[iii]

THE CHILDREN’S BIBLE

SELECTIONS FROM THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
TRANSLATED AND ARRANGED

BY

HENRY A. SHERMAN

AND

CHARLES FOSTER KENT

© Curtis Publishing Company
“Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God”

[iv]

Copyright, 1922, by CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including Scandinavian Printed in the United States of America

[v]

PREFACE

“The Children’s Bible” provides, in simple English, a translation
of selections from both the Old and the New Testament. These
selections have been made as a result of more than twenty-five years
of observation and study. The text is that of the Bible itself, but
in the language of the child, so that it may easily be read to the
younger children and by those who are older. It is not in words
of one syllable, for while the child is reading the Bible he should
gradually learn the meaning of new words and idioms.

The Bible contains the foundations on which the religious life
of the child must be built. The immortal stories and songs of the
Old and New Testaments are his richest inheritance from the past.
To give him this heritage in language and form that he can understand
and enjoy is the duty and privilege of his parents and
teachers.

It is hoped that “The Children’s Bible” will meet the need and
the demand, which parents and educators alike have long felt and
often expressed, for a simple translation of selections from the Bible
most suited to the needs and the interests of the child. It is also
believed that after the child has learned to appreciate and love these
stories and songs, he will be eager and able to read the Bible as a
whole with genuine interest and understanding.

[vii]

CONTENTS

[xii]

[xvii]

ILLUSTRATIONS

[1]

THE OLD TESTAMENT

[3]

THE CHILDREN’S BIBLE

THE STORY OF CREATION

In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth, and
while the earth was still unformed, God said, “Let there be light,”
and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then
God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the
light Day and the darkness Night. And there was an evening and
a morning, making the first day.

And God said, “Let there be a sky and let it divide the waters
that are below from the waters that are above the sky.” And it
was done. And God called the sky the Heavens. And there was
an evening and a morning, making the second day.

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be brought
together, and let the dry land appear.” And it was done. And
God called the dry land Earth and the waters that were brought
together Seas. And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let plants and trees grow from the earth.”
And it was done. And plants and trees grew from the earth, each
plant bringing forth its own kind of seed and each tree its own kind
of fruit, and God saw that it was good. And there was an evening
and a morning, making the third day.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the heavens to separate
the night from the day. Let them be signs to mark the seasons,
the days, and the years. Let them be lights in the heavens to light
the earth.” And it was done. So God made the two great lights
(the sun and the moon): the greater to rule the day and the lesser
to rule the night. God made the stars also and placed them in the
heavens to throw light upon the earth. And God saw that it was
good. And there was an evening and a morning, making the fourth
day.

And God said, “Let the waters bring forth many living creatures[4]
and let birds fly above the earth and in the sky.” And God made
large sea-monsters and all kinds of living creatures with which the
waters abound, and all kinds of birds. And God saw that it was
good. And he blessed them, saying, “Increase and fill the waters
in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there
was an evening and a morning, making the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living
creatures, cattle and creeping things and wild beasts.” And it was
done. So God made all the different kinds of wild beasts, and the
cattle, and everything that crawls upon the ground. And God saw
that it was good.

And God said, “Let us make man like ourselves. Let him rule
over the fish in the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the wild
beasts and all the living things that crawl upon the ground.” And
God made man like himself, like God he made him. He made them
male and female.

And God blessed them, and said to them, “Have children, increase,
live all over the earth, and conquer it; rule over the fish of
the sea, the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that crawls
upon the ground.”

And God said, “See, to you I give every plant which grows on
all the earth, and every tree which bears fruit with its own kind of
seed. It shall be food for you. And to every wild beast and to
every bird of the sky and to every thing that crawls on the earth
and is alive, I give every green herb for food.” And it was done.

And when God saw everything that he had made, he saw that it
was very good. And there was an evening and a morning, making
the sixth day.

And the heavens and the earth were finished and all that there
was in them. And on the seventh day when God had finished the
work which he had done, he rested from all his work. And God
blessed the seventh day and made it holy, for in it he rested from
all the work which he had done.

GOD’S GOOD GIFTS TO MAN

At the time when Jehovah made earth and heaven, no trees or
plants grew on the earth, for Jehovah had not yet sent the rain;
and there was no man to till the soil; but a mist rose from the
earth and watered the ground.[5]

Then Jehovah made man out of dust taken from the ground and
breathed into him the breath of life; and man became a living being.
And Jehovah planted a garden in Eden, far in the East; and out
of the ground he made grow all kinds of trees that are pleasant to
look at and good for food, also the tree of life and the tree that gives
the knowledge of good and evil.

Then Jehovah took the man and put him in the garden of Eden
to till it and to care for it. And Jehovah gave the man this command:
“You may eat all you wish from every tree of the garden,
except from the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil; from
this you shall not eat, for if you eat from it you shall surely die.”

Then Jehovah said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I
will make a companion for him.” So out of the ground Jehovah
made all the wild beasts and birds, and brought them to the man to
see what he would name them; and whatever he called each living
thing that became its name. But for the man himself there was
found no companion suited to him.

Then Jehovah made the man fall into a deep sleep; and while
he slept, he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
The rib which he had taken from the man, Jehovah made into a
woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “Because
she was made from my body, she shall be called Woman.”

THE FIRST DISOBEDIENCE

Now the serpent was more deceitful than any other animal that
Jehovah had made; and it said to the woman, “Has God really said,
‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman
answered, “We may eat of the fruit of all the trees of the garden except
the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, for
God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it;
for if you do, you shall die.'” Then the serpent said to the woman,
“You shall not surely die; for God knows that as soon as you eat of
it your eyes will be opened, and you will know what is good and
what is evil.”

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, beautiful
to look at and that it would make her wise, she took some of its fruit
and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband who was with her,
and he ate.[6]

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, so that they knew
that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together and made
girdles for themselves. When they heard the sound of the footsteps
of Jehovah, as he was walking in the garden in the cool of
the day, the man and his wife hid from him among the trees of the
garden.

And Jehovah called to the man and said to him, “Where are
you?” and he answered, “I heard the sound of thy footsteps in the
garden and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
Jehovah said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you
eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?” The man
answered, “The woman whom thou didst give to me—she gave me
fruit from the tree and I ate.” Jehovah said to the woman, “What
is this that you have done?” The woman replied, “The serpent
deceived me, and I ate.”

Then Jehovah said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
you shall be hated more than all beasts. You shall crawl on your
belly and eat dust all your life, and men and serpents shall always
be enemies. They shall bruise your head, and you shall wound
them on the heel.”

To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your trouble and
your pain, and you shall be subject to your husband, and he shall
rule over you.”

But to the man he said, “Because you have listened to your
wife and have eaten of the tree from which I forbade you to eat,
as long as you live you shall earn a living only by hard work. By
hard work shall you raise food to eat. And you shall die and your
body go back to the ground, for from dust you were made, and to
dust you shall return!”

And Jehovah made garments of skins for the man and his wife,
and clothed them. And he sent them out of the garden of Eden
to till the ground.

CAIN AND HIS BROTHER ABEL

Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all
living beings. She had two sons, Cain and Abel. Abel was a shepherd,
but Cain was a farmer.

One day Cain brought, as an offering to Jehovah, some fruit
and grain that he had grown. Abel, too, brought some of the best[7]
animals of his flock and sacrificed their fat pieces to Jehovah. Jehovah
was pleased with Abel and his offering, but Cain and his
offering did not please him.

This made Cain very angry and his face showed it. So Jehovah
said to Cain, “Why are you angry and why do you scowl? If you
do what is right and good, will not your offering be accepted? But
if you do wrong, sin crouches like a wild beast at the door and the
desire to sin will overcome you; but you should master it.”

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go into the field.” And
while they were in the field, Cain struck his brother Abel and killed
him.

When Jehovah said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
Cain answered, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” Jehovah
said, “What have you done? Hark! your brother’s blood is
crying to me from the ground. Even now you are condemned by
the very ground that has opened to receive your brother’s blood
from your hand. Whenever you till the ground, it shall no longer
yield to you its strength; you shall be a tramp and a wanderer on
the earth.”

Then Cain said to Jehovah, “My punishment is more than I can
bear. See, thou hast driven me out to-day from this land, and I
shall no longer be able to worship thee; I shall become a tramp and
a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

But Jehovah said to him, “If any one kills you, he shall be punished
sevenfold.” So Jehovah placed a mark on Cain, to keep any
one who found him from killing him. And Cain went out from
Jehovah’s presence and lived as a wanderer, away from Eden.

NOAH AND THE GREAT FLOOD

When Jehovah saw that men were growing more wicked in the
world and that their thoughts were always evil, he was greatly
grieved and regretted that he had made man. Therefore, Jehovah
said, “I will completely destroy all living beings from off the earth,
for I regret that I have made them.”

But Noah had won Jehovah’s favor. So Jehovah said to Noah,
“I have decided to put an end to all living beings, for the earth is
filled with their wicked acts. I am going to destroy them from the
earth. Make yourself an ark of cypress wood. Build rooms in the[8]
ark, and cover it within and without with pitch. This is how you
shall build it: the ark shall be five hundred feet long, eighty feet
wide, and fifty feet high. Make a roof for it and place the door on
the side. Build it with lower, second, and third stories. For I am
about to bring floods of water upon the earth to destroy every living
creature in which is the breath of life. Every creature that is
on the earth shall die.”

Then Jehovah said to Noah, “Enter with all your household into
the ark, for I see that of all the people who are now alive you alone
are upright. Of all the beasts that are fit for food and sacrifice you
shall take with you seven, the male and the female; but of the beasts
that are not fit for food and sacrifice two, the male and the female;
and of the wild birds that are fit for food and sacrifice seven, to keep
each kind alive on all the earth. After seven days I will send rain
on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy
every living thing that I have made.”

Then Noah did all that Jehovah commanded him. When the
waters of the flood came upon the earth, he, his sons, his wife, and
his sons’ wives, together with the beasts that were fit for food and
sacrifice and the beasts that were not fit, and the birds, and everything
that creeps upon the ground, entered the ark because of the
waters of the flood.

The rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and
Jehovah shut Noah in the ark. And the waters rose higher and
higher and raised up the ark, and it was lifted high above the earth.
All creatures living on the land died. Noah only was left and they
who were with him in the ark.

Then God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the
animals that were with him in the ark. And God caused a
wind to blow over the earth, and the flood went down, the rain
from heaven ceased, and the waters withdrew more and more from
the land.

After forty days Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out
a raven; and it kept going to and fro until the waters were dried up
on the earth. He also sent out a dove to see if the waters had gone
from the surface of the earth. But the dove found no rest for her
foot, and so returned to him to the ark, for the waters covered the
whole earth. Therefore, Noah reached out his hand and took her
and brought her back into the ark.

Then he waited seven days longer and again sent out the dove[9]
from the ark. And the dove came in to him at dusk; and in her
mouth was a freshly plucked olive-leaf. So Noah knew that the
waters had gone from the earth. And he waited seven days more
and again sent out the dove, but it did not return to him.

So Noah took off the covering of the ark and looked and saw
that the surface of the ground was dry. Then he, with his sons,
his wife, and his sons’ wives, went out of the ark.

And Noah built an altar to Jehovah and took one of every beast
and bird that was fit for sacrifice and offered burnt-offerings on the
altar. And Jehovah said to himself, “I will never again condemn
the ground because of man, nor will I again destroy every living
creature, as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and
harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall
not cease.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the solemn agreement that I
make for all time between me and you and every living creature that
is with you: I have placed my rainbow in the cloud and it shall be
the sign of the solemn agreement between me and the people who
live on the earth. Whenever I bring a cloud over the earth and the
rainbow is seen in the cloud, I will remember the agreement which
is between me and you and every living creature; and the waters
shall never again become a flood to destroy them.”

THE STORY OF THE TOWER OF BABEL

All the people of the earth spoke one language; and as they travelled
westward, they found a broad valley in the land of Babylonia,
and made their home there.

Then they said one to another, “Come, let us make bricks and
thoroughly bake them.” So they had bricks for stone and asphalt
for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a
tower whose top will touch the heavens, and thus make a landmark,
that we may not be scattered over all the earth.”

But when Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower
men had built, he said, “See, they are one people and all have one
language. This is but the beginning, and now nothing which they
plan to do will seem too difficult for them. Come, let us go down
and confuse their language, that they may not understand one
another.”[10]

So Jehovah scattered them from there over all the earth; and they
stopped building the city. Therefore they named it Babel, which
means Confusion, for there Jehovah confused the language of all the
people on the earth and scattered them over the whole world.

Building the Tower of Babel
Painted by J. James Tissot

ABRAHAM, THE FRIEND OF GOD AND MAN

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham
and Japheth. Terah, a descendant of Shem, was the father of Abraham,
Nahor and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.

Jehovah said to Abraham, “Go from your country, your relatives,
and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation; and I will surely bless you
and make your name famous, so that you shall be a blessing. And
all the families of the earth shall ask for themselves a blessing like
your own.”

So Abraham set out, as Jehovah had commanded him; and Lot
went with him. Abraham was seventy-five years old when he left
Haran. He took Sarah his wife and Lot his brother’s son and everything
that they had, and started for the land of Canaan.

Abraham passed through the land to a place called Shechem, to
the oak of Moreh. There Jehovah appeared to Abraham and said,
“To your children will I give this land.” There Abraham built an
altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him. From there he removed
to the hill near Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on one side
and Ai on the other, and there too he built an altar to Jehovah and
prayed to him.

Now Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold;
Lot also, who went with Abraham, had so many flocks and herds
and tents that the land was not rich enough to support them both.
So when there was a quarrel between Lot’s herdsmen and Abraham’s
herdsmen, Abraham said to Lot, “I beg of you, let there be no quarrel
between me and you, nor between my herdsmen and yours, for
we are relatives. Is not the whole land before you? I beg of
you, separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, then I will
go to the right; or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”

So Lot looked about and saw that all the plain of the Jordan, as
far as Zoar, was well watered everywhere, like a garden of Jehovah.
So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and lived in[11]
the cities of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. But
the men of Sodom were very wicked and sinned against Jehovah.

Jehovah said to Abraham, after Lot had gone away from him,
“Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are northward,
southward, eastward and westward, for all the land that you
see I will give to you and to your children forever. I will make
them as many as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count
the dust of the earth, then your children may also be counted.
Rise, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will
give it to you.”

Then Abraham moved his tent and lived in the oak grove of
Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar to Jehovah.

Jehovah also appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as
he was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day;
and, as he looked up, three men stood there before him. As soon
as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them
and bowed to the ground and said, “Sirs, if you are willing to do me
a favor, do not, I beg of you, pass by your servant. Since you have
come to your servant, let a little water be brought, that you may
wash your feet, and lie down under the tree. And let me bring some
food, that you may refresh yourselves; afterward you may go on
your way.” They replied, “Do as you have said.”

So Abraham hastened to Sarah’s tent and said, “Make ready
quickly four measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.”
Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a calf that was tender and
good, and gave it to the servant, and he prepared it quickly. Then
Abraham took curd and milk, with the calf which he had prepared,
and served them; and he waited on them under the tree, while they ate.

Then they said to him, “Where is your wife?” He said, “There,
within the tent.” One of them said, “I will surely return to you
about nine months from now, and then, Sarah your wife shall have
a son.”

LOT’S ESCAPE FROM A WICKED CITY

And Abraham went along with them to start them on their way.
Jehovah said, “The complaint has come that the people of Sodom
and Gomorrah have committed great and terrible sins. I will go
down and see whether they have done exactly as the complaint
comes to me; and if they have not, I will know.”[12]

Then the men turned from there and looked off in the direction
of Sodom.

Then Abraham drew near to Jehovah and said, “Wilt thou sweep
away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are within the
city fifty people who are righteous. Wilt thou sweep away and not
spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from
thee to do this: to slay the righteous with the wicked! And that
the righteous should be treated as the wicked, far be it from thee!
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” Jehovah
said, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty who are righteous, I will
spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered, “I have
dared to speak to Jehovah, even though I am but dust and ashes.
Suppose there be five lacking of the fifty righteous. Wilt thou
sweep away all the city for lack of five?” Jehovah said, “I will not
sweep it away, if I find forty-five there.”

Then Abraham spoke to him again, and said, “Suppose forty
are found there?” He replied, “For the sake of forty I will not do
it.” Then Abraham said, “Oh, let not Jehovah be angry, but let
me speak. Suppose thirty are found there?” He answered, “I
will not do it, if I find thirty there.” Then Abraham said, “Thou
seest that I have dared to speak to Jehovah. Suppose twenty are
found there?” He replied, “For the sake of twenty I will not
destroy it.” Then Abraham said, “Oh, let not Jehovah be angry,
but let me speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there?”
And he said, “For the sake of the ten I will not destroy it.” Then
Jehovah went his way, and Abraham returned home.

