east, was part of a larger one for bulky items, the smaller was on the north corner.   The workshop part of it was only thirty feet in length.
     The window was to the south, framing the cedar tree, and on the north wall the work bench with its vices and tool shelf beneath.   The Canadian’s fore plane was held in one of the vices, blade upward and served as his joiner.   The power tools had been sold when he retired and the work he did was now done by hand.  He enjoyed the noises of the hand tools and their quiet efficiency.   He looked around a bit still getting accustom to the arrangement, he had spent much of every day in this room building furniture and cabinets, it was really, his dwelling.
Outside to the east was a steamer for bending the staves of his round backed chairs, and ski toes.  Beyond that a forge was set that he kept the tools repaired and reshaped upon.  Most of his tools by now had at one time or another been repaired.
    The building shown brown, the vertical siding fading a bit, but otherwise sound.   The inside walls were open to the framing, and as the societies barn,  mortised and
                                                                        21

tenoned with pegs to fasten them. These had been sawn rather than hewn but the same care and fitting of the beams and uprights was taken. The building had no basement, but deep and firm footers. The floor was oak planking worn cupped and sawdust smooth near the most used tools locations, now removed, except for the workbench. This, had one not been familiar with the original floor plan, would really have been irritable. To Levi the familiar path was no problem.
The golden like sawdust wasn’t as thick in the air, nor on the bench, and yet the mountained piles lined the bottom stringers of the joists and wall beams, he would get to cleaning off, now that the chairs and table were gone. The next job was yet to appear, for once. Before there had been a backlog and only with Joshua’s help had he been able to catch up.
There was that cross member that needed repaired also, when he had hoisted too large a load from his truck. He found a stool along the west wall and sat to reflect a moment of all of the work that had passed through his doors. He’d oil those hinges now, too. One job had been, since he retired, to reconstruct the inlaid furniture at the museum and the work had been so intricate that it took a full year to complete, matching the grains and color naturally without stains so the sun bleached original matched. Another job was for the bank in town and the total furniture for three offices and lobby. I must remember not to take on a schedule job again, now that I’m retired. All of his work for the past twenty years had been in this building. Joshua had 22

been doing the outside jobs and this cabinet shop had still kept busy. He would purchase his materials by the job now, a large inventory would be unnecessary.
A small leak in the roof would have to wait for Joshua. His bones wouldn’t take the chance in climbing any longer — must remember to tell him. Levi depended more on Joshua all the time for the things he couldn’t or shouldn’t do. Like the building, he sheltered old Levi and like a family, made sure he was alright.
The cedar outside responded to a sudden burst of wind, startled it seemed as from some deep thought or perhaps the tree had been thinking with Levi. But what job did it do, only standing there casting a little shade, sheltering the window from the hardest winds and being a constant companion to an old carpenter.
Levi rose from the stool and moved to the wash stand close to the door and to the rear room. The water was cold, it was from a deep well, the chill was always a surprise to the old man, maybe even… did I remember to lock the doors. Returning with towel he cast the latches, his final job of the afternoon was over. 23

                     CHAPTER 8

 Levi shook hands the gentleman who had called him. 'They shared Wednesday evenings at Bible study in the book of Isaiah.   They had talked after the meeting.  His home was impressive and large and he had recently received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.    The enthusiasm and vibrancy of that awareness was unmistakable and Levi recognized the joy of salvation in the man. Camel’s hair thread isn't as dif-

ficult to thread after all, he thought, as he was led to the lower level and to an opening that had never been covered. Double doors were needed, the opening wasn’t – standard size so the doors would be built in place by Levi.
He made the necessary measurements and promised to return with the materials. This job was for the Lord and His new disciple, an exception to the in shop rule. A frame and jamb would be needed, lie noted in his mind as he drove home to the shop. He felt there was enough white pine on his shelf for the job. And on the way to the residence in the morning he would pick up the hardware.
The mist settled on the hood of the truck only to evaporate away quickly as Levi loaded the nine one by fours, the three one and a quarter by six jambs and three one by two’s he had ripped for the casing, three one and a quarter by fours for the rails and bracing, he had better put in an additional one by four.His tool box of hand tools slid in the back with assorted nails and glue and drop cloth.
24
Stopping at the hardware he chose out the brass hinges and screws and a brass latch and strike. One door would have to latch to the jamb so he purchased a barrel latch.
With the key he’d been given he let himself in the lower room and began bringing in the tools and materials. He rolled up a throw- rug and brought in the saw horses he carried in the back of the pickup truck. Placing the jamb on the saw horses he cut them to fit the opening, the header first then the side posts. He marked the joints in the concrete block in two places in the center of the side posts and drilled with the auger the four one half inch holes. Then placing them back in the opening, marked the joint through the holes. One side post was longer than the other,he would have to fit each of the nine one by fours. Finding the star drill he drove the holes carefully so as not to chip the corner of the block and loose the anchor spot. Inserting the tapped anchors he set them with the light sledge. Placing the side posts again on the saw horses, he marked and saw cut four one and a quarter by four notches in the front sides of the side posts. Grasping, four number ten finish nails and placing their heads on the resting sledge he pounded their points flat, they wouldn’t split the header that way, rather, cut the grain fibers as they were driven. The header was nailed to the side post jambs. Levi slid the jamb in place and tightened the flat head bolts through the jambs.
25

    Cutting two one and  quarter by four rails to length he anchored them in the jamb notches, with four finish nails.  Cutting two more one and quarter by fours for fitting,  he placed them in position on the rails,one end close to the jamb on the bottom rail and to a center mark on the top rail.   Marking the diagonals along the inside of the rails, he took them to the horses and cut them along those lines.   Returning them to the same spots he butted them in place with number six finish nails and number four toenails.  Tacking a casing to the left jamb Levi began fitting to length the tongue and grooved clear white pine one by fours.   First, matching the grains by laying them in order on the saw horses. One board was too crooked, he replaced it with the extra. Cut to length, the first board was nailed In place to the rails and the next until the time consuming process was completed.   Next the entire door was removed after a center line was plumbed on the center board. Thus,it was laid on the horses and rip sawn through the board and rails along the line. The nails temporarily fasting the rails to the jamb were removed by pulling them through.  Then, the doors, he set back in place, the casings cut for length and nailed to the jambs.  The hinges were then pre-drilled and screwed in place, the latch set and the right door opened, and the barrel latch set on the inside left door, and the strike drilled and screwed to the header, with four screws.
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       As Levi swept the floor and removed the tools and scraps to the truck, he was satisfied to have accomplished the job he’d been hired to do.   And as he rolled the rug back out he thought of the same care and labor that had been taken to bring the man he worked for to Jesus the Messiah.  

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             CHAPTER 9

In his early days as a helper, the builder who had employed Levi, set the long ladders against the eaves of a two story brick house and preparations began to cover the leaking shingled roof with sheets of standing- seam tin.   With the morning dew yet on the grass, once on the roof a man had to stay there until lunch, to keep his feet dry.
 The roof ladders were slid up the ones Levi had just climbed and he grasped them moving them on up to the peak and hooked the bottoms on the eaves.  The roof was too steep to stand on, so on all fours Levi climbed to the comb of the roof.  This was his first tin roof and the highest he had been on.   He kept his mind on the climb, grasping a shingle when his foot slid down a bit.   He was not comfortable, no thrill to be so high. A cabinet shop better would suit his disposition.   He thought -- when I have enough money, that is what I will have.   To the comb now, he began fastening an half inch rope four rungs from the top of one ladder and looped it around the next three rungs. 

Levi turned the other ladder on top of the first and tied it likewise as the first. The instructions were coming from the ground and not comprehensively, just enough to get to the next step.
“Slide the top ladder across the peak and down the other side.”
A task Just a little awkward for Levi’s straddle, he rose to his knees, the ladder finally scooted in place and Levi climbed on the rungs,hip between the rungs and feet against the top of the rungs.
“No! Now move the set to the edge of the roof a couple of feet from the edge.” This done Levi waited. The builder he waited on walked with a limp. In later years
28
they would put a new hip joint in him; but,now that was unheard of in medicine. He had fallen on a job years ago and broken the socket. Not a murmur about It though, as he trodded on in those mended blue bib overalls.
Levi looked out through the front yard, only the trees were higher than him and they, ancient maples whose leaves would yellow and fall before the tin had been completely installed. There was an addition to the rear, perhaps a buggy shed originally. Where the roof connected there would be valleys to cut in and along the dormers on the front. It looked very much like a southern plantation home. A horseshoe driveway lined with trees to the front centered door.
Levi’s mind raced back to the reading of this morning. “And the LORD counted it to Abram for righteousness.” Not knowing the meaning of the words, not taught enough to understand their meaning, he yet made effort to remember them exactly. The early morning reading had begun with his grandmother when he had visited them one summer several years ago. Somehow it always seemed to him that Grampa, the quiet, deliberate, intolerant of disobedience, white haired old gentle man had somehow set him up for Gramma to reap. He did not mind the reading though. But rather, enjoyed the words he sighted,even when they seemed a little distant. And the name Jesus he had learned to love as he read of him going about Galilee doing His miracles and healing …
A two by four rattled the eaves and Levi moved quickly to grasp it. The first sheet of tin was c-clamped to it. The long edges were bent by the huge benders the builder
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had just laid aside. Levi walked the ladder to the top, laid the tin in place along the roof edge and put a couple of nails through the tin at the top and removed the two by four and handed it back down. The next tin would come from the other side and its top would lap over the first and be nailed through both sheets, those the only two to show on that run. Tabs were then nailed along the standing edge on the roof after the facia edge had been nailed. The tin strips would hold this sheet and the next row in the seam, being twice bent Into the seam. Another row and the ladders were placed at command upon the new tin.
Levi stepped from one side to the ladder of the other. His foot on the rung the ladder unit began quickly to slide toward the eaves. Startled, the adrenalin raced through his veins, Levi would not survive the fall; but the ladders suddenly stopped, the rope stretched tight between the rungs. Jesus! Savior! His mind cried out. What Levi had not seen had saved him. He determined then to trust Jesus as he clung to the ladders that had halted the “disaster.”

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             CHAPTER 10

 The rectangular shaped fence Levi leaned against enclosed about a quarter of an acre, the cedar tree, and his cabinet shop.   A very small parcel compared to Grampa's farm he had visited as a boy.   Actually,  the farm had belonged to his uncle, Grampa's oldest son.
 Grampa's row had been a little harder to hoe than most.   He was a plain old dirt       farmer;  but, anyone you heard of called him, Mister.   And his stature almost demanded that title, standing a little over six feet tall.   The only tussle he had ever been in had been with the school board and his anger had been so intense it had made him physically ill.   The only violence he had ever committed was in a corn field whacking off weeds.   He was a spiritual man and his actions told the tale.
 Mom said his hair had been coal black in his youth.   The man Levi remembered had snow white hair and was a bit stooped.   Maybe their Bible that laid on the lamp- stand was the reason for his posture.    Mom told that he had read the Bible clear through one winter.   The chores were the only demands in those wintry days.
 In the early middle years of his life they had moved from his fathers farm, a brother would inherit where sweat and tears put into the land had produced five children and a meager living, and  whose rocky and sandy soil had always leached the manure out before the plants could use it.   So by train he had moved north where one more small daughter was added to them. The soil was better, not as many stones to dull the plow
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and disc. There was then always plenty of good food. Grampa worked hard and Gramma was an excellent cook and gardener.
The oldest son, however, did not take to the farm well, though he farmed most of his life. And in later years when their dairy cattle became more than the son could take, Grampa told his younger son to come and take them home with him. The older would not farm again the rest of his life. Levi had helped Grampa shock corn one fall with his uncle. Levi enjoyed the field work; but, Levi’s Dad would not let him farm, so Grampa lost again.
In the morning Levi was greeted with the aroma of sausage and buckwheat pancakes. And when Gramma had finished the dishes Grampa was already gone
to the farm, even though retired. And only then did the boy hear the summons to come and read the Bible. Levi could not to this day recall the passages she began him with; but, a pattern was established for the rest of his life.
The big farmhouse of his uncle had produced a wild grandson and when the courts sent him away out of the state, the family farm dream was entirely gone. Yet on the mornings of a summer work day the old Grandfather would cover with identifying straw hat, tie a handkerchief about his neck, button his sleeves, tie a string about his ankles to close his trousers, from the snakes and dust, reach for the wet-stone and sharpen the scythe and begin mowing the one half mile stretch of fence row from the uncles house to the newer block building where the old farmer lived with his help mate. It was only painted block on the outside, wall board, on the inside with no fancy trim and
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only an electric heater for the bath room, the type you don’t dare touch. The one car garage, for a car which they did not own, had an unfinished dirt and gravel floor which was broom swept smooth, and block steps from the kitchen to its level. As Levi glanced around in his memory, he remembered the old ice box at the kitchen door, the coffee cans of nails or screws, the cupped boards laying on the gravel, the tools for gardening set in the corner, and a couple of straight back chairs to listen to the whip-poor-will at dusk. He could almost smell the musty odor of the dampening evenings when he watched not the TV; but, the woods and its sounds as he sat with the old couple shelling lima beans or just listening.
A typical farm attitude, the money had been spent on new farm equipment the former of which his uncle had probably neglected to maintain. This evening though Grampa had decided to play checkers. So he produced a scrap cardboard and yard stick and began to make the board. In order to get a better view of the construction, Levi had tried to squeeze between the wall and the end of the stick. But, his clothes had caught and sent the old gentleman’s pencil line diagonally across the board. No discipline was needed, the stern authoritative burning scowl from those grey-blue eyes froze Levi until the boards completion. Levi couldn’t for the life of him remember who won at the checker game of buttons, but he surely remembered Grampa.
When Levi’s mother was still a girl Grampa had brought his mother home to live with them when his father died. She became childish and would run off for “home”
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at times, Mom had told Levi, but she died with them having been nursed in their home a good many years. And Levi also remembered visiting Grampa shortly before he died — in a nursing home, in the city, an unjust reward for his labors and integrity; but, the Lord received him to His.

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             CHAPTER 11

As in any orphanage in those days the nursery was the place where expectant eyes surveyed sometimes a wide spectrum of prospective siblings.   Glass tapping, tickling and cooing of these helpless graces of themselves, choosing and loving their pleasure in choice and fit.
 All too often a child is passed over for one reason or another; but, there is occasionally, one who is greatly admired; but,invariably remains. Now, it is reversed of the things of Moses’ days, a goodly child; we would say, an aurora surrounds one of those, one in ten thousand.   Then, we searched for the Christ of God; but, now we are content, or some of us, with the reception of the report of the manger bound babe. So, when we look in the "mirror" we would rather see more of what resembles ourselves not accepting what we once were in the Garden of Eden, even rejecting those very things of the aurora.
 But, in the report, as Christ the babe was protected in Egypt by his foster parents. We find in a figure, the same thing of the orphanage system. For in Gods child those very things are actually protected rather than disciplined out. Though In the orphanage environment those things are protected by the natural guards that go undisciplined; to a large measure, being the watches that are less ridged.
 Then to define this aurora we could and should look to the sacred book in Paul's writing of Galatians where love, joy, gentleness and more are defined of spiritual life, as evident in this goodly child seen already from its birth.   So then, in the forming of
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this child or upbringing as it is more commonly called, either physically or spiritually, simultaneously or lagging singularly, the child matures by the guidance of the parents and if they are Godly, the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we could say upon the foundation, as a total person, love, joy, gentleness being the building blocks, from faiths point of view, peace, longsuffering goodness and faith, plus the encouragement to walk in faith, are we all built.
If we adhere to these things, then, when Levi and his wife visited Joshua, the many times before they took him into their home, they recognized the task of disciplining out the corrupt and evil nature, and building into the child these related qualities and the awareness of the need of the more excellent way of putting on the armor of faith which is indominatable, which is Christ Jesus. As indeed they first recognized the source of the aurora, thus being skillful enough to carry out such a task. With the help of their Bible classes and study, of course; which Levi’s wife was more readily available to apprehend; but, accomplished by them both.
For Joshua grew into the mold and form of a spiritual man and like Levi continued these in the carpentry trade and without fail prospered in life and labors.
And to Levi and his wife not only the seeing of such a wonder thing occur in the youth; but, the things Joshua did for them, became their rewards, not only in or from gratitude they received; but, in unfeigned love for another Joshua became their
36

delight.
When raised, Joshua became not only their son; but, friend and helper. Where- upon when Levi and Miriam became ill Joshua filled in the lack, even when Joshua had taken his own residence and job. Then Levi’s jobs were back-logged and Joshua’s tireless energy was so-very-much what Levi needed.
People were not shy in their compliments to them of Joshua’s good deeds and excellent work. At Bible class he became adept at helping the teacher with other youths by guiding and channeling their interests into the classes.
At the carpentry trade Joshua grew slowly; but, Levi could see that what did not exist in Joshua to skill, Joshua learned by patient practice and determination, so that what emerged was so solidly set, that errors were seldom, and correction and waste nil. If Joshua had figured a job, Levi could be sure that completion was on time and waste of materials at a minimum.

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             CHAPTER 12

Joshua became, you see, not the adopted son of Levi and Miriam; but really, the conceived, son made of indestructables by that which perishes, knowledge. They having first been formed of Christ.
 This conception and growth formed a bond in Christ, which thing Paul call's peace; that gails, winds and storms of life and living could not break asunder. Their goals seemed too, by outward appearance, to be for the purpose of, effort alone or physical gain or community praise; but, to the knowledge of a few, the real purpose was in bringing others to appreciate their Savior and guide some who already knew him into continued Bible instruction.  Their were minds as one, to this purpose. They were in other words doing what they could, they were not teachers or preachers, they were genuine helpers.
 As the children of Israel were bound together in Moses and God delivered them from Pharaoh, so were they in Christ.   As Caleb brought a good report of the Land to Moses In the wilderness, to these three brought a good report of Christ to all they touched and were not condemned even by unbelievers, being more subtle and quick than the opponent.   When in the Book of Judges, Judah (the tribe) needed aid to conquer the Canaanites,they sought the help of the tribe of Simeon their brethren, and prevailed. No challenge or endeavor met alone; but, in peace and prayer.
 Levi had worked on a kitchen addition for a couple with three sons. An amiable enough family; but, only one son that struggled with the Bible, with its words.  So Levi immediately briefed Joshua and at Levi's expense brought Joshua in as a helper,
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when really it was a one man job. But, results they got, and to this day a youngster who might have given up the search, enjoys daily fellowship with God in the scriptures; because an old carpenter worked on more than just a building structure. The other family members perhaps not noting the cause of the change in the youth; Eli alone had been that clever to, see his need.
What we love is not always made evident by what one does, as the necessity of the one over-rides the time that would other wise be spent. A carpenter converts a soul. As simple as six words, but permanently wrought in eternity, a work that awaits reward. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”. As it was Moses that bound Israel, so the great Prophet Jesus Christ binds believer to believer, disciple to disciple. How? It is evident through his word to those who love its sound; but also,of the report of these words that state that the Apostles had handled the “lord of Life” and much of what we read is their record of that being and their love of Him, because He showed them proofs such as miracles and healings, so that we should not doubt, but believe.
Levi thought of these things as he drove to and from work. His morning before work was always spent in prayer and Bible reading, perhaps half an hour, sometimes alone or sometimes with Miriam. An unbelievers mind races to gruesome conclusions and “Why’s.” However, Levi wanted to know more about the God, made man, and he was determined, as long as the words remained, and it is quite evident that they won’t ever disappear. It was not that Levi wanted to know scientifically how Jesus made the water wine or how he feed five thousand with a few loaves of bread. Rather, why was
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it recorded for us to have. After all the Holy Spirit could have had the writers leave those two accounts out. So there is a love bond between Master and disciple. The dis-
ciple’s desire to learn and know, and the Masters desire for him to come to Him and ask. And the Master never failed Levi. A love born of trust.
Sometimes Levi searched only minutes for his answers, others it was days or weeks,in one instance years until the secrets so carefully hidden,were revealed to him. But Levi was always confident in his heart that it would be shown him. And his confidence was never betrayed, his heart always filled.

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           CHAPTER 13

 From the demands of his work Levi and Miriam retreated to their loft in the remaining floor space of the shop building In the rear, furthest from the highway and noise.  The bed was trimmed in green paint and the back and foot boards of wide cedar. The maple corner posts extended to form a canopy with cedar network and a neatly stitched linen covering.   A marvelously sewn green quilt covered the mattress and pillows.   A cherry night-stand cleverly built with scrolling, and other wood carvings of leaves and flowers that especially attracted Miriam, sat beside the bed and a golden lamp adapted to electricity was placed upon a crocheted and red stitched linen doily, and telephone.
 Above were fir rafters and ash boards upon them., all smoothed, reflecting even the smallest amount of light. The rafters too had been carved with limbs of Ieaves and more flowers. Each of the three quarter inch by twelve inch paneling boards, walnut; had lovely large Iily blossoms deeply carved at eye level with long stems and leaves reaching to the flush base boards of ebony. The white oak flooring was plugged with bright cherry plugs and waxed smooth.  A small hand woven wool throw rug with floral designs marked each side of the bed.
 A narrow birch bench seat with storage space was placed below the window that overlooked her garden below. Scarlet drapes framed the window, with matching seat cover.
 The wall of the south side appeared as the rest with the lily designs; but, there were two doors when carefully inspected, one to the closet and the other to the completely
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tiled bathroom. Nearby and between the doors a spiral staircase twisted to a rest upon the floor below. Thirty three steps of oak upon stringers of fir held not one nail and there was not a center support. Yet,the structure was as a rock. An ash and oak hand rail completed the way.
After Joshua had moved to his own place they had built the building after years of planning as time had permitted. Joshua had watched and helped in a helpers way, the building of the stair case. In the other work Levi had already trained him. Levi had begun the stairs with a temporary round center column, steaming the fir stringers into pliability and twisting them into position upon the column. Each were two boards end mortised and tenoned together. An outer column of temporary framework was built around the first column and three fir stringers fasted together as the first were set in place to dry. When dry, then the spacing for the treads and risers were marked and mortised. The treads and risers then fit in place and wedged from the back side. Finally, tapered pine tongue and grooved boards pegged solid to the bottom of the work, sealed the secrets of the structure. The columns were dismantled the handrails added and a solid stairway to peace and tranquility appeared.
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CHAPTER 14

  From each other, the shop was Levi's and the garden Miriams.  Between those, and below the loft, was another room, where many a folk had rested and visited with the couple. This is where arms embraced brethren and words enticed unbelievers in the way of the LORD.
 A bench lined the length of the south wall, full of Miriam's canned garden foods. Toward the garden along this bench was a shorter smooth plank maple table.  At one end rested the old  Oxford Bible never touched nor moved by any of the excellent meals prepared by Miriam.  But, early mornings before meals, it was open with the figure of Levi brooding over its contents.  And after the meal when Levi was to work, it was again opened by Miriam who delighted with the Song of Solomon and Proverbs 31; and the book of Ruth a special joy to her. But Levi only suspected those intimacies, for they were hidden deep within her.
 A sliding glass door faced on the porched patio and gave the viewer a look at the fruit tree encircled garden, from where Miriam gathered her spices and foods. Preparation was from opposite the tabled wall, upon a wonderfully prepared counter top and kitchen cabinets.  The styles on the cabinets above, extended a little below the rails and were molded. This was Levi's signature upon every cabinet he built.  Dividing the table and kitchen were several captain chairs; because, when the evening came, and the Bible teacher appointed, the room was filled with prayers and soft songs of praise and Bible studies.
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 The walls were paneled around with three quarter inch butternut boards and open oak beams above. The floor was tiled and waxed and except for a large oval rag rug   and the chairs, clear and clean. The years together here had worn only the oak floors thin.  Their love for one another waxed warmer with time.   When it had begun Levi was building a new home for a middle aged couple with two daughters.
 The girls visited the new construction with their parents and although,Levi was too busy to notice at first, Miriam had eventually won his attention.  But,only after the home was completed, had they begun to date. Levi had found a church and Miriam, where his faith was needed and he had met his first Bible teacher.   They began growing together in the God whom they both loved.  This made their attraction for each other so binding that sometimes they couldn't remember their lives without each other.
 The peculiar thing to Levi about this teacher was his immediacy. When he learned of Miriam and Levi's attraction to each other, he was not lingering inquiring with Miriam about her wishes and calling Levi, telling him to dress in his best suit and to come and see him. They were married by the teacher during a Wednesday night Bible class and there was no mistaking the fact of his correct actions.   In the years together it was evident that the real person who had married them was the Master who lives actively in the Bible instructor.  Love has its ways.  Love grows warmer.
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             CHAPTER 15
 Retired, the chores of a new job cumbersome and more time consuming -- a job he would rather had turned down, he returned home from the country. The gates he opened and closed 'till within the confine he unloaded his tools in the shop and closed up; but, did not hear the customary fuss from inside the home.   Miriam must be in the garden.  Levi heard the large drops on the shop roof as it began to rain and he entered the kitchen.   No smell of cooking and no light on the counter.  He looked to the table, the Bible was open and Miriam lay on the table bench, the drapes were drawn.  He walked to her, touching her face with his hand, the warmth was gone -- and so was she.   Slowly,he eased to the bench beside her and read the words where the Bible was open.  Song of Solomon chapter three.  "By night on my bed I sought Him whom my soul loveth: I sought Him, but I found Him not. I will rise now,it...”   Levi prayed.
 He returned home with Joshua.   Joshua would have stayed, but Levi was alright, he had assured him.  And Joshua wanted to think his memories of his Mom alone.  He would come back tomorrow morning.
 Levi opened the glass door and stepped onto the patio, stopping to recall the figure who once picked the apples and peaches from her trees.   Once,when Levi had borrowed her tree ladder she demanded he return the favor by picking the apples himself, which he did all to happily to escape any other chores she might come up with.   She did her job with the same vigor Levi performed his, and watch out if you got in her way.  He had never bragged about her canning; but, when she was outside
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or at the grocery Levi would open the doors on the wall cabinets against the shop almost never failing to find them full, colorful and delicious. Although Levi tilled the ground for her in the spring she had planted and kept it hoed throughout the summer. All the garden and the meals left her little time for anything else. Yet, after raising Joshua, during the winter months she had volunteered herself to work at the hospital. Typical mother, one would say; but her devotion was preempted by her love for the words of the Bible, that she had been taught and confirmed as God’s Word.
The touch of her hand, the sound of her voice the smell of her hair as she fluttered about her chores stopping to light upon Levi for a moment, then going about what she was doing, though the memories seemed real to Levi, a tear announced his reawareness of reality. They had known the knowledge of the hope of the resurrection together and became confident of the fact together. Yet, Levi was no less grieved than Abraham who wept over his dead, nor Mary and Martha who lamented to the Lord of Lazarus.
Joshua came early the next morning and found Levi at the table with his Bible. To be sure Joshua, prepared breakfast after they had prayed together. He was not certain that Levi would do for himself. He decided he needed Levi on the job he was working on. He would come for him the following morning.

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            CHAPTER 16

 When Joshua had gone Levi wandered about the house and garden a bit more, in fact the whole day. What was good and comforting to him was gone; but, what remained he yet pondered and finally considering carefully he stopped at the dinning table closed the pages and cover of the Bible, picking it up, climbed the familiar steps to the bed stand.   Pushing the stilled phone aside, placed the honored book on the stand and prepared for sleep.  He sat on the window bench for a moment; but,turned to gaze on the book.  Crossing the room he grasp it again and opened to the book of Genesis chapter one, he had forgotten where he had been reading, so he'd begin a new, there were some studies he would like to begin, not just reading as he had always -- in the morning or the next.
 Joshua still coming for Levi each morning a week later, left this morning without him.  Levi leaving by the porch climbed in the truck to drive North to the larger city where there was a book store he knew.  There he search the shelves 'till he found a couple of Bible dictionaries a Strong's concordance and a Hebrew Bible that he had yet to open because it was sealed.  Paying the clerk he traveled home and returned

to the plank table by way of the porch.
He placed the concordance on the table in front of him and began reading the introduction, by supper he was reading as one would a book, the Bible dictionary. Stopping now, he glanced at the Hebrew Bible still sealed and while preparing a bite to eat made a decision.
He placed a call to a Bible teacher who taught the classes in his home and invited him in this evening. He would come. Levi didn’t mention the reason and returned
47

to reading the dictionary. The names were familiar to him as he’d not passed over the begats in his daily reading; but, the background information on the subjects like parchment and the Hebrew alphabet were quite interesting. Now things would be coming together for Levi, that he had only wondered about before. He studied the alphabet from the dictionary and comparing it to the other dictionary he began memorizing the Hebrew letters. Each letter has a pictorial meaning which made it easier for the old man, who had always worked with his hands and a critical eye.
The knock come at the door and Levi opened to reveal the figure of a balding average height gentleman, not yet Levi’s age. He had a Bible in his left hand and Levi’s work callused hand in his right.
“Welcome brother!” Levi spoke.
Seated, the teacher discussed the proceedings of his day, noting Levi’s adjustment in such a short length of time. It was obvious from the table they had passed what was replacing carpentry and dear Miriam.
They bowed in prayer for a moment then Levi moved to the table and brought the new Hebrew Bible placing it in the master’s hands.
“Would you brake the seal for me?” Levi ask.
The plastic cracked.

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           CHAPTER 17

 "Christ died for our sins was buried and on the third day rose again" and today sits in heaven on the right hand of God.   This need not be translated or read in any other language but one's own, for its clarity in understanding.   Levi didn't have to learn Hebrew to believe [trust] the statement, for he had believed for years; but, the language intrigued him when he began to unravel its mysteries, and its origin, its symbolism and pictorial representations and simplicity. The use of the language was like the day when Levi had sold his power tools and began using again the hand tools. The hand tools put him closer to the wood that he worked with and he was able to see the tool perform its function. He studied the Hebrew and read from the Oxford.
 As Levi neared the pulpit there were no falters or stammers of thought clogging his mind, his years of walking with the LORD had put to flight those enemies.  But,what he carried with him, many understood.  His loss was remembered by this small group.  He placed the old copper framed goat skin Bible before him on the pulpit.  He read aloud from the Gospels of the first person who had proclaimed the good news of Christ’s res-

urrection.
He had been asked to speak this morning by the recommendation of the Bible teacher who had broken the seal on the Hebrew Bible Levi had purchased. But, that had been a couple of years ago. And this was today — when he began to follow in the steps of Mary Magdalene in proclaiming the living Christ, as Levi saw Him. The
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many experiences of his trade, the experiences of daily reading the Bible, he used together to illustrate the things of Christ, that is, to utter in his own voice the greatest event in the history of mankind — ever!
His approach was simple his illustrations poignant. Levi’s opportunity had come and he was minded to do the job. So when needed or asked for, he was there. Whether in the pulpit or at Bible studies with a group or with an individual, his purpose singular and his materials an infinite source in experience and Bible knowledge.
Mary Magdalene is recorded as having seen with her earthy faculties the risen flesh and bones of Jesus Christ. Levi’s experience was believing the record as his sight, confirming that the record is true and saying it is true. In doing so the evidence is clear that Christ dwells within such a one.
“Feed my sheep Peter”… with what LORD? the crucifixion, the burial, the three darkest days of Peters life? No. With the news, the good news that Jesus of Nazareth who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: is indeed, alive today as the day Mary Magdalene met Mim; because Levi found it so in the pages of an old Oxford Bible and in his ears as he had listened from others before him.

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            CHAPTER 18

 Laying the sacred treasure chest on the plank table, Levi went about the preparations for the evening. Clearing his study materials from the bench the small class would gather there.  It was his first, and Levi prepared his materials on the passages in his mind and then reviewed the people that would come.
 Joshua was due in very soon. With him, Levi was of course already familiar; but, sometimes Joshua could ask some pretty tough questions, that he might have to check into later.  He hoped he wouldn't run into that tonight. However, he felt Joshua might understand and hold a matter of such, until they were alone.  Besides it would give Levi a chance to show Joshua some of the study patterns he was using, if Joshua wasn't in too big of a rush. He was, as Levi had been, spending a great many extra hours to his trade.
 Doctor, as Levi had always referred to his physician would be with them this evening. He had Invited him when he had gotten a physical at the office a couple of weeks before. The Doctor was more of one to enjoy the outdoors, especially fish-

ing and was probably coming because of Levi’s trade mostly. He could work in the fishermen that the Lord took to him or is not a good second choice Luke. The Doctor had admitted he didn’t go to church and hadn’t even as a child, so the Doctors lack would be to Levi’s advantage. A young couple from up the street had actually prompted the class. Levi, later, during the class would learn that Miriam before
51

her passing had been talking with them. He was only slightly acquainted with them. He worked at an insurance agency in town and she at the grocery. They had no children. Levi would work on him first — that evening, subtly emphasizing the insurance policy the LORD provides, hoping because of their youth, his wife would follow along if he convinced him.
Another older couple with whom Levi was well acquainted were coming through the drive gate, now. They sometimes stopped for him on Sunday mornings. They weren’t Bible readers he had noted, from their fumbling to find the readings in church. He had tried to get them interested, to and from, now,he could hope that this evening he could be the effective sales man that he was learning to become. He opened the door for them and they entered.
Although the teacher was confident Levi could handle his class tonight, without difficulties in either knowledge or skill. He was attending to be as the LORD, Levi’s shield from unseen projectiles and edges that might too early discourage the old carpenter. And in addition he would practice some of the humility he taught and learn as well and add more experience to his abundant collection of examples. Levi greeted him gladly.

                                                                      52

            CHAPTER 19

Joshua moved to the workbench placing his hand upon the sun warmed volume, he removed it to his bosom.  He had always entered the shop first, to visit home.  Today he didn't notice the long unused tools and unswept floor or the disarray of scrap lumber. Only the venerated scriptures that were out of place.  Levi had never brought it to this room before.  Joshua entered the kitchen.  Nothing to stir a drape nor table cloth but his entry.   Crossing to the stairs he climbed to the room he'd seldom visited.  From the top he surveyed the room and placed the Bible on the night-stand, finally seating himself where his Mom often had.   His thoughts traced themselves to the hospital where he had been to late to speak or hear from Levi the tender blessings he would have surely received.  Looking again to the night-stand Joshua realized what he hadn't heard from the old carpenter was bound in the Book Levi had so obviously--

left out of place. Perhaps purposefully Levi had slipped away so quickly.
He again raised the Book from its resting place. Sitting on the bed he opened to the beginning and read. Perhaps, his mind interrupted, he should cut back on the volume of work he was doing and spend a little more time, just reading. He skipped ahead to Paul’s exhortation to “redeem the time,” maybe some Bible study as Levi had taught him. After all, the jobs wouldn’t always be there to do. But eternity is.
Levi hadn’t said those things where of Joshua was thinking now. It seemed a little to Joshua that all the years that carpentry had been taught him of Levi were a clouded
53

vapor; but, the more recent instructions in the Bible classes and afterwards that Levi had almost demanded that Joshua attend, were vivid and present as he turned the pages to the Word.
For a moment Joshua could feel himself push that all away wanting to regrasp the things he had first learned of Levi. But the example of Levis’ love stopped him and he submitted now, once again, not to Levis’ will alone, but of the Savior who gave himself for us, Levi’s friend and his.
The day light gave way to the dusk and Joshua remained yet in the loft,the memories of Levi and Miriam and the reading of the words they both loved, gently persuading him of a task of tremendous importance.

                                                    In the beginning...
Map [Africa}, the west shore is in the Congo

Introduction to the Khamla’ma

In the time before Adam, from two and one half millions years ago to the creation of Adam's desire for God, there existed a People of God.  Called the Tsadekemier (dazzling drop) they lived and produced physical Adam.  They differed from the other peoples of the earth already present, when they awoke to behold their Creator, by a superior capacity for intellect and the consuming desire to be with God.  However, that desire did not survive into Adam, nor did the Holy Writings that they produced to recall the visits of their AleResh (God-Head).
The first writing they scribed, before one and one half million years ago, was The Khamla'ma (warm learning) and now restored it is presented into the age of Adams in this volume.

General Notes
Began reception of this text from 11/24/2000 which reading the Soncino Bavli Talmud – Peshim page 113a.
The Khamla’ma was composed over the long period of the First Aeon and is scribed by two of the first created seventy two individuals and of whom is the first Priest-Scribe. His name is Khava and he is responsible for lines 1 through 68 of the Khamla’ma English text. When Kava is murdered the next Priest-Scribe, like the first, was a created individual of the seventy two whose name was Zebacame who penned lines 68 through 165 of the Khamla’ma. The remaining text of the Khamla’ma is supplied by birth-scribes over intervals, like the preceding text with some lines recorded very close to the close of the First Aeon.
There are other manuscripts from the five aeons preceding Adam; which were all destroyed at the late part of the fifth aeon. The only writing from the first aeon, The Khamla’ma, is translated from paleo-Hebrew into English in this text. Some lines were lost in the first aeon; yet, preserved in second aeon books, The Lutz and The Roug and so are restored within the Khamla’ma. The remainders of The Lutz and The Roug are untranslated.
The Lutz. The sixth book of the collection from the 2nd Aeon call the Lutz pages 6 and 7, containing 31 lost sentences of the Khamla’ma – 117, through 121 and 133 through 147 and 150 through 159 and 162, 163. Inserted into the text of the Khamla’ma the sentence numbers are accompanied with the name of the book and so appear as: 117Lutz through 121Lutz and 133Lutz through 147Lutz and 150Lutz through 159 and 162Lutz, 163Lutz in the Khamla’ma.
The Roug. The fourth book of the collection from the 2nd Aeon called the Roug, pages 6 and 14, containing four lost sentences of the Khamla’ma – 148, 149, 160, 161. Inserted into the text of the Khamla’ma the sentence numbers are accompanied with the name of the book and so appear as: 148Roug, 149Roug, 160Roug, 161Roug of the Khamla’ma.
The verses are in most cases paired to indicate one board recorded on both sides.

Bits of information about the first Aeon:
The Khamla’ma records only a record of the Holy Tsadekemier, not of the other peoples of the earth. The date of the creation of those People of God is 2,255,555 B.C. and the close of the first aeon is 1,458,763 B.C. The close included volcanoes, fire, flood and ice destruction with the earth dividing. The Tsadekemier population began, with 72 created individuals, 36 males and 36 females, and increased to 26,000 individuals by the close of the aeon. 39 individuals survived the destruction in a boat. One was a priest with the Khamla’ma. There were “Watchers” on the ground and in the air who looked after the Tsadekemier. Their Creator descended on a tulip shaped throne base whose stem entered the lake water, scene not unlike Ezekiel One. They saw God face to face. There were no animal sacrifices. They wore no adorements. They ate, fish taken from the shore or with woven nets and wooden spears from the water, vegetables and fruit, honey, nuts, goat milk. They lived in caves and slept and rested on reed woven mats, the temperature being at a misty nearly constant 90 degrees outside their caves. They wore grass woven skirts sandals and pointed hats. Their language was the pictorial paleo-Hebrew of original words that differ from todays understanding and was taught to them by their AleResh. They did not use boats until the close of the first aeon.
The document The Khamla’ma was received through a familiar spirit from a man who lived in that period;
after much grappling and personal difficulties and acceptance of the medium. Thereby, it is presented as perhaps useful in answering some doubts or questions of the age we live in and attempt to comprehend God.

This is the record of the creation of a people who are the Hebrew Race (Jews) from which came Adam.
       The screenplay arranges the verses in an order that the events may have occurred. 

THE KHAMLA’MA 
 
   

(The Khamla’ma)
by
(Joseph E. Swearengin)
(from: The Khamla’ma)
Current Revisions by
(Joseph E. Swearengin, 12/15/10)
Joseph E. Swearengin)
Morgan County, Ohio 43756
[email protected]

Fade in:
Music: J. S. Bach: BWV638,CDVI-6,OrgWks, #1/4, background
LIVID SCREEN: in the clouds, with…
COMMENTATOR V.O.
Two and one half million years ago, it is The Morning, The
Dawn of God-consciousness upon the earth.
On the shore of Lake Yema, AleResh created thirty-six couples