Two angels in human form came to Sodom in the evening, as
Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose
up to meet them, and he bowed with his face to the earth and said,
“Sirs, turn aside, I beg of you, into your servant’s house and spend
the night and wash your feet; then you can rise up early and go on
your way.” They said, “No, we will spend the night in the street.”
But he urged them so strongly that they went with him and entered
his house. And he made a feast for them and baked bread made
without yeast, and they ate.

But before they had lain down, the people of Sodom, both young
and old, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.
And they called out to Lot, “Where are the men who came in to
you to-night? Bring them out to us that we may do to them what
we desire.”[13]

Then Lot went out to them at the entrance of his house, but he
shut the door after him. And he said, “I beg of you, my friends,
do not do what is wrong. Do nothing to these men, for they have
come under the shadow of my roof.” But they replied, “Stand
back, or we will treat you worse than them.” And they pressed
hard against Lot and advanced to break the door. But the men
reached out and drew Lot to them into the house and shut the door.
Then they smote the men who were at the door of the house, both
small and great, with blindness, so that they grew tired of searching
for the door.

Then the men said to Lot, “Have you any one else here? Bring
your sons-in-law, your sons, and daughters, and whoever you have
in the city out of this place, for we are about to destroy it, because
great complaint concerning the people has come to Jehovah and he
has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law,
“Up, go out of this place, for Jehovah will destroy the city.”
But his sons-in-law thought he was only jesting.

When the dawn appeared, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Get up,
take your wife and your two daughters that you may not be swept
away in the punishment of the city.” When he hesitated, the men
took him by the hand and led him and his wife and his two daughters
outside the city, for Jehovah was merciful to him.

When they had brought them outside, they said, “Run for your
life; do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape
to the heights, that you may not be swept away!” But Lot said to
them, “Oh, sirs, not so! See, your servant has found favor with
you, and you have shown great mercy to me in saving my life. I
cannot escape to the heights, lest some evil overtake me, and I die.
See now, this village is near enough to run to, and it is small. Oh,
let me escape there, and my life will be saved.” Jehovah said to
him, “I have also granted you this favor, in that I will not destroy
the village of which you have spoken. Make haste, escape to it,
for I can do nothing until you arrive there.”

The sun had risen when Lot came to Zoar. Then Jehovah caused
brimstone and fire from heaven to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah,
and he destroyed those cities and all the plain, with all the people
who lived in it and all that grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife,
who was following him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Early in the morning Abraham rose and went to the place where
he had stood before Jehovah; and as he looked toward Sodom and[14]
Gomorrah and all the plain, he saw the smoke of the land going up
as the smoke of a smelting-furnace.

GOD’S CARE FOR THE BOY ISHMAEL

© Curtis Publishing Company

Hagar and Ishmael in the Wilderness
Painted by W. L. Taylor

Jehovah remembered what he had told Sarah, and he did as he
had promised. So Sarah had a son, and when the child grew up,
Abraham made a great feast on the day that he was weaned. But
Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian and of Abraham playing
with her son Isaac. And she said to Abraham, “Drive out this
slave girl and her son, for the son of this slave girl shall not be heir
with my son Isaac.” This request was very displeasing to Abraham
because the boy was his son. But Jehovah said to Abraham, “Do
not be displeased because of the boy and because of your slave girl.
Listen to all that Sarah says to you, for Isaac only and his children
shall bear your name. But I will also make of the son of the slave
girl a great nation, because he is your son.”

Then Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and
a skin of water and gave it to Hagar; and he put the boy upon her
shoulder and sent her away. So she set out and wandered in the
desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she left
the child under one of the desert shrubs and went a short distance
away and sat down opposite him, for she said, “Let me not see the
child die.”

While she sat there, the boy began to cry; and Jehovah heard
the cry of the boy, and said, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear
not, for Jehovah has heard the cry of the boy. Rise, lift him up,
and hold him fast by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.”
And Jehovah opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. Then
she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

And Jehovah cared for the boy; and when he grew up, he lived
in the wilderness of Paran and became a bowman. And his mother
secured a wife for him from Egypt.

ABRAHAM’S LOYALTY TO GOD

Later Jehovah tested Abraham, saying to him, “Abraham”;
and he answered, “Here am I.” Jehovah said, “Take your son,
your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah,
and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of
which I shall tell you.”

[15]

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his ass and
took two of his servants with him, and his son Isaac. When he had
split the wood for the burnt-offering, he set out for the place of which
God had told him. On the third day, when Abraham looked up
and saw the place in the distance, he said to his servants, “Stay here
with the ass, while I and the lad go over there. When we have worshipped,
we will come back to you.”

The Testing of Abraham
Painted by Fritz von Uhde

Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt-offering and laid
it on Isaac, his son. And he took the fire and the knife, and they
both went on together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father
and said, “My father!” and Abraham answered, “Yes, my son.”
Isaac said, “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb
for a burnt-offering?” Abraham answered, “My son, God will
himself provide a lamb for a burnt-offering.” So the two went on
together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham
built the altar there and laid the wood on it and bound Isaac
his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Then Abraham
reached out his hand, and took the knife to kill his son. But the
angel of Jehovah called to him from heaven, saying, “Abraham,
Abraham!” and he answered, “Here am I.” And he said, “Do
not put your hand upon the boy, nor do anything to him, for now
I know that you love God, for you have not refused to give your
son, your only son, to him.”

Then Abraham looked up, and he saw a ram caught in the
thicket by his horns. So Abraham took the ram and offered him
up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. And he named the place
Jehovah-jireh, which means, “Jehovah will Provide.”

The angel of Jehovah again called to Abraham and said, “Jehovah
declares, ‘Because you have done this thing and have not
kept back your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will
make your children as many as the stars of the heavens and as the
sand, which is on the seashore, so that they shall conquer their enemies,
and all the nations of the earth shall ask for themselves a
blessing like theirs, because you have obeyed my command.'”

HOW REBEKAH BECAME THE WIFE OF ISAAC

When Abraham was very old and Jehovah had blessed him in
every way, Abraham said to the eldest of his household servants,
who had charge of all his affairs, “Put your hand under my hip,[16]
while I make you promise by Jehovah, the God of heaven and earth,
that you will not let my son marry one of the daughters of the
Canaanites, among whom I live, but that you will go to my own
country and to my relatives and there get a wife for my son Isaac.”
The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing
to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the
land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that
you do not take my son back there. Jehovah, the God of heaven,
who took me from my father’s house and from my native land and
who solemnly promised me, ‘To your children I will give this land,’
will send his angel before you and there you will get a wife for my
son. But if the woman is not willing to come with you, then you
will be free from this promise to me; only never take my son back
there.” So the servant put his hand under Abraham’s hip and
made the promise.

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out
with precious gifts from his master. So he went to the town of
Nahor. And he made the camels kneel down outside the town by
the well in the evening, at the time when women go out to
draw water. Then he said, “O Jehovah, the God of my master
Abraham, give me, I pray thee, success to-day, and show kindness
to my master Abraham. Here I am standing by the spring of water,
and the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw
water. May that young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let
down your water-jar that I may drink’; and who answers, ‘Drink
and I will also water your camels,’ may she be the one thou hast
chosen for thy servant Isaac. By this I shall know that thou hast
shown kindness to my master.”

Then even before he was through speaking, Rebekah, who was
the grand-daughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her
water-jar upon her shoulder. She was very beautiful and unmarried.
She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.
Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink
a little water from your jar.” She answered, “Drink, sir,” and
quickly let down her water-jar from her shoulder upon her hand
and gave him a drink.

When she had finished giving him a drink she said, “I will draw
water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” So
she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the
well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. Meanwhile the[17]
man was silently gazing at her in order to find out whether Jehovah
had made his journey successful or not.

As soon as the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold
ring, five ounces in weight, and put it in her nose, and put on her
arms two golden bracelets weighing five ounces, and said, “Whose
daughter are you? Tell me, I beg of you. Is there room in your
father’s house for us to spend the night?” She answered, “I am
the grand-daughter of Milcah and Nahor. We have plenty of straw
and feed, and there is a place for you to spend the night.”

Then the man bowed his head and worshipped Jehovah, saying,
“Blessed be Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, who has continued
to show his mercy and his faithfulness toward my master.
As for me, Jehovah has led me on the way to the house of my master’s
relatives.”

Then the young woman ran and told these things to her mother’s
family. Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban; and Laban
ran out to the man at the spring. And when he saw the bracelets
on his sister’s hands and the ring, and when he heard Rebekah say,
“This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man, who was
still standing by the camels at the spring, and said, “Come in, you
who are blessed by Jehovah! Why do you stand outside? For I
have cleared the house and have room for the camels.” So he
brought the man into the house and took the packs off the camels
and furnished straw and feed for them, and water to wash his feet
and the feet of the men who were with him.

But when food was set before him to eat, he said, “I will not
eat until I have made known my errand.” They answered,
“Speak.” He said, “I am Abraham’s servant; and Jehovah has
blessed my master greatly, so that he has become very rich. He
has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, servants, and camels
and asses. Now Sarah, my master’s wife, had a son when she was
old, and my master has given him all that he has. My master also
made me promise, saying, ‘Do not let my son marry one of the
daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, but go to my
father’s home and to my relatives and there find a wife for my
son.’

© Curtis Publishing Company
Rebekah Comes to Isaac
Painted by W. L. Taylor

“When I said to my master, ‘What if the woman will not follow
me?’ he said to me, ‘Jehovah, whom I love and serve, will send
his angel with you and make you successful, and you will find for
my son a wife from among my relatives and my father’s family.[18]
Then you shall be free from your promise to me. But if you go to
my family and they do not give her to you, you shall also be free
from your promise to me.’ So I came to-day to the spring and said,
‘O Jehovah, the God of my master Abraham, see, I am standing
by the spring of water, if thou wilt make the errand on which I am
going successful, then let the young woman who comes to draw,
to whom I say, Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,
and who shall say to me, Drink, and I will also draw for your camels,
let that one be the woman whom Jehovah has chosen for my master’s
son.’

“Even before I was through speaking, Rebekah came out with
her water-jar on her shoulder and went down to the spring and drew
water. And when I said to her, ‘Please let me drink,’ she quickly
let down her water-jar from her shoulder and answered, ‘Drink,
and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered
the camels. Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And
she said, ‘The grand-daughter of Nahor and Milcah.’ So I put the
ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms. And I bowed my
head and worshipped and blessed Jehovah the God of my master
Abraham who had led me on the right way to find the daughter of
my master’s brother for his son. Tell me whether or not you will
deal kindly and truly with my master, so that I shall know what
to do!”

Then Laban and his family answered, “The matter is in the
hands of Jehovah. We cannot say either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ See, Rebekah
is before you; take her and go and let her be the wife of your
master’s son, as Jehovah has said.”

When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed to the
ground before Jehovah. Then he brought out gold and silver ornaments
and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave costly
gifts to her brother and to her mother. And he and the men who
were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.

When they rose in the morning, the servant said, “Send me
away to my master.” But Rebekah’s brother and mother answered,
“Let the young woman stay with us a month or at least ten days;
after that she may go.” But he said to them, “Do not delay me,
for Jehovah has given me success. Send me away that I may go
to my master.”

Then they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her.”
So they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this[19]
man?” She answered, “I will go.” So they sent away their sister
Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men.

They also blessed Rebekah, saying to her, “Our sister! may
your children and their children become thousands and thousands!”
Then Rebekah set out with her maids and, riding upon the camels,
they followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went
away.

Now Abraham had given all that he had to Isaac and had
breathed his last, dying in a good old age, satisfied with living. In
the evening, when Isaac had gone out in the field to meditate, he
looked up and saw camels coming. Rebekah too looked up, and
when she saw Isaac, she quickly alighted from the camel and said
to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”
When the servant said, “It is my master,” she took her veil and
covered her face. Then the servant told Isaac all that he had done.
And Isaac brought Rebekah to the tent of Sarah his mother, and
she became his wife; and he loved her.

HOW JACOB DECEIVED HIS FATHER

Now Isaac prayed to Jehovah for his wife, because she had
no children; and Jehovah heard his prayer, and Rebekah became
the mother of twin boys. They named one Esau and the other
Jacob.

As they grew up, Esau became a skilful hunter, a man who lived
out in the fields; but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed about the
tents. Isaac loved Esau, for he was fond of game; but Rebekah
loved Jacob.

Once when Jacob was preparing a stew, Esau came in from the
fields, and he was very hungry; so he said to Jacob, “Let me swallow
some of that red stew, for I am very hungry.” But Jacob said,
“Sell me first of all your right as the eldest.” Esau replied, “See,
I am nearly dead now! So of what use is this birthright to me?”
Jacob said, “First solemnly promise to give it to me.” So Esau
solemnly promised and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob
gave Esau bread and stewed lentils, and when he had had something
to eat and drink, he got up and went away. In this way Esau gave
away his birthright.

When Isaac was so old and so nearly blind that he could not see,[20]
he called Esau his oldest son and said to him, “My son.” Esau
answered, “Here am I.” Then Isaac said, “See, I am old and do
not know how soon I may die. Now, therefore, take your quiver
and your bow and go out into the fields and hunt game for me and
prepare for me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I
may eat and that I may bless you before I die.”

Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So
when Esau went into the fields to hunt game, Rebekah said to her
son Jacob, “I just now heard your father say to your brother Esau,
‘Bring me game and prepare for me savory food that I may eat it
and bless you before I die.’ Now, my son, do as I tell you: Go to
the flock and bring me from there two good kids, and I will make of
them savory food for your father, such as he loves. Then take it to
him, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”
But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “You know that my brother
Esau is a hairy man, while I am smooth. Perhaps my father will
feel of me; then I shall appear to him as a deceiver, and I shall bring
blame upon me and not a blessing.” But his mother said to him,
“Upon me be the blame, my son; only obey me and go, bring the
kids to me.” So he went and brought them to his mother, and his
mother made savory food such as his father loved.

Rebekah also took the fine clothes of her older son Esau, which
she had with her in the tent, and put them on her younger son
Jacob. Then she put the skins of the kids upon his hands and upon
the smooth part of his neck, and she placed the savory food and
the bread which she had prepared in his hand, and he went to his
father and said, “My father.” Isaac answered, “Here am I; who
are you, my son?” Jacob said, “I am Esau your oldest son. I
have done as you commanded me. Sit up and eat of my game,
that you may bless me.” Isaac said to his son, “How very quickly
you have found it, my son.” He answered, “Yes, because Jehovah
your God gave me success.”

Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come here, my son, that I may feel
of you to find out whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So
Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt of him and said,
“The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of
Esau. Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “I am.”
And Isaac did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like his
brother Esau’s. So he blessed him. Then Isaac said, “Bring the
food to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he[21]
brought it to him, and he ate. Jacob also brought him wine, and
he drank.

Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me,
my son.” As he came near and kissed him, he smelled the smell of
his garment, and blessed him.

As soon as Isaac had given Jacob his blessing, and Jacob was
about to leave his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
He also had made savory food and was bringing it to his
father. So he said to him, “Father, rise and eat of your son’s game,
that you may bless me.” But Isaac his father said to him, “Who
are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your oldest, Esau.”
Then Isaac trembled and said, “Who then is he that has hunted
game and brought it to me, so that I ate plentifully before you
came, and blessed him? Also blessed shall he be!”

When Esau heard the words of his father, he uttered a loud and
bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my
father.”

But Isaac said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken
away your blessing.” Esau said, “Is it not because he was named
Jacob, which means Supplanter, that he has supplanted me these two
times: he took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing!”
Then he said, “Have you kept a blessing for me?” Isaac answered
Esau, “See, I have made him your master and I have given to him
all his relatives as servants and grain and wine as his food. What
then can I do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Is that
the only blessing you have, my father?” and Esau began to weep
aloud. Then Isaac his father answered him:

JACOB’S DREAM

Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing which his father had
given him. And Esau said to himself, “My father will soon die;
then I will kill Jacob, my brother.”

When the words of her older son Esau were told to Rebekah, she
sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother, Esau,[22]
is going to kill you. Now therefore, my son, listen to me: run away
to my brother Laban at Haran and stay with him for a time until
your brother is no longer angry and he forgets what you have done
to him. Then I will send and bring you back. Why should I lose
both of you in one day?”

Then Jacob set out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
And when he arrived at a certain place, he passed the night there,
because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones from its
place and put it under his head and lay down to sleep. Then he
dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached
to heaven; and the angels of God were going up and down on it.

Jehovah also stood beside him and said, “I am Jehovah, the
God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie
I will give to you and to your children. See, I am with you, and
will keep you wherever you go and will bring you again to this land;
for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely Jehovah is
in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was filled with awe
and said, “This place is the house of God, and this is the gate of
heaven.”

So Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone that he
had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil upon
the top of it. And he named that place Bethel, which means House
of God. Jacob also made this promise, “If God will be with me
and protect me on this journey which I am making and give me
bread to eat and clothing to put on, and if I return safe and sound
to my father’s house, then Jehovah shall be my God, and this stone
which I have set up as a pillar shall be a house of God. And of all
that thou shalt give me I will surely give a tenth to thee.”