  • people whose only desire is to be with Him.
    They are called the Tsadekemier. Their name means, ‘dazzling
    drop,’ as from a full water bucket. They are the “sons of
    the morning.”
    Of all of the peoples of the earth the Tsadekemier are His
    dearest joy.
    With the enablement of AleResh the Tsadekemier provide to
    themselves a written record of their Creator as He interacts
    with them, called the Khamla’ma which means ‘warm learning.’
    The record was destroyed one and one quarter million years
    ago and only recently recovered.
    DESCENDING THROUGH THE CLOUDS, BECOMING VISIBLE IS THE EARTH
    FULL SCREEN. VIEW DESCENDS TO CENTRAL AFRICA, ONTO LAKE
    ALBERT, THEN CALLED “YEMA” – MEANING ‘HIS SEA.’ NEAR THE
    NORTHWEST END OF LAKE YEMA IN A…
    EXT. – REED MARSH – DAY
    in the foreground are Tsadekemier women and men weaving long
    branches of reeds into mats.
    In the background: is the edge of a fresh water stream from
    which people are gathering reeds.
    The furthest person away is a young birth-Tsadekemier named
    Laur who,
    when he straightens up from cutting a small bundle of reeds
    with a sharp stone, is…
    grabbed from behind by two taller men who are somewhat hairy
    and nearly naked but for loin skins.
    They immediately shove a piece of rawhide in his mouth and
    gag him.
    The kidnappers have watched Laur carefully,
    Laur’s group does not immediately notice his disappearance.
    There is though, the distinct sound heard by the group…
    of three persons hurrying through the marshy reeds.
    His friends call out to Laur…
    LAUR’S GROUP
    Laur! Where are you going? Laur!
    There is confusion among the weavers and…
    the gatherers fret about, looking to the spot where Laur had
    been, then…
    LAUR’S FRIEND
    Laur! Laur!! Laur!!!
    (turns to some of the
    others)
    Let us follow the path of the
    broken reeds.
    With two others of the group…
    Laur’s friend clambers barefooted through the cut stumps of
    the reeds and…
    enter the broken reed path.
    Laur’s friends carefully hurry but…
    the kidnappers nearly dragging Laur are stronger and swifter
    and…
    Laur’s friends are soon outdistanced.
    Emerging from the reeds,
    in the distance Laur’s friends briefly see…
    Laur being roughly led from sight.
    LAUR’S FRIEND (CONT’D)
    We shall not catch them.
    (shoulders drop, sagging)
    They are two swift for us…
    Laur is taken from us…
    Let us return.
    2.
    Laur, aware of his friends,
    catches an over-the-shoulder glance of his friends…
    until a sharp jerk on the strong cord tied about his neck…
    forces him on with the kidnappers.
    The stronger of the two kidnappers following Laur stops…
    turns, neck stiff, and sees Laur’s friends returning into the
    reed marsh.
    A few more yards and he calls a halt…
    KIDNAPPER 1
    (speaking archaic Egyptian
  • caption in English)
    Stop! His friends have gone back.
    We will re-tie the neck cord.
    Laur is forced to sit.
    With strong vines and additional rawhide strips a stout neck
    band is lashed about Laur’s neck.
    Now his hands are freed from behind him but the gag remains
    in place.
    The second kidnapper pulls a large bundle of food from a
    nearby tree.
    KIDNAPPER 1 (CONT’D)
    (speaking archaic Egyptian
  • caption in English)
    We go now.
    Pulling Laur to his feet…
    The first kidnapper shoves Laur ahead – north from Lake Yema.
    EXT. – THE JOURNEY NORTH – DUSK
    At the edge of a small clearing they…
    are greeted by four other males tall and of like
    characteristics.
    Laur is drug to the camp fire…
    His gag is removed and…
    3.
    He is tied to a large log one end of which burns in the
    campfire.
    Laur’s captors are nearly [6’] tall a full hand [4 1/2”]
    taller than any Tsadekemier.
    KIDNAPPER 1
    (speaking archaic Egyptian
  • caption in English)
    We have captured one of the
    “shinning ones.”
    Now our homes will be blessed by
    the gods and we will not fear the
    roars of the night.
    The group begins hollering and chanting before the fire and
    long after dark.
    Laur watches not understanding the strange hard words that
    are spoken.
    Laur, unnoticed, tests the neck band but it is too cleverly
    woven to untie.
    The kidnapper who has led him with the cord sits on the tied
    end of the rope as the others celebrate…
    In the night Laur awakens and the second kidnapper has tied
    the cord securely to his own wrist.
    Early in the mist of next morning Laur is jerked awake by the
    cord and pulled to his feet.
    The first kidnapper hands Laur a coal charred cake of bread
    and motions him to eat and a gourd of water is tied about
    Laur’s waist.
    The group march single file through the dense foliage and…
    Coming to the edge of the large saltwater stream…
    he and Laur’s guard watch as…
    The others crudely put together a raft.
    Upon the raft the six relax as the current takes them north,
    further from the security of Laur’s people.
    A month LATER: the slowly descending mountain waterway
    relaxed into swamp and they are forced to walk in the thick
    muck.
    4.
    The captors forage for food and clean water.
    Two months LATER the swamp returns to a fresh water stream
    and they put together another raft.
    Laur is still roped to his guard offering no chance of escape
    that now overwhelms his thoughts.
    Laur is distraught with loneliness for his own people, his
    own language and the comfort of Lake Yema, and his God.
    Laur talks to his guard as if the guard should understand but
    the guard shrugs his “banter” off and pushes Laur onward.
    A month LATER: The raft encounters another deep blue water
    way as large as the one they are on and encounter the pongid
    men.
    These small beings [4’] tall, watch from trees or jump
    excitedly in the muck and dust of the river bank point and
    shout unintelligibly as the group of seven drift by the three
    point river.
    LAUR
    (standing shaking his
    fist)
    Yes, shout you little demons who
    steal and ruin our food. Shout,
    shout! But AleResh will punish
    you!
    The two waters run together into fast white-waters but the
    crude raft passes through the junction unharmed. The white
    waters though are hard on the raft and it is periled stopping
    often to repair and rebuild.
    Two months LATER: the water, after the huge rocks and rapids,
    becomes quietly wide and slow and the travelers with their
    captive must paddle and pole their way on north.
    Laur continues to talk to his guard…
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    How is it that you people, that I
    have never seen the like of before,
    have heard of the people of
    AleResh, the Tsadekemier, seeing
    you are so very far away? How is
    that?
    The guard has long ago ceased to acknowledge Laur’s talk and
    continues to ignore him.
    5.
    It is now a YEAR since Laur has been stolen and on the bank
    of the river a camp of people like his captors greet them.
    In front of the village Laur sees long reeds that he has
    never seen before bundled in length and a tall one sitting in
    it upon the water with a flat stick in his hand thrashing it
    in the water to get closer to the approaching raft. Laur
    notices more of the crafts pulled up on the shore line.
    Then looking north into the furthest horizon is a scene like
    none that Laur has ever seen. Water, endless water. Laur
    bends to taste the wetness. It is salty as his Lake Yema,
    that he is so far from.
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    It is a larger lake, a greater
    water, a sea of water – The Great
    Sea.
    The raft beaches…
    Then Laur is led from the raft into the center of…
    EXT. – THE TALL ONES VILLAGE – DAY
    Laur views the village he is approaching.
    There are so many crude huts of grass and reeds to shield the
    the people from the harsh sun, an unusual sight for a
    Tsadekemier whose God AleResh provided caves for their
    shelter.
    However, more strange were the numerous crude images carved
    or painted on drift wood or heaps of clay molded into
    somewhat animalish figures one nearly at each hut that…
    the occupants stop and speak to or bow to or lay some piece
    of food in front of.
    LAUR
    (muttering)
    Fools, can they not see that a
    piece of wood or stone can not eat
    nor hear?
    There is a great stir in the village as the seven men enter.
    Shouts of joy from families of the six men who have
    returned…
    Their women and children run to them excitedly…
    6.
    and guffaws and ogles at the sight of a “shinning one” who
    now comes to bless the village with his presence.
    Immediately the other men gather the idols and take them to
    the center of the village and…
    then drive a secure stake in the ground and tie the cord that
    holds Laur’s collar to it in the midst of the images.
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    So they want me here so that their
    idols will bring them food as
    AleResh brings the Tsadekemier
    manna to eat.
    The daylight sun is hot upon Laur and he sweats and drinks
    all of the water from his gourd.
    Then all the village brings him food as he had seen them do
    to their idols…
    Now the men prepare a hut over Laur to shade him from the hot
    afternoon heat.
    As the tall ones are putting up the cover, one of them drops
    a sharp stone he was using to cut the reeds…
    and Laur notices and immediately covers it with his foot
    pressing in into the sand and it is not missed.
    Laur spends the rest of the day sitting and watching the
    villagers prepare a feast…
    Throughout the day food is brought before him and the idols
    and a foamy sour drink that he rejects for more water in his
    gourd canteen.
    Nearly DARK and a full moon is risen and the entire village
    is drunk on the putrid drink earlier offered to and rejected
    by Laur.
    The children have long since fallen asleep and all of the
    villagers are prone, some naked laying with or without their
    lovers.
    A young woman, obviously drunk, presents herself before Laur
    to give herself to him, but falls into the sand and passes
    out.
    Laur quietly scrapes the sand for the sharp stone he had
    hidden earlier and in a few short strokes cuts the cord
    fastened to the stake.
    7.
    Laur grabs a large piece of leather, thrown aside by one of
    the villagers and lays all of the food he can manage onto the
    leather, folding it into a nap and tying the ends close to
    his neck with the remaining cord.
    Laur pushes the nap around to his back and quietly walks to
    the beach.
    Laur pushes all but one of the reed boats and raft into the
    current carrying them into the Great Sea.
    Laur enters the still beached reed craft and pushes off into
    the water… south, towards home. He does not look back to
    the village…
    EXT. – THE RIVER TO HOME – NIGHT
    Alone on the river Laur first cuts the collar from his neck.
    Then Laur soon learns not to fight the current and hugs the
    beach line with the reed craft and paddle to avoid the
    struggle against the current.
    Many days, many crocodiles later and Laur’s food dwindles he
    finds fresh water a few fruits and plants to eat.
    Sometimes pulling the reed craft up the smaller rapids he
    collapses and is forced to rest.
    Laur fashions a line from the leather nap and a bone hook
    from a dead bird on the beach.
    With the line and hook Laur procures fish that he eats raw
    choosing not to take the time nor a chance of being detected
    by pongid men or any tall ones that might be foraging.
    Eventually he abandons the finally water soaked reed craft
    and continues on foot on the beach and onto the cliffs along
    the river.
    On land like the pongid men, he chooses to sleep in the
    trees.
    Once he encounters a small group of pongid men foraging and
    is forced to detour a large circle around them.
    The river becomes quieter the rapids disappear behind him and
    cautiously Laur builds a small raft of drift wood and poles
    back into the river.
    Weeks later Laur hears distant chatter shouts and hoots and
    he recognizes it as a large group of pongid men.
    8.
    Guessing he is approaching the point where the deep blue
    river merges Laur forces his raft across the river’s swift
    current to the west side of the river.
    He knows he could not get by the swift current of the blue
    river and the violence of the colony of pongid men at their
    large camp there.
    Now Laur poles his raft along the west side of the river
    again close to the bank to avoid the current and he hopes the
    pongid men.
    To his dismay the pongid men are now camped on both sides of
    the river and even when he moves further out into the river
    they have copied from a year ago the raft idea and come out
    into the river to pursue him.
    At one point a raft of theirs catches up to Laur and he
    fights them off from his raft with his pole splashing them
    into the river. Laur hurriedly continues on.
    The river turns west at the blue river junction and he is
    poling his raft west as the river begins to narrow.
    At another river junction Laur stops, poling the raft into
    the shore. He looks at the junction but from the side of the
    river he is on he can not tell what branch to take.
    He decides to wait for day break and the sunrise to tell him
    for he knew he wanted to travel south but, was this the right
    branch.
    It is now more than a year and a half since he left the tall
    ones village. Laur wanted more than ever to talk and listen
    and hold Hatamar and speak with Moke his son and behold
    AleResh and he dreams that night, as most nights, are of home
    on the Yema Sea.
    South from that branch far behind, Laur enters the marshes.
    The marsh is no less constraining than the first time he
    struggled through it.
    Laur finds little refuge but in short dead trees where he
    spends the nights.
    Once a large saber-toothed cat scratched at Laur’s perch in
    the night but it was gone the next morning.
    Finally, the marshes gave way to widening water courses.
    Laur chose the largest to follow. Was it the correct one he
    was not sure. This part of the journey had been confusing to
    him.
    9.
    Laur again builds a smaller raft of drift wood.
    Many days more and the water way widened somewhat. Then he
    knew he must stop to remember, where did they meet this small
    river? He must remember. Laur stops again for the remainder
    of the day and night.
    Early the next morning Laur inspects a large stream that
    leads south. He thinks it looks familiar and enters the
    gentle waters.
    Turning and looking back he becomes more comfortable with his
    decision. He travels on carefully choosing the larger water
    way at each stream inlet.
    He tastes the water often for saltness and it reassures him
    that he has chosen well.
    For on the next day the stream widens considerably and Laur
    poles into the Yema Lake exhausted, relieved, but firmly
    knowing that his home is on the west side of the Lake. He
    poles to the shoreline and lumbers from his raft onto the
    beach.
    A bit stunned, Laur makes his way south until he hears a
    distant voice. He looks out across the lake but sees
    nothing. The voice must be from along the cliff wall.
    As he approaches…
    EXT. – THE VOICE – MORNING
    Laur stops walking at the sight of the assembly seated before
    Zebacame who is teaching.
    Laur is over-joyed, his countenance is lifted, but…
    exhaustion and fatigue prevent him from running to his people
    the Tsadekemier.
    He stands shoulders dropped hands hanging.
    He is so stunned he cannot speak to tell them of his
    presence.
    A single pongid man has followed Laur at a distance, he now
    disappears into the trees…
    Lahtsdeshen, seated next to the standing Zebacame sees Laur,
    does not recognize him at first, but…
    then does rises and hurries to Laur.
    10.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    You are Laur!
    (embraces Laur)
    Come my son.
    (turning to the assembly)
    But Laur can no longer endure and his legs buckle…
    and Lahtsdeshen motions for some of the younger ones to help.
    While the young men lift up Laur and escort him to a seat of
    stone…
    Lahtsdeshen sees Laur’s parents who are bringing Laur’s wife
    and son…
    With arm outstretched to Laur’s wife Lahtsdeshen brings…
    Laur and his wife Hatamar together…
    LAUR
    Hatamar…
    (embrace and kiss)
    HATAMAR
    We have waited for so long for
    you…
    LAUR
    It is good to feel you close to me
    and to hear voices that I know and
    understand.
    HATAMAR
    Our love for you has not
    diminished.
    See… your father and Moke wait to
    speak with you.
    LAUR’S FRIEND
    It is good to have you back Laur.
    We could not catch up with them
    when you were taken.
    LAUR
    And it is good to see you my
    friend.
    11.
    (MORE)
    Thank you for following as you did,
    but they knew where they were
    going. And further on there were
    more of them.
    A crowd of Tsadekemier are gathered, watching in the
    background.
    Laur turns to Bukaum and Moke…
    Bukaum and Laur embrace and…
    Laur picks up Moke…
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    You are growing tall and strong
    Moke. It is good to be home with
    you.
    As Hatamar and Moke and Laur hug and kiss…
    Lahtsdeshen takes Bukaum a few steps away…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Bukaum. Laur is as strong as when
    he left, but inside I can see that
    his soul is thin and hungers.
    BUKAUM
    (looking at Laur)
    We will not take them apart now,
    Lahtsdeshen.
    I will take them home and bring
    Laur to you in the morning.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Yes… That is best. And a new
    linen robe too.
    BUKAUM
    What will you do tomorrow for Laur?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The Khamla’ma, Bukaum. We must
    renew Laur with his heritage and
    the remembrance of AleResh.
    Zebacame will assist me.
    12.
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    BUKAUM
    Of course. I will bring him to you
    and Zebacame in the morning when
    Laur’s mind is refreshed from
    sleep.
    Bukaum returns to Laur and Hatamar and Moke…
    Bukaum speaks to them and motions them to toward the cliff
    cave…
    Ahead to their left, in the trees peering down on Laur, are
    three pongid men.
    EXT – THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – EARLY MORNING
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Laur, it is good you came here this
    morning. Zebacame will be along
    soon.
    Bukaum returns to the cave…
    Laur still weary takes a seat on a long log.
    LAUR
    You have called me here?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Yes, Laur. The assembly will not
    be meeting today so that we can
    hear from you of where you were
    taken. Your friends said you were
    bound and led away?
    LAUR
    Hatamar said that I have been away
    for three years. Is that true?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Yes. Three years and the reason we
    believe you need to be
    reestablished with us.
    LAUR
    Reestablished? What do you mean, I
    am home. I have fought and
    struggled to be here.
    13.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    (reaches out touches
    Laur’s arm)
    Yes…
    Zebacame arrives with Bukaum and five others who are the
    scribes with tablets and ink.
    They, several others, have also brought the warm book of
    learning, the Khamla’ma on the boards.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    Yes, Laur we perceive the
    difficulties that you went through
    and want to hear from you all of
    those things.
    The scribes will write down your
    words for the generations to read.
    LAUR
    Must I live it again? The troubles
    of it are still in my dreams.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    It will be good for you to release
    the evil thing that happened to
    you.
    We are your family and friends we
    will not harm you.
    And those who stole you away… you
    can tell us where they are and we
    will protect you and ourselves from
    them.
    LAUR
    It is much that you ask, too
    painful…
    Read to me only the Khamla’ma and I
    shall be comforted.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Not yet, Laur.
    Please tell us. It is important
    you tell us first of your
    kidnapping,
    14.
    LAUR
    (looks down then into the
    trees)
    There are pongids watching.
    The group closes in around Laur to give him comfort.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    They are always there now, since
    you left. We tolerate them.
    Please Laur.
    LAUR
    (looking at the ready
    scribes)
    Ah… I last saw my friends briefly
    before I was pulled into the dense
    forest…
    It is early afternoon when Laur finishes.
    In the background: a pongid scrambles to the ground and
    disappears into the brush…
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    …and I heard the voice of
    Zebacame and saw…
    EXT. – THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – EARLY AFTERNOON
    LAUR
    (distracted)
    Do those pongids know what we are
    talking about?
    BUKAUM
    They don’t even have a language of
    their own, son – just grunts and
    guffaws.
    The group of Tsadekemier who had formed around the Council
    slowly disperse to their daily activites…
    ZEBACAME
    Laur, it was a terrible thing that
    happened to you, but you have
    relaxed from the hardship now.
    Let Lahtsdeshen begin now the
    scriptures of our people and our
    living God – AleResh.
    15.
    LAUR
    Yes… I remember before of going
    to the beach to welcome AleResh.
    Yesterday, I looked onto the Yema
    Sea when I arrived, but he was not
    there. Does he still come to visit
    us.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Indeed he does Laur. He is still
    as you remember Him, although his
    visits are not as frequent.
    ZEBACAME
    Laur, you must tell us more of the
    “tall ones” who kidnapped you.
    LAUR
    Huh. Well, what does it mater I
    have returned.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Very much my brother, so that we
    may guard against them.
    LAUR
    Yes, all right.
    They are a hand taller than us…
    lighter skin… not as much body
    hair as the pongids … in fact
    little hair at all … they speak a
    strange language … they live in
    reed huts…
    ZEBACAME
    Then their skin is not olive as
    ours?
    BUKAUM
    You mean they have no caves for
    shelter?
    LAUR
    No. They live on the shore of the
    Great Sea and there are no cliffs
    as we have.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    And how far away is this Great Sea?
    16.
    LAUR
    I may have missed counting some of
    the days… perhaps a year.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Such a distance..?
    ZEBACAME
    Then they worship God as we do as
    He visits us upon the water?
    LAUR
    No! Not at all.
    In front of each hut is a wood
    carving or painted board with some
    figure of a bird or snake…just
    any animal.
    When they got me to their camp,
    they staked me in the center.
    Then they placed their idols all
    around me.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Oh! Uh! They worshipped you like
    another of their gods.
    LAUR
    I managed to learn a few words they
    used – they called me a “shinning
    one.”
    ZEBACAME
    Of course! As our faces shine when
    we see or meditate upon AleResh…
    And my brother, that was the reason
    for taking you away to them.
    BUKAUM
    What of this Great Sea that you
    spoke of. What is it?
    LAUR
    (turns to his Father)
    It is salty like our Lake Yema but
    there is no end to it, either in
    front or to the sides, there is no
    limit.
    17.
    (MORE)
    The tall ones gather much fish from
    it and many animals come to it for
    food.
    On the land there is deep and black
    soil along the river entrance and
    much wheat and vegetation grows.
    There is an abundance of
    everything.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    But what purpose did you serve to
    them since they have so much food?
    LAUR
    They seem to be rather sickly is
    all that I could see.
    BUKAUM
    What of wild beasts of the night?
    How do they protect themselves?
    LAUR
    The large animals that I saw were
    in the river. And in the night
    they build great fires in the camp
    to keep them away. There are very
    many people in the village.
    ZEBACAME
    Yes. And the “tall ones” are
    stronger than we are. We will
    carefully think upon that “Great
    Sea.”
    (looks out across Lake
    Yema)
    But in…
    EXT. – THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – DAY
    Bukaum and others who had been listening to Laur, withdraw a
    short space and talk among themselves…
    A [1] pongid watches from a tree…
    while Lahtsdeshen and Zebacame remain with Laur in a threesome
    circle with…
    18.
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    LAHTSDESHEN
    (holding a written board)
    Laur, you have been taken away from
    this place of blessing for three
    long years… enter again into the
    warm learning of the Khamla’ma.
    You will remember that these
    tablets are shortened thoughts
    because of the toil in writing
    them.
    Laur fidgets but settles and leans to the two teachers.
    LAUR
    Yes.
    ZEBACAME
    AleResh has told Lahtsdeshen of the
    unconscious moments before we
    awoke…
    upon the short stretch of sand
    beach – just over there.
    (points)
    AleResh stood with Lake Yema at His
    back, His Tsadekemier were laying
    before Him…
    just moments after the words of
    creative-life there were thirty-six
    of us, with our wives – seventy-two
    beings…
    Created with just the breath of his
    words…
    we saw Him then as He appears these
    days…
    (skylarking)
    the strangely physical but
    transparent erect figure in linen
    robe and turban…
    and He knelt to Lahtsdeshen
    first…
    and touched his throat giving him
    speech and knowledge of the spoken
    and written language…
    19.
    (MORE)
    that you see on the boards with us
    here.
    Our beginning is on…
    Music: J.S. Bach BQV1066,CDI-3,Orch.,Over/Cmaj, #1, bgd.
    EXT. THE SHORE OF LAKE YEMA – SIX A.M.
    The seventy-two Tsadekemier are conscious and looking into
    the eyes of there own wives and husbands.
    The physical but transparent figure, linen robed and turbaned
    is…
    AleResh, crouching and touching the throat of Lahtsdeshen.
    ALERESH
    Your name is Lahtsdeshen. The
    ability to speak and to write that
    I give to you,
    you shall teach to your brothers
    and they to their wives.
    Lahtsdeshen, at the touch of the fingers of Aleresh to his
    throat, raises his head and looks long into the eyes of
    AleResh.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Lord, as you wish.
    Lahtsdeshen, on his knees, extends his hand to his wife…
    They rise to their feet.
    AleResh takes Lahtsdeshen’s hand to lead him to the next
    couple.
    The face of Lahtsdeshen shines at the touch of AleResh.
    ALRESH
    Lahtsdeshen. Once I have given
    speech to all of your brothers, I
    must go away, but I will return
    here to the beach on the seventh
    sunrise.
    You will tell your brothers of my
    return and wait patiently.
    20.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    There is coriander seed at the
    cliff and fish each day upon the
    shore.
    Lahtsdeshen looks toward the cliff base and sees a
    containment brow piled high with grain.
    On the shoreline’s stones are fish.
    AleResh bends and touches the throat of another Tsadekemier.
    ALERESH
    Your name is Khava… this is
    Lahtsdeshen, you will give heed to
    his words that I give him.
    Humbly Lahtsdeshen and his wife move with AleResh from one
    couple to the next…
    While AleResh is still before them each couple rise to their
    knees…
    behind them the pairs rise to their feet, some hugging their
    own spouses, some looking after the Person who has touched
    them.
    They are not afraid, but rather pleased and amazed at their
    own existence acknowledging their wives and each other and
    speaking, but…
    finally they become silent and transfixed upon AleResh as he
    moves along to the following couples.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    As AleResh touched the final
    couple, my wife and I stood to
    speak to the Tsadekemier.
    It was then that AleResh discreetly
    removed himself from us and…
    EXT. – ON THE SHORE OF LAKE YEMA – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN
    (speaks to group.)
    On this day we the Tsadekemier are
    created: His goodness thrust us
    down upon our faces and we felt the
    hand of God upon our throats and we
    spoke but did not understand.
    21.
    ALRESH (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    Then joy, that He named an
    interpreter priest Lahtsdeshen and
    he instructed us in the language
    and we enjoyed friendship.
    God, the Shinning Teacher taught,
    yea, setting free our mouths.
    Reeling at the door of faith we
    have hidden and found rest, what a
    hard riddle.
    WIFE OF LAHTSDESHEN
    (speaks to group)
    Gathering to the foundation brow,
    our minds spin; it causes us to
    wonder how long we will wait for
    Him.
    There is a joyous shout and weeping
    the wind is cut off and there are
    fish from the sea on the shore to
    eat; our thankfulness causes this
    cup of blessing to be named – rest.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    (speaks to group)
    Taste and perceive the basket of
    food from our Friend AleResh,
    who built the subjugators
    Tsadekemier and fitted our garments
    for protection that are worth a
    measure of grain.
    We desire His gleaming.
    The people of AleResh,
    He is gone for a time, but will
    return to us.
    The Tsadekemier are wearing full length linen robes but – no