THE DECEIVER DECEIVED

Then Jacob went on his journey and arrived at the land of the
children of the East. And he looked and saw a well in the field,
and there were three flocks of sheep lying down by it; for from that
well they watered the flocks; but there was a large stone over the
well. When all the flocks were gathered there, they used to roll
away the stone and water the sheep and then put the stone back
in its place over the well.[23]

Jacob said to the men, “My friends, from where do you come?”
They said, “We are from Haran.” Then he said to them, “Do you
know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”
And he said to them, “Is all well with him?” And they said, “All
is well; indeed, this is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.”
And he said, “See, the sun is still high! It is not time for the cattle
to be gathered together. Water the sheep and feed them.” But
they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and
they roll away the stone from the well; then we will water the
sheep.”

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her
father’s sheep; for she was a shepherdess. When Jacob saw Rachel
the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he
went up and rolled the stone from the well and watered the flock of
Laban his mother’s brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept
aloud. And when Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of her
father and that he was Rebekah’s son, she ran and told her father.

As soon as Laban heard about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to
meet him, put his arms around him, kissed him many times, and
brought him to his home. When Jacob told Laban all about these
things, Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.”
So he remained with him a whole month.

Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you serve me for nothing
simply because you are related to me? Tell me what shall be your
wages?” Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the older
was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes
were weak, but Rachel was beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel, and so
he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger
daughter.” And Laban said, “It is better for me to give her to you
than to give her to any other man. Stay with me.” So Jacob
served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few
days, because he loved her so.

Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is
up, and let me marry her.” So Laban gathered all the men of the
place and made a feast. In the evening he took Leah his daughter
and brought her to him, and Jacob received her as his wife.

When in the morning Jacob found it was Leah, he said to Laban,
“What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for
Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” Laban said, “It is
not the custom among us to give the younger in marriage before[24]
the older. Remain with this one during the marriage week, then
we will give you the other also for the service which you shall give
me during seven more years.” Jacob did so: he remained with Leah
during the marriage week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter
to be his wife, but Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. So he
had to serve Laban seven years more.

MEETING A BROTHER WHO HAD BEEN WRONGED

In time Jacob became very wealthy, and he had large flocks,
slaves, and asses. But he heard Laban’s sons say, “Jacob has taken
all that was our father’s, and from that which was our father’s he
has gotten all this wealth.” He also saw that Laban did not act
toward him the same as before. So Jacob rose and put his sons and
his wives upon the camels and drove away all his cattle. He deceived
Laban, for he did not tell him that he was fleeing away. So
he fled across the river Euphrates, with all that he had, and set out
on his way toward Mount Gilead.

Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau.
And he gave them this command, “Say to my lord Esau: ‘Your
servant Jacob declares, I have lived with Laban and have stayed
until now. I have oxen and asses, flocks and slaves, and I have sent
to tell my lord, in order that I may win your favor.'” The messengers
returned to Jacob with the report, “We came to your brother
Esau, even as he was coming to meet you with four hundred men.”

Then Jacob was greatly alarmed and worried. So he divided
the people that were with him and the flocks and the herds and the
camels into two parts and said, “If Esau comes to the one and attacks
and destroys it, then the other which is left can escape.”

Jacob also prayed, “O God of my father Abraham and God of
my father Isaac, deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my
brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear that he will come and attack
me and kill the mothers and the children.”

Then Jacob took as a present for his brother Esau, two hundred
female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty
rams, thirty milch camels and their young, forty cows and ten bulls,
twenty female asses and ten young asses. These he put, each drove
by itself, in the care of his servants and said to them, “Go on before
me and leave a space between the droves.”[25]

He gave those in front this command: “When my brother Esau
meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? and where are
you going? and whose are these before you?’ then you shall say,
‘To your servant Jacob; it is a present sent by him to my lord Esau;
and Jacob himself is just behind us.'” Jacob also commanded the
second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, to make the
same answer, and to say, “Jacob himself is just behind us.” For
he said to himself, “I will please him with the present that goes before
me, and then, when I meet him, perhaps he will welcome me.”
So he sent the present over before him; but he himself spent that
night in the camp.

Later that night he rose up and took his two wives, his two maid
servants, and his eleven children, and sent them over the river Jabbok.

Jacob was left alone, and one wrestled with him until daybreak.
When he saw that he did not win against Jacob, he struck the socket
of his hip, and the socket of Jacob’s hip was strained, as he wrestled
with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let thee go unless you bless me.” So
he said to him, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob.”
Then he said, “Your name shall be no longer Jacob, but Israel, which
means Struggler with God; for you have struggled with God and
with men and have won.” So he blessed him there. And Jacob
called the place Penuel, which means Face of God, for he said, “I
have seen God face to face, and my life has been saved.”

When Jacob looked up, he saw Esau coming with four hundred
men. And he put the maid servants and their children in front,
Leah and her children next, and Rachel and her son Joseph in the
rear. Then Jacob himself went in front of them, and he bowed down
to the ground seven times, as he drew near to his brother. Esau ran
to meet him, threw his arms about his neck, and kissed him, and
they wept.

When Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, he
said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob answered, “The children
whom God has so kindly given me.” Then the maid servants with
their children came up and bowed down to the ground. Leah and
her children also came and bowed down, and afterward Joseph and
Rachel came up and bowed down before Esau.

Esau asked, “What do you mean by all this company which
I met?” Jacob answered, “To win your friendship, my lord.” Esau
said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have.” But[26]
Jacob replied, “No, if now I have won your favor, receive this present
from me to show that you are my friend. Take, I beg of you,
the gift that I bring to you, for God has been generous to me, and
I have enough.” So he urged Esau until he took it.

Then Esau said, “Let me at least leave with you some of the
people who are with me.” But Jacob replied, “What need is there?
Let me only enjoy your friendship, my Lord.” So Esau turned back
that day on his way to Seir.

JOSEPH SOLD AS A SLAVE BY HIS BROTHERS

When Joseph was seventeen years old, he and his brothers were
shepherds, but he made them angry, for he brought a bad report
about them to their father. Now Jacob loved his son Joseph, who
was born in his old age; and he made him a long coat with sleeves.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all
his other sons, they hated Joseph and would not speak to him in a
friendly way.

Joseph had a dream which he told to his brothers; and they
hated him still more. This is what he said to them, “I dreamed
that, as we were binding sheaves in the field, my sheaf rose up and
remained standing, while your sheaves came around and bowed
down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Will you really be
king over us? Will you indeed rule over us?” So they hated him
still more because of his dreams and his words.

Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers, saying,
“I have had another dream, and it seemed to me that the sun and
the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.” But when he told
it to his father and his brothers, his father reproved him and said,
“What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your
mother and your brothers indeed come and bow down to the earth
before you?” Therefore his brothers were jealous of him; but his
father remembered the dream.

When his brothers went to pasture his father’s flocks in Shechem,
Jacob said to Joseph, “Go, see whether all goes well with your
brothers and with the flock, and bring me back word.” So he sent
him out, and a certain man found him, as he was wandering in the
field, and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” He
said, “I am looking for my brothers; tell me, I beg of you, where
they are pasturing the flock.” The man said, “They have gone[27]
away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.'” So Joseph went
after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

When they saw him in the distance, before he came to them,
they planned together to kill him. And they said one to another,
“See, here comes that great dreamer! Come, let us kill him and
throw him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘A fierce beast has
devoured him.’ Then we shall see what will become of his dreams!”

Judah, however, when he heard it, saved Joseph’s life by saying,
“Let us not take his life.” Reuben also said to them, “Do not
shed blood; throw him into this pit, here in the wilderness; but
do not harm him.” Reuben said this to save Joseph from their
hands so that he could bring him back to his father. So when Joseph
came to his brothers, they took off his long coat with sleeves and
threw him into the pit. But the pit was empty, there being no water
in it.

Then they sat down to eat and, when they looked up, they saw
a band of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead; and their camels were
loaded with spices, gum, and ladanum on their way to carry it down
to Egypt. And Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if
we kill our brother and hide his blood? Come, let us sell him to the
Ishmaelites, and let us do him no harm, for he is our brother, our
own flesh and blood.” So his brothers listened to him; and, drawing
up Joseph, they sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites,
who brought him to Egypt.

Then his brothers took Joseph’s long coat, killed a he-goat,
dipped the coat in the blood, and brought it to their father, and
said, “We found this; see whether it is your son’s coat or not.” He
recognized it and said, “It is my son’s coat! A wild beast has devoured
him! Joseph surely is torn in pieces.” Then Jacob tore
his clothes, put sackcloth about his waist, and mourned for his son
many days. All his sons and his daughters tried to comfort him,
but he refused to be comforted, saying, “I shall go down to the grave
mourning for my son.” Thus Joseph’s father mourned for him.

JOSEPH’S EAGERNESS TO HELP OTHERS

Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an Egyptian,
one of Pharaoh’s officers, the captain of the guard, bought him from
the Ishmaelites.[28]

Now Jehovah was with Joseph, so that he prospered; and he
was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. When his master saw
that Jehovah was with him and made everything succeed that he
undertook, he trusted him and made him his own servant. He
also made him overseer of his household and placed all that he had
in his care. From the time that he made him overseer in his house
and over all that he had, Jehovah blessed the Egyptian’s household
for Joseph’s sake, and the blessing of Jehovah was upon all that he
had in the house and in the field. Potiphar left all that he had in
Joseph’s charge, and he knew nothing about his affairs except about
the food which he ate. And Joseph was handsome and attractive.

After these honors had come to Joseph, his master’s wife tried
to tempt him to be unfaithful to his trust. But he refused, saying
to her, “See, my master knows nothing about what I do in the house,
and he has put all that he has in my charge. How then can I do this
great wrong and sin against God?” Day after day she tempted
Joseph, but he did not listen to her. One day, however, when he
went into the house to do his work and when none of the men of the
household were at home, she caught hold of his garment and again
tried to tempt him, but he left his garment in her hand and fled out
of the house.

She kept his garment by her until his master came home; then
she said to him, “The Hebrew slave whom you have brought to us
came to me to insult me; and when I cried aloud, he left his garment
with me and fled.”

When Joseph’s master heard what his wife said to him, he was
very angry; and he took Joseph and put him into the prison, in the
place where the king’s prisoners were kept. So he was left there
in prison. But Jehovah was with Joseph and showed kindness to
him and helped him to win the friendship of the keeper of the prison,
so that he placed all the prisoners in Joseph’s charge and made him
responsible for whatever they did there.

After these things the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker
offended their master the king of Egypt, and Pharaoh was so angry
with these two officers that he put them in the same prison where
Joseph was. And the captain of the guard appointed Joseph to
wait on them; and they stayed in prison for some time.

And the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were in
the prison, both had dreams the same night, each with a different
meaning. When Joseph came in to them in the morning, he saw[29]
plainly that they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers, “Why
do you look so sad to-day?” They answered, “We have had a
dream, and there is no one who can tell what it means.” Then
Joseph said to them, “Is not God the one who knows what dreams
mean? Tell them to me, if you will.”

Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph and said to him,
“In my dream I saw a vine before me, and on the vine were three
branches, and the buds put out blossoms, and its clusters brought
forth ripe grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the
grapes and squeezed the juice into his cup and gave the cup to
Pharaoh.”

Then Joseph said to him, “This is what it means: the three
branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will let you
out of prison and restore you to your office, and you will give
Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as you used to do when you were his
butler. But when all goes well with you, remember me, show kindness
to me and speak for me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this
prison; for I was unjustly stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and
here also I have done nothing that they should put me in the
dungeon.”

When the chief baker saw that the meaning of the butler’s dream
was good, he said to Joseph, “I also saw something in my dream:
there were three baskets of white bread on my head, and in the
upper basket there were all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and
the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” Joseph
answered, “This is what it means: the three baskets are three days;
within three days Pharaoh will take off your head and hang you on
a tree, and the birds shall eat your flesh.”

Now on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a
feast for all his servants. Then he set free the chief butler and the
chief baker. He restored the chief butler to his office, so that he
again gave the cup to Pharaoh; but the chief baker he hanged, as
Joseph had told them. Yet the chief butler did not remember
Joseph, but forgot him.

A PRISONER WHO BECAME A MIGHTY RULER

Two years later Pharaoh had a dream: as he stood by the river
Nile, he saw coming up from the water seven cows, well fed and
fat, for they had been feeding in the river grass. Then seven other[30]
cows came up after them out of the Nile, poorly fed and thin, and
they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. The poorly
fed, lean cows ate up the seven well-fed, fat cows. Then Pharaoh
awoke.

Afterward he slept and had a second dream and saw seven ears,
plump and good, growing up on one stalk. Also seven ears, thin
and withered by the east wind, grew up after them. The thin ears
swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and
knew that it was only a dream.

In the morning Pharaoh was worried. So he sent for all the
magicians and wise men of Egypt and told them his dreams; but
no one could tell him what they meant.

Then the chief butler said to Pharaoh, “I now remember my
sins: Pharaoh was very angry with his servants and put me and the
chief baker in prison in the house of the captain of the guard. We
both had dreams the same night, each with a different meaning.
There was also with us a young Hebrew, a servant of the captain of
the guard. We told him our dreams and he told each of us what
our dreams meant. And our dreams came true just as he said they
would: I was restored to my office, but the chief baker was hanged.”

Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they quickly brought him
out of the dungeon; and he shaved his face, changed his clothes, and
came to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream,
and there is no one who can tell what it means. Now I have heard
that when you hear a dream, you can tell what it means.” Joseph
answered Pharaoh, “Not I; God alone can give Pharaoh a true
answer.”

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream as I stood on the
bank of the Nile, I saw seven cows, fat and well fed, which had been
feeding in the river grass. There came up after them seven more
cows, poorly fed and thin, worse than I ever saw in all the land of
Egypt; and the lean and poorly fed cows ate up the first seven fat
cows. When they had eaten them up, one could not tell that they
had eaten them, for they were still as thin as at the beginning.
Then I awoke.

“Again I dreamed and saw seven ears, plump and good, grow up
on one stalk; then seven thin ears, withered with the east wind,
sprang up after them; and the thin ears swallowed up the seven
good ears. I have told the dream to the magicians, but there is no
one who can tell me what it means.”[31]

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s two dreams mean the
same thing; God has made known to Pharaoh what he is about to
do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears
are seven years. It is one dream. The seven lean and poorly fed
cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty
ears withered with the east wind mean seven years of famine. That
is why I said to Pharaoh, ‘God has shown to Pharaoh what he is
about to do.’ Seven years of great plenty all through the land of
Egypt are coming. They shall be followed by seven years of
famine, so that all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt.
The famine will use up all that the land produces; and plenty will
not be known in the land because of that famine which follows, for
it will be very severe.

“The dream came twice to Pharaoh to show that the famine will
surely come, and that God will soon make the dream come true.
Now therefore let Pharaoh pick out a man who is sensible and wise
and place him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh act
quickly and put overseers over the land and collect one-fifth of all
that grows in the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty. Let
them gather all the food of these good years that are coming
and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them
hold it in the cities for food. The food will supply the land
during the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of
Egypt, so that the people of the land may not die because of the
famine.”

The plan pleased Pharaoh and all his people; and he said to his
people, “Can we find one like this, a man in whom is the spirit of
God?” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “As God has shown you all
this, there is no one so sensible and wise as you. You shall be at
the head of my country, and all my people shall be ruled as you
command. Only on the throne I will be above you.”

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have placed you over all the
land of Egypt.” And Pharaoh took off his signet-ring from his
finger and put it upon Joseph’s finger and clothed him in garments
of fine linen and put a golden collar about his neck. He also made
him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before
him, “Attention!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your consent
no man shall lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of
Egypt.” Pharaoh gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of[32]
Potiphera. And Joseph was thirty years old when he was made
the ruler of the land of Egypt.

In the seven years of plenty there were large harvests, and
Joseph gathered up all the food of the seven years of plenty, which
were in the land of Egypt, and stored the food in the cities, putting
in each city the food that grew in the fields about it. Joseph stored
up grain as the sand of the sea, in great quantities, until he no
longer kept account, because it could not be measured.

When the seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt were over,
the seven years of famine began, as Joseph had said. There was
famine in all lands, but all through the land of Egypt there was
food, for when all the land of Egypt was hungry, the people cried
to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go
to Joseph and do what he tells you.” So when the famine was over
all the country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold food to
the Egyptians: but the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.
The peoples of all lands came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for
everywhere the famine was severe.

THE TESTING OF JOSEPH’S BROTHERS

When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he
said to his sons, “Why do you stand looking at each other? I
have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt; go down there
and buy some for us, that we may live and not die.” So Joseph’s
ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did
not send Benjamin, Joseph’s own brother, with his brothers, for he
feared that some harm might come to him. So the sons of Jacob
went with others to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of
Canaan.

Now Joseph was the governor over Egypt; it was he who sold
grain to all the people of the land. So Joseph’s brothers came and
bowed before him with their faces to the earth. When Joseph saw
his brothers, he knew them; but he acted as a stranger toward them
and spoke harshly to them and said, “Where do you come from?”
They said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” So Joseph knew
his brothers, but they did not know him.

Joseph also remembered the dreams which he had had about
them and said to them, “You spies! you have come to see how defenseless
the land is.” But they said to him, “No, my lord; your[33]
servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man; we
are honest men; your servants are not spies.” But he again said
to them, “No, you have come to see how defenseless the land is.”
They answered, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons
of one father in the land of Canaan. The youngest is to-day with
our father, and one is dead.” Joseph said to them, “It is just as I
said to you, ‘You are spies.’ By this you shall be tested: as sure
as Pharaoh lives you shall not go away unless your youngest brother
comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while
you remain in prison, that it may be proved whether you are telling
the truth or not. Or else, as sure as Pharaoh lives, you are indeed
spies.” So he put them all into prison for three days.

Then Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live,
for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay
in prison, but you go, carry grain for the needs of your households
and bring your youngest brother to me. So you will prove that you
have told the truth and you shall not die.”

They did as Joseph commanded, but they said to one another,
“We are indeed guilty because of the way we treated our brother,
for when we saw his trouble and when he pleaded with us, we would
not listen. That is why this trouble has come upon us.” Reuben
added, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not sin against the boy,’ but you
would not listen?”

They did not know, however, that Joseph understood them,
for he had spoken to them through an interpreter. But he turned
away from them and wept. Then he came back and spoke to them,
and taking Simeon from among them, bound him before their eyes.
Then Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with grain and to put
every man’s money back in his sack and to give them food for the
journey; and thus it was done to them. So they loaded their asses
with their grain and went away.

When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan,
they told him all that had happened, saying, “The man who is master
in that land spoke harshly to us and put us in prison as spies.
We said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies; we are
twelve brothers, sons of the same father; one is no longer living,
and the youngest is to-day with our father in the land of Canaan.’
But the man who is master in that land said to us, ‘This is how I
shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers
with me and take the grain to supply the needs of your households
and go. Bring your youngest brother to me; then I shall know[34]
that you are not spies, but that you are honest men; and I will
give your brother back to you and you shall be free to go about in
the land.'”

As they were emptying their sacks, they found that each man’s
purse with his money was in his sack; and when they and their
father saw their purses and the money, they were afraid and they
turned trembling to one another with the question, “What is this
that God has done to us?” Jacob their father said to them, “You
have robbed me of my children: Joseph is no longer living and Simeon
is no longer here, and now you would take Benjamin also!
All this trouble has come to me!” But Reuben said to his father,
“You may put my two sons to death, if I do not bring him to you.
Put him in my charge and I will bring him back to you.”
Then Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his
brother is dead and he only is left. If harm should come to him on
the way by which you go, then you will bring down my gray hairs
with sorrow to the grave.”

The famine was severe in the land; and when Joseph’s brothers
had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, their
father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” But Judah
said to him, “The man plainly said to us: ‘You shall not see me
again unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother
with us, we will go down and buy you food, but if you will not send
him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not
see me unless your brother is with you.'” Jacob said, “Why did
you bring trouble upon me by telling the man you had another
brother?” They replied, “The man asked all about us and
our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another
brother?’ So we answered his questions as he asked them. How
were we to know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

Then Judah said to Jacob, his father, “Send the lad with me,
and we will go at once, that both we and you and our little ones may
live and not die. I will be responsible for him; from me you may
demand him. If I do not bring him to you and set him before you,
let me bear the blame forever; for if we had not waited so long,
surely we would by this time have come back the second time.”
So their father said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take
some of the fruits of the land in your jars and carry a present to the
man, a little balsam, a little syrup, spices, ladanum, pistachio nuts,
and almonds. Take twice as much money with you, carrying back
the money that was put in your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.[35]
Take also your brother and go again to the man. May God Almighty
grant that the man may be merciful to you and free Benjamin and
your other brother. But if I am robbed of my sons, I am bereaved
indeed!” So the men took the present and twice as much money
and Benjamin, and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward
of his house, “Bring the men into the house, kill animals, and prepare
the meal, for these men will dine with me at noon.” The steward
did as Joseph ordered, and brought the men into Joseph’s house.
But the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s
house, and they said, “We are being brought in on account of the
money that was put in our grain sacks at our first visit, that he may
accuse us and fall upon us and take us as slaves, together with our
asses.”

So when they came near to Joseph’s steward, they spoke to him
at the door of the house and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the
first time only to buy food; but when we reached home, we opened
our sacks and found that each man’s money was in the mouth of
his sack, our money in its full weight; and we have brought it
back with us. We have brought down with us more money with
which to buy food. We do not know who put our money into
our sacks.” He replied, “Peace be to you, fear not; your God and
the God of your father has given you the treasure in your sacks;
your money came to me.”

Then he brought Simeon out to them. The steward also took
the men to Joseph’s house and gave them water with which to wash
their feet, and he gave their asses fodder. Then they made ready
the present for Joseph, when he should come at noon, for they had
heard that they were to eat there.

When Joseph came into the house, they gave him the present
which they had brought and bowed down low before him. He asked
them about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man
of whom you spoke? Is he still living?” They replied, “Your servant,
our father, is well; he is still alive.” Then they bowed their
heads and knelt down before him.

When Joseph looked up and saw Benjamin his brother, his own
mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother of whom you
spoke to me?” And he added, “God be gracious to you, my son.”
Then because of his longing for his brother he sought a place in which
to weep. So he went into his room and wept there.

Then he bathed his face and came out and said, “Bring on the[36]
food.” So they brought food for him by himself and for them by
themselves and for the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves,
because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, for to do
so was hateful to them. Joseph’s brothers were seated before him,
the eldest first, as was his right as the oldest, and the youngest last,
and the men looked at each other in astonishment. Then Joseph
had portions served to them from the food before him. But Benjamin’s
portions were five times as much as any of theirs. So they
drank and were merry with him.

Joseph Converses with Judah, his Brother
Painted by J. James Tissot

Then he gave this command to the steward of his household:
“Fill the men’s grain sacks with food, as much as they can carry,
and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest
and the money too that he paid for his grain.” And the steward
did as Joseph commanded.

As soon as the morning light appeared, the men were sent away
with their asses. When they had gone out of the city, but were not
yet far away, Joseph commanded his steward, “Follow after the
men and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you returned
evil for good? Why have you stolen my silver cup, that
from which my master drinks? You have done wrong in so doing.'”

So the steward overtook them and said these words to them.
They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these?
Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! Remember that
we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which
we found in our sacks. Why then should we steal silver or gold from
your master’s house? Let that one of your servants with whom it
is found die, and we will be my lord’s slaves.” He said, “Let it now
be as you have said: he with whom it is found shall be my slave;
but you shall be innocent.” Then each one quickly took down his
sack and opened it. The steward searched, beginning with the oldest
and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s
sack. Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his ass
and returned to the city.

JOSEPH’S FORGIVENESS OF HIS BROTHERS

When Judah and his brothers came back to Joseph’s house, Joseph
was still there; and they threw themselves before him on the ground.
Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do
you not know that a man like me can always tell where things are?”[37]
Judah replied, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak
or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of
your servants. See, both we and he also with whom the cup was
found are my lord’s slaves.” But Joseph said, “Far be it from me
that I should do so! The man with whom the cup was found shall
be my slave; but you yourselves go up in peace to your father.”

Then Judah came close to him and said, “Oh, my lord, let your
servant, I beg of you, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not
your anger be aroused against your servant, for you are even as
Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father
or a brother?’ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old
man, and a child of his old age, a little one. As his brother is dead,
he is the only son of his mother who is left; and his father
loves him.’ You said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me,
that I may see him.’ But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot
leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would
die.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother
comes down with you, you shall not see me again.’

“When we went up to your servant, my father, we told him the
words of my lord; and our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little
food.’ But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother
is with us, then we will go; for we cannot see the man again unless
our youngest brother is with us.’ Your servant, my father, said to
us, ‘You know that my wife had two sons; and one went from me,’
and I said, ‘Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him
since. If you take this one also from me, and harm come to him,
you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.’ Now
if I return to your servant, my father, and Benjamin with whose life
his heart is bound up is not with us, and he sees that there is no boy,
he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your
servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For your servant became
responsible for the boy to my father, when I said, ‘If I do not
bring him to you, then I will bear the blame before my father forever.’
Now, therefore, let me, instead of the boy, remain as a slave
to my lord, I beg of you; but let the boy go back with his brothers.
For how can I go back to my father, if the boy is not with me, lest
I should see the sorrow that would come upon my father?”

Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who were
standing by him; so he cried out, “Let every man leave me.” So
no Egyptian was present while Joseph made himself known to his[38]
brothers. But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians and Pharaoh’s
court heard.

And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father
still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were
too ashamed to look him in the face. Then Joseph said to his
brothers, “Come near to me, I beg of you.” So they came near.
He said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
Do not be troubled nor angry with yourselves that you sold me here,
for God sent me before you to save your lives. For the famine has
already been two years in the land, and there are still five years in
which there shall be neither ploughing nor harvest. God sent me
before you to save your lives through a great deliverance and thus
give you children on the earth. So now it is not you who sent me
here, but God. He has made me like a father to Pharaoh and master
of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

“Go up quickly to my father and say to him, ‘Your son Joseph
says: God has made me master of all Egypt. Come down to me
without delay. You shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall
be near me with your children and your grandchildren, with your
flocks and your herds and all that you have, so that you, with your
household and all that you have, may never want. There I will
provide for you, for there will be five more years of famine.’ Now
you and my brother Benjamin see that it is I who am speaking to
you. Tell my father all about my honor in Egypt and what you
have seen; and you must quickly bring him down here.”

Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and
Benjamin wept upon his neck. He also kissed all his brothers and
wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.

JOSEPH’S LOYALTY TO HIS FAMILY

The news that Joseph’s brothers had arrived became known in
Pharaoh’s palace; and it pleased Pharaoh and his servants greatly.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your
beasts, go to the land of Canaan, and take your father and
your families and come to me, and I will give you the best there is
in the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the best that the land can
give. Now you are commanded to do this: take wagons from the
land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your[39]
father and come. Also do not pay any attention to your household
goods, for the best of all there is in the land of Egypt is yours.'”
And the sons of Jacob did as they were commanded.

So Joseph gave them wagons, as Pharaoh ordered, and what
was needed for the journey. To each of them he gave a change of
clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver
and five changes of clothing. To his father he sent this gift:
ten asses loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten asses
loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father on the
journey.

So he sent his brothers away, and, as they went, he said to them,
“See that you do not quarrel on the journey!” So they went up
out of Egypt and came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father,
and told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land
of Egypt!” Then Jacob’s heart stood still, for he could not believe
them. But when they told him all that Joseph had said to them
and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry
him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived, and he said, “It is
enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before
I die.”

Then Jacob set out on his journey with all that he had. He first
went to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father
Isaac. God spoke to him in a vision by night and said, “Jacob,
Jacob.” He answered, “Here am I.” God said, “I am God, the
God of your father. Do not fear to go down into Egypt, for there
I will make of you a great nation. I myself will go down with you
into Egypt; I will surely bring you back again; and Joseph shall
close your dying eyes.”

When Jacob left Beersheba, his sons carried him and their little
ones and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent. Jacob
also sent Judah before him to Joseph, that he might show him the
way to Goshen.

When they came into the land of Goshen, Joseph made ready
his chariot, and went up to Goshen to meet Jacob his father. When
he met him, Jacob fell on his neck and wept there a long time.

Then Jacob said to Joseph, “Now let me die, for I have seen
your face and know that you are still alive.” But Joseph said to
his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell
Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family
who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. Now the men[40]
are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle; and they have
brought their flocks and cattle and all that they have.’ When Pharaoh
calls you, and asks, ‘What is your business?’ you shall say,
‘Your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even
until now, both we and our fathers.’ Say this that you may live
in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is looked down upon by
the Egyptians.”

Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, “My father
and my brothers with their sheep and cattle and all that they possess
have come from the land of Canaan; and now they are in the
province of Goshen.” And he took five of his brothers and presented
them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to them, “What is your business?”
They answered, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our
fathers.” They also said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in your
country; because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan, and
there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks. Now, therefore, we
beg of you, let your servants stay in the land of Goshen.” Then
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Let them stay in the land of Goshen; and
if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my
cattle.”

Joseph also brought in Jacob his father and presented him to
Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Jacob,
“How many years have you lived?” Jacob answered, “I have lived
a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the years of
my life, and they have not been as many as those that my forefathers
lived on earth.” After Jacob had blessed Pharaoh, he went out from
Pharaoh’s presence. So Joseph gave his father and his brothers a
place to live in and a home in the land of Goshen, in the best part
of the land of Egypt, as Pharaoh had commanded.

Joseph also provided food for his father and his brothers and all
his father’s family according to the number of the little children.
So the Israelites lived in Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and there
they grew wealthy and had many children.

THE BOYHOOD AND TRAINING OF MOSES

After the death of Joseph and his brothers, the Israelites increased
so rapidly and became so many and powerful that the land
was filled with them. But a new king who did not know Joseph[41]
ruled over Egypt. He said to his people, “See, the Israelites are
becoming too many and powerful for us. Come, let us deal wisely
with them, for fear that they become so many that, if war is begun
against us, they will join our enemies and fight against us and leave
the land.”

So the Egyptians set taskmasters over them to put burdens upon
them. And they built for Pharaoh the store-cities, Pithom and
Rameses. But the more the Egyptians afflicted them, the more
numerous they became and the more they spread everywhere, so
that the Egyptians dreaded what they might do. And the Egyptians
were cruel and made slaves of them, making their lives bitter
with hard labor in mortar and brick, and by all kinds of hard work
in the field.

Pharaoh also gave this command to all his people, “You shall
throw into the river every son that is born to the Hebrews, but
every daughter you shall save alive.”

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a woman of the same
tribe, and she had a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful
child, she hid him for three months. But when she could no longer
hide him, she took a basket made of papyrus reeds, daubed it with
mortar and pitch, and put the child in it. Then she placed it in
the reeds by the bank of the river Nile, while his sister stayed
near by to see what would happen to him.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, and
while her maids were walking along the river’s bank, she saw the
basket among the reeds and sent her waiting-maid to bring it.
When she opened it and saw the child, the boy was crying; and she
felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

The Finding of Moses
Painted by Juliaan de Vriendt

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call
one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” Pharaoh’s
daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the
child’s mother, and Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this
child away and nurse it for me, and I will pay you your wages.”
Then the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child had
grown up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became
her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, “I drew him out
of the water.”

One time, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own
people; and as he was watching them at their hard labor, he saw an
Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own race. He looked around[42]
and seeing that there was no one in sight, he killed the Egyptian
and hid him in the sand.

On the next day Moses went out, and saw two Hebrews struggling
together; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why
do you strike your fellow workman?” The man replied, “Who
made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me
as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said,
“What I have done is known!” When Pharaoh heard what had
taken place, he tried to put Moses to death; but Moses left the
country and made his home in the land of Midian.

As he was sitting by a well, the seven daughters of the priest of
Midian came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their
father’s flock, but the shepherds came and drove them away. Then
Moses stood up and protected the women and watered their
flock.

When they came to their father, he said, “How is it that you
have come back so early to-day?” They replied, “An Egyptian
protected us from the shepherds, and besides, he drew water for us
and watered the flock.” Then he said to his daughters, “Where is
he? Why have you left the man? Ask him to eat with us.” So
Moses made his home with the man; and he gave Moses his daughter
Zipporah to be his wife. She had a son, and Moses named him
Gershom.

THE VOICE FROM THE BUSH

After a long time the king of Egypt died. Moses was taking
care of the flock of Jethro his wife’s father. Once he led the flock
to the other side of the pasture and came to Horeb, the mountain of
God. There the angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of
fire from the midst of a thorn bush. As he looked, the bush flamed
up without being burned. Moses said, “I will stop here and see
this wonderful sight, why the bush is not burned up.”

When Jehovah saw that Moses stopped to look, he called to
him from the midst of the bush, “Moses, Moses.” Moses answered,
“Here am I.” Then God said, “Do not come near; take your shoes
off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
He also said, “I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses covered
his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.[43]

But Jehovah said, “I have certainly seen the suffering of my
people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry of distress because
of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down
to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them
out of that land into a land that is beautiful and wide, to a land
with plenty of milk and honey. I have heard the cry of the Israelites
and I have seen how they suffer at the hands of the Egyptians.
Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my
people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh
and should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He answered, “I
will surely be with you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have
sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall
worship God upon this mountain.”