    head turbans.
    The Tsadekemier wander about but shortly settled themselves
    concerning AleResh at the words of Lahtsdeshen and his wife.
    22.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    You see Laur, it is our faith in
    AleResh, when he is away, that
    places us above the pongids and the
    tall ones of the earth, thusly we
    dominate.
    Because, He has created and made
    everything and only we reverence
    Him.
    Lahtsdeshen and Khava lead the group of Tsadekemier toward
    the cave in the side of…
    EXT. – THE CLIFF – DAY
    ZEBACAME V.O.
    After Lahtsdeshen had spoken many
    of the brethren were yet stunned,
    amazed at their own being.
    With no recollections of growing
    from infancy, such as you have
    Laur, and no experiences to draw
    upon our surroundings were
    difficult to adjust to.
    Each encountered the other and
    spoke our names to each and
    rehearsed what interested us,
    whether it was the stones of the
    cliff, the sands of the shore or
    the vegetation from the earth, we
    were each experiencing the sounds
    and taste and warmth of our
    environment.
    For nearly all this was so, but…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    for those that I chose for scribes
    we shall met at the cliff wall,
    there at the smooth rock,
    (pointing)
    where I will teach you the letters
    and words that you will need to
    record our memories of AleResh.
    Gathered and seated on the ground cross leg at the face of
    the cliff before a large smooth stone surface Lahtsdeshen
    standing began the classes with the scribes.
    23.
    KHAVA
    For now, the remaining of us will
    discover the devises of living in
    such heat, as this day seems to be
    progressively warmer.
    There, after the scribes, from
    Lahtsdeshen we all will learn to
    read the writings concerning our
    Creator that will be written
    hereafter.
    Bukaum has already entered the cave
    and left and is exploring again
    outside.
    Bukaum what did you find inside?
    BUKAUM
    The cave is cool and very pleasant
    but there is not much light.
    Myself, I am on my way to the
    granary to taste of it. This
    morning of Creation is a very
    demanding experience and I am quite
    hungry…
    Others are ranging from the lake to the spring of fresh water
    flowing from the cliff.
    They examine the foliage of shrubs and large trees or are
    just looking through the heated haze at the sky…
    But the following Sunday the people stand…
    EXT. – IN FRONT OF THE CAVE – MORNING
    that is their home.
    It is very hot and humid.
    Standing with his back to the granary is the scribe Khava and
    Lahtsdeshen.
    KHAVA
    (reverently pointing to
    the lake)
    Lo! Behold the Head, Behold how!
    His word has given us fish to eat
    and the caves for our homes,
    24.
    (MORE)
    it is our extreme distinction.
    There, beyond the shore line,
    AleResh as the terebinth palm;
    we will meet with Him,
    we are as younger brothers.
    With lightened faces the people walk from the trees…
    into the early Sunday morning sun light rising upon Lake
    Yema.
    Khava with Lahtsdeshen follow the group to the shore line.
    In the background: [2] pongid men sleepily watch from the
    trees.
    Once at the shore line the Tsadekemier gather for the return
    of AleResh.
    Five scribes are always with Lahtsdeshen and Khava [later
    Zebacame] copying their words which then constitutes the
    Khamla’ma [warm learning]…
    Khava speaks to them…
    EXT. – ON THE BEACH – MORNING
    KHAVA
    This will be the first time we meet
    with AleResh since our creation.
    The scribes provided many words of
    comfort for us from Lahtsdeshen to
    fall upon these past few days
    concerning our creation.
    It has been long days since we have
    seen AleResh and this visit is not
    without apprehensions, seeing that
    only a week ago we first opened our
    eyes to behold Him.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    As you know, as a people we are not
    alone along this Lake Yema. There
    are the birds feathered and the
    birds of smooth skin and the
    monkeys of the trees.
    25.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    However, we have here before we
    were, beings that are quite similar
    to us, only smaller, whose habitat
    we have invaded who have eyed the
    granary and…
    some of them have partaken of our
    grain that AleResh left for us.
    This is alright, perhaps we can
    entice them to join us to enjoy our
    God AleResh. But as you know that
    came to no avail. The poor
    creatures do not seem to have a
    language.
    And we gave thanks in our hearts to
    AleResh remembering the touch of
    his hand on our throats. We still
    wonder if we can teach them to
    speak.
    At nights we heard the roars of
    beasts that we have not seen and so
    we retreated to the protection of
    the cave…
    Khava interrupts reminding Lahtsdeshen and the people of the
    day…
    KHAVA
    We wait patiently for the presence
    of AleResh,
    our yearning hearts clean and
    sparkle, washed with water.
    We endure and lament with longings,
    sure in faith. We languish to see
    Him.
    WIFE OF KHAVA
    With morsel and rest and troubled
    hearts we waited on the shore for
    this, our AleResh.
    KHAVA
    We continue weak in faith, our
    inward parts shake,
    26.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    we are empty as an unwritten
    tablet,
    we thrust ourselves down as nothing
    and thus we give attention and
    worship expectantly the brightness.
    We are common and lowly.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    We freely humble ourselves and
    prepare in decree to drink largely
    and sufficiently from the Presence.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    And we did wait that first morning
    Laur, but it was not so long
    before…
    EXT. – ON THE SHORE LINE – MORNING
    Music: J.S. Bach BWV1016,CDI-20,Orch.,VioSon#3,Allegro#10,bgd
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Looking up to the sky, the clouds
    opened and a descending object of
    light and life, which is the Throne
    of AleResh appeared.
    The Tsadekemier are jubilant, dancing, their hands raised
    toward the sky…
    LAUR V.O.
    These things, I already know!
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Patience, Laur, we must be sure of
    a firm foundation to build the
    Khamla’ma upon.
    The Throne, with the brightness of
    fire [yellow-orange],
    is shaped like the an open lily
    which stem will enter the water of
    Lake Yema…
    until the lip of the open bloom is
    nearly even with the surface of the
    water.
    27.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    The pedals of the flower are
    glowing-light with…
    living [impelling] angels about the
    circumference.
    In the center of the flower is a
    seat of light upon which is seated
    AleResh.
    Standing at his right is the Angel
    Gabriel on his left the Angel
    Michael.
    [The angels have the appearance of
    a man with two wings stretched
    upward and two wings covering
    themselves (four wings each)]
    As Khava spoke the outline of the
    Throne is seen coming down from the
    opening clouds…
    KHAVA
    (lifts arm to sky)
    Lo! Behold the Head, Behold!
    The stem of the flower shaped Throne enters the water…
    KHAVA
    There, beyond the shore line,
    AleResh, as the terebinth palm;
    when we meet with Him we are as
    younger brothers.
    The Tsadekemier wade out to the Throne…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    We stumble on the stony beach to
    our flesh kinsman and God-Leader
    who is upon the sea and we keep
    within us His invisible things.
    Beyond, the grandeur of the power
    of God swiftly set us tottering.
    KHAVA
    As the emptiness of a storm-wind,
    His Throne swept, over spreading us
    with abundant life.
    28.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    We are dismayed as the heavenly
    light swoops upon us, who earlier
    were faint with longing for Thee.
    In background: Many have waded into the lake, Lahtsdeshen
    calls the Tsadekemier ‘associates’ expressing their desire
    for His presence.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    A pure living ship of workers then
    guides the delicate flower,
    pressing it to us in an over
    spreading blaze to the ‘associates’
    presence.
    Though weak as the sprout of a
    reed,
    we go to His presence wilted, pined
    away lean; until now powerless in
    heart,
    we see Him as a burst of flowers
    and we bow weakened in mind.
    The clouds above form a covering from the sun for the reunion
    as Khava describes the feeling that it evokes:
    KHAVA
    Covered with clouds, the place is
    the trickle wonder of kindness.
    EXT. – ALERESH UPON THE SHORE – DAY
    With the flower Throne descended upon the lake…
    AleResh arises from his Throne seat and walks upon the water
    onto the shore.
    When He reaches the shore the Tsadekemier called ‘Guide’
    walks on AleResh’s left and Gabriel on His right.
    The Angel Michael remains with the Throne.
    KHAVA
    Once proud with faith, we faint
    from the odor of the burning
    incense plume AleResh, who is now
    with us.
    29.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    Wading they follow Him to the shore where the seventy one
    Tsadekemier worship upon their knees.
    The one called “Guide” remains standing with AleResh and the
    Angel Gabriel.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    We join breath with the Healer of
    distress and bend down to Him
    measurably.
    The Tsadekemier rise to their feet as AleResh enjoins each of
    them.
    There is over abundance of joy in the faces of the
    Tsadekemier and…
    the pleasant reception of their persons in the face of
    AleResh.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    Here alive, as poured out of a
    basket, his sharp immediate
    kindness sends us reeling.
    AleResh begins speaking to them, as Khava observes…
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    Our dissolved heart revives.
    Heaven’s Presence in beautiful
    flight, brings His knowledge.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The lively mind of AleResh is
    enclosed in the stronghold of
    pleasantness and…
    declares the dwelling of the
    purified life-healer of the
    congregation in the scriptures.
    His eyes are as lightning flashes
    and…
    the wind wraps about His head as a
    turban of grass.
    He stretched forth His hand, we are
    powerless.
    He is built correct in heart.
    30.
    (MORE)
    The certain One’s righteousness
    prevails and does not groan laying
    in us the beams of understanding of
    the authority of God.
    WIFE OF LAHTSDESHEN
    His confidences are as precious as
    leaf vessels filled with myrrh.
    We enwrap his life,
    AleResh’s word is as a disturbed
    tree whose eyes weep.
    KHAVA
    Declare heaven’s words that
    strengthen the heart,
    declare that His strength and song
    is our garment.
    In the sprout Tsadekemier, the
    Turban has created pure exalted
    truth.
    In the background: on the Throne, where still stands Michael
    the Angel…
    before each of the guiding angels, on the brim of the lily
    Throne are golden containers of coriander seed.
    The guiding angels pour out the coriander into the reed
    baskets of the Tsadekmier’s who have waded out to the Throne.
    There is a ‘miracle of abundance’ when the golden containers
    do not become empty, until the granary is full.
    The Tsadekemier carry the coriander in their baskets from the
    Throne to the granary.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Then well you remember Laur, of the
    warmth of our conversations with
    AleResh…
    as on the beach He greets each one
    of us and…
    we walk with Him to the assembly
    place and…
    He is seated among us and…
    31.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    discusses with us the answers to
    our questions.
    LAUR V.O.
    I do remember.
    Even to us who are birth-
    Tsadekemier He gives
    considerations.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Of course! And because of His
    choice in me to help lead the group
    when he is away…
    my questions were entertained at
    private counsel with Khava and
    certain Elders present.
    In the background: of these private Councils the Tsadekemier
    are filling the granary.
    AleResh established Khava as our
    spokesman and Zebacame his helper.
    My part is counsel and to provide
    the words for the scribes and to
    oversee their work.
    EXT. – NEAR CLIFF WALL – DAY
    months later…
    between the cave entrance and a heaped coriander seed food
    supply in the granary,
    stands Khava,
    with his back to the granary facing the others…
    He is retelling them of one of the visits of AleResh…
    from the written boards held in the hands of Lahtsdeshen.
    KHAVA
    Concerning the others who visit our
    granary.
    We are told that the most voracious
    are the pongid-men, as we have
    chosen to call them.
    (pointing)
    32.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    Yes, those who are watching us now.
    They evade every effort to entice
    them to sit with us and learn
    anything. And they do not seem to
    have a language beyond grunts and
    guffaws.
    There is a group of them in the
    jungle not far from here – that is
    correct Lahtsdeshen?
    (turns to look at
    Lahtsdeshen who nods)
    Yes.
    It is no doubt best to chase them
    away from the granary if one is
    seen there.
    ASSEMBLY VOICE
    We saw three there yesterday!
    KHAVA
    Three? At the same time? Well –
    Lahtsdeshen?
    In the background: are four birth-Tsadekemier men carrying
    newly woven reed mats toward the cave entrance.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    We will put someone at the granary
    to preserve our portion.
    KHAVA
    All right then, that should solve
    the problem there.
    To continue…
    My Brothers, it is our privilege to
    read to you from the boards of
    knowledge.
    It has been quite some time since
    our creation and the scribes have
    provided numerous tablets for us to
    remember our Creator from.
    And so we have the tablets from
    their faithfulness…
    33.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    Aha! The sea has Life and the
    people like needy children encircle
    God…
    who came down upon a pole and hand
    mill [stemmed lily Throne].
    At his coming, there was the noise
    of crackling air where the sea was
    empty,
    the house of heavenly words came
    with very strong rushing.
    The attentive Tsadekemier are enraptured as they hear from
    the readings the description of a visit from AleResh
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    Out there, at the expansion of the
    beautiful AleResh, we stretched
    out our hands and bowed to His
    shinning presence.
    WIFE OF KHAVA
    Lay up coriander attained and
    judged your share from the
    transparent and beautiful Man.
    In silence the Man gave, we were
    silent; then a cry and there was
    flour and we became free.
    INT. – IN THE CAVE – LATE EVENING
    That evening the Tsadekemier having returned to their cave…
    encounter the pongid…
    and AleResh arrives and…
    drives the vexers far away.
    KHAVA
    We entered our cave and…
    the vexing pongid, sat proud…
    having seized such things as they
    gazed upon…
    34.
    (MORE)
    because they had no food,
    The great One set out when the evil
    report came,
    the righteous Prince came…
    AleResh enters the cave…
    And swept them out of our cave with
    judgment.
    The Subjugator’s hand and…
    our righteous shared at the door of
    the cave in strength.
    When He finished, the weeping
    pongid trembled to be like us,
    fresh and tall.
    AleResh leaves the cave after the expulsion and…
    further chases away the pongids.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    But, He swept the wicked persons
    out of the valley.
    AleResh and some of the Tsadekemier
    continue chasing the pongid north along the cliff face and…
    into the creek where the reeds grow and…
    even further up the stream.
    The Tsadekemier still in the cave hear…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    You may calm down now.
    WOMAN’S VOICE -1
    My brush is gone!
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Your brush?
    WOMAN’S VOICE – 2
    Our brushes are gone too!
    35.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    MAN’S VOICE
    Our mats are torn to pieces.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Ah! Yes… Well. We can replace
    the hair brushes and mats. The
    important thing is the pongids are
    gone from here.
    EXT. – AT THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    during this occasion with AleResh,
    who had brought food for six more
    days…
    the Tsadekemier were content to
    hear the words of the teacher
    AleResh until…
    the people of the earth [pongids]
    raid the camp.
    AleResh and…
    the Tsadekemier brought justice to
    the intrusion.
    We know that it is repetitious to
    also read the tablets Laur,
    but it is the way in which we can
    be sure that relearning is taking
    place.
    KHAVA
    The camp, while increasing in
    learning,
    became confused when a water jug
    was shattered.
    But we were silent at the wrong the
    proud pongid did in shaking our
    faith and…
    our apportionment that was being
    taken by the wild beasts.
    36.
    (MORE)
    AleResh and the Tsadekemier smote
    the clay pongids with torches and
    clubs and stones…
    Then we gave them gifts, measures
    for the mouth and…
    the garments in their hands they
    had plundered.
    We wail; “My Father is help.” thus,
    was our cry.
    AleResh returns to the assembly place…
    ALERESH
    My people. Do not despair.
    The granary is still left to you.
    These people of the earth who
    happened upon the assembly are not
    to destroy you but…
    to test you and the strengthen your
    faith through trials.
    Be comforted, I shall reward those
    who keep their hearts strong for
    me.
    My servants who look after you will
    keep my remembrance before you.
    I shall return as you see me now.
    Be strong and watch.
    AleResh leaves the cave.
    Some follow him, others watch from the door of the cave as…
    The Throne ascends into the clouds.
    Yet, some of the Tsadekemier wept for the memory of their
    loss and the disturbance that it caused their soul of faith.
    KHAVA
    My Brothers. Trouble not
    yourselves…
    the Teacher will return as He
    promised.
    37.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    Some yet sob…
    No, my family, grieve not
    yourselves.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Be still, Oh heart of the people of
    AleResh, be still…
    hope upon the sight of AleResh who
    will chase away all sorrow.
    EXT. – IN THE VILLAGE – DAY
    much later, during a live encounter with the pongid…
    the priests shout and denounce another attack upon the
    granary.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The Tsadekemier will not have
    enough food to last until Sunday
    morning…
    KHAVA
    Rushing upon the heap of coriander
    the children of the Tsadekemier
    hurriedly eat very much,
    because the scorner pongid,
    after a measure of food, descended
    the cliff trampling the grain.
    There are also famine faint
    [crippled] clay pongids.
    The pongid consume the remaining grain and once satisfied…
    look upon the Tsadekemier women and rape them.
    The Tsadekemier did not try to retaliate…
    because of being outnumbered and…
    the pongid take control of the camp.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    Our faith is rebuked. It is not as
    when the heap had rest.
    38.
    (MORE)
    Also, the settlement is delivered
    to pongid dominion.
    Invading, the adulators rape;
    we bear fruit who are Revolters,
    we rest our mouths.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    This thing happened while you were
    gone Laur.
    Fortunately, your wife and son were
    away gathering reeds and so escaped
    the carnage.
    An adulterated branch of the
    Tsadekemier is born from the rapes
    and they are what their name
    implies, Revolters – to the faith.
    They, like the pongid only want
    what satisfies their appetites
    and…
    are indifferent to the Presence of
    AleResh.
    As you know the Revolters are
    distinguished from the Tsadekemier
    by their skin aprons.
    LAUR V.O.
    Have the Revolters attacked the
    Tsadekemier as the pongids do?
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    The Revolters prefer meat to grain
    or fruit, so we have thus far not
    been troubled by them for our
    grain.
    LAUR V.O.
    What would cause such an appetite
    in them?
    We would think that being partblood
    descendants of the
    Tsadekemier they would desire grain
    or nuts.
    39.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    We guess that starved they lit upon
    some dead beast and ate their fill.
    Now they prefer the heavy food.
    LAUR V.O.
    I can not understand.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    It has to do with desire, Laur.
    What do the Tsadekemier want most
    in their lives.
    LAUR V.O.
    To be with AleResh. To feel the
    rightness of His person.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Ah, yes. But what do these
    unfortunates want but to eat and
    sleep, as the pongid do in the
    trees.
    LAUR V.O.
    Then their minds are more like the
    pongids that the Tsadekemier.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    I’m afraid so.
    EXT. – JUNGLE, LAKE SIDE, CAMP – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    And so Laur, the time came and
    indeed is, when the Tsadekeimer
    must forage for food which…
    takes us away from our contentment
    with the warm learning on the
    boards and the security of the
    village…
    The Tsadekemier are very
    disheartened and unhappy with these
    duties, because…
    to enjoy the words of AleResh and
    his inward beauty, which is our
    part in life, that makes us favored
    by AleResh, but…
    40.
    (MORE)
    envied by the pongids for the food
    that AleResh provides to us to make
    our purpose possible.
    And thus, the scribes wrote upon
    the boards the words of…
    KHAVA
    At the time of heavy rain we try
    to…
    gather figs and seek refuge away
    from the camp.
    We surround the weak, where we cry
    for our need – if for only a
    measure of coriander. What can we
    do?
    The group forages onto top of the cliff…
    BUKAUM
    Brothers, we must go around these
    large beasts. That pawing is their
    signal for us to get out of their
    way.
    BROTHER 1
    Awh, they don’t care if we are
    here.
    The largest bison comes charging at Brother 1 and his friend
    pulls him out of the way of a violent rampage.
    BROTHER 1 (CONT’D)
    Thank you friend. Not all the
    beasts of the jungle act like the
    pongid who run from us.
    BUKAUM
    Indeed, not Brother. Now we had
    better take our forage somewhat
    away from here.
    THE FRIEND
    Here the whole herd comes at us.
    Find a tree fast.
    Several of the Tsadekemier hide behind a trees, others with
    more time climb onto lower tree limbs and escape.
    41.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    BUKAUM
    Is anyone hurt?
    BROTHER 1
    No!
    BUKAUM
    Do we have enough figs to return to
    the village?
    BROTHER 1
    Once these bison are gone, if they
    don’t stamp them all into the
    ground.
    Some time later the bison do leave the area and the
    Tsadekemier gather the figs they need…
    BUKAUM
    Enough figs?
    BROTHER 1
    We have enough!
    BUKAUM
    Find the trail. By far a more
    upsetting day than having the
    pongids in the village.
    BROTHER 1
    Yes. We could be listening to
    Khava or Lahtsdeshen’s teaching
    right now.
    INT. – THE NEW CAVE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    New to you though, is the recently
    added door to the cave – for
    protection. We even hide some food
    in the cave now.
    When the guard gives the alarm and
    closes the door the Tsadekemier
    arise to the door in numbers to
    stop any entry.
    Then again, AleResh sent us guards
    named Ghebetsade and Gason…
    42.
    (MORE)
    we think they two are angels but
    they feel every bit like us, except
    their bodies are not warm and they
    do not sleep.
    Oh, and seldom do they speak even
    if we talk to them or offer them
    food, we are refused.
    LAUR V.O.
    They are very strange allies.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    You see that they are armed with
    club and stones and…
    they defend the entrance, throwing
    rocks and turning away the
    pongids…
    And so the scribes recorded…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    A sure door was completed with an
    entrance watch reckoned in the
    cold night.
    At the door the High Judge AleResh
    placed Ghebetsade standing pure in
    fitted linen with open eyes and
    ears.
    Shortly after the door was completed, Khava and Lahtsdeshen,
    looking through the cracks of the door of the cave, relate to
    the scribes the scene outside and…
    they wrote it on the boards.
    The women became horrified and retreat to the back of the
    cave.
    KHAVA
    Our wives too should go with the
    other women, Lahtsdeshen!
    Lahtsdeshen turns from the door to see the women and nods to
    his wife.
    He then returns to his vigil through the door’s small
    openings.
    43.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The terrible minds of the young
    scorning pongid raze the coriander.
    Declare writings of them devouring
    our fish and of our moaning hearts
    and the strife against us, the
    Brightening.
    With our garments of faith rebuked
    many of us recline on our beds.
    The Tsadekemier stay in the cave thinking the pongid may
    return or are still laying in wait for them, since there are
    a great number of them.
    However, it is not the pongid who return but the Rebels who
    come with their pongid wives.
    Then, out there, Lo! Who? Those
    Rebels with strange wives come.
    But Gason an angel of God hurled
    stones at them.
    Gason and a couple of Tsadekemier who had stayed with him
    outside the cave cast rocks at the new Rebel intruders.
    With little left to ravage the intruders leave in the heat of
    the afternoon and flying stones from the guards.
    When the even air came from the lake and cooled the
    village…
    TSADEKEMIER GUARD
    Open the door Ghebetsade, the
    danger is past.
    Khava and Lahtsdeshen immediately stepped outside.
    LAHSDESHEN
    I will see to the granary.
    KHAVA
    Yes. And I, to the seats of the
    assembly.
    In the interval that they are gone to their duties the rest
    of the Tsadekemier come out of the cave and wander about
    looking at the destruction about the cave entrance.
    Khava and Lahtsdeshen meet near the assembly place…
    44.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    Is the granary still in sound.
    LAHSDESHEN
    Little destruction this time. Just
    the grain is gone. And the
    assembly place?
    KHAVA
    A few seats are knocked over. One
    will have to be replaced. Be
    thankful all of the tablets of the
    Khamla’ma were in the cave.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The morning will bring the fish. I
    will send for the Rovers and pray
    they have had good fortune.
    KHAVA
    Shall we have a reading of the
    tablets tonight?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    A fire and fellowship tonight. The
    reading will be more fitting in the
    morning when we have eaten.
    KHAVA
    There is some grain in the cave?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Yes, but just the fire tonight
    Khava.
    KHAVA
    Does your faith wane my Brother?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    No Khava, but theirs might if we
    continue on with teaching after
    this kind of day.
    INT. – THE WALLED-UP CAVE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Now Laur, we are aware that you are
    familiar with much of what we are
    telling you but, it is for purpose
    if you will keep with us in this.
    45.
    LAUR V.O.
    Please continue, I do not weary of
    hearing the familiar, but
    especially those things that are
    not known to me.
    Are any of these things today,
    those that are hidden with you
    created ones?
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Yes, Laur there are few birth-
    Tsadekemier that know all of these
    things.
    Later, it will be handed down to a
    greater number of you, but for now
    these things must rest in your soul
    privately. Understand?
    LAUR V.O.
    Am not sure that I do. I will keep
    the things in my heart though.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Good. To resume then…
    Many years later in our camp,
    children were born to the original
    created-Tsadekeimer who became
    Wanderers-Rovers who gather for
    substance. You know them.
    Some are loyal to the growing group
    and bring us food when the granary
    is low; while,…
    some birth-Tsadekemiers copulating
    with the Revolters took on the
    careless attitude and are Rebels to
    the faithful Tsadekemier.
    The branches become difficult to
    trace but a person wearing a woven
    garment is always loyal to our
    Tsadekemier village.
    We have never converted a Rebel but
    the Revolters come and listen at
    times.
    The Rebels steal food just as the
    pongids.
    46.
    (MORE)
    They wear scant skins of the
    animals they kill or find.
    The Revolters likewise but at least
    they remove the hair from their
    animal skins.
    You can distinguish the created-