Then Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to
them, ‘The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,’ and they
ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I answer them?” God
said to Moses, “I AM WHAT I AM”; and he said, “Declare to
the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ Go and gather the
leaders of Israel together and say to them, ‘Jehovah the God of
your forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared
to me and said, I have surely remembered you and have seen
what is being done to you in Egypt, and I have declared that I will
bring you up out of the suffering in Egypt to a land with plenty
of milk and honey.’ They will listen to your voice; and you, together
with the leaders of Israel, shall go to the king of Egypt and
say to him, ‘Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has appeared to us.
Now let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may
offer a sacrifice to Jehovah our God.’ But I know that the king of
Egypt will not let you go unless he is made to do so by a mighty
power. Therefore I will use my power and overwhelm Egypt with
all the marvellous deeds that I will do there. After that he will let
you go.”

Moses said to Jehovah, “O, Lord I am not able to speak well;
for I am slow to speak and slow in saying what I think.” Jehovah
said to him, “Who has given man a mouth? Or who makes one
deaf or dumb, or blind or able to see? Is it not I, Jehovah? Now
go, and I will be with you and teach you what you shall say; and
your brother Aaron shall speak for you to the people.”

Then Moses went back to Jethro, his wife’s father, and said to[44]
him, “Let me go again to my people in Egypt to see whether they
are still alive.” Jethro answered Moses, “Go, with my blessing.”

PHARAOH THE STUBBORN RULER

Then Jehovah said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet
Moses.” So he went and met him on the mountain of God and
kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all that Jehovah had sent him
to declare. So Moses and Aaron gathered all the leaders of the
Israelites, and Aaron repeated all the words which Jehovah had
spoken to Moses. The people believed; and when they heard that
Jehovah had remembered the Israelites and that he had seen their
suffering, they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him,
“Jehovah, the God of Israel commands, ‘Let my people go that
they may hold a feast in my honor in the wilderness.'” But
Pharaoh said, “Who is Jehovah that I should obey his command to
let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, and I will not let Israel go.”
They said, “The God of the Hebrews has appeared to us; let us go
three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may offer a sacrifice
to Jehovah our God, that he may not attack us with pestilence or
with the sword.” But the king of Egypt replied, “Moses and
Aaron, why do you try to turn the people from their work? Go
to your tasks!”

The same day Pharaoh gave this command to the taskmasters
who were over the people: “You shall no longer give the people
straw for making bricks as before. Let them go and gather straw
for themselves. But you shall demand of them the same number of
bricks that they have been making before; you shall not lessen the
number at all, for they are lazy; that is why they cry out, ‘Let us
go and offer a sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid upon
the men, that they may be kept so busy that they will not pay attention
to lying words.”

So the taskmasters who were over the people went out and said
to them, “This is Pharaoh’s order, ‘I will no longer give you straw.
Go yourselves, get straw wherever you can find it; but your work
shall not be made less.'” So the people were scattered over all
the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters
urged them on, saying, “You must finish your daily task just[45]
as when there was straw.” The overseers of the Israelites, whom
Pharaoh’s taskmasters had put over them, were also beaten and
asked, “Why have you not finished to-day as many bricks as yesterday?”

Then the overseers of the Israelites went to Pharaoh and said,
“Why do you deal in this way with your servants? No straw is
given to your servants, and yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks.’ See
how your servants are beaten and how you wrong your people.”
But he said, “You are lazy, you are lazy; therefore you say, ‘Let
us go and offer a sacrifice to Jehovah.’ Now go and work, for no
straw shall be given you; yet you must make the same number of
bricks.”

Then Moses turned again to Jehovah and said, “Jehovah, why
hast thou brought misfortune upon this people? Why is it that
thou has sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy
name he has wronged this people, and thou hast done nothing at
all to rescue thy people.”

Jehovah answered Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do
to Pharaoh; for compelled by a mighty power he shall surely let
them go, and compelled by a mighty power he shall drive them out
of his land.”

THE COST OF BEING CRUEL AND STUBBORN

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Pharaoh is stubborn; he will not
let the people go. Go to Pharaoh early in the morning, as he is going
out on the water, and stand by the bank of the Nile to meet him.
Say to him, ‘Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you
with this command: Let my people go that they may worship me
in the wilderness, but so far you have not listened. Jehovah declares,
By this you shall know that I am Jehovah: See, I will strike
the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand
and they shall be changed into blood. The fish, too, that are in the
Nile shall die, and the Nile shall become foul, so that the Egyptians
will hate to drink its water.'”

Then Moses lifted up the staff and in the presence of Pharaoh
and his servants struck the waters that were in the river Nile; and
all its waters were changed into blood. The fish, too, that were in
the Nile died, and the river became so foul that the Egyptians could
not drink its water, but dug round about the Nile for water to drink.[46]

Seven days later Jehovah gave this command to Moses, “Go in
to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Jehovah commands: Let my people go
that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, then I
will afflict all your land with frogs; and the Nile shall swarm with
frogs which shall go up and come into your house, into your sleeping
chamber, upon your bed, into the houses of your servants, upon
your people, and into your ovens and kneading-troughs; and the
frogs shall come up even upon you and your people and all your
servants.'”

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: ‘Stretch out your
hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the
pools, and cause frogs to come up over the land of Egypt.'” So
Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the
frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to
Jehovah to take away the frogs from me and my people; then I will
let the people go, that they may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah.” Moses
said to Pharaoh, “Will you do yourself the honor of telling me at
what time I shall pray to Jehovah in your behalf and in behalf of
your servants and people, that the frogs be destroyed from your
palaces and be left only in the Nile?” Pharaoh answered, “To-morrow.”
Then Moses said, “Let it be as you say; that you may
know that there is none like Jehovah our God, the frogs shall depart
from you, from your palaces, and from your servants and people;
they shall be left only in the Nile.”

When Moses and Aaron had gone out from Pharaoh, Moses
prayed to Jehovah to remove the frogs which he had brought upon
Pharaoh; and Jehovah did as Moses asked. The frogs died in the
houses, in the courts, and in the fields, and the people gathered them
together in many heaps; and the land was filled with a vile odor.
But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he was stubborn and,
as Jehovah had said, did not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and
stand before Pharaoh, just as he goes out to the water, and say to
him, ‘Jehovah commands: Let my people go that they may worship
me. If you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies
upon you, upon your servants, and upon your people and into your
palaces, so that the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms
of flies, as well as the ground upon which they stand. But at that
time I will set apart the land of Goshen in which my people live,[47]
and no swarms of flies shall be there, so that you may know that
I, Jehovah, am in the midst of the earth.'”

And Jehovah did so: a vast swarm of flies came upon Pharaoh’s
palace and into the homes of his servants; and all the land of Egypt
was ruined by the swarms of flies.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “I will let
you go that you may offer a sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the
wilderness; only you must not go far away. Pray for me.” Moses
replied, “I will go out and will pray to Jehovah that the swarms of
flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people
to-morrow; only let not Pharaoh again act deceitfully by refusing
to let the people go to offer a sacrifice to Jehovah.”

So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah. And
Jehovah did as Moses asked; but this time also Pharaoh was stubborn
and would not let the people go.

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Jehovah
the God of the Hebrews commands: Let my people go that
they may worship me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold
them, then the power of Jehovah will bring a very severe pest upon
your cattle which are in the field, upon the horses, the asses, the
camels, the herds, and the flocks. But Jehovah will make a difference
between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and not
one that belongs to the Israelites shall die.'”

So Jehovah set a fixed time, saying, “To-morrow Jehovah will
do this in the land.” Jehovah did this on the next day, and all the
cattle of the Egyptians died; but none of the cattle of the Israelites.
Then Pharaoh sent and found that not even one of the cattle of the
Israelites was dead; but Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let
the people go.

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and
stand before Pharaoh, and say to him,’Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews,
commands: Let my people go, that they may worship me.
Do you still set yourself against my people, so that you will not let
them go? To-morrow about this time I will send down a very heavy
fall of hail, such as has not been in Egypt from the day that it became
a nation until now.'”

So Jehovah sent down hail upon the land of Egypt, and the lightning
flashing in the midst of the hail was very severe, such as had
not been before in all Egypt since it became a nation. Through the
whole land of Egypt the hail struck down everything that was in[48]
the field, both man and beast. The hail also struck down all the
growing plants and broke all the trees in the fields. Only in the
land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail.

Again Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said
to them, “I have sinned this time; Jehovah is right and I and my
people are wrong. Pray to Jehovah, for there has been enough of
these mighty thunderings and hail, and I will let you go, and you
shall stay no longer.” Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone
out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to Jehovah;
the thunders shall stop, and there shall be no more hail, that you
may know that the earth is Jehovah’s. But as for you and your servants,
I know that even then you will not fear Jehovah.”

So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his
hands to Jehovah; and the thunders and hail stopped, and the rain
was no longer poured upon the earth. But when Pharaoh saw that
the rain and the hail and the thunders had stopped, he sinned again,
and he and his servants became stubborn, and he would not let the
Israelites go.

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and said to him, “Jehovah,
the God of the Hebrews, commands: ‘How long will you refuse
to obey me? Let my people go that they may worship me. For
if you refuse to let my people go, then to-morrow I will bring locusts
into your land, and they will cover the surface of the earth, so that
no one will be able to see the ground, and they shall eat the rest of
that which is left to you from the hail, and they shall eat all your
trees which grow in the field.'”

Then Moses and Aaron were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence,
but Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and
Jehovah caused an east wind to blow over the land all that day and
night. In the morning the east wind brought the locusts, and they
went over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the land of
Egypt, a very large swarm, more locusts than there ever were before
or ever will be again. For they covered the surface of the whole
land, so that the land was darkened and nothing green was left,
neither tree nor growing plants, anywhere in all the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses in haste and said, “I have sinned
against Jehovah your God and against you. Now therefore forgive
my sin only this once, and pray to Jehovah your God to take away
from me this deadly plague.” So Moses went out from Pharaoh
and prayed to Jehovah, and Jehovah made a very strong west wind
to blow which took up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea;[49]
not a single locust was left in all the land of Egypt. But Jehovah
let Pharaoh’s heart remain stubborn, so that he would not let the
Israelites go.

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward
heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, so dark
that it may be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward
heaven; and there was complete darkness in all the land of Egypt
for three days; no one could see another, nor did any one move
about for three days. But the Israelites had light in their homes.

Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, worship Jehovah;
only let your flocks and your herds stay behind; let your little ones
go with you.” But Moses said, “You must also give us animals
for sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may offer a sacrifice to
Jehovah our God. Our cattle too must go with us; not a hoof shall
be left behind, for we must take these to offer to Jehovah our God,
and we do not know what we must offer to Jehovah until we arrive
there.”

But Jehovah let Pharaoh’s heart remain stubborn, and he would
not let them go. And Pharaoh said to him, “Go away from me;
take care that you never come to me again; for on the day that you
come to me you shall die.” Moses replied, “You have spoken
truly, I shall never see you again.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “Jehovah declares: ‘About midnight I
will go through all of Egypt. All the eldest sons in the land of
Egypt shall die, from the eldest son of Pharaoh who sits upon his
throne, even to the eldest son of the slave girl who is behind the
mill, and all the first-born of the cattle. There shall be a great cry
of sorrow all over the land of Egypt, such as has never been before
and never shall be again.’ But not a single dog shall bark at any
of the Israelites nor their animals, that you may know that Jehovah
does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israelites. All
these your servants shall come to me and bow down before me, saying,
‘Go away, together with all the people that follow you.’ After
that I will go away.” And Moses went from Pharaoh in great
anger.

THE ESCAPE FROM EGYPT

Moses called together all the leaders of Israel, and said to them,
“Take lambs from the herds according to your families and kill the
passover lamb. You shall also take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in[50]
the blood that is in the basin and strike the lintel and the two door
posts with the blood that is in the basin. And not one of you shall
go out of the door of his house until morning, for Jehovah will pass
through to kill the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood upon the
lintel and on the two door posts, he will pass over the door and will
not let the destroyer come into your houses to destroy you. You
and your children shall observe this event as a custom forever.

“When your children shall say to you, ‘What do you mean by
this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the passover of
Jehovah, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt,
when he destroyed the Egyptians and released our people.'”

Then the people bowed their heads and worshipped; and the
Israelites went and did as Jehovah had commanded Moses and
Aaron.

At midnight Jehovah destroyed all the eldest sons in the land of
Egypt, from the eldest son of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the
eldest son of the captive who was in prison. Then Pharaoh arose
in the night, together with all his servants and all the Egyptians,
and there was a great cry of sorrow, for there was not a house in
Egypt in which there was not one dead. Pharaoh called Moses and
Aaron at night and said, “Go away from among my people, both
you and the Israelites; go, worship Jehovah as you have asked.
Also take with you your sheep and your cattle, as you have asked,
go and ask a blessing for me also.” The Egyptians also told the
people to hasten out of the land, for they said, “We shall all perish.”
So the people took their dough before the yeast had worked, and
their kneading-troughs were bound up in their clothes upon their
shoulders.

The Israelites went on foot from Rameses to Succoth; and a
mixed multitude went with them, and they had a great many flocks
and herds. They baked unraised cakes of the dough which they
had brought with them from Egypt, for there was no yeast in it,
because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not wait,
neither had they prepared for themselves any food for the journey.

And they went from Succoth and camped at Etham on the border
of the wilderness. Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar
of cloud, to show them the way, and at night in a pillar of fire,
to give them light, that they might march both by day and by
night; the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night stayed
in front of the people.[51]

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the
feeling of Pharaoh and his servants toward them was changed, and
they said, “Why have we done this and let the Israelites escape
from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his
people with him. He also took six hundred chosen chariots and the
rest of the chariots of Egypt with captains over all of them; and
Jehovah let the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, remain stubborn,
so that he followed the Israelites, because they had defied him.

When Pharaoh drew near to them the Israelites looked up and
saw the Egyptians marching after them; and they were very much
afraid and cried to Jehovah. And they said to Moses, “Why have
you misled us by bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we
told you in Egypt, when we said, ‘Let us alone, that we may serve
the Egyptians? For it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than
to die in the wilderness.'” But Moses said to the people, “Do not
be frightened, remain quiet and you will see how Jehovah will save
you to-day; for as surely as you now see the Egyptians you shall
never see them again. Jehovah will fight for you, and you are to
keep still.”

Then the angel of God who went before the army of Israel
changed his position and went behind them. The pillar of cloud
also changed its position from in front of them and stood behind
them, coming between the army of the Egyptians and the army of
the Israelites. On the one side the cloud was dark and on the other
side it lighted up the night, so that throughout all the night neither
army came near the other.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Jehovah
by means of a strong east wind caused the sea to go back all that
night and made the bed of the sea dry. And the Israelites crossed
over on the dry bed of the sea. The Egyptians followed and all of
Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went after them
into the sea. In the morning before sunrise, Jehovah looked out
through the pillar of fire and of cloud upon the army of the Egyptians
and threw them into confusion. He also bound their chariot
wheels, so that they dragged heavily. Therefore the Egyptians
said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for Jehovah fights for them
against us.”

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the
sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their
chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his[52]
hand over the sea, and toward morning the sea returned to its
ordinary level while the Egyptians were flying before it. So Jehovah
overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea, and the waters
returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, and all the
army of Pharaoh that went after them into the sea, so that not one
of them was left. Thus Jehovah saved the Israelites that day from
the power of the Egyptians; and they saw the Egyptians dead upon
the seashore. When the Israelites saw the great work which Jehovah
did to the Egyptians, the people feared Jehovah and believed
in him and in his servant Moses.

And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine
in her hand; and as all the women followed her with tambourines
and with dancing, she sang with them:

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to Jehovah:

GOD’S COMMANDS TO THE PEOPLE

Moses led the Israelites forward from the Red Sea until they
came to the wilderness of Sinai, and there the Israelites camped
before the mountain.

Moses went up into the presence of God, and Jehovah called to
him from the mountain and said, “Tell the Israelites: ‘You have
seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’
wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will listen
to my voice and keep your solemn agreement with me, you shall be
my own treasure taken from among all peoples, for all the earth is
mine. You shall be a nation of priests, a people devoted to my service.'”

So Moses called together the leaders of the people and told them
all these words, as Jehovah had commanded him. And all the
people answered together, “We will do all that Jehovah has commanded.”[53]

When Moses told Jehovah the answer of the people, Jehovah
said to him, “See, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people
may hear when I speak and may always believe in you.” And
Jehovah said to Moses, “Go to the people and keep them pure
to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments and be
ready on the third day, for on the third day I will come down on
Mount Sinai within sight of all the people.”

On the third day, when morning came, there were thunderings
and lightnings and a thick cloud rested upon the mountain, and a
very loud trumpet blast sounded, so that all the people who were
in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the
camp to meet God; and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
Mount Sinai was entirely covered with smoke, because Jehovah
came down upon it in fire. And from it smoke went up like the smoke
of a furnace, and the entire mountain shook violently.

Then God spoke all these words: “I am Jehovah your God who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, from a place where you were
slaves.

“Thou Shalt Have no other Gods except Me.

“Thou Shalt Not Make for Thyself a Graven Image, nor
any image of anything that is in the heavens above, on the earth
beneath, or in the waters that are under the earth. Thou shalt not
bow down before them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am
a jealous God visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children to
the third and fourth generation, but showing acts of kindness to the
thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commands.

“Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of Jehovah Thy God in
Vain, for Jehovah will not leave him unpunished who takes his
name in vain.

“Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep It Holy. Six days
shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the
Sabbath of Jehovah thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work,
neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy male servant,
nor thy female servant, nor thy cattle, nor the guest who is with
thee, for in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the
sea and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore
Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.[54]

“Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother, that thou mayest
live long on the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.

“Thou Shalt Not Murder.

“Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery.

“Thou Shalt Not Steal.

“Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor.

“Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s House; thou shalt
not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female
servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that belongs to thy
neighbor.”

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in
accord with these words I have made a solemn agreement with you
and with Israel.”

OUR DUTIES TO GOD AND MAN

Hear O Israel: Jehovah our God is the one Lord. You shall
love Jehovah your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and
with all your strength.

Behold, the heavens, the highest heavens, the earth and all that
is on it belong to Jehovah your God. Jehovah showed his love to
your fathers more than to any other people, and he has chosen their
children after them and you out of all the nations. Therefore, open
your heart to him and no longer refuse to be guided by him. For
Jehovah your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the
mighty, the wonderful God, who shows no favors and takes no
bribes, who sees that what is right is done to the orphan and widow,
who loves the foreigner and gives him food and clothing. Love
Jehovah your God and always keep his laws and his commands.

You shall not deceive one another.

You shall not lie to one another.

You shall not swear falsely in my name.

You shall not wrong nor rob your neighbor.

You shall not curse the deaf.

You shall not put a stumbling-block before the blind.

You shall not tell stories about one another.

You shall not hate any one.

You shall not take vengeance nor bear a grudge against any one.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.[55]

You shall rise before the hoary head and honor an old man.

If a foreigner lives in your land, you shall do him no wrong.
You shall treat him as one of your own people and you shall love
him as yourself.

THE REPORT OF THE HEBREW SPIES

Moses sent certain men to explore the land of Canaan and said
to them, “Go up into the South Country and on into the highlands,
and see what the land is and whether the people who live there are
strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the
land in which they live is good or bad, and what kinds of cities they
live in, whether in camps or in strongholds. See whether the land
is fertile or barren, whether there is wood in it or not. Be courageous
and bring some of the fruit of the land,” for it was the time
when the grapes first begin to ripen.

So they went up to the South Country and came to Hebron.
When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down from there
a branch with one cluster of grapes and brought it away on a pole
carried by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.
That place was called the valley of the Grape Cluster because of the
cluster which the Israelites cut down there.

Then they returned to Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites
at Kadesh and brought back word to them and showed them the
fruit of the land. They reported to Moses, “We went to the land
to which you sent us; and it indeed is full of milk and honey; and
this is some of its fruit. But the people who live in the land are
strong, and the cities are very large and have high walls about them.”

Then Caleb quieted the people and said, “Let us go up at once
and take it, for we are well able to conquer it.” But the men who
had gone up with him said, “We are not able to conquer the people,
for they are stronger than we, and all the people whom we saw
there are very tall and large. There we saw the giants; we were as
grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we seemed to them.”

All the people wept that night and cried out, “Why did Jehovah
bring us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our
little ones will be taken captive. Would it not be better for us to
return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us choose
a leader and return to Egypt.”

Then Moses and Aaron bowed low before all the Israelites who
were gathered there, and Joshua and Caleb, who were among those[56]
who explored the land, tore their clothes and said to them, “The
land which we went to explore is a very good land. If Jehovah is
pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a
land which is full of milk and honey. Only do not rebel against
Jehovah. Fear not the people of the land, for they will supply us
with food. Their defense is taken away from over them, and
Jehovah is with us; fear them not.” But the people would not
trust Jehovah.

Then Jehovah said to Moses, “How long will this people despise
me? How long will they refuse to trust me in spite of all of the
wonders which I have performed before their eyes? I will send
sickness upon them and destroy them, and I will make you and
your family a nation greater and mightier than theirs.”

But Moses said to Jehovah, “When the Egyptians hear it, they
will say, ‘Jehovah has killed them in the wilderness because he was
not able to bring this people into the land which he solemnly promised
to them.’ Forgive, I pray thee, the guilt of this people, because
thy love is great, even as thou hast forgiven them from the
time they left Egypt even until now.”

Jehovah said, “I have forgiven as you have asked; but as surely
as I live and as surely as the whole earth shall be filled with the
glory of Jehovah, none of the men who have seen my glory and my
wonders which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet
have tested me these ten times and have not listened to my voice,
shall see the land which I have solemnly promised to their fathers,
neither shall any of those who despise me see it. But I will bring
my servant Caleb to the land to which he went, for he has shown
a different spirit and has faithfully followed me, and his children
shall possess it. But your little ones, who, you said, would be
captives of war, I will bring in, and they shall possess the land
which you have refused. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness,
and your children shall be wanderers there forty years and
shall suffer for your unfaithfulness until your bodies have all decayed
in the wilderness.”

THE LAST WORDS OF MOSES

When Moses was old, he said to all the Israelites, “I am a
hundred and twenty years old this day. I can no longer go out and
come in, and Jehovah has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this[57]
river Jordan.’ Jehovah your God is going over before you. He will
destroy these nations before you, and you shall drive them out; and
Joshua is going over to lead you as Jehovah has commanded. Be
brave and strong, do not be afraid of them, for Jehovah your God
is leading you; he will not fail you nor forsake you.”

Moses also called Joshua and said to him in the presence of all
Israel, “Be brave and strong, for you shall bring this people into
the land which Jehovah has promised to their fathers to give them;
and you shall give it to them. Jehovah is going before you; he will
be with you, he will not fail nor forsake you; fear not, nor be frightened.”

Then Moses went up on the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo to
the summit of Pisgah opposite Jericho. And Jehovah showed him
all the land, and said to him, “This is the land which I have solemnly
promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it
to your children.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but
you shall not go over there.”

So Moses, the servant of Jehovah, died there in the land of
Moab as Jehovah had said. And Jehovah buried him in the deep
valley in the land of Moab; but to this day no man knows the place
where he was buried. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old
when he died, but his eye was not dim nor had he lost his strength.
The Israelites wept for Moses on the plain of Moab thirty days,
and then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were
ended.

Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for
Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the Israelites listened to
him and did as Jehovah commanded Moses. But in Israel no
prophet had yet arisen whom Jehovah knew as well as he did Moses.

CROSSING THE RIVER JORDAN

After the death of Moses, Jehovah said to Joshua, Moses’ helper,
“Moses my servant is dead: Now arise, go over the Jordan with
all this people to the land which I am about to give to the Israelites.
As long as you live no one will be able to stand against you. As I
was with Moses, so I shall be with you: I will not fail you nor forsake
you. Be brave and strong, for you shall give this people the
land which I solemnly promised their fathers I would give them.[58]
Only be brave and strong to keep faithfully all the law, as Moses
my servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right nor to
the left, and you shall have success wherever you go. Have I not
commanded you? Be brave and strong; fear not nor be afraid,
for Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go.”

Then Joshua gave this order to the officers who were over the
people: “Go through all the camp and give this command: ‘Prepare
food for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this
Jordan, to go in and take the land which Jehovah your God has given
you as your own.'”

While Joshua was at Shittim, he secretly sent two men as spies,
with the command: “Go, explore the land and especially Jericho.”
So they went and entered the house of a woman named Rahab, and
stayed there.

It was reported to the king of Jericho, “Some men came here
to-night from the Israelites to explore the land.” Therefore the
king of Jericho sent to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who
entered your house, for they have come to explore all the land.”

Now the woman had taken the two men and hidden them; so
she said, “It is true, some men came to me, but I did not know where
they came from. When the time came to shut the gate at night,
the men went out and I do not know where they have gone. Follow
after them quickly, for you may overtake them.” She, however,
had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks
of flax which she had spread out there. So the men of Jericho followed
after them in the direction of the fords of the Jordan; and
as soon as the men of Jericho had gone out, the gate was closed.

The spies had hardly lain down when Rahab came up to them
on the roof and said, “I know that Jehovah has given you the land
and that fear of you has seized us and that because of you all who
live in the land are losing heart. Now therefore swear to me by Jehovah,
since I have treated you with kindness, that you will also
treat my family kindly, and promise me that you will save the lives
of my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, together with
all that they have, and will not put us to death.” The men said to
her, “We are ready to give our lives for you, if you do not tell what
we are doing; and when Jehovah gives us the land, we will treat
you kindly and faithfully.”

Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for the
house in which she lived was built into the city wall. She said to[59]
them, “Go into the hills, that the men who are looking for you may
not find you, and hide yourselves there three days until they have
returned. Then you may go on your way.”

The men said to her, “We shall be free from our solemn promise
to you, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this cord of
scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down and
gather your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your family
into your house. If any one goes out of the doors of your house into
the street, he shall be responsible for his death and we shall be innocent.
If any one stays with you in the house, we will be responsible
for his death if any one lays hands on him. But if you tell what
we are doing, we shall be free from our solemn promise to you.”
She replied, “It shall be as you say.” So she sent them away.
And when they were gone, she bound the scarlet cord in the
window.

So they left and went into the hills and stayed there three days
until those who were looking for them had returned. They sought
for them in every direction but did not find them. Then the two
men came down from the hills, crossed the river, and came to Joshua
and told him all that had happened to them.

Joshua rose up early in the morning and set out from Shittim.
And he and all the Israelites came to the Jordan and spent the night
there before crossing. And Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate
yourselves, for to-morrow Jehovah will do wonders among you.
Come and hear the words of Jehovah your God. By this you shall
know that a living God is with you: the ark of the Lord of all the
earth is about to pass over before you into the Jordan. When the
priests who bear the ark of the Lord of all the earth step into the
waters of the Jordan, its waters shall be cut off, so that the waters
that come down from above will stand still in a heap.”

So when the people left their tents to pass over the Jordan, the
priests, who were carrying the ark were in front of them. And when
the bearers of the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests
who were carrying the ark dipped in the brink of the water—for the
Jordan overflows all its banks during the harvest time—the waters
that came down from above stood still and its waters rose in a heap
a long distance up the river at Adam, the city that is near Zarethan.
The waters that went down toward the Dead Sea were wholly cut
off, while the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who
were carrying the ark of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the[60]
middle of the Jordan, while all the Israelites passed over on dry
ground, until the whole nation had completed the crossing of the
Jordan.

When they had all crossed, Jehovah said to Joshua, “Command
them to take from the middle of the Jordan, out of the place where
the priests’ feet stood, twelve stones and carry them over with you
and lay them down in the camping-place, where you pass the night,
that this may be a reminder to them. Then when your children ask
from time to time: ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ you shall
say to them, ‘They are reminders that the waters of the Jordan were
cut off before the ark of Jehovah, when it passed over the Jordan.’
These stones shall be a constant reminder to the Israelites.”

So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded and took up out of
the middle of the Jordan twelve stones corresponding to the number
of the tribes of the Israelites. They carried them over with them
to the place where they camped and laid them down there.

Then the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and the
river overflowed all its banks as before.

THE CAPTURE OF JERICHO AND AI

Now Jericho had closed its gates because of the Israelites, and
no one went in or out. But Jehovah said to Joshua, “See, I have
given Jericho to you with its king and its able warriors. You shall
march around the city, all the soldiers going about the city once.
You shall do this for six days, and on the seventh day the
people shall make the attack, each man going up straight before
him.”

Then Joshua said to the people, “March around the city and
let the armed men pass on before the ark of Jehovah. You shall
not shout the battle-cry nor let your voice be heard; not a word
shall escape from your mouth until the day I say to you, ‘Shout
the battle-cry’; then you shall shout!”

So he had the ark of Jehovah carried around the city once; then
they returned to the camp and spent the night there. The second
day they also marched around the city once and returned to the
camp. Thus they did six days. The seventh day they rose early
at dawn and made the circuit of the city in the same way, only on
that day they marched about the city seven times. The seventh[61]
time the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people,
“Shout the battle-cry; for Jehovah has given you the city. The
city and all that is in it shall be sacrificed to Jehovah; only Rahab
and those who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid
the messengers whom we sent.”

So the people shouted the battle-cry and the wall fell down and
they went straight up into the city and captured it. But Joshua
spared the lives of Rahab and her father’s family and all that she
had, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to explore
Jericho; and they have lived among the Israelites even to this
day.

Then Joshua set out with all the warriors to go up to Ai. And
he selected thirty thousand brave soldiers and sent them out at night
with this command, “Hide somewhere beyond the town, not very
far from it, but be ready to act. I and all the people who are with
me will go toward the town, but when they come out against us, we
will flee before them. They will come out after us, until we have
drawn them away from the town; for they will say, ‘They are
fleeing before us.’ Then you shall rise up from where you are
hiding, and take the town. When you have captured it, set it on
fire.”

So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place where they
were to hide and placed themselves on the west side of Ai. Joshua
spent that night among the people, and rose early the next morning
and gathered them, and he went up, together with the rulers of Israel,
before the people to Ai. And the warriors who were with him
went up and came before the town. When the king of Ai saw it,
the men of the town quickly rose up and went out to fight against
the Israelites, but the king did not know that men were hiding behind
the town to rise up and attack him.

Then Joshua and the Israelites pretended to be beaten and fled
toward the wilderness; and all the people that were in the town
were called together to pursue them. So they left the town unguarded
and pursued the Israelites. Then the men who were hiding
rose quickly out of their place and set the town on fire. When
the men of Ai looked back, they saw the smoke of the town rising
to heaven; and they had no chance to flee this way or that, for the
Israelites who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned back upon
those who were following them. When the smoke of the town rose
up, the rest of the Israelites came out of the town against them;[62]
so they were surrounded by the Israelites, some on this side, and
some on that, so that they let none of the people of Ai remain or
escape.

WOMEN WHO SAVED A NATION

Later Sisera, who had nine hundred iron chariots, cruelly oppressed
the Israelites for twenty years. Then the prophetess Deborah,
the wife of Lappidoth, delivered Israel. She used to sit under
the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the highlands
of Ephraim; and the Israelites went to her to have her decide
their disputes.

She sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kadesh
Naphtali and said to him, “Does not Jehovah the God of Israel
command you: ‘Go, march to Mount Tabor and take with you ten
thousand of the Naphtalites and of the Zebulunites? Then I will
draw out to you at the brook Kishon Sisera with his chariots and
his troops, and I will deliver him into your hands.'” Barak said to
her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with
me, I will not go.” She replied, “I will certainly go with you, only
you will not have the glory in this expedition on which you are
going, for Jehovah will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.”

So Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kadesh. Barak
called the Zebulunites and the Naphtalites together at Kadesh and
ten thousand men followed him; and Deborah also went up with him.

Now Heber the Kenite had left the Kenites, the children of
Jethro the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far
away as the oak which is near Kadesh.

When it was reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam
had gone up to Mount Tabor, Sisera gathered together all his
chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all his people from the
heathen city Harosheth to the brook Kishon. Then Deborah said
to Barak, “To the attack! for to-day Jehovah has delivered Sisera
into your hands. Has not Jehovah gone out before you?”

So Barak went down from Mount Tabor followed by ten thousand
men; and at the attack of Barak’s swordsmen Jehovah put to
flight Sisera and his chariots and all his forces, and Sisera got down
from his war-chariot and fled on foot. But Barak pursued the
chariots and the forces to Harosheth; and all the army of Sisera was
destroyed by the sword; not a single man was left.[63]

On that day Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, sang this
song:

GIDEON’S BRAVE BAND

In course of time the Midianites conquered the Israelites. To
escape them the Israelites made for themselves dens in the mountains
and caves and strongholds. When the Israelites had sown
their crops, the Midianites would come up and leave nothing for the[65]
Israelites to live on, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass; for they came up
with their cattle and their tents. The Israelites were so robbed by
the Midianites, that they cried to Jehovah for help.

Then the angel of Jehovah came and sat down under the oak
which was in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezerite; and his
son, Gideon, was beating out wheat in the wine-press to hide it from
the Midianites. The angel of Jehovah appeared to him and said,
“Jehovah is with you, able warrior!” Gideon said to him, “O my
lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then has all this overtaken us?
Where are all his wonderful acts of which our fathers told us, saying,
‘Did not Jehovah bring us from Egypt?’ But now Jehovah has
cast us off and given us into the power of the Midianites.”

Then Jehovah turned to him and said, “With this strength
which you have go and save Israel from the rule of the Midianites:
do I not send you?” But Gideon said to him, “O Jehovah, how
can I save Israel? See, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and
I am the least in my father’s house.” Jehovah said to him, “I will
surely be with you, and you shall overthrow the Midianites as if
they were only one man.”