    Tsadekemier from the birth-
    Tsadekemier the first wear linen
    garments and…
    the latter woven grass leaves about
    their loins.
    Khava and I sat inside near the
    entrance close to the light that
    filters through the wooden door in
    the cave, so that we recorded the
    following account given to the
    scribes.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    We wait for Him concealed,
    bewailing in the dungeon of wood,
    wailing until we are dull.
    Is it our fault offensiveness came?
    There are few fish.
    The Revolter-Rebels, lie in wait
    for our provisions at the entrance,
    we join against them.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    In the trees an increased number of
    pongids had climbed high and away
    from the Revolter-Rebels and some
    remained high up even after the
    Rebels were chased away.
    EXT. – NEAR THE GRANARY – DAY
    still seated in front of Lahtsdeshen and Zebacame is Laur
    intently listening to their reading…
    BUKAUM V.O.
    The raids are more frequent,
    brothers and more violent what
    shall we do to protect our growing
    family of faith.
    47.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    ELDER 1
    We could build a fence, a strong
    fence from the cliff about the
    assembly place and granary and back
    to the cliff.
    KHAVA
    Nay, the time it would take to put
    up such a wall would harm all of
    the village taking much of the
    assembly away for long of
    intervals.
    ELDER 2
    The pongid already throw stones
    from the high cliff upon the cave
    entrance and we ourselves if they
    could hit us.
    BUKAUM
    Surely there is some solution. Our
    village is like a drop of honey or
    a dead fish.
    ELDER 1
    Perhaps we could move our village
    to some new location the Rovers
    might know about.
    KHAVA
    We have spoken to them, but the
    pongids are at all of those places
    too. It would be a waste of time.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The trouble comes when the pongids
    can see that we are seated and
    listening to the readings of the
    tablets.
    What if, rather than reading at the
    assembly place, Khava were to read
    inside the door of the cave. The
    sound carries well inside and
    everyone will hear. Then if
    trouble comes the guards can just
    close the door.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Years passed and the enemies of the
    Tsadekemeir multiplied.
    48.
    (MORE)
    The visits of AleResh continued and
    more scriptures were added.
    From inside the door of the cave
    Khava read the boards to those
    safely within.
    KHAVA
    Our scriptures say: Fly swiftly
    our God and our hunger that is as
    the cry of the wild beast will flee
    and you will dwell with us.
    Our Eminency, hasten to us we have
    not the strength of woven reeds;
    our faith melts until we gaze upon
    Thee.
    Lament our lack of faith and judge
    from the scriptures AleResh’s
    understanding and words.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Of course, at times we still meet
    at the assembly place but that is
    when we are expecting a visit from
    AleResh.
    EXT. – AT THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    AleResh visited the Tsadekemier and
    instructed us to write certain of
    the warm learning on stone tablets
    taken from the cliffs’ wall.
    AleResh spoke to Khava and I and
    the five other scribes.
    ALERESH
    Take flat stones from the cliff and
    write these my words from these
    boards unto the tablets and set
    them at the place of teaching for
    all to see.
    Behold weak minds of faith, eat at
    the appointed place, be at ease and
    rest, beneath the terebinth palm
    trees.
    49.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    AleResh then left us to the task.
    KAHVA
    What a daunting task. But it must
    be accomplished my Brothers.
    BUKAUM
    The stones that we see that are
    suitable are not high up the cliff,
    the young ones can labor on
    removing them.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    And how do we get them to the
    assembly place, so far away from
    the cliff.
    BUKAUM
    Better send the scribes to make
    sharp stone knives to carve the
    stones there.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Yes. I shall do that now.
    BUKAUM
    Bring the rest of the young men and
    follow me.
    At the cliff wall Bukaum inspects the stones in the cliff.
    BUKAUM (CONT’D)
    This is away from the cave entrance
    and the stones look as if they will
    layer off the wall. Begin here my
    sons.
    By mid-afternoon several choice stones lay ready.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    These are fine stones Bukaum and
    heavy I judge.
    BUKAUM
    And heavy they are Lahtsdeshen. In
    the morning we will take them to
    the assembly place and the scribes
    can begin.
    50.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    If we knew how they are to be moved
    we might be able to scribe them
    here and there both.
    BUKAUM
    Our youth are strong and they will
    be placed on our backs and a helper
    will guide the young man to the
    assembly place.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Well then that won’t harm the
    scribes work so they can begin
    right away and here.
    BUKAUM
    Seven stones are ready for the
    scribes.
    EXT – AT THE QUARRY – EVENING
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    The stones were heavy and were
    carried on our backs with our hands
    under the load to transport them
    from the cliff to the spot between
    the cave and granary, over there,
    (points to the cliff)
    where the scribes met to do the
    work.
    The next day some of the Revolters
    threatened to interfered, so the
    stones were hurried from the quarry
    with the priests following.
    Some priests were copying from the
    wood boards onto the last of the
    stones when…
    the Revolters began to taunt and
    poke the scribes. They hurried to
    finish.
    I gathered together many of the
    Tsadekemier and we formed a wall
    between the stones and the
    Revolters and they finally gave up
    and left the village.
    51.
    At the same time, completed stones
    were escorted by other Tsadekemier
    back to the assembly place.
    The priest Khava presented the
    tablets, as the last stone with
    Lahtsdeshen arrives from the quarry
    and was placed before the waiting
    assembly.
    KHAVA
    Obediently, our priests wrote with
    flint pen on stone tablets making
    the stones majestic.
    We have brought the living writing
    from there swiftly on our backs,
    away from the sons of the evil
    Revolters,
    to safeguard the words of faith.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    My part was to remind the assembly
    to respect the scribes’ minds of
    splendor pointing to the priests
    who are set apart under the trees.
    Further, my teaching showed that
    some of the Tsadekemier are
    contrite while others are warrior
    types.
    Many were very good at firmly
    discouraging the Revolters.
    This makes the camp both Holy and
    protected.
    As a group I likened the
    Tsadekemier to the blackberry
    shrub.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Skirt gently the faint, pious and
    good scribes whose minds are fresh
    with the splendor of the words.
    52.
    (MORE)
    Our house is in awe and the
    contrite ones abound transparent
    and the Tsadekemier are like the
    blackberry shrubs, beautiful but
    thorny.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    With the stones in place at the
    assembly place even the Tsadekemier
    in the back rows could see clearly
    the splendid writing on the stones.
    The effect upon the assembly that
    evening was remarkable but…
    EXT. – AT THE MEETING PLACE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    On the next day, the wind brings in
    the pongid-men, while AleResh is in
    the camp teaching the Tsadekemier
    from the stones.
    Music: J.S. Bach BWV1052,CDI-6,Harpsi/Dmin,Allegro#1,bgd
    Suddenly, because of his Divine
    Holiness, He hurries from the camp
    and leaves.
    The pongid & Revolters rush into
    the camp acting proudly because
    they have entered the camp and
    chased AleResh away from the
    Tsadekemier.
    They cast fecal filth upon the
    stones and cast some upon the
    seated Tsadekemier.
    The warrior Tsadekemier rescue many
    of the stones and cover them with
    sand.
    It is a large assembly including
    birth-Tsadekemier and so exceeds
    the original seventy-two.
    As the desecration proceeds Khava
    loudly described the nasty incident
    to the startled assembly to settle
    them.
    53.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    KHAVA
    As the Refined Victor AleResh
    teaches us the writing, there is
    the rush of the storms wind.
    What? The pongid! What? They have
    rushed into the assembly place…
    acting proudly and have defiled the
    perfect inscribed stones with fecal
    filth and upon some of the
    assembly.
    We have removed swiftly and cut
    off the pongid & Revolters
    acquisition, covering the stones
    well with hot sand, shouting and
    exalting the pureness of our
    writings.
    WIFE OF KHAVA
    We built our confidence, wailing
    loudly from weakened minds, hidden,
    thrust down in our minds, faint
    and melted, longing for AleResh;
    therefore, the pongid ran away
    from the writings howling. What
    have they done?
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Now silent, the standing priest
    Khava bowed his head upon his chest
    in despair, we can never know his
    thoughts then, for at…
    EXT. – THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – DAY
    Music: J.S. Bach BWV536,CDVI-7,Org,Pral./Amaj.#10,bgd.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    early the next day the standing
    priest Khava is summoning the
    assembly, to rebuild their
    confidence, by pounding upon a dead
    tree trunk with a club. And calls
    out…
    KHAVA
    This is a good mystery, a pleasant
    settlement.
    54.
    (MORE)
    See, the priest with life, makes a
    noise with a club stoutly, the
    sound is over spreading the
    settlement.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    From the woods near the cliffs
    pongids were lying in wait.
    They sent a brave one out to Khava
    who is standing alone at the
    sounding post and as he had just
    finished speaking…
    Bent in a crouching position the
    pongid came up behind Khava and…
    with a fire hardened pointed sword
    thrust Khava through the back.
    Khava was dead when he fell to the
    ground and his blood puddled upon
    the earth.
    Khava was one of the seventy-two
    created Tsadekemier and a priestscribe.
    Zebacame, whose name means –
    passionate scribe, is first to
    reach the body of Khava and he
    cries out and upon the tablets
    also…
    ZEBACAME
    Wait, there is blood.
    This time the scorner pongid,
    talking wildly, extended the wooden
    club and bent to the priest
    stabbing him…
    then ran away fiercely proud.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    We are sorrowful, we cry for help,
    but he is extended wide and softly
    set free.
    The soul of Khava has departed his
    body, whose soul…
    55.
    KHAVA (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    Zebacame describes as a drop of
    water hanging from a leaf that
    finally drops free of the leaf.
    The pongid killed a leader of the
    Tsadekemier.
    ZEBACAME
    There is emptiness at the spot
    because of the murder; a drop
    hanging, dazzling, passed.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Zebacame told the gathering
    Tsadekemier that a pongid snuck up
    and killed Khava.
    ZEBACAME
    The path of the murderer was
    proudly deceptive; stealing the
    garment of life from the vault
    of the heavens.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Zebacame, who had been Khava’s
    helper, became the scribe of the
    Khamla’ma for the growing family of
    the Tsadekemier.
    I am to Zebacame, as I was to Khava
    and in repeating the rhetoric of
    the Warm Learning to the scribes.
    The family of Tsadekemier are gathered around the body of
    Khava,
    some openly crying,
    others quietly weeping,
    some silently stare,
    others shaking their heads in disbelief and…
    some on their knees praying.
    A group of the warrior Tsadekemier go into the trees
    searching for the killer but returning without the find.
    Khava’s wife still clings to the body of her husband.
    Zebacame lifts her to her feet and…
    56.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    his wife takes her into her arms.
    ZEBACAME
    What is to be done for our brother
    Khava?
    BUKAUM
    We must bury his body very deep,
    away from the pongid.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The scribes and I will carry him to
    the cave.
    ZEBACAME
    Bukaum, go to the cave and have the
    young men dig largely and deep in
    the quiet spot south of the cave
    entrance.
    Please stay yourself and be with
    their minds to make them
    understand.
    Bring palm leaves and flowers of
    fragrance to line the grave.
    Bukaum leaves.
    A crowd of Tsadekemier congregate about the their fallen
    Brother Khava.
    TSADEKEMIER 1
    (startled)
    It is our Priest Khava! And he has
    been murdered, as they told us!
    TSADEKEMIER 2
    (whispered)
    The pongid killed him.
    TSADEKEMIER 1
    Where will we hear the kind words
    of AleResh now?
    Zebacame further comforts Khava’s wife for some time.
    Drawing her each time from her dead husband’s body.
    Lahtsdeshen and the five scribes lift the body of Khava from
    the ground in their clasped hands…
    Khava’s body is brought to…
    57.
    EXT. – THE CAVE ENTRANCE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    It was the death of the first
    Tsadekemier, a created one…
    and so the burial is close to the
    cave, to the side south of the cave
    entrance.
    Khava’s body was laid upon palm
    leaves near the hole that had been
    dug.
    A heap of fresh dug earth is beside
    the open grave and…
    the Tsadekemier of the assembly are
    gathered around.
    The Tsadekemier had not eaten from
    mourning for Khava…
    any orderliness had ceased…
    then AleResh enters the camp and…
    Lahtsdeshen, with two of the Elders go to the shoreline and
    tell the Creator of the death of Khava the servant priest.
    AleResh in mourning is shown the body and so…
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    was then present with them at the
    grave.
    ZEBACAME
    We talk unadvisedly, until…
    AleResh speaks refined, yea the
    family door keeper AleResh is
    proven.
    ALERESH
    You mourn and I mourn, food is
    uneaten.
    A created one is cold upon the palm
    leaves…
    we tremble because his hidden
    breath is set free.
    58.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Fragrant flowers were laid on the
    body. Khava’s body is put in the
    grave.
    ALERESH
    There is gentle rest for the
    blackberry shrub, his warm inner
    man is dried up.
    This body was a covering for the
    soul like the flower hunted in the
    valley.
    A bent one ruined the meditation of
    a blackberry shrub whose pleasing
    portion is over spread with soil.
    We tremble at the great heap.
    Cover the grave with foliage
    because of the scorners, and
    remember Khava’s love for my words.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    Then the body was covered with
    earth and the grave mound with
    foliage to hide it from the
    pongids…
    the group lingers at the grave and AleResh is seen speaking
    with Zebacame and Lahtsdeshen.
    The next day the Tsadekemier were brought together at the…
    EXT. – THE MEETING PLACE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Early that day Zebacame sent out
    two messengers to bring in the
    Rovers or a Wanderer or two with
    their caches of food.
    Lightly touching the shoulders of two sleeping youths…
    ZEBACAME
    Awaken sons of the Living!
    YOUTH 1
    (sleepily)
    Ah, Oh. Yes master?
    59.
    ZEBACAME
    My sons arise from your reed
    beds…
    and go to the Rovers and Wanderers
    when you find them and tell them of
    Khava and the solemn feast today.
    Ask them to come today and bring
    what they have taken to themselves
    and for us.
    Now hearken and tarry not.
    The two youths hasten to the voice of Zebacame and quickly
    leave the cave. It is just the break of day.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    We had earlier designated certain
    birth-Tsadekemiers to be called
    Rovers.
    These were pure blood line
    Tsadekemier and loyal to the
    assembly…
    but by necessity they became
    foragers and gatherers for the camp
    and brought in what they could find
    for food.
    These friends came to the solemn
    feast that honored Khava.
    Zebacame spoke of Khava as being
    ‘sprinkled’ [representing blood
    outside of the body which is
    death].
    The village was quietly eating and
    chatting when Zebacame’s voice was
    heard…
    ZEBACAME
    We are sullen about sprinkled
    Khava and make a special feast
    gathering in our faithful Rovers
    who have extended booty.
    In our abundance we bewail the
    scribe of AleResh who breathed
    upon the clay and the wood planks
    60.
    (MORE)
    making them live, allowing the weak
    in faith written words.
    We have private majesty as the
    sons of AleResh, thus we eat
    crushed manna.
    The living garment of Khava’s which
    was his faith is where the majesty
    of the smooth favor is taught,
    entering our hearts.
    The assembly stopped to hear the words of Zebacame and…
    while some remained fastened upon his person others were…
    looking south toward the heap of soil and wilted foliage
    where Khava was buried.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    My brothers, my friends, we have
    suffered a great loss. The faith
    of our Priest Khava will be greatly
    missed.
    We must remember though our purpose
    to our Head, AleResh and our hearts
    desire for his presence with us.
    Waiting for Him is not so terrible
    as without the Khamla’ma as at the
    beginning, as we created-ones take
    account.
    We have in Zebacame like faith and
    devotion to AleResh which he is
    willing to extend to our lives as
    well.
    Take careful heed to his words and
    remain tightly bound to AleResh.
    EXT/INT/EXT. – IN THE CAMP – DAY/NIGHT
    hurricane winds bash at the village driving all of the
    Tsadekemier INTO the cave…
    Music: J.S. Bach: BWV33,CDIII-5,Choral #6, background
    ZEBACAME
    Is everyone in the cave?
    61.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    VOICE V.O.
    We are all here.
    ZEBACAME
    Guards, close and batten the door.
    May AleResh preserve us.
    The trees are bent to the ground
    and the rain is sent with the limbs
    and tree tops smashing into the
    cliff and other trees.
    Can you to see the mayhem
    Lahtsdeshen?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Yes!
    Even the stone tablets are laying
    flat in the sand.
    But how long can such wind continue
    and even more are the Rovers safe
    from the blast?
    ZEBACAME
    Be assured that they know of all
    the shelters.
    (turns to the group)
    Do we have enough food?
    VOICE V.O.
    There is food, Zebacame, for
    several days.
    ZEBACAME
    It will be well for us then,
    AleResh must have his purpose in
    this mastery.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    When late night came there was moon
    light upon Lake Yema.
    The Tsadekemier had earlier that
    night EMERGED from their cave to
    sit in the assembly place.
    In background: Moon light reflects from Lake Yema.
    62.
    (MORE)
    While priests set the written
    stones back to their standing
    positions. Everyone noticed the
    absence of the pungid-men.
    Zabecame reported the mood of the
    Tsadekemier assembly of that day…
    and that the hurricane had
    destroyed the Rebel camp south of
    them some distance.
    ZEBACAME
    The storm wind caused us to faint
    in the cave. We are dazed from
    the hollow noise…
    Nonetheless knowing that the Rebel camp was not far to the
    south Lahtsdeshen and some of the Brothren go there…
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    The REBEL CAMP was but broken hut
    posts and scattered twigs and
    leaves. Even the rocks of the
    campfire are disturbed.
    And the Rebels were not to be
    found. Swept away by the wind it
    was determined.
    We wanted to rejoice in that
    blessing, counting it as the plan
    of AleResh to relieve us of some of
    our troubles.
    However, some of them had been
    friends to a few of us. So we
    refrained ourselves with unseen
    satisfaction.
    At the same time Zebacame himself and some young ones climbed
    the cliff and…
    walked south along the ridge to view the Rebel camp and…
    ZEBACAME
    From the cliff we saw the deserted
    and swept camp of the Rebels…
    our troublers are not found.
    The wind as a broom sent hail to
    pound the Rebel assembly where
    63.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    lacked the fragrance of faith,
    sweeping the settlement empty.
    Later that night in camp, Zebacame read back his entry onto
    the boards to me and…
    I confirmed those written words with somber nods.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    The clean brightness of the brush
    wood fire withers…
    there is now greed in the assembly.
    There are the sad prayers of the
    blackberry shrubs and the pleasant
    recorder priest Zebacame…
    who is maltreated, when he is not
    fed.
    I instructed the scribes to carefully note Zebacame’s words
    onto the boards…
    then knelt to pray…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    (under his breath)
    I can not understand where the
    spirit of greed came from, that
    food is withheld.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    (knelt in prayer)
    AleResh, our Heavenly Brother,
    clean and pure. We have found an
    unclean spirit in the assembly, the
    spirit of greed.
    Undo this malady in us and prepare
    our hearts so to meet with you upon
    your return. Amen.
    BUKAUM
    My brother. Zebacame has called an
    assembly.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Now? This late in this terrible
    day?
    BUKAUM
    Come! Come and see.
    64.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    Bukaum and Lahtsdeshen walk to the assembly place and take
    their places near Zebacame who has just begun to speak…
    ZEBACAME
    The Tsadekemier of AleResh, hear my
    words at the close of this sad day.
    We see the disruption nature took
    upon our camp.
    Should you but see the devastation
    of the Rebel camp and the lives
    taken away there, better could you
    know the wisdom of AleResh in
    providing caves for our homes.
    He could have withheld the caves
    and the winds found us unprotected,
    but our dear Creator is not built
    without compassion for His people.
    And this night, as refections of
    our God, we rest in his love for
    us.
    A few leave the assembly and return briefly to the cave and
    come again with baskets of food and place them before the
    Elders and take their seats.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    (stands)
    My Brothers we can ever seek to
    understand the mind of AleResh and
    never comprehend the blessing of
    His Person. May the new morning
    find our hearts knit to His.
    EXT. – AT THE CAVE ENTRANCE – DAY
    to where Laur and Zebacame look…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Laur, you see even now the guard at
    the cave entrance.
    Laur turns to view the familiar guard.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    He was there before you were taken.
    65.
    LAUR
    Yes, I well remember him and have
    often wondered of his origin with
    us. Is he an angel too?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Perhaps.
    He came with AleResh one day and
    has never left.
    This guard we feed and still he
    converses very little.
    When AleResh visits though the warm
    inner glow of acknowledgement is
    seen on his face though he never
    leaves his post.
    And we have never found a stony
    flint quite that white as on his
    spear.
    Strange things AleResh provides
    without explanations.
    Nonetheless, on this certain
    morning, the dignified man holding
    upright a spear with a large white
    flint point, standing guard at the
    entrance door of the cave…
    heard a commotion in the secret
    place where the Tsadekemier had
    found for their food.
    He ran to the store place but the
    store place was ruined.
    I reported the thievery to
    Zebacame.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    Our great cave Shinning Blade, the
    armed guard, ran silently to the
    hiding place.
    Our hidden stores was ruined by
    scorner pongids who have removed
    the pure and clean grain and were
    waiting proudly.
    66.
    With great fervor and skill the Shinning Blade scattered the
    raiders but…
    they were expecting that and so escaped unharmed.
    Some of us then followed each of the perpetrators, but
    they had their plan of escape routed so we also returned to
    the assembly empty.
    ZEBACAME
    We have since the beginning been
    robbed by these sorts no mater what
    the precautions.
    AleResh has faithfully supplied us
    with his manna from Heaven, but it
    is our responsibility to safeguard
    it.
    Do you have any suggestions that we
    have not attempted Lahtsdeshen?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Perhaps.
    If each person should take an equal
    portion, as soon after it is
    provided to us and each keep it by
    him then the problem might be
    controlled.
    ZEBACAME
    So they would take it with them
    into the cave for the nights and
    even stow it there by their mats?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Yes.
    And if there is any more than our
    need, it could remain in the
    granary and when the invaders stole
    any from there we would still have
    our own.
    Then again, should one or another
    run out then he could borrow from
    his neighbor.
    ZEBACAME
    Yes, that does seem to be the
    solution.
    67.
    (MORE)
    Then the Shinning Blades job will
    be simplified.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Perhaps, then we should prepare
    more mats to fold for containers.
    Each will need a woven reed mat for
    his family.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    This did solve the difficulty with
    not having food for the full week.
    However, Laur, our problems with
    the outsiders did not diminish as
    you know.
    Their envy of us has ever been the
    core of our difficulties but…
    the time we regained with the Warm
    Learning was the true blessing and
    it also did away with the greed
    among us.
    EXT. – THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    the very next morning the Guide is
    teaching the assembly.
    The Guide over hears the rumors of
    the stolen food.
    The Guide becomes very angry and
    beats the ground with the pointer
    stick he is holding.
    The wife of scribe Tegvakh, Behzel,
    is startled by the Guide and utters
    these statements, which she would
    not otherwise have done in the
    assembly.
    BEHZEL
    Kindle quickly the hearth on this
    side and on that side, the Guide
    judges evil confusion.
    68.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    I followed those actions taken by
    the Guide…
    when he left the assembly and went
    to the camp of the thieves.
    I related this to Zebacame who
    wrote it on the boards.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Our Guide, a teacher, left teaching
    the people and the converted Rebels
    and…
    shattered with his club scorner
    children, pongids and their weak
    sighted…
    teaching us bravery and I collected
    knowledge of their appearance and
    camp.
    The scorner pongids taste that
    their generations are cut off and
    their food mortars are at an end;
    yet, they contend empty and their
    work is the pride of their mouth.
    That is the decline of the clay
    pongids when we sprinkled their
    blood and…
    AleResh blessed us, the contrite,
    from tribute when we swept and
    chased them away.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    It was that from those days on that
    Guide…
    was seen wearing a linen turban on
    his head.
    None ever inquired of him of this
    custom though it was that before
    that only AleResh wore a head
    turban.
    69.
    (MORE)
    Even stranger was that more and
    more of the Rebels were seen at a
    distance about the camp and…
    a young man reported he had seen
    Guide speaking with them…
    though we were never able to make
    that confirmation.
    From the cave entrance those figures of the Rebels never
    leave the camp’s consciousness.
    In background: a baboon visits the granary and feeds.
    EXT/INT/EXT – THE NEW CAVE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    not long after those things
    concerning Guide…
    a herd of zebras came down form the
    cliff tops to the fresh waters of
    the reeds and…
    goaded by the Rebels they ran
    through the camp…
    breaking down the granary and
    ruining the manna.
    We became so discouraged at the
    unending troubles…
    we searched for a new home and…
    one was found north along the cliff
    base.
    It is the vertical shaft that you
    know.
    That cave we covered over with logs
    and limbs and mating and provided a
    new door.
    LAUR V.O.
    Yes, I helped bring in the beams
    for it. I remember.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Your father is who found the cave
    hidden behind the brush and trees.