Then the spirit of Jehovah took possession of Gideon, and he
sounded the war trumpet, and the Abiezerites assembled under his
leadership. He also sent messengers throughout all the land of the
Manassites, and they assembled under his leadership; and he sent
messengers to the Asherites, the Zebulunites, and the Naphtalites,
and they went up to join him. But Jehovah said to Gideon, “You
have too many people with you; if I give the Midianites up to the
Israelites they will boast, ‘We have saved ourselves!’ Therefore,
proclaim to your people, ‘Whoever is afraid may go home.'”

Then Gideon separated them, so that twenty-two thousand of
the people went back home, but ten thousand stayed. But Jehovah
said to him, “The people are still too many; take them down to the
water, and I will try them out for you there. Every one of whom
I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you; and
every one of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’
shall not go.”

So Gideon brought the people down to the water. And Jehovah
said to him, “You shall put by themselves all who lap the water
with their tongues, as a dog laps, and all who kneel down on their
knees to drink by themselves.” The number of those who lapped
with their tongue, putting their hand to their mouth, were three[66]
hundred men; but all the rest of the people knelt down on their
knees to drink. Then Jehovah said to Gideon, “By the three hundred
men who lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into
your hands. Let all the rest of the people go home.” So they took
the food that the people had in their hands, and their trumpets; and
Gideon sent home all the other Israelites, keeping only the three
hundred men.

Then Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed it, and the three
hundred men were with him, faint yet pursuing. And he said to
the men of Succoth, “Give, I beg of you, loaves of bread to the
people who follow me, for they are faint and I am pursuing after
Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” But the rulers of Succoth
said, “Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your power that
we should give bread to your band?” Gideon replied, “When Jehovah
has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, for this insult
I will thrash your bare flesh with desert thorns and briers.”
He went on from there to Penuel and made the same request of the
men of Penuel, but they made the same answer as the men of
Succoth. To the men of Penuel he also said, “When I come back
victorious, I will break down this tower.”

Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their forces were with
them, in all about fifteen thousand men. Gideon went up by the
caravan road and surprised the horde as it was encamped with no
fear of being attacked. He divided the three hundred men into three
companies. Into the hands of all of them he put horns and empty
earthen jars. In each jar was a torch. He also said to them, “Watch
me and do as I do. When I reach the outside of the camp and those
who are with me blow a blast on the horn, then you also shall blow
your horns on every side of the camp and cry, ‘For Jehovah and
Gideon!'”

So Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the outside
of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when guards had
just been posted; and they blew the horns and broke in pieces the
jars that were in their hands. The two other companies also broke
their jars, took the torches in their left hands and their swords in
their right, and cried, “The Sword of Jehovah and of Gideon.” And
as they stood where they were, about the camp, the entire horde
awoke, sounded the alarm, and fled. Zebah and Zalmunna also
fled; but Gideon followed and captured the two kings of Midian
and threw all the horde into a panic.

When Gideon returned from the battle, he captured a young[67]
man who lived at Succoth. At Gideon’s request he wrote down for
him the names of the rulers of Succoth and its leading men. There
were seventy-seven in all. When Gideon came to the men of Succoth,
he said, “See, here are Zebah and Zalmunna about whom you
mocked me, saying, ‘Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your power
that we should give bread to your men who are weary?'” Then
he took desert thorns and briers, and with these he thrashed the
leading men of Succoth. He also broke down the tower of Penuel
and put to death the men of the town.

Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men
were those whom you killed at Tabor?” They replied, “They were
just like you; each of them looked like a prince.” Gideon said,
“They were my own brothers, the sons of my mother. As surely
as Jehovah lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you
now.”

Then he said to Jether, his oldest son, “Up and kill them.” But
the boy did not draw his sword, because he was afraid, for he was
only a boy. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up yourself and
fall upon us; for a man has a man’s strength!” So Gideon rose
and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were
on their camels’ necks.

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, and not
only you but your son and your son’s son after you, for you have
saved us from the power of the Midianites.” Gideon said to them,
“I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; Jehovah
shall rule over you; but let me make one request of you: let every
man give me the ear-rings from his spoil” (for they had golden ear-rings,
because they were desert dwellers). They answered, “Certainly,
we will give them.” So they spread out a blanket and each
man threw into it the ear-rings from his spoil. The weight of the
golden ear-rings for which he had asked was nearly seventy pounds
of gold. Then Gideon made of the gold a priestly robe to wear
when asking questions of Jehovah, and placed it in his own city,
Ophrah.

Gideon died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb
of Joash, his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezerites.

JEPHTHAH’S FOOLISH PROMISE

Jephthah, the Gileadite, was an able warrior, but he was the son of
a wicked woman, and had fled from his relatives and lived in the land of[68]
Tob. There certain rascals gathered about him, and they used to
go out on raids with him.

After a time the Ammonites made war against the Israelites.
Then the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of
Tob, and they said to him, “Come and be our commander, that we
may fight against the Ammonites.” But Jephthah said to the elders
of Gilead, “Are you not the men who hated me and drove me out
of my father’s house? Why then do you come to me now when you
are in trouble?” But the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “This
is why we have now turned to you, that you may go with us and
fight against the Ammonites, and you shall be our chief, even over
all the people who live in Gilead.” Then Jephthah said to the rulers
of Gilead, “If you take me back to fight against the Ammonites and
Jehovah gives me the victory over them, I shall be your chief.” The
elders of Gilead replied, “Jehovah shall be a witness between us;
we swear to do as you say.”

Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people
made him chief and commander over them. Jephthah also made
this vow to Jehovah: “If thou wilt deliver the Ammonites into my
power, then whoever comes out of the door of my house to meet
me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be Jehovah’s,
and I will offer that one as an offering to be burned with fire.”

So Jephthah went out to fight against the Ammonites; and Jehovah
gave him the victory over them, and delivered them into his
hands. But when he came home to Mizpah, his daughter was just
coming out to meet him with tambourines and choral dances. She
was his only child; besides this one he had neither son nor daughter.
So when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Oh, my daughter,
you have stricken me! It is you who are the cause of my woe! for
I have made a solemn vow to Jehovah and cannot break it.” She
said to him, “My father, you have made a solemn vow to Jehovah;
do to me what you have promised, since Jehovah has punished your
enemies the Ammonites. But let this favor be granted me: spare
me two months that I may go out upon the mountains with those
who would have been my bridesmaids and lament because I will
never become a wife and mother.” He said, “Go.”

So he sent her away for two months with her friends, and she
mourned on the mountains because she would never become a wife
and mother. At the end of two months she returned to her father,
who did what he had vowed to do, even though she had never been[69]
married. So it became a custom in Israel: each year the women
of Israel go out for four days to bewail the death of the daughter of
Jephthah, the Gileadite.

SAMSON WHO DID TO OTHERS AS THEY DID TO HIM

There was a certain man of Zorah, of the clan of the Danites,
named Manoah; and he and his wife had no children. But the angel
of Jehovah appeared to the woman and said to her, “See, you have
no children; but now be careful not to drink any wine nor strong
drink, and do not eat anything unclean, for you are about to have
a son. No razor shall be used upon your son’s head, for from birth
the boy shall belong to God.” So the woman had a son and named
him Samson.

Once Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a Philistine
woman. When he came back he said to his father and mother, “I
have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah. Get her as a wife for me.”
But his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman in your
own tribe or among all our people, that you must marry a wife from
among the heathen Philistines?” But Samson said to his father,
“Get her for me, for she suits me.”

So Samson went with his father and mother to Timnah; and
just as they came to the vineyards of Timnah, a full-grown young
lion came roaring toward him. The spirit of Jehovah came upon
Samson and, although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the beast
in two as one tears a kid. But he did not tell his father and mother
what he had done.

Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she suited
him. When he returned after a while to marry her, he turned aside
to see what was left of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees and
honey in the carcass. He scraped the honey out into his hands
and went on, eating it as he went. When he came to his father
and mother, he gave some to them, and they ate; but he did
not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of
the lion.

Then Samson went down to the woman; and he gave a feast
there (for so bridegrooms used to do). When the Philistines saw
him, they provided thirty comrades to be with him. And Samson
said to them, “Let me now tell you a riddle. If you can tell me what[70]
it is within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty fine
linen robes and thirty suits of clothes; but if you cannot tell me,
then you shall give me thirty fine linen robes and thirty suits of
clothes.” They said to him, “Tell your riddle, that we may hear
it.” And he said to them:

On the seventh day they said to Samson’s wife, “Tease your
husband until he tells us the riddle, or else we will burn up you and
your father’s house. Did you invite us here to make us poor?” So
Samson’s wife wept before him and said, “You only hate me and
do not love me at all! You have told a riddle to my fellow countrymen
and not told me what it is.” He said to her, “See, I have not
told it to my father or my mother, and shall I tell you?” So she
wept before him as long as their feast lasted, but on the seventh day
he told her, because she kept asking him; and she told the riddle to
her fellow countrymen.

So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the
sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger
than a lion?” And he said to them:

Then he was suddenly given divine strength, and he went down
to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men and took the spoil from
them and gave the suits of clothes to those who had guessed
the riddle. But he was very angry and returned to his father’s
house. And his bride was given to his comrade who had been his
best man.

After a while, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit
his wife with a kid as a present; but when he said, “Let me go into
the inner room to my wife,” her father would not let him go in, but
said, “I thought that you must surely hate her, so I gave her to your
best man. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Take her then,
instead.” But Samson said to him, “This time I shall be justified
if I do the Philistines an injury.” So he went and caught three hun[71]dred
foxes, turned them tail to tail, and put a torch between every
pair of tails. When he had set the torches on fire, he let them go
into the standing grain of the Philistines and burned up not only
the shocks and the standing grain, but the olive orchards as well.

Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” The reply
was, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because that man
took Samson’s wife and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines
went up, and burnt her and her father. Then Samson said to them,
“If this is the way you do, I will not stop until I have had
my revenge on you!” So he fought fiercely and killed many of them;
then he went and stayed in a cavern in the cliff of Etam.

When the Philistines went up and camped in Judah and made
a raid on Lehi, the Judahites said, “Why have you come up against
us?” They replied, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to
him what he has done to us.” Then three thousand men of Judah
went down to the cavern in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson,
“Do you not know that the Philistines are our rulers? What are
you doing to us?” He replied, “I have done to them as they did
to me.” They said to him, “We have come down to bind you, to
turn you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Swear
to me that you will not attack me yourselves.” They said to him,
“No; we will simply bind you securely and deliver you to them;
but we will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes,
and brought him up from the cliff.

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted when they met
him. Then he was suddenly given divine strength, and the ropes
that were on his arms became like flax that has been burned in the
fire, and his bonds melted from his hands. And he found a fresh
jaw-bone of an ass, and having seized it, he killed a thousand men
with it. Then Samson said:

A STRONG MAN WHO LOST HIS STRENGTH

Afterward, Samson fell in love with a woman in the valley of
Sorek, named Delilah. Then the rulers of the Philistines came to
her and said, “Find out by teasing him how it is that his strength[72]
is so great and how we may overpower and bind him that we may
torture him. Then we will each one of us give you eleven hundred
pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me how it is that
your strength is so great and how you might be bound to torture
you?” Samson said to her, “If they should bind me with seven
green bowstrings which have not been dried, I would become weak
like any other man.”

Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven green bowstrings
which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
She had the men lying in wait in the inner room, but when she said
to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” he snapped the
bowstrings as a piece of yarn is snapped when it comes near the fire;
so they did not find out the secret of his strength.

Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have deceived me and lied
to me; now tell me with what you can be bound fast.” He said to
her, “If they should bind me securely with new ropes with which
no work has been done, I would become weak like any other man.”
So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to
him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” Men were also lying
in wait in the inner room; but he snapped the ropes from his arms
like thread.

Again Delilah said to Samson, “So far you have deceived me
and lied to me; tell me now with what you can be bound fast.” He
said to her, “If you should weave the seven braids on my head along
with the web and beat it into form with the weaving pin, I would
become weak like any other man.” So while he was asleep, she took
the seven braids of his hair and wove it with the web and beat it
into form with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon
you, Samson!” But he awoke out of his sleep and pulled up the
loom and the web.

Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when
you do not trust me? You have deceived me three times already and
have not told me the secret of your great strength.” But in time,
since she daily begged and urged him, he was wearied to death, and
told her all that he knew, saying, “A razor has never touched my
head; for I have belonged to God from my birth. If I should be
shaved, my strength would be gone, and I would become weak like
any other man.”

When Delilah saw that he had told her all that he knew, she sent
and called for the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Come at once,[73]
for he has told me all that he knows.” Then the rulers of the Philistines
came up to her and brought the money with them. After she
had put Samson to sleep on her knees, she called for a man and had
him shave off the seven braids on his head. Then she began to tease
him, and his strength went from him; and she said, “The Philistines
are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke out of his sleep and
thought, “I will get up as I have done at other times and shake myself
free”; for he did not know that Jehovah had left him. So the
Philistines seized him and bored out his eyes. Then they brought
him down to Gaza and bound him with chains of brass, and then
he was set to grinding in the prison. But the hair of his head began
to grow again as soon as he was shaved.

Then the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice
to their god Dagon and to rejoice, for they said, “Our god has
given Samson, our enemy, into our power.” When the people saw
him, they also praised their god, saying:

When they were in high spirits, they said, “Call Samson that
he may amuse us.” So they called Samson from the prison and
he amused them; and they placed him between the pillars.

Then Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand,
“Let me touch the pillars on which the building rests, that I may
lean against them.” Now the building was full of men and women,
and all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof about
three thousand men and women were looking on while Samson
amused them. Samson called on Jehovah and said, “O Jehovah,
remember me and strengthen me, I pray thee, just this once, O
God, that by one act I may avenge myself on the Philistines for the
loss of my two eyes.”

Then Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which
the building rested, one with his right hand and the other with his
left, and leaned against them. And Samson said, “Let me die
with the Philistines.” Then he bent over with all his strength, and
the house fell upon the rulers and upon all the people who were in
it. So those whom he killed at his death were more than those
whom he killed during his lifetime.[74]

Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him
away and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place
of Manoah his father.

THE DEVOTION OF RUTH

During the days of the judges, there was once a famine in the
land; and a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah took his wife
and two sons to live in the territory of Moab. His name was Elimelech
and his wife’s Naomi, and his two sons were Mahlon and
Chilion. After they had been living in Moab for some time, Elimelech
died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. They married
Moabite women, named Orpah and Ruth. After they had lived
there about ten years, Mahlon and Chilion both died, and Naomi
was left without husband or children.

So she set out with her daughters-in-law to return from the
land of Moab, for she had heard that Jehovah had remembered his
people and given them food. As they were setting out on the
journey to Judah, Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, “Go, return
each of you to the home of your mother. May Jehovah be kind
to you, as you have been kind to the dead and to me. Jehovah
grant that each of you may find peace and happiness in the house
of a new husband.”

Then she kissed them; but they began to weep aloud and said
to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi
said, “Go back, my daughters; why should you go with me? Can
I still have sons who might become your husbands? Go back,
my daughters, go your own way, for I am too old to have a husband.
Even if I should say, ‘I have hope,’ even if I should have
a husband to-night and should have sons, would you wait for them
until they were grown up? Would you remain single for them?
No, my daughters! I am sorry for you, for Jehovah has afflicted
me.” Then they again wept aloud, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law
good-by, but Ruth stayed with her.

Naomi said, “See, your sister-in-law is going back to her own
people and to her own gods; go along with her!” But Ruth answered,
“Do not urge me to leave you or to go back, for wherever
you go I will go, and wherever you stay I will stay; your people shall
be my people, and your God my God; I will die where you die and[75]
be buried there. May Jehovah bring a curse upon me, if anything
but death separate you and me.” When Naomi saw that Ruth had
made up her mind to go with her, she ceased urging her to return.

So they travelled on until they came to Bethlehem. When they
arrived there, the whole town was interested, and the women said,
“Is this Naomi?” But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi
which means Sweetness: call me Mara which means Bitterness, for
the Almighty has given me a bitter lot. I had plenty when I left,
but Jehovah has brought me back empty-handed. Why should
you call me Naomi, now that Jehovah has turned against me, and
the Almighty has afflicted me?” So Naomi and Ruth returned
from Moab; and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the
barley harvest.

Now Naomi was related through her husband to Boaz, a very
wealthy man of the family of Elimelech. Ruth, the Moabitess, said
to Naomi, “Let me now go into the fields and pick up the scattered
heads of grain after him whose favor I should win.” Naomi said
to her, “Go, my daughter.”

So she went to pick up grain in the field after the reapers; and
it was her good fortune to pick up grain in that part of the field
which belonged to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. When
Boaz come from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “Jehovah be
with you,” they answered him, “May Jehovah bless you.” Then
Boaz said to his servant who had charge of the reapers, “Whose
maiden is this?” The servant replied, “It is the Moabite maiden
who came back with Naomi from the land of Moab; and she said,
‘Let me pick up the scattered grain and gather sheaves after the
reapers.’ So she came and has worked all the time until now, and
she has not rested a moment in the field.”

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go to
pick up grain in another field nor leave this place, but stay here
with my maidens. I have told the young men not to trouble you.
When you are thirsty, go to the jars and drink of that which the
young men have drawn.”

Then she bowed low and said to him, “Why are you so kind to
me, to take interest in me who am from another land?” Boaz
replied, “I have heard what you have done for your mother-in-law
since the death of your husband, and how you left your father and
mother and your native land to come to a people that you did not
know before. May Jehovah repay you for what you have done,[76]
and may you be fully rewarded by the God of Israel, under whose
wings you have come to take refuge.” Then she said, “I trust I
may please you, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken
kindly to your servant, although I am not really equal to one of
your own servants.”

© Photographische Gesellschaft, Berlin
Ruth
Painted by Henry Ryland

At noonday Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some of the
food and dip your piece of bread in the wine.” So she sat beside
the reapers; and he passed her the roasted grain, and she ate until
she had had enough and had some left. When she rose to gather
grain, Boaz gave this order to his young men: “Let her gather
grain even among the sheaves and do not disturb her. Also pull
out some for her from the bundles and leave it for her to gather
and do not find fault with her.”

So she gathered grain in the field until evening, then beat out
that which she had gathered; and it was about a bushel of barley.
Then she took it up and went into the city and showed her mother-in-law
what she had gathered. She also brought out and gave her
that which she had left from her meal after she had had enough.

Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you gather grain
to-day and where did you work? A blessing on him who took
interest in you!” Then she told her mother-in-law where she had
worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked
to-day is Boaz.” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May the
blessing of Jehovah rest upon him who has not ceased to show his
love to the living and to the dead.” Naomi also said to her, “The
man is a near relative of ours.” Ruth the Moabitess added, “He
said to me, ‘You must keep near my young men until they have
completed all my harvest.'” Naomi said to Ruth, “It is best, my
daughter, that you should go out with his maidens and that no
one should find you in another field.” So she gathered grain with
the maidens of Boaz until the end of the barley and wheat harvest;
but she lived with her mother-in-law.

Then Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shall I not try to find
a home for you where you will be happy and contented? Is not
Boaz, with whose maidens you have been, a relative of ours? This
very night he is going to winnow barley on the threshing-floor. So
bathe and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes and go
down to the threshing-floor; but do not make yourself known to
the man until he is through eating and drinking. Then when he
lies down, you mark the place where he lies. Go in, uncover his[77]
feet, lie down, and then he will tell you what to do.” Ruth said to
her, “I will do as you say.”

So she went down to the threshing-floor and did just as her
mother-in-law told her. When Boaz was through eating and drinking
and was in a happy mood, he went to lie down at the end of the
heap of grain. Then Ruth came softly and uncovered his feet and
lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over,
and there was a woman lying at his feet. He said, “Who are you?”
She answered, “I am Ruth your servant; spread therefore your skirt
over your servant, for you are a near relative.” He said, “May
you be blest by Jehovah, my daughter; for you have shown me
greater favor now than at first, for you have not followed young
men, whether poor or rich. My daughter, have no fear; I will do
for you all that you ask; for all my townsmen know that you are a
good woman. Now it is true that I am a near relative; yet there
is one nearer than I. Stay here to-night, and then in the morning,
if he will marry you, well, let him do it. But if he, being your
nearest relative, will not marry you, then as surely as Jehovah lives,
I will do so. Lie down until morning.”

So she lay at his feet until morning, but rose before any one
could tell who she was, for Boaz said, “Let it not be known that a
woman came to the threshing-floor.” He also said, “Bring the
cloak which you have on and hold it.” So she held it while he
poured into it six measures of barley and laid it on her shoulders.
Then he went into the city.

When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi said, “Is it you,
my daughter?” Then Ruth told Naomi all that the man had done
for her. She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley; for
he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'”
Naomi said, “Wait quietly, my daughter, until you know how this
will turn out, for the man will not rest unless he settles it all to-day.”

Then Boaz went up to the gate and sat down. Just then the
near relative of whom Boaz had spoken came along. To him Boaz
said, “Ho!” calling him by name, “come here and sit down.” So
he stopped and sat down. Boaz also took ten of the town elders
and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.

Then he said to the near relative, “Naomi, who has come back
from the country of Moab, is offering for sale the piece of land which
belonged to our relative Elimelech, and I thought that I would lay
the matter before you, and ask you to buy it in the presence of these[78]
men who sit here and of the elders of my people. If you will buy
it and so keep it in the family, do so; but if not, then tell me, that
I may know; for no one but you has the right to buy it, and I am
next to you.” He said, “I will buy it.”

Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi,
you must also marry Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon,
that a son may be born to bear his name and to receive this field.”
The near relative said, “I cannot buy it for myself, for fear I should
lose what already belongs to me. You take my right of buying it
as a relative, for I cannot do so.”

Now in those days this was the custom in Israel: to make an
agreement between two men the one drew off his shoe and gave it
to the other. So when the near relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for
yourself,” Boaz drew off the man’s shoe.

Then Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, “You are witnesses
at this time that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s and
all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s from Naomi. Moreover, I have
secured Ruth, the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife
so that she may have a son who will receive this land and carry on
Mahlon’s name. You are witnesses this day.”

Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said,
“We are witnesses. May Jehovah make the woman who is coming
into your house like Rachel and Leah, and make you also famous
in Bethlehem.”

So Boaz married Ruth, and she became his wife; and Jehovah
gave to her a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be
Jehovah who has not left you at this time without a near relative,
and may his name be famous in Israel. This child will bring back
your strength and take care of you in your old age; for your daughter-in-law
who loves you, who is worth more to you than seven sons,
has a son!”

So Naomi took the child in her arms and she became its nurse.
Her neighbors also said, “Naomi has a son!” and they named him
Obed; he became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.

SAMUEL THE BOY PROPHET

Elkanah, a Zuphite of the hill country of Ephraim, lived at
Ramah with his two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had
children, but Hannah had none.[79]

This man used to go up from his village each year to worship
and offer a sacrifice to Jehovah of hosts at Shiloh. Whenever the
day came for Elkanah to offer a sacrifice he gave portions to his wife
Peninnah and to all his sons and daughters; but although he loved
Hannah, he gave her only one portion, for Jehovah had given her
no children. Peninnah made her angry by mocking her, for Jehovah
had given her no children. Elkanah did this year after year; but
whenever Hannah went up to the temple of Jehovah, Peninnah made
her so angry that she wept and would not eat. So Elkanah her husband
said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not
eat? Why are you so troubled? Am I not more to you than ten
sons?”

After they had eaten in Shiloh, Hannah arose and stood before
the temple of Jehovah, while Eli the priest was sitting on his seat
beside the door posts of the temple. With a sad heart she prayed
earnestly to Jehovah and wept bitterly. She also made this sacred
promise:

While she continued praying before Jehovah, Eli watched her
mouth. She spoke to herself; her lips moved, but her voice was
not heard, so that Eli thought that she was drunk and said to her,
“How long will you act like a drunken woman? Put away your
wine and go from the presence of Jehovah.” But Hannah answered,
“No, my lord, I am an unhappy woman; I have not drunk wine
nor any strong drink, but I have been pouring out my heart before
Jehovah. Do not think that your servant is a wicked woman, for
I have gone on speaking until now because my grief and vexation
are so great.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of
Israel grant what you have asked of him.” She said, “May your
servant have your approval!” So the woman went away and ate,
and her face was no longer sad.

Early in the morning she and her husband rose; and after they
had worshipped Jehovah, they returned to their home at Ramah.
In the course of the year Hannah had a son and named him Samuel,
saying, “I asked him of Jehovah.”[80]

Elkanah and all his household again went to offer the yearly
sacrifice to Jehovah, but Hannah did not go up, for she said to her
husband, “When the child is weaned, then I will take him, and he
shall go to Jehovah’s temple and live there the rest of his life.”
Elkanah said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you
have weaned him; only may Jehovah help you to do what you have
promised.”

So the woman waited and nursed her son until she weaned him.
Then she took him with her, and a three-year-old ox, a bushel of
flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the temple of Jehovah
at Shiloh. Then they killed the ox, and Hannah brought the child
to Eli and said, “Oh, my lord, as surely as you live, I am the woman
who stood near you here praying earnestly to Jehovah. This is the
boy for whom I prayed. Jehovah has granted what I asked of
him. Therefore I have given him to Jehovah; as long as he lives
he belongs to Jehovah.”

Elkanah returned to his home in Ramah, but the boy stayed to
serve Jehovah under the direction of Eli the priest. So Samuel—a
young boy dressed in a linen robe—did the duties of a priest in
the temple. His mother also made him a little robe and each
year brought it to him when she came up with her husband to offer
the yearly sacrifice.

Eli blessed Elkanah and said, “Jehovah repay you with children
from this woman for the gift which she has given to Jehovah.”
Then they returned to their home; and Hannah had three more
sons and two daughters. Meantime the boy Samuel grew up in
the temple of Jehovah.

The sons of Eli were very wicked. They knew not Jehovah, and
they despised the offerings which were brought to him. Eli was
very old, and whenever he heard that his sons were doing wrong
he said to them, “Why do you do such things, for I hear of your
wicked deeds from all the people. No, my sons: it is not a good
report that I hear from the people of Jehovah.” But they did not
listen to the words of their father.

The boy Samuel grew and won the favor both of Jehovah
and of men. He continued to serve Jehovah under the direction
of Eli; but in those days not many messages came from
Jehovah.

One day Eli was lying in his room. His eyes had begun to grow
dim so that he could not see. While the lamp of God was still[81]
burning, and Samuel was lying in the temple of Jehovah where the
ark of God was, Jehovah called, “Samuel! Samuel!” He answered,
“Here am I.” Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here am I,
for you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call, lie down again.”
So he went and lay down. Then Jehovah called again, “Samuel!
Samuel!” Samuel rose and went to Eli and said, “Here am I, for
you called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call, my son; lie
down again.”

Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah nor had a message
from Jehovah been given to him. So when Jehovah called Samuel
again the third time, he rose and went to Eli and said, “Here am
I, for you called me!” Then Eli knew that Jehovah was calling
the boy. So he said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if you are called,
say, ‘Speak, Jehovah, for thy servant is listening.'” So Samuel
went and lay down in his place.

Then Jehovah came and called as at other times, “Samuel!
Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for thy servant is listening.”
Jehovah said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do a thing in
Israel that will make the ears of every one who hears it tingle. On
that day I will do to Eli all that I have said that I would do to his
family from the first to the last. For I have told him that I will
punish his family forever for the crime of which he knew his sons
were guilty, for they did not do what God commanded and he did
not stop them.”

Samuel lay until morning, and then he opened the doors of the
temple of Jehovah. He was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But
when Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son,” he said, “Here
am I.” Eli asked, “What is the thing that Jehovah said to you?
Keep nothing from me; may God do to you whatever he will, if
you keep from me a word of all that he said to you.” So Samuel
told him everything, and kept nothing from him. And Eli said,
“It is Jehovah; let him do what seems good to him.”

THE ARK AMONG THE PHILISTINES

In those days the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines,
and in a hard-fought battle the Israelites were defeated by the
Philistines.

When the people returned to the camp, the leaders of Israel[82]
said, “Why has Jehovah let us be beaten to-day by the Philistines?
Let us bring the ark of our God from Shiloh. He may then go out
with us and deliver us from our enemies.”

So the people sent to Shiloh and took from there the ark of
Jehovah of hosts. When it came to the camp, all the Israelites
shouted so loud that the earth resounded.

The Philistines heard the sound of the shouting and said, “What
does this sound of great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”
When they knew that the ark of Jehovah had come to the camp,
they were afraid, for they said, “Their god has come to their camp.
Woe to us! for it has never been so before; but be strong and act
like men.” So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated
and each fled to his tent.

The same day a Benjamite from the ranks ran to Shiloh with his
clothes torn and with earth on his head. As he came, Eli was sitting
on his seat by the gate watching the road, for his heart was
trembling for the ark of God.

When the man came and told the people of the city, they all
cried out. Eli heard the sound of crying and said, “What is this
uproar?” So the man came quickly and told Eli, “I am the man
who came from the battle, for I fled from the ranks.” Eli said,
“How did it go, my son?” The messenger answered, “Israel fled
from the Philistines, and many people were killed, and your two
sons are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” When he
spoke of the ark of God, Eli fell off his seat backward beside the
gate, and his neck was broken, for he was old and heavy, and he
died.

The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple
of Dagon in Ashdod and set it up by the side of Dagon. When
the people of Ashdod rose early the next day and came to the temple
of Dagon, there was Dagon on the ground flat on his face before
the ark of Jehovah. Then they raised up Dagon and set him in
his place again. But when they rose early on the following morning,
there was Dagon on the ground flat on his face before the ark
of Jehovah. The head of Dagon and both his hands were broken
off on the door sill, and only his body was left.

Jehovah severely punished the people of Ashdod, for he punished
them with boils. When the men of Ashdod saw this, they said,
“The ark of the god of Israel shall not stay with us, for he is
severely punishing us and Dagon our god.” So they sent for all[83]
the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with
the ark of the god of Israel?” They answered, “Let it be carried
around to Gath.”

So they carried the ark of the God of Israel around to Gath.
Then Jehovah punished the men of that city, both young and old,
with boils. Therefore they sent the ark of the God of Israel to
Ekron; but when it came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, “They
have brought around the ark of the god of Israel to kill us and our
people!” They sent, therefore, and gathered all the rulers of the
Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel back to its
own place, so that it will not kill us and our people!”

Then the Philistines called the priests and diviners and asked,
“What shall we do with the ark of Jehovah? Tell us with what
we shall send it to its place.” They said, “If you send back the
ark of the god of Israel, you must not send it away empty, but
must return to him an offering to repay him for all that you have
done to the ark. Then you shall be healed, and you shall know
why he has continued to punish you.” They said, “What offering
shall we send back in order to repay him?”

They said, “Five golden boils and five golden mice, the same
number as the rulers of the Philistines; for one plague was upon you
as well as upon your rulers. Now therefore prepare a new cart
and two milch cows that have never worn a yoke, and fasten the
cows to the cart, but leave their calves behind them at home. Then
take the ark of Jehovah and place it upon the cart and put in a
box at its side the golden objects which you are sending to
them as an offering to repay him. Then send it away. If it
goes on the way to its own border, to Bethshemesh, then it is
Jehovah who has done us this great harm; but if not, then we
shall know that it is not he who has punished us; it was only an
accident.”

The men did so, and the cows took a straight course along the
Bethshemesh road. They went along the highway, lowing as they
went, and did not turn aside to the right nor to the left. The
rulers of the Philistines also went after them as far as Bethshemesh.

The inhabitants of Bethshemesh were harvesting their wheat
in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced
at the sight. When the ark came into the field of Joshua,
the Bethshemeshite, it stood still there. And a great stone was[84]
there; so they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows
as a burnt-offering to Jehovah. When the five rulers of the Philistines
saw it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

HOW SAMUEL FOUND A LEADER

There was a rich Benjamite named Kish, who lived at Gibeah.
He had a son named Saul, a man full grown and handsome; no one
among the Israelites was more handsome than he. From his shoulders
and upward he was taller than any of the people.

Now the asses of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said
to Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go, look for the
asses.” They went through the highlands of Ephraim and the land
of Shalishah, but did not find them. Then they crossed into the
land of Shaalim, but the asses were not there. They also went
through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

They had come into the land of Zuph when Saul said to his servant
who was with him, “Come, let us go back, that my father may
not stop thinking of the asses and be anxious about us.” The servant
answered him, “There is a man of God in this town who is
held in honor; all that he says is sure to come true. Now let us go
there; perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.”

Saul said to his servant, “But, suppose we go, what shall we
take to the man, for the bread is gone from our sacks, and there is
no present to take to the man of God? What have we?” The
servant answered Saul again and said, “See, I have with me a quarter
of a silver shekel. Give it to the man of God that he may tell
us our way.” Then Saul said to his servant, “Your advice is good;
come, let us go.” So they went to the town where the man of
God was.

As they were going up to the town, they met young women
going out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
They answered them, “He is there; he is before you. Make haste,
for he has just come into the town, for the people have a sacrificial
feast to-day at the sacred place on the hilltop. As soon as you
come to the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high
place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, for he blesses
the sacrifice, and then the guests eat. Therefore go up now, for
at this time you will find him.”[85]

So they went up to the town, and when they came inside the
gate, Samuel was just coming out toward them to go up to the
high place. Now Jehovah had told Samuel the day before Saul
came, “About this time to-morrow I will send you a man out of the
land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be a prince over
my people Israel. He shall deliver my people from the power of
the Philistines; for I have seen the suffering of my people, because
their cry