    70.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    As the assembly was breaking up…
    BUKAUM
    Zebacame, I have found another
    cave, as large as the one we have
    now.
    ZEBACAME
    Show this cave to me Bukaum,
    we must move from this place as the
    Council has decided.
    Lahtsdeshen, come walk with us.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    And where is our destination?
    ZEBACAME
    Bukaum has found a cave for us to
    inspect. Yes… the scribes may
    come also.
    As they arrive at the cave and push back the brush…
    BUKAUM
    It is unlike our cave now, that is
    in the side of the cliff…
    see it is nearly straight down but
    for the ramp.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    It is different, quite different.
    How shall we keep it dry inside?
    Have you been inside?
    ZEBACAME
    A covering could be made with a
    door.
    BUKAUM
    Yes, I was inside, it is quite
    easy. Follow me.
    The three ENTER the cave and walk the stone ramp to the
    bottom.
    Remarkably, there is light inside, much more than their
    existing cave. They look around at a…
    71.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    large room large enough for us and
    with…
    much more light – until the
    covering is built.
    BUKAUM
    There is a stream of fresh water
    over there too.
    ZEBACAME
    Good that settles it.
    This is our new home.
    The light problem can be worked out
    when we build the covering…
    which will have to be stong enough
    to turn any rock dropped from above
    off the cliff.
    LEAVING the cave and walking back to the assembly place…
    BUKAUM
    Will all of us be moving?
    ZEBACAME
    All who desire to, may.
    The older of us resist somewhat…
    but if any stay in the old cave it
    will probably be the birth-
    Tsadekemier.
    Lahtsdeshen reads to Laur from the wood tablets…
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Our faith ransomed, we found a
    vertical cave and we are comforted.
    While a wooden door is made our
    confidence multiplies at the
    opening and…
    we camp and utter thanks, looking
    dignified.
    We have a refuge, a wood door’s
    luster, a building commanding
    entrance.
    72.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    For the first time the Rovers find
    that wheat may be eaten and the
    supplement is sustaining.
    WIFE OF LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    With heavens instruction…
    we tried wheat and…
    at this faithful opportunity we
    give thanks.
    EXT. – AT THE NEW CAVE ASSEMBLY – MORNING
    Music: J.S. Bach: BWV915,CDII-18,Keybd,Tocc./GminMoll,#4,bgd
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    The turbaned figure of AleResh is
    approaching the new cave with Lake
    Yema in the background.
    As the many years passed by and
    troubles and sins increased…
    the visits of AleResh were further
    apart. It had been three weeks
    since His previous visit and it was
    Sunday morning. He is speaking…
    ALERESH
    My people have found them a new
    home.
    And in the hands of Gabriel new
    linen garments.
    Reach forth and take they are for
    your honor with my peace.
    As the people distribute the garments AleResh and Gabriel
    leave…
    The five scribes are noting, while Zebacame and Lahtsdeshen
    confer on the order of events speaking to each other…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The transparent One, bent to us
    with flowing words beckoning us to
    wear His pleasing linen garments.
    73.
    ZEBACAME
    In praise we weepers rush, our
    souls were away from AleResh, He
    overturned us.
    In friendly weeping we behold His
    appearance in silence…
    then together say, Yea, at His
    burning image that…
    is like a bird that flies into the
    sun.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Our souls removed, we make loud
    sighs for AleResh;
    His shade relieves our hearts we
    melt, it is His miracle.
    We bow to Him who is as the full
    moon bursting brilliantly high,
    we have good counsel.
    We are clean and few but
    deliverance is hither and…
    He is like as the exulted flower
    for delicate cleanness.
    ZEBACAME
    Lo, Behold,
    his wreath of happiness and
    abundant increase of fruitfulness.
    We declare the open heaven’s
    whispered words that…
    we are at the threshold of
    controlling the families.
    The power is like a cake of bread
    turned, this side and that side
    with suddenly a garment of life.
    In background: a lone couple, birth-Tsadekemier, are cooking
    cakes…
    on the hot coals of a small fire.
    74.
    A covering of ash is on the turned cakes.
    The cooks are covered with a smear of water ash to control
    insect pests.
    The bread is baked directly on the hot coals.
    In foreground: the voice of…
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    AleResh adjudged the jar-clay words
    worthy,
    but assigned greater power
    to the stone knife and wood
    planks’…
    dazzling and commanding appearance.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    I can see that you are wondering
    about the last words of Zebacame,
    Laur?
    LAUR V.O.
    Yes, I do not understand.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    The difference is in the use of
    clay and wood to record upon.
    The priests left carving the words
    of God onto stones and…
    used wet clay to record on…
    but, were then commanded by AleResh
    to use drift-wood planks split from
    limbs of trees and smoothed with
    rocks.
    This is because AleResh is
    described earlier in appearance as
    a tree.
    The pongid who are recorded as
    ‘clay’ are thought of as ‘of the
    earth’ and…
    the medium for the words shows the
    distinctive difference.
    75.
    LAUR V.O.
    All right! Now I understand…
    Please continue…
    EXT. – AT THE NEW CAVE ASSEMBLY – EVENING
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Late that same day, AleResh was
    still in the camp,
    some friendly Rebels came.
    Years before they had floated out
    to the islands in Lake Yema,
    in all that salt water,
    and inhabited the islands.
    It was quite a sight,
    the barks [boats] coming steadily
    at us
    with their torches burning
    refections into the lake.
    They had come to the assembly
    seeking food,
    which they knew AleResh provided to
    the Tsadaekemier camp.
    The pongids had gotten to the
    islands some how and robbed the
    Rebels too.
    Although we recognized the Rebels
    they had never been harmful to us,
    the Rebels this time came angry and
    armed with clubs,
    they were famished and took from
    the stores AleResh had provided.
    AleResh did not reprove them…
    but healed the sick ones who
    remained in the boats with dried
    fig poultices.
    76.
    (MORE)
    The Rebels were never hostile
    toward the Tsadekemier after that.
    They still come at times seeking
    food…
    other times to warn us that the
    pongids are foraging again.
    The Rebel’s barks as we call them
    are wonderful to see and…
    probably quite useful to travel in
    while keeping dry at the same time.
    LAUR V.O.
    Why do we not build boats like them
    then we could bring reeds in larger
    bundles to the camp?
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    We considered that very thing…
    but saw the advantage the pongids
    would have if they stole one.
    And besides imagine all of the time
    it would take to build one…
    when we could spend it more wisely
    reading and studying our “Warm
    Learning” of AleResh.
    LAUR V.O.
    Ah, yes, I see that clearly, now.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Not long after they left…
    AleResh took his leave and we
    settled next to the evening fire…
    and I read aloud from the boards
    that the scribes had just written
    to the assembly.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The islander Rebels, who were
    trodden down by the pongids,
    sent insolent spies who gazed upon
    us and took our food.
    77.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    AleResh saved our settlement…
    by giving cakes of dried figs to
    the ill in the bark boats.
    RETURN to Laur with Lahtsdeshen and Zebacame at the assembly
    place.
    a group of pongids are watching from the trees.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    Many things have been taught to us
    by AleResh.
    He is our Shinning Light of
    knowledge.
    The Rovers had brought in those
    figs that he used that evening
    and…
    we had always enjoyed the flavor of
    them…
    In background: Women with smallo children and babies.
    but by far the most excellent use
    is in poultice cures.
    …We noticed that other than being
    quite exhausted you were in fine
    health when you returned to us.
    LAUR
    I did not give my health much
    notice.
    I only ate what was available to
    me.
    Those “tall ones” eat meat,
    casting the carcasses into the fire
    and roasting them for long periods
    of time.
    I was forced to eat sometimes from
    those kills that they made.
    But the fish and forages were the
    most helpful to my hunger.
    78.
    !LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    The manna was always on my mind and
    the aroma of the cakes of it on the
    fire unforgetable.
    Perhaps those memories, as much as
    Moke and Hatamar, kept me going.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    And so you have returned to food
    and family as we are showing you
    here in these tablets…
    and to your God AleResh…
    and the well-being that is in Him.
    He was much moved to learn that you
    had been stolen away.
    He should be returning in the next
    few days.
    I am sure he will single you out to
    welcome you home.
    LAUR
    Yes… Those visits rested in my
    mind too.
    It is compelling to be with Him,
    His soul is ever satisfying my
    being.
    Yes, I remember well, Lahtsdeshen.
    EXT. – AT THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – MORNING
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    weeks later.
    It is Sunday morning…
    the Tsadekemier are waiting for the
    appearance of AleResh at the
    assembly place,
    then move to the shore line.
    79.
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    A change of heart had temporarily
    come over some of the pongid-men
    who brought food for His
    appearance.
    Perhaps, we thought, they to wanted
    to be like AleResh.
    But at length it was only to
    deceive us.
    We were uncomfortable about the
    pongid, plus,
    there was much discontent and
    impatience.
    The group had grown considerably
    with the addition of birthbrothers,
    but still the created-ones stood
    forth nearest the shore line until
    the Throne descended upon the lake.
    The angels set baskets of coriander
    upon the shore and…
    returned to the flower of the
    Throne to their positions about it.
    The young Tsadekemier then carried
    the baskets to the assembly place.
    Because our people have grown to so
    many, the priests spoke aloud of
    the events, to seal it into their
    minds and…
    so that the five scribes could
    record the words.
    My words and Zebacame’s echo the
    events as they occurred.
    Music: J.S.Bach BWV846,CDII-1,Keyb,Prel./Cmaj,#1, bgd.
    ZEBACAME
    We languish waiting,
    then the heavens open and…
    we set out for the shore.
    80.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    The wind spins about his body
    and…
    He grows sharp in countenance.
    Our settlement multiplies baskets
    of food and…
    the Healer AleResh of our faults
    moves softly.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    For, Aha! He dispersed the toil of
    our long life…
    because of forked growth which is
    the Holy branch and the Rebel
    branch of the Tsadekemier.
    The scorner pongid men brought
    wares but…
    the freshness of AleResh we loved
    at His entrance.
    ZEBACAME
    AleResh in soft garments rushes
    to…
    help the priest with knowledge.
    ALERESH
    Inscribe majesty,
    declare This breath of life.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    AleResh knelt and spoke privately
    to Zebacame who is carving the
    letters of the words onto empty
    boards with sharp flint knives.
    AleResh exhibits his benevolence in
    posture and facial expression as
    Zebacame leaned over his task
    seated on the shore line.
    LAUR V.O.
    Tell me of the forked growth and
    how you and…
    81.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    the other priests receive the words
    that are written on the tablets.
    Where do the words come from, being
    more beautiful than our own
    conversations?
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    The ‘forked growth’ are the two
    branches of the Tsadekemier the one
    untainted and the other the product
    of pongid conception.
    One pure the other well you can see
    the results in how earth-like the
    Rebels act.
    Concerning the words of the
    Khamla’ma they are either directly
    from AleResh, as he instructs in
    our presence or…
    they are the response of our long
    association with God and continual
    thoughts upon the Holy Creator.
    An expression of our love for Him.
    EXT. & INT. – FROM THE COUNCIL – DAY
    looking to the entrance of the cave and then back to the
    presence of Lahtsdeshen and Zebacame, Laur hears…
    ZEBACAME V.O.
    A storm came upon us coming from
    the east across the lake.
    We Tsadekemier sought refuge in the
    new cave examining their own
    reactions to the severe wind that
    swept everything away.
    A new granary had been built with a
    wood frame top and even the
    foundation stone was damaged.
    The contrary wind blew away the
    grain into the cliff which lifted
    it up and dropped it unto the lake.
    The granary structure is destroyed.
    82.
    LAUR V.O. (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    The Tsadekemier are distraught and
    the apprehensiveness of being shut
    inside by bad weather stunned us.
    We finally see by the incident that
    we are better off with the boards
    of knowledge even during good
    weather.
    Zebacame reads from the Khamla’ma
    during the quieting of the storm.
    Lahtsdeshen is heard to pronounce
    these words. I saw to the scribes
    who carved them into the boards.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Surely clean sandals are a wind
    that grasps the settlement removing
    the miracle of faith,
    and the precious stone of the
    granary, moving the structure to
    and fro doing damage.
    The wind from the abyss Lake Yema
    wounds us with refuse,
    we wail.
    The Tsadekemier run INTO their CAVE for shelter.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    His counsel to deliver us from the
    lingering and hot storms was that
    we learned knowledge in our sure
    place, this cave.
    That which is spun stumbling is the
    wheat structure and…
    the wind cleaned all increases onto
    the lake.
    We confirmed our fears wailing at
    the entrance of the cave.
    Nightfall comes and the winds abate and the Tsadekemier
    emerge from the cave.
    83.
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    There is little to identify the granary structure and the
    youth are distraught wandering about picking up branches and
    dropping them and looking at the cliff but finding no wheat
    that had been so laboriously collected.
    The priests and scribes begin cleaning off the assembly area
    and set up the written stones which marked the head of the
    speakers area.
    Some stand looking out across the lake slump shouldered faith
    worn and tired. Will there be another storm behind this one.
    When will the Heaven bring us our Creator to comfort us. But
    for us there was…
    EXT. – THE FORAGE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Certain of the Rovers had been in
    the camp when the storm had hit
    that previous day…
    ROVER 1
    Our Fathers, the wheat supply is
    gone and there are no fish on the
    shore. Before the Creator’s manna
    is gone let us take the family
    Tsadekemier on the rounds of our
    journey, we can shorten it for the
    youngest and gather what we can.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    How can we journey when our hearts
    are so broken. Even the young ones
    are discouraged. We can not do
    such a thing.
    BUKAUM
    Lahtsdeshen is right there are too
    many of us we would get separated
    and lost.
    ROVER 2
    My Fathers. Listen! You will
    starve here without food. And we
    will leave some to watch the shore
    for fish and safeguard the cave.
    The wind has surely blown the fruit
    from the highest and best branches
    there will be little trouble
    gathering enough for quite a
    while…
    84.
    ROVER 1
    And we will not have to go far
    either. There are four of us
    Rovers, two can lead and two
    follow, so no one will be lost.
    Everyone can carry what they can
    and we will return this same day.
    ZEBACAME
    Lahtsdeshen, Bukaum, the Elders
    what do we do these are very
    convincing arguments?
    WIFE OF LAHTSDESHEN
    We too will have a say in this
    mater. There are many young ones
    who can not even go on such a trip
    and they must eat before we do. We
    will go and gather.
    ZEBACAME
    (looking about the group)
    Ah, my Brothers we seem to be
    delivered by only our own efforts
    this time. We will go with the
    Rovers.
    The group nods and rise to their feet. The journey begins.
    They walk north to the small river that empties into the lake
    and skirt the reeds. In the pass through the cliffs…
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    My Brothers! Look at the fine
    cinnamon tree and smell his aroma.
    Is it not like our Creator. Firmly
    rooted, tall and strong, whose
    fragrance we cannot ignore?
    ROVER 1
    Yes, the storm did not touch it
    here in the protection of the
    cliffs and tall reeds.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Yes… Like AleResh indeed.
    Protected by Heaven itself. My
    Brothers the scribes do not neglect
    to write Zebacame’s comments
    concerning this.
    85.
    BUKAUM
    While the scribes and Zebacame
    remain at the tree here, we can
    forage for them and return this
    way. Can we not?
    (turns to a Rover)
    ROVER 1
    Yes we shall. Follow us west along
    this river there are figs to be
    gathered. But the wheat, if there
    is any still standing, is on top of
    the cliffs. We shall stay this
    river and…
    The group does find figs and nuts in abundance, each filled
    their reed mat baskets…
    When evening came they returned to the cinnamon tree for
    Zebacame and the scribes…
    They arrived at the assembly area and a fire was waiting…
    Gathering around they shared with the others who had stayed
    in the cave and the foragers rested and listened to…
    ZEBACAME
    Strength is empty in the inward
    parts but the garden tree is
    enwrapped like a clothed person.
    This is to behold. The vial of
    bark is divine even divine favor.
    Now, at the bank of the river,
    AleResh is the living spice – – a
    corner post to obtain.
    Music: J.S. Bach BWV232,CDV-1,Voc,KyrieEleison, softbgd.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Indeed… That night AleResh, in
    a surprise visit sat with us as
    Zebacame read.
    ZEBACAME
    AleResh hurriedly surrounds the
    scribe establishing the hidden
    treasure of the boards.
    86.
    ALERESH
    Add the black stylus to the disc of
    bread for a retreat, as the written
    word is a retreat from the world.
    ZEBACAME
    Then the Angel departed the
    abundance.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    In this night AleResh appeared to
    them less physical than other times
    and disappeared as quickly as he
    came.
    INT. – IN THE NEW CAVE – NIGHT
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    that night we were comfortable with
    food and shelter and…
    we had learned the difficult lesson
    of retreating to the Warm Learning
    when we were content – it was
    easier and more satisfying than
    worrying about the reed mats or the
    fish on the shore or enough wheat
    to eat.
    That night we were all as close to
    the intentions of AleResh as we
    Created- ones had been from the
    first week of our lives.
    From a small fire inside the cave,
    smoke ascended through the wooden
    wall to the outside,
    Zebacame read in the security of
    the cave words that are distinctive
    of our God in the light of the
    fire.
    ZEBACAME V.O.
    Hope and trust proven burst forth
    to decide this.
    Adjudge.
    The faint restrain of AleResh is
    His gentleness.
    87.
    (MORE)
    Without illness the transparent
    AleResh descends.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    The Tsadekemeir family was faintly
    visible in the light of that small
    fire.
    We rested more comfortably on the
    woven mats before the fire went out
    and…
    then there was warm darkness and
    the gentle sound of breathing.
    EXT. – AT THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    sudden calamity.
    We were at the entrance of the cave
    and the pongid, came in large
    numbers. There must have been
    several camps of them who,
    captured many of us, myself
    included.
    They carried clubs and stones and
    were very intimidating.
    Zebacame was reading at the
    assembly place…
    ZEBACAME V.O.
    Our uttered written word teaches
    that bloodshed divides the flower
    of faith.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    It was then that someone of us gave
    the alarm…
    Rebels! Pongids! Keep watch!
    Conceal the excrement den!
    88.
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    The concern for the latrine was so
    the pongid would not use it to
    defile the written stones of the
    assembly place as they had once
    before done.
    In the confusion, the boards
    Zebacame was teaching from are
    stepped on…
    ZEBACAME V.O.
    The wooden boards are crushed in
    flight.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Zebacame and the Tsadekemier at the
    assembly run INTO the cave.
    Zebacame told later…
    ZEBACAME V.O.
    Then, once concealed we become sad.
    From the openings in the cave covering, Zebacame can sees the
    Rebels in the assembly place…
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    The Rebels set free, conceal
    themselves,
    then divide spoils with joyous
    shouts on that side and on this
    side being boastful.
    Zebacame describes to the concealed Tsadekemier his
    observation of the attack.
    Some Tsadekemier who are captured are put into leg stocks,
    made quickly with two poles which were lashed together.
    They are set facing the cave, helpless.
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    The faithful, a hundred, faint with
    longing, some murmur and disperse
    even the holy ones of the Crown
    Wreath AleResh divide in scattered
    confusion while…
    others are put in stocks at the
    entrance of the cave.
    89.
    Zebacame for a moment looks about inside to see the Holy
    Tsadekemier who have escaped into the safety of the cave.
    Then he continues to describe and..
    seeing Lake Yema beyond the confusion,
    Zebacame reflects the hopelessness of the situation.
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    Remove the sea; bare the gold,
    howling.
    What is upon the sea is better than
    what is under the sea.
    Zebacame’s eyes move back to the assembly place and to the
    Tsadekemier who have been placed in the stocks.
    He utters in disbelief and grief…
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    The throat is to signal that at the
    threshold are the stocks.
    All sorrowful reading is a howling
    burnt spot.
    A burst of anger comes from Zebacame…
    when he sees the Rebels defile the written stones and some
    boards with human manure:
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    Hurl uncleanness from the booth.
    What burst!
    Then returns the truth of Zebacame’s heart when…
    he sees AleResh come upon the scene and…
    the pongids and Rebels rush away and depart and…
    peace settles upon the disheveled camp.
    Zebacame tells the Tsadekemier in the cave:
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    The Rebels rush and depart. The
    camp is secured!
    Now the camp is under the control of the Tsadekemier again.
    90.
    Zebacame orders the guard with the white flint spear to take
    his post outside to make them aware that their trust in
    AleResh is rewarded.
    Zebacame orders the door of the cave OPENED.
    Zebacame EXITS.
    The stocks are loosened from the Tsadekemier prisoners.
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    With authority set up the sword of
    fear, trust in the inward parts.
    Hurl open the cave’s door and set
    up.
    We faint in faith, our uncleanness
    is swept away by singing.
    OUTSIDE, quietly, the captured holy ones exits the stocks,
    trembling for their memory of faith from the smooth wooden
    tablets.
    Zebacame sees AleResh and extols the righteous act of
    AleResh…
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    His righteousness is cast; it is as
    splendid as loops, as feathers that
    appear on a bird or scales on a
    fish.
    AleResh, extends his arms wide to receive his trembling
    people the Tsadekemier.
    ZEBACAME V.O. (CONT’D)
    Thus is He stretched out and we
    faint speaking. AleResh, AleResh.
    The remaining Tsadekemier joyously stream from the door of
    the cave into the presence of AleResh.
    Music: J.S. Bach BWV825,CDII-5,Keyb,Prael/Bflt.Maj,#1,softbgd
    EXT. – AT THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    when the camp is set back in order,
    the converted Rebels who were in
    the camp during the attack…
    91.
    (MORE)
    hold back their submission for fear
    they will be set upon.
    AleResh reassures them and…
    they return to hear the teachings
    and praises.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    AleResh is contrite, He leads and
    turns aside the converted Rebels to
    the planks.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    But the pongid-men are not so, they
    can not even be converted.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    At a distance…
    The insolent, pongid-men’s army
    smites the ground with clubs,
    withholding their interest.
    Of the Tsadekemier though, Lahtsdeshen states to the
    assembly:
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    In fainting the writings are
    sufficient.
    Even with our feet in stocks we
    hold in our hearts the music of
    faith.
    WIFE OF LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    AleResh is as the buds of the
    foliage and…
    we who are faint depart cured.
    The Holy One’s ornaments of
    righteousness are as the foliage
    for all;
    with lively help trickling from his
    mouth.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Obtain the gift of the water jug.
    AleResh teaches abundant life,
    92.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    withhold the howl of offense.
    You will see refreshment and
    contentment.
    Thus, life is justly faithful
    service.
    Again AleResh leaves the Tsadekemier when they are settled
    and..
    EXT. – AT THE LAKE – EARLY MORNING
    ZEBACAME V.O.
    the next day. The pongids came to
    the camp and steal the boards
    and…
    cast them into the lake trying to
    return the words to AleResh,
    whom they have seen descend upon
    the lake.
    They do not want the Tsadekemier to
    be interested in AleResh,
    because they think the Tsadekemier
    can be made like themselves,
    to have interest only in the things
    of the earth.
    The tablets clearly state…
    ZEBACAME
    When we saw the planks upon the
    sea…
    the contrite ones turned aside
    considering it a sign of new words
    from AleResh.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    At the entrance of our faith
    Father, there is a ring of
    coriander seed.
    The life is read out loud from the
    planks of beauty to all of the
    villagers.
    93.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    As the reading ends with the final tablet…
    a group of pongids begin robbing the granary behind the
    priest.
    Zebacame turns to see the destruction and exclaims…
    ZEBACAME
    The apple of His eye is the
    coriander.
    The foundation granary is breached.
    The pongid have poured water into the granary and…
    are wading around in it, jumping up and down in the muck.
    Zebacame sounds the alarm and the teaching stops.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    The painted pongids are fighters
    and are heard leaping in the mud.
    The healed [Tsadekemier] are
    discouraged by the insolent pongid.
    The knowledge from the earlier
    hearing of the words depletes.
    The pongid-men then run to the planks Zebacame was reading
    from and…
    begin to scrape the ink from them and mar them with mud.
    Zebacame who has run to the granary then…
    turns and sees the desecration and cries out:
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    The pongid-men removed the ink from
    the planks.
    A coating of mud on the planks
    causes deviations in the writings,
    even our strong ones bend.
    Some of the Rover Tsadekemier, coming up from the lake with
    their catch of fish…
    join Zebacame and his assembly in retaliation against the
    pongids.
    94.
    Zebacame explains…
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    With warrior clubs sheathed and
    with fish, so that we do not faint,
    we set out when the brightness of
    the faith and…
    the sun strikes pure through the
    night-mist as it clears away.
    The ‘strong wine’ of Zebacame’s statement is…
    the water the pongid mixed with the wheat of the granary.
    They pursue the pongids and take revenge with their clubs.
    This battle occurs as the pongid retreat into the jungle.
    Zebacame shouts the orders…
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    Encircle faithfully this sin,
    the muck of the granary is their
    sin.
    With retribution met,
    the Tsadekemier return to the camp.
    Zebacame tells the camp of the revenge.
    Then the Rover’s tell a story of a garden on top of the cliff
    ridge.
    They think it is a place away from the pongids.
    Zebacame expresses his hope…
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    And where a coating of mud came
    upon the splendor of the planks…
    we sheathed our clubs.
    It is said [by the Rovers] there is
    wine and manna always in the high
    garden.
    95.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    A coating of mud on the boards…
    blinds the leader’s senses,
    totally.
    EXT. – THE ASSEMBLY CAMP – MORNING
    LAHTSDESHEN
    My Brothers, I do not lessen in
    your hearts…
    the gravity of the destruction we
    suffered yesterday at the hands of
    the pongid.
    However, to take upon us to move to
    the top of the cliffs is enormously
    difficult and…
    the access to the lake when AleResh
    visits us is obvious.
    Let us only glean from the garden
    and use its resources.
    BUKAUM
    This is true Lahtsdeshen,
    but it does not get us away from
    the violent pongid…
    whose acts destroy our faith and
    hope in our Heavenly Creator.
    MANY VOICES
    Yes. We should move away from the
    pongid.
    Move we say!
    Look! Their even up in the trees
    watching us now.
    We will move!
    The assembly quiets as Zebacame steps forward to speak…
    ZEBACAME
    It is true this is a very serious
    mater to decide and…
    96.
    (MORE)
    there are two sides with good
    motives.
    Perhaps, we should send a group,
    that I will lead to go ahead first
    and set up some shelter and…
    keep the garden a bit.
    Then when all is ready we will send
    for the family.
    The assembly again erupts with shouts…
    MANY VOICES
    We must move! Move! Move!
    Again the assembly quiets as Lahtsdeshen speaks…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    We can see the will of the assembly
    is strong to move.
    Zebacame has proposed to venture
    for the family.
    He will choose a group of young men
    to lead to the garden
    Lahtsdeshen voices the desire of the assembly to go there…
    by saying that the happenings of yesterday, when the boards
    were defaced, is the deciding factor.
    They have chosen to move to the top of the cliff.
    Lahtsdeshen doubts that the move is a good one…
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Laur, this was the most difficult
    decision the Tsadekemier had made.
    I for one was not in favor of the
    move,
    although there was no life lost in
    the effort, time was the factor
    that can not be given back.
    And… you know about lost time.
    As it turned out there were more
    who wanted to go than stay.
    97.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    Zebacame chose his brothers to go
    with him and…
    Guide persuaded him to go also…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    The unfortunate setting out
    disperse like the turban of
    AleResh.
    Quickly.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    With Guide the last in line…
    they set out high spirited with
    confidence,
    the wind itself being stirred by
    them.
    EXT. – THE CLIFF GARDEN – – EVENING
    included deer which bounded away from the Tsadekemier,
    but the monkeys stayed on acting not much less than the
    pongid-men…
    staring from a tree branches or dropping to the ground and
    scurrying away…
    ZEBACAME
    Are you sure this is the site you
    spoke of last night?
    ROVER 1
    (points)
    It is. The storm has done it no
    good,
    but when the branches are cleared
    away the fruit trees will be more
    evident.
    And there is still part of a
    shelter… over there.
    GUIDE
    Perhaps, we should just return to
    the cave this is…
    98.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    ZEBACAME
    We are here and our youth can help
    us much.
    It is dusk.
    For now we will build a fire, eat,
    rest the night and… look at it
    fresh in the morning.
    Scribes, bring the tablets while
    these prepare the fire…
    we will choose a reading while the
    flames give light.
    The fire cracks and flames sky ward and the light pushes back
    the darkness and the tablets speak…
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    We cry out at the desolation and
    since, read aloud the planks anew.
    Inquire of the breath of time and
    keep silence; the coals of fire
    leap, alas.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    With the reading of a few more
    tablets the venturers take their
    repose for the night.
    But you, Laur, know of many nights
    like those?
    LAUR V.O.
    Many, but without the tablets’
    comfort.
    I can still see the desolation of
    the tall ones village.
    The garden could not have been
    worse than that place.
    Those dumb idols, they didn’t even
    look good as the animals that God
    made.
    And the smell. Uhg.
    They just dropped or threw the
    refuse where they stood or
    squatted.
    99.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    We imagined worse for you during
    those days.
    We prayed for you to return…
    and you did.
    We are very thankful.
    The cliff garden was not a blessing
    though.
    EXT. – AT THE CLIFF GARDEN – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    that existing structure,
    more of a lean to really, they tore
    down.
    The beams they used in the
    Tsadekemier’s new shelter nearer
    the garden.
    The former had been built by the
    Rebels and pongids.
    Zealously urging the group on…
    ZEBACAME
    Free the beams with the pestle,
    pull out the poles for our roof,
    it is free.
    “An award proven guides the journey
    only with work.”
    Spin for the faint a canopy and
    exceed this insolence.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    The pongid came while they were
    working on the structure and…
    Zebacame saw them but did not
    mention them until that evening.
    Remarkably they offered no
    resistance.
    100.
    (MORE)
    Afterward that day they hid the
    food they had brought with them.
    Then when they showed up again the
    Tsadekemier easily chased them off.
    Probably the pongid feared the
    Guide since he was with the group.
    They nearly did not complete the
    structure because of a huddle of
    pigs that…
    nearly tore their legs to shreds
    with their tusks.
    LAUR V.O.
    Why had the Guide wanted to move.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    We are not sure, but…
    it could have been that he thought
    it would be safer for him from the
    pongid-men.
    Zebacame gives us our only
    report…
    ZEBACAME
    The food is hidden from the scorner
    pongid.
    We caused all the trembling
    scorners to vanish and they are
    weary at our entrance.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    At a meal, as sort of a celebration
    at completing the new living
    structure and…
    the cleaning of the garden, stood
    up to speak…
    ZEBACAME
    We did not trouble ourselves
    because of the noise of that storm
    which…
    surrounded our struggle to complete
    our garden, ransomed from the
    insolent pongid.
    101.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    We rushed to eat this feast of
    wheat; but…
    a wailer contrite with distinction
    and eminency,
    refuses to join our joy,
    rather considering to keep silence
    with open eyes.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Even then, an elder who had gone
    along willingly…
    began to see the fault in the plan.
    The pongid were there too and…
    he registered his objection.
    That is the understanding of the
    wooden board.
    EXT. – THE NEW SHELTER – LATE EVENING
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    On another evening in the new
    structure…
    after they had worked all day on
    cleaning and pruning the garden
    Zebacame says of that evening…
    ZEBACAME
    A small group whispered to appoint
    an apportionment;
    but the bag was consumed,
    proving the days hard labors,
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    To the surprise of the workers and
    later we ourselves at the cave…
    Music: J.S. Bach BWV903,CDII-10,Keyb,ChromFant/Dmin,#12,bgd.
    102.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    the gleaming AleResh burst forth to
    ransom the garden.
    It was wrong to withhold the hope
    of the high garden miracle as a
    loathsome sign because of the
    pongid’s presence.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    Not only the presence of AleResh
    was remarkable but…
    His personal help in the work as
    Zebacame attests…
    ZEBACAME
    The ransomed ground’s strength was
    a surrounding wall with millet and
    large trees planted by the Healer-
    Priest AleResh in his living
    garments.
    Skirt the wall praised by the sound
    words of AleResh and they are clean
    and bright as the shrub wood when
    the fire refines. Yea, refined and
    as desirable as the fig.
    AleResh proved His love for us
    speaking and getting material that
    He weaves.
    We turned into silence so when
    AleResh bruised these pongid-men
    dispersing them smoothly.
    And AleResh skirted the surround.
    LAUR V.O.
    Then they completed the garden
    repairs?
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Oh yes! And AleResh encouraged them
    again at…
    103.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O. (CONT’D)
    EXT. – THE GARDEN – DAY
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    when after some time tending of the
    garden the Tsadekemier became
    disheartened when…
    the Rebels found the garden.
    The Rebels were probably brought
    there by the pongid.
    The pongid are one thing, but the
    Rebels are a another set of
    problems to handle.
    They are larger and given to
    spiteful hate.
    TSADEKEMIER – 1
    The Rebels now know of our labors
    at this garden.
    GUIDE
    They are not just here they are
    eating from the trees.
    TSADEKEMIER – 2
    We are doomed here.
    The Rebels are eating the figs and
    green wheat.
    Even AleResh can not help us now.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    But AleResh does appear as the
    second Tsadekemier finishes
    speaking.
    ALERESH
    Be cured my people of unbelief.
    Keep silence Rebels and be gone
    from my garden.
    LAUR V.O.
    And the Rebels left, just like
    that.
    104.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Oh yes, but AleResh could not stay
    with the Tsadekemier indefinitely.
    Yet in…
    EXT. – THE GARDEN ASSEMBLY – NIGHT
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Zebacame proudly expounds the
    boards that night in this
    exposition.
    The board is here as you see.
    ZEBACAME
    At our place of refuge, the high
    garden,
    we became faint of faith for the
    enduring AleResh…
    when Wanderers-Rebels consumed in
    their simplicity; but…
    the Utterer AleResh with righteous
    speaking…
    acquired our ears as with a sieve;
    ‘be cured’ to us the Tsadekemier,
    ‘Keep silence’ to the Rebels.
    The wind of AleResh springs off in
    a line of cassia cinnamon perfume
    onto the entreating and tender
    Tsadekemier.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    You see AleResh had been there many
    times to protect those workers.
    But still there were those who saw
    that the troubles at the garden
    were not less than at the cave.
    So extolling and warning the
    Tsadekemier…
    ZEBACAME
    All of the beloved and vigorous
    task workers are faithful.
    105.
    (MORE)
    But, AleResh will spew out the
    trickling balsam tree Tsadekemier,
    who shuts his eyes at His presence.
    EXT. – AT THE GARDEN ENTRANCE – MORNING
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    in the garden building, the night
    there had been a pleasant a
    gathering with happiness and
    cheer…
    ZEBACAME
    Though cut off from the others we
    are preserved, caught up with
    laughter.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    But the morning did not reward
    these Tsadekemier justly…
    ZEBACAME
    Now our eyes swim that the garden
    when skirted was…
    spoiled by the Wanderers-Rebels
    whose quiet entrance troubles us.
    The whisperer Rebels dash in pieces
    the garden wall and…
    they divide to seek refuge, because
    they fell the wall in ruins and…
    the trees are unfruitful,
    our hope is laid bare.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    Zebacame recorded that from the
    jungle the Rebels shouted…
    ZEBACAME
    Thus, thoughtless Rebel insults
    were extended and their throats
    groaned.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    There then were none of the
    Tsadekemier in the camp who did not
    understand that they must return to
    the cave and their people.
    106.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    ZEBACAME
    We must now return to the cave of
    our brothers, they are our brothers
    and…
    we are put to shame, but they will
    divide their fish with us.
    LAHTSDESHEN V.O.
    The Tsadekemier must leave quickly
    to reach the cave before dark.
    They are hungry and assemble
    quickly.
    The Rebels cast grunt insults at
    them but…
    the Tsadekemier thoughts are to
    hear the comforting words of the
    Khamla’ma. Zebacame reminds them
    on the hurried journey back to the
    cave, repeating these words of
    hope…
    ZEBACAME
    Taste the breasts of life, the wood
    tablets, and seeing depart, go
    quickly fugitive brothers…
    EXT. – TO THE ASSEMBLY CAVE – EVENING
    where Zebacame is greeted by Lahtsdeshen.
    They embrace and the village comes alive with shouts of
    recognition and exuberance except for…
    a small crowd of the party that held back away from the
    reunion…
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    AleResh sent judgment in the rush
    of a storm wind,
    but the gleamers, the Tsadekemier
    holy ones, are now strengthened.
    With the lightening came
    understanding of the cover and…
    we escaped quickly the Rebel
    tormentors, alas.
    107.
    (MORE)
    And so, the priests’ coat of faith
    is an unseen hidden miracle.
    Because of the contrite
    Tsadekemier’s treasure,
    the wooden tablets, justice was
    poured out.
    Because of the wooden tablets…
    AleResh removed the wanderer Rebels
    and made them unfruitful.
    But, we held back young men who
    became vain we had to restrain
    their fault.
    It is Lahtsdeshen who must speak now,
    for with the last verse Zebacame sinks to a seat in shame
    that a Tsadekemier, even a birth-Tsadekemier,
    would hold in his heart the destructive hate that…
    pushed aside faith in the Tsadekemier youth.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    My Brother, you have marked those
    offenders that…
    we may heal their illness?
    ZEBACAME
    Yes. We know the seven who are at
    fault.
    They are young and the trials the
    Rebel invaders of the garden became
    too much for them to bear when…
    the garden was completely
    destroyed.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    You cannot bear so much of the
    shame.
    No one can.
    The burden of building takes much
    time from a man so that…
    108.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    the duties he would perform he
    cannot.
    ZEBACAME
    This I know Lahtsdeshen.
    But it happened in my
    responsibility.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Better now, for us to find a cure
    for the disease, than ponder even
    the cause.
    It is well that they are home with
    their families, they can help with
    them.
    ZEBACAME
    No. Not yet. They are over there
    in that group.
    We need to counsel them together
    and with the help of the other
    elders.
    If we do not rebuke them sharply
    now…
    they could become worse than what
    they hate.
    Bukaum enters the conversation having overheard them talking.
    BUKAUM
    May I suggest that Lahtsdeshen and
    I begin to work with them right
    away this evening.
    You are much to tired from the
    burden and the journey to take on
    any more tonight.
    ZEBACAME
    Yes, of course, but the offense did
    not occur until…
    early this morning as we beheld the
    devastated garden.
    We hurried back to get home before
    night fall,
    109.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    but nothing has been done for them.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    We will do for them right away.
    Bukaum is right you must rest and
    sleep tonight.
    Zebacame’s sons and wife help him up from his seat and walk
    him to the cave.
    BUKAUM
    I will bring other elders and join
    you with the seven youths.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    That will be fine Bukaum…and I
    will ask the men who are guarding
    the youths to remain with them.
    Lahtsdeshen turns to the group where the seven are being held
    by a group of Tsadekemier.
    He motions for them to bring them to the assembly place.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    Will you Brothers please remain
    with us as we talk to our youth.
    GUARDS
    (nod affirmatively)
    LAHTSDESHEN
    As I speak to you seven…
    remember that you are being held by
    the will of the Created-Ones…
    whose lives have been altogether
    indebted to our God AleResh and…
    our love for Him abiding.
    Now you know that everyone, even
    our birth-Tsadekemier, are
    permitted to speak for themselves
    and…
    that time will come for you as we
    speak with you or as we conclude.
    110.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    You are angry and we know that
    but..
    our efforts this evening will be to
    help you overcome the results of
    that unrighteous wrath.
    Bukaum returns now with the elders
    and…
    Only yards short of Lahtsdeshen, Bukaum and the Elders halt
    and…
    look suddenly to the sky in the shadowless evening.
    Music: J.S. Bach BWV680,CDVI-15,Org. #13, background
    The Heaven has opened and the light of the Throne of AleResh
    covers the Assembly and waters of the nearby lake shore.
    The Throne descends and rests upon the Lake and…
    AleResh is seen by the Council walking from the Throne seat
    to the shore.
    Unknown to Bukaum, Zebacame had stirred from his slumber and
    followed the Elders.
    Now, Zebacame runs past the Council to the shore and bows
    before AleResh…
    ZEBACAME
    My Lord, forgive our
    shortcomings…
    we did not expect your Presence and
    are even at this moment mending our
    hearts of disappointment…
    and the souls of some of our youth
    are in error and we are attending
    to their healing.
    as AleResh appears on the beach…
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Now, the Crown AleResh will teach,
    bearing smooth fruit, to consume as
    a treasure.
    But, AleResh sees beyond Lahtsdeshen, the sin of the
    Tsadekemier youth and…
    111.
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    must depart until the elder Tsadekemier can correct their
    young men.
    ALERESH
    Sin! Aha, Perfect your youth, my
    people.
    Zebacame, the hearts of the youth
    will heal slowly,
    my visit is delayed thirty days.
    You will tell them.
    AleResh turns to Lake Yema enters his flower throne, it rises
    and…
    is carried up into the clouds and…
    the gray of the evening returns.
    Walking back to Lahtsdeshen and the Elders…
    ZEBACAME
    The entrance of His Throne, that
    appeared like a flower, rose and is
    carried away.
    Thus, there is only hope for to see
    again AleResh.
    And the holiest Tsadekemier
    encircle the place in Lake Yema
    cleaned away, which throat’s center
    had burned with His throne.
    Several birth-Tsadekemier run to the beach and into the water
    to see the place where the Throne had rested in the water,
    swishing there hands through the warmed water.
    ZEBACAME (CONT’D)
    The protections of the
    righteousness of God are in these
    words.
    Behold!
    My Brothers, it will be thirty days
    before AleResh will return again to
    visit with us.
    The youth’s hearts must be mended
    then.
    112.
    Bukaum walks to Zebacame…
    BUKAUM
    Come Zebacame, our teacher, you
    must find rest this night, for the
    morning with holds no doubt the
    need for your skills.
    Bukaum takes Zebacame by the lower arm to return him to his
    resting place in the cave.
    Lahtsdeshen turns to the Elders and motions them a short
    distance from the seven youth for a private conversation.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    My Brothers, with what wisdom do
    you know the cure and…
    by what means do we administer the
    healing words, and…
    by whose words do we persuade them?
    ELDER 1
    Only through ‘repentance’ can these
    breaches in the holy soul be
    healed.
    ELDER 2
    Consider the skill of Zebacame in
    applying the ointment of healing
    words.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Nay, Holy Ones, Zebacame was too
    close to them when the breach was
    rent in their Holy robes.
    It must be One from afar who
    teaches.
    Bukaum returns to the group and Lahtsdeshen looks intently
    into his eyes…
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    Consider this – Bukaum, he is even
    with one of his own sons who was
    missing. What can he not know of
    the hearts of these youths, though
    he must look upon them as sons of
    another.
    113.
    ELDER 2
    Perhaps, you find righteous end to
    our dilemma, Lahtsdeshen.
    ELDER 1
    Yes. Bukaum, you shall speak for
    the elders to these youths.
    Your words do not err and the youth
    are sympathetic to you for Laur who
    was taken from you.
    They will listen.
    BUKAUM
    All right. May my words heal those
    young ones robes as the fig an open
    wound.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    We shall not sleep this night then,
    until the words of the way of
    repentance have been shown them.
    The Elders, Lahtsdeshen and Bukaum return to in front of the
    seven youths…
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    You seven have been set aside, as
    you know, for the error that has
    torn the fabric of your holiness.
    This has effected the whole camp
    and even the visitation of AleResh
    that we all cherish.
    Bukaum has consented to speak with
    you. We do this not to condemn you
    but to help you back up into the
    true world of the Tsadekemier.
    BUKAUM
    My sons you hearts have been torn
    by the evil of wrong that is done
    to us by the people of the world
    and by natures chance.
    We as Tsadekemier know also that
    the favor that we have from AleResh
    in providing us manna causes the
    envy of earth creatures.
    114.
    (MORE)
    The desire and plan of AleResh for
    our lives is that we converse with
    each other about His person and
    visits and read the warm learning
    from the Khamla’ma to encourage our
    hearts until we are again in His
    presence….
    Yes.
    YOUTH 1
    Why does He not stay with us all of
    the time and ward off the evil from
    us?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    You mean to take away our
    responsibility for maintaining our
    own souls?
    The youth wilts under the perception.
    DUKAUM
    We are His Creation my son. We are
    not the Creator.
    Four of the youth’s heads bow at that saying.
    BUKAUM
    Part of you are saying, but what
    can we do to repair our hearts?
    And we can say to you one word.
    Repentance. What is that you say?
    Simply to change your mind. And
    for some of you the first step is
    taken. Humility.
    But to put away the angry hate, you
    must shed words of confession
    flowing freely from your mouths in
    prayers of honesty to the Creator.
    The four youths whose heads dropped, fall to their knees from
    their seats with hands folded, and quietly speak to their
    God.
    BUKAUM (CONT’D)
    And what of you three? Finds truth
    no mat to rest on in your soul? If
    not, we will not hold you with us.
    The three shake their heads ‘no’ not lowering their chins but
    in defiance.
    115.
    BUKAUM (CONT’D)
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Since you no longer find the
    Creator’s way to your keeping, you
    may go to the Rebels or the
    Revolters.
    They live apart from Holiness, but
    know in their minds the place here
    that is available to them should
    they choose.
    If you later desire to return,
    speak to one of the elders of us
    and there is again a mat in the
    cave for you.
    The three belligerent ones ‘huph’ and kick sand at their four
    companions still knelt in prayer and walk from the Council
    into the darkness.
    EXT. – AT THE ASSEMBLY PLACE – MORNING
    in the morning the Elders, Lahtsdeshen and Bukaum are telling
    Zebacame…
    ELDER 1
    Bukaum spoke well for us last
    night. We have lost three however
    to the darkness of their hate. We
    pray for their return.
    ZEBACAME
    It will be difficult for them but
    we must watch carefully the four…
    Suddenly, Laur is at the Council of Elders and Bukaum rises
    quickly to intercept his son from making an intrusion.
    BUKAUM
    Not so my son. A birth-Tsadekemier
    must not take such a liberty.
    LAUR
    Yes, I know my father but you have
    retaught me the way of AleResh and
    more than any birth-Tsadekemier in
    his life time can know.
    I have heard of your conversations
    into the solution to our problems,
    but…
    116.
    (MORE)
    there is a mater that is overlooked
    by the Council and it has been
    shown to me alone.
    BUKAUM
    I will speak to the Council. Wait
    here.
    BUKAUM (CONT’D)
    (turns to Council)
    My Brothers, Laur asks permission
    to speak to the Council of a
    singular mater?
    ELDER 1
    How can Laur who is a birth-
    Tsadekemier speak with authority to
    the Council? It can not be.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Perhaps, we gave him the authority
    when we rehearsed the Khamla’ma to
    him at his return to us.
    ELDER 2
    It is true, the knowledge is his
    authority. We must hear him. For
    who can say that God has not spoken
    to him also?
    LAHTSDESHEN
    We will hear him, Bukaum.
    Bukaum motions for Laur to join the Elders and…
    he does so respectfully, entering slowly but remains
    standing…
    LAHTSDESHEN (CONT’D)
    You may be seated Laur.
    ELDER 2
    What has AleResh laid upon you
    heart my son?
    LAUR
    Think not that my presence with you
    is to lessen your authority in my
    or any others sight.
    117.
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    (MORE)
    Nay, it is but to place among you
    the knowledge that was given me
    during the time I was taken away
    from the Tsadekemier village.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    Say on, my son.
    LAUR
    Our problems that surmount us in
    the village are not lessening.
    The Rovers must go further for more
    food for the growing number of us.
    Even both caves are to the point of
    overflowing.
    At the place where I was taken, on
    the Great Sea, there are many fish
    from there and much fertile soil
    that grows wheat and other
    vegetables that we are not even
    familiar with, that are in my
    experience quite good.
    And there is much room for us to
    live along that Great Sea.
    BUKAUM
    But it is two years for such a trip
    of all of us to take, how could the
    little ones endure?
    LAUR
    It was not as difficult to travel
    there, as it was to return. The
    water of the river flows to the
    Great Sea.
    ELDER 1
    What is the advantage other than
    the abundance of strange food? Is
    not Lake Yema great enough for us?
    LAUR
    Even Lake Yema will not be able to
    support the islanders and us with
    fish when we grow large in number.
    118.
    LAUR (CONT’D)
    ELDER 2
    What of the tall-ones? Will they
    want to stake all of us in there
    camp with their idols?
    LAUR
    I could be a mediator for us to
    keep them from us. They would
    respect me, if they saw me again.
    LAHTSDESHEN
    A very weak argument, Laur.
    LAUR
    Perhaps. But there are no pongidmen
    there. It is not as warm there
    and the pongid are adverse to the
    chill of the nights. Most of our
    difficulties here come from them.
    BUKAUM
    My son, there is one important
    thing above all others that you are
    not considering.
    AleResh visits us from here on Lake
    Yema. How could we possibly desert
    the object of our existence in
    exchange for food and comfort?
    LAUR
    Nay Father. No thoughts of such
    guile are entered here.
    Do you not remember in the
    Khamla’ma when we moved to the new
    cave and AleResh found us there and
    did not disapprove.
    And Zebacame, did not AleResh visit
    the group who ventured to the cliff
    garden?
    ZEBACAME
    Well taken Laur. Your vision of
    escape to the Great Sea is from our
    ears and into our minds and from
    the looks on some faces here, into
    hearts also. We thank you.
    Music: J.S. Bach BWV659,CDVI-1,OrgWrks, #9 background
    119.
    An embarrassing pause as Laur finally realizes that he is
    being dismissed…
    then unflustered, he rises and leaves the Council…
    COMMENTATOR V.O.
    It was not in Laur’s life time that
    the Tsadekemier moved, however, the
    Council kept his vision of escape
    and many of the Tsadekemier
    villagers made the long journey to
    the Great Sea.
    FADE OUT:
    Credits roll on black screen,
    Screenplay written by: Joseph E. Swearengin
    J.S. Bach from: Bach Edition, Complete Works, 160 CD Box
    by: Brilliant Classics
    120.

                          The Khamla’ma. – document as received, translated into English from Paleo-Hebrew. The words are of the original language

1    Lo!  Behold the Head, Behold how!  His word has given us fish  to eat and the caves for our homes, it is our extreme  distinction.
2    There, beyond the shore line, AleResh, as the terebinth  palm; when we meet with Him we are as younger brothers.

3    We stumble on the stony beach to our flesh kinsman and God-  Leader who is upon the sea and we keep within us His invisible things.
4    His eyes are as lightning flashes and the wind wraps about His head as a turban of grass.

5    The certain One’s righteousness prevails and does not groan laying in us the beams of understanding of the authority of     God.
6    Beyond, the grandeur of the power of God swiftly set us tottering.

7    We are dismayed when the heavenly light swoops upon us, who early faint with longing for Thee.
8    He stretched forth His hand, we are powerless, He is built correct in heart.

9    We freely humble ourselves and prepare in decree to drink largely and sufficiently from the Presence.  
10    His confidences are as precious as leaf vessels filled with myrrh.

11    Our scriptures say:  Fly swiftly our God and our hunger that is as the cry of the wild beast will flee and you will with     us dwell.
12    Our Eminency, hasten to us we have not the strength of woven reeds; our faith melts until we gaze upon Thee.

13    Lament our lack and judge from the scriptures AleResh’s understanding and words.
14    AleResh does not tremble, how can we be measured?

15    We patiently wait for the presence of AleResh, our yearning hearts clean and sparkle washed with water and we endure and lament with longing for sure faith, we languish to see Him.
16    The lively mind of AleResh is enclosed in the stronghold of pleasantness and declares the scriptures the dwelling of the purified life healer of the congregation.

17    We continue weak in faith, our inward parts shake, we are empty as an unwritten tablet, we thrust ourselves down as nothing and thus we give attention and worship expectantly the brightness – we are common and lowly.
18    Though weak as the sprout of a reed we go to His presence wilted, pined away lean; until now powerless in heart, we see Him as a burst of flowers and we bow weakened in mind.

19   Once proud faith, we faint for the odor of the burning incense plume, that is now unreality.
20   We join breath with the healer of distress and bend down to Him measurably.
21    A pure living ship of workers then guides the delicate flower, pressing it hither in an overspreading blaze to the associates presence.

22   Our dissolved heart revives, heaven’s Presence in beautiful flight, brings His knowledge.
23   Here alive, as poured out of a basket, his sharp kindness sends us reeling.

24   The place covered with clouds is the trickle of kindness.
25   As the emptiness of a storm-wind, his throne swept, overspreading with abundant life.

26   We enwrap his life, AleResh’s word is as a disturbed tree whose eyes weep.
27   Declare heaven’s words that strengthen the heart, declare that His strength and song is our garment.

28   This sprout, the Turban created pure in exalted truth.
29   With morsel and rest and troubled hearts we waited on the shore for this, our AleResh.

18    On the day the Tsadekemier were created:
    His goodness thrust us down upon our faces and the hand of God we felt upon our throats and we spoke but did not understand; then, joy that He named an interpreter priest Lahtsdeshen and he instructed us in the language and we  enjoyed friendship.

31   Aha!  The sea has Life and the people like needy children encircle God who came down upon a pole and hand mill.
32   There was the noise of crackling air at his coming; where the sea was empty, the house of heavenly words came with very strong rushing.

33   At the expansion of the beautiful AleResh, out there, we stretched out our hands and bowed to His shinning Presence.
34   Lay up coriander attained and judged your share from the transparent and beautiful Man.

35   In silence the Man gave, we were silent; then a cry and there was flour and we became free.  
36   Our minds did spin to gather up into the foundation brow; it  caused us  to wonder how long we would wait for Him.  

37    There was a joyous shout and weeping when the wind was cut off and there were fish from the sea on the shore to eat; our thankfulness caused this cup of blessing to be named rest.

38    God, the shinning Teacher taught, yea, set free our mouths.
39     We entered our caves and the vexers, because of the pressure of not having food, sat proud having seized such things as they gazed upon.

40    The righteous Prince came and swept them out with judgment.
41    The Subjugator’s hand and our righteous shared at the door of the caves in strength.

42    When He finished, the weepers trembled to be like us fresh and tall.
43    The great One set out when the evil report came of the wicked persons and He swept them out of the valley.

44    The camp, while increasing in learning, became confused when a water jug was shattered; but, we were silent at the wrong  the proud did in shaking our faith and our apportionment was taken by the wild beasts.

45    The clay, AleResh and the Tsadekemier, smite with torches and clubs and stones, and gave them gifts, measures for the mouth and the garments in their hands they had plundered and we wailed – my Father is help, thus our cry.

                        
46    The children eat very much having rushed upon the heap.
47    The scorners, after a measure, descended trampling early and  there were also famine faint clay.

48    Rebuked is our faith, as when the heap had rest, the settlement is delivered to dominion.
49    Invading, the adulters raped; we bear fruit who are revolters, we rest our mouths.

50    We wait for Him concealed, bewailing in the dungeon of wood, wailing until we are dull; is it our fault offensiveness     came, there are few fish.   

51    A sure entrance was completed with an entrance watch reckoned in the cold.
52    The High Judge placed with open eyes and ears and standing pure Ghebetsade in fitted linen.

53    The terrible wreath of the scorning offspring has quenched the coriander.
54    Declare writings of the devouring of the lakes fish and our moaning hearts and the strife against the source of the Brightening.

55    With our garments of faith rebuked we reclined on our beds;  then out there, Lo!  Who?  Those with strange wives and Gason  hurled.
56    The wanderers lie in wait for our provisions, at the entrance we join against them.

57    At the time of heavy rain we try to gather figs and seek refuge away.
58    We surround the weak where we cry for our need a measure of coriander, what?

59    Obediently, our priest wrote with stone pen on stone tablets making them majestic and we brought the living writing from there swiftly on our backs from the sons of evil to hide certain faith.

60   He said, Behold, eat at the appointed place, be at ease and rest weak minds beneath the terebinth.
61   Then the rush of storm wind when the Refined Victor taught the writing, what!

62    And we removed swiftly and cut off their acquisition, covering it with hot sand and enwrapped good with shouting, exalting the pureness of our portion.

63    We built, wailing with weakened minds, hidden, longing for AleResh, thrust down, faint and melted; therefore, they ran away from the writings howling – “What!”

64   Reeling at the door of faith we hide and rest, what a hard riddle.
65   The Wagech. “What!”  Rush acting proudly and defile the perfect with filth and the assembly.

66    Taste and perceive the basket from our Friend who built the subjugators, fitted garments, worth a measure of grain, for protection of whom we desire His gleaming.

67   Skirt gently the faint pious good, whose fresh minds splendor.
68   Our house is in awe and the contrite ones abound transparent and the subjugators  are like the blackberry shrubs.  

69   Wait, there is blood, we are sorrowful, we cry for help; but, he is extended wide and softly set free.
70   Food is uneaten, a created one coldness upon the palm leaves, we tremble.

71   We talk unadvisedly until AleResh speaks refined; yea, the family door keeper is proven.
72   There is gentle rest for the blackberry shrub, his warm inner man is dried up.

73   The clean brightness of the brush wood fire withereth, there is now greed in the assembly.
74   There is only the sad prayers of the blackberry shrubs and the pleasant recorder who is maltreated.     

75    The wind as a broom sent hail to pound the Rebel assembly where lacked the fragrance of faith, sweeping the settlement empty.

76   Our great cave Shinning Blade ran silently to the hiding place.
77   Our hidden stores were ruined by scorners who had removed the pure and clean and waited proudly.

78    Our Guide left teaching people and shattered with his club scorner children and their weak sighted; teaching us bravery and collected knowledge of their appearance.

79    The scorners taste that their generations are cut off and their food mortars are at an end; yet, they contend empty and their work is the pride of the mouth.

80    That is the decline of the clay when we sprinkled and AleResh blessed the contrite from tribute when we swept.

                        
81   Our faith ransomed, we found a vertical cave and we were comforted.
82   While a wooden door is made our confidence multiplies at the opening and we encamp and utter thanks looking dignified.

83   At heavens instruction we tried wheat and this, faith’s opportunity, we gave thanks.
84   The transparent One, bent to us with flowing words beckoning us to wear His pleasing garments.

85   In praise we weepers rush, our souls were away from AleResh, He overturned us.
86   In friendly weeping we behold His appearance in silence, then together say, Yea, at His burning image, like as a bird flies     against the sun.

87   Our souls removed, we make loud sighs for AleResh, His shade prevents our hearts to melt, it is His miracle.
88   We bow to Him who is as the full moon bursting brilliantly high, we have good counsel.

89   We are clean and few, but deliverance is hither and He is like as the exulted flower for delicate cleanness.
90   Lo! Behold, his wreath of happiness and abundant increase of fruitfulness.

91   We declare the open heaven’s whispered words that we are at the threshold of controlling the families.
92   The power is like a cake of bread turned, this side and that side with suddenly a garment of life.

93    He adjudged the jar words worthy, but assigned greater power to the stone knife and wood planks dazzling and commanded appearance.
                        
                                        
94   We trembled at the great heap and He said, cover with foliage because of the scorners, and also dispersed smaller burdens.
95   We became sullen about sprinkled and made a special feast gathering in our Rovers who extended booty.

96     Of our sufficiency, the islanders who were trodden down, sent insolent spies who gazed and took.
97   AleResh saved our settlement and gave cakes of dried figs to the ill in the barks.  

98   We languish waiting, then the heavens open and we set out, the wind spins about his body and He grew sharp in countenance.
99   Our settlement multiplies baskets and the Healer of our faults moves softly.

100  For, Aha!, He dispersed the toil of our long life because of forked growth.  
101  The scorners brought wares and the freshness of AleResh we loved at His entrance.

102  Who with soft garments rushes to help the priest with knowledge.
103  Inscribe majesty, declare this breath of life.

104  The wind from the abyss wounds us with refuse, we wail.
105  His counsel to deliver us from the lingering and hot storms was that we learn knowledge in our sure place.

106    That which is spun stumbling is the wheat structure and the wind cleans all increases onto the lake wailing at the entrance we affirm.

107  Riddles:
108  Strength is empty in the inward parts but the garden tree is enwrapped.
109  Inquire of the breath of time and keep silence; the coals of fire leap, alas.

110  Surely clean sandals are a wind that grasps the settlement removing the miracle, the precious stone, moving it to and     fro doing wrong.

111    This time the scorner, talking wildly, extended wood club and bent to the priest stabbing him, then ran fiercely proud.

112  There is emptiness at the spot because of the adversary; a drop hanging, dazzling, passed.
113  The path of the plunderer was proudly deceptive; stealing the garment from the vault of the heavens.

114    In our abundance we bewail the scribe of AleResh who breathed upon the clay and the wood planks making them live, lowing the thin Tsadekemier’s written words as cast out.

115  We have private majesty thus we eat crushed, manna.
116  The living garment is where the majesty of the smooth favor is taught.

117Lutz   Portico Door:
118Lutz   Now, at the bank of the river, AleResh is this living spice – a corner post to obtain.
119Lutz   Add the black stylus to the disc of bread for a retreat.

120Lutz   AleResh hurriedly surrounded the scribe establishing the hidden treasure.
121Lutz   The Angel departed the abundance.  

122  This is to behold, the vail of wood divine even divine favor.
123  Riddle:
124  A refuge, a wood door’s luster, a building commanding entrance.

125  That is a covering keen of the flower hunted in the valley.
126  A bent one ruins the meditation of a blackberry shrub whose pleasing portion is over spread.

127  This is a good mystery, a pleasant settlement.
128  The priest with life made a noise with a hammer stoutly, overspreading the settlement.

129    Hope and trust proven burst forth to decide this; adjudge, the faint restrain AleResh His gentleness.

130  Without illness the transparent AleResh descends.
131  Propound a riddle!
132  An award proven guides the journey only with work.

133Lutz   Riddle:
134Lutz   Remove the sea; bare the gold, howling.
135Lutz   The throat is to signal that at the threshold are the stocks.

136Lutz    All sorrowful reading is a howling burnt spot.
137Lutz    Hurl uncleanness from the booth – what burst!

138Lutz    Rush and depart cured.
139Lutz    With authority set up the sword of fear in the inward parts, hurl open the heaven’s door and set up.

140Lutz   We faint in faith, our uncleanness is swept away by singing.
141Lutz   Righteousness that is cast is as splendid as loops.
                        

142Lutz   Thus is He stretched out and we faint speaking – AleResh, AleResh.
143Lutz   He is contrite, He leads and turns aside the insolent to the planks.

144Lutz   Their army smites, withholding their interest.
145Lutz   In fainting the writings are sufficient.

146Lutz   Even without our feet in stocks we hold in our hearts in strings of ascent.
147Lutz    AleResh is as the buds of the foliage and we who are faint depart cured.

148Roug   The Holy One’s ornaments of righteousness are as the foliage for all, with lively help trickling from his mouth.
149Roug   Obtain the gift of the water jug, AleResh teaches abundant life, withhold the howl.

150Lutz   Thus, life is justly service.
151Lutz   When we saw the planks upon the sea the contrite ones turned aside considering it a sign.

152Lutz   At the entrance of our faith Father, there is a ring of coriander seed.
153Lutz   The life is read outloud from the planks of beauty to all of the villagers.

154Lutz    The foundation is despair, the apple of His eye is the coriander.
155Lutz    Encircle faithfully this sin, strong wine is sin.

156Lutz    The painted are fighters and are heard leaping in the mud.
157Lutz    The healed are displaced by the insolent; thus, the knowledge from hearing the words early suffers.

                        
158Lutz    The dominators removed the ink from the planks.
159Lutz    A coating of mud on the planks causes deviations in the writings, even our strong ones bend.

160Roug    With warrior clubs sheathed and with fish, so that we do not faint, we set out when the brightness strikes pure through the night mist as it clears away.
161Roug    And where a coating of mud came upon the splendor of the planks we sheathed our clubs; thus, there was wine and manna always in the heights.

162Lutz    The unfortunate setting out disperse like the turban of AleResh.
163Lutz    We cry out at the desolation and since, read aloud the planks anew.

164    A coating blinds power’s measurement one.
165    Kindle quickly the hearth on this side and on that side, the guide judges evil confusion.

166    Where our roof is after we pulled out, free and divide the beams with the pestle.
167  Spin for the faint a canopy and exceed this insolence.     

168    The sustenance awaits our guide and is hidden from the scorners; we caused all the trembling scorners to vanish and are weary at this entrance.

169    Rub, strike smooth the inward parts from the noise of this that which surrounds our struggle to complete our garden ransomed from the insolent.

                        
170    We had rushed to eat a feast of wheat, but he with distinction and eminency, a wailer contrite, refused to swallow greedily; rather, considering to keep silence with     open eyes.

171    Roof whispered to appoint an apportionment; but, the bag was consumed, proving that vigor – the Gleam burst forth to ransom the garden.

                        
172  It was wrong to withhold the high place miracle as a loathsome sign.
173  The ransomed ground’s strength was a surrounding wall with millet and large trees planted by the Healer and his living garments.

174    Skirt the wall praised by the taught, by the sound words of AleResh and they are clean and bright as the shrub wood when the fire refines – yea, refined and as desirable as the fig.

175    AleResh proved His love for us speaking and getting material that He spins and we into silence, so that He bruised these dispersing them smoothly and AleResh skirted the surround.

176    At our place of refuge we became faint of faith for the enduring AleResh when wanderers answered in their simplicity; but, the Utterer with righteous speaking acquired our ears as with a sieve – “keep silence” and “be cured.”

177    What the villagers call death is hidden breath set free.
178    The wind of AleResh springs off in a line of cassia perfume onto the entreating tender.

179    All of the beloved and vigorous task workers are faithful.
180    AleResh will spew out the trickling balsam tree who shuts his eyes.     
                        
181    Though cut off we are preserved, caught up with laughter; but, our eyes swim that the garden when skirted was spoiled by the wanderers, whose quiet entrance troubles us.

182    Our brothers are put to shame and divide the fish while the whisperers dash in pieces and divide to seek refuge; because, they fell the wall in ruins and the trees are unfruitful – our hope is laid bare.

183     Thus, thoughtless insults were extended and throats groaned.
184    Taste the breasts of life, the wood tablets, and seeing depart, go quickly fugitive.

185    And so, the priesthood’s coat is hidden, a miracle pressed smooth.
186    Now, the Crown teaching bears smooth fruit consumed as a treasure.

187    Our uttered written word teaches that bloodshed divides the flower.
188    Rebels! Keep watch, improve thus, conceal the excrement den.

189    The wooden tablets were crushed in flight; once concealed, we became sad.
190    The Rebels set free, conceal themselves; then, divide with joyous shouts on that side and on this side being boastful.

191    The faithful, a hundred, faint with longing, some murmur and disperse even the holy ones of the Crown Wreath divide in scattered confusion, while others are put in stocks at the entrance.

192    Quietly the captured holy ones are removed trembling for the memory of faith on the smooth wooden tablets.
193    We also held back young men who became vain, we had to restrain their fault.
                        

194    AleResh sent judgment in the rush of a storm wind and the gleamers were strengthened.
195    With the lightening came understanding of the cover and we escape rebelliously the dispersed, alas.

196    Because of the contrite’s treasure, justice was poured out.
197    Because of the wooden tablets, the wanderers AleResh removed them and made them unfruitful.

198    Sin! Aha!  The entrance of His Throne that appeared like a flower, rose and was carried away.
199    Thus, only hope for to see again AleResh and the holy divided encircled the place cleaned away, which throat had burned with His throne.

200    The protections of the righteousness of God are in these words.  Behold!

Pictured of the Paleo-Hebrew script as it may have appeared on animal skin, can be found below. Remember shown are the languages original words and differ in spelling a meaning from our present,; although remarkably, a few words have remained the same from two and one quarter million years ago.
Joseph E. Swearengin, D.D. [email protected]

See picture below this note: The YouTube channel “The Khamlama and the Tsadekemier People” shows on animal skin rendering of the document and verbal rehearsal and plus.

The Khamla’ma Document, Rendered on animal skin.

Thank You, Joseph E Swearengin

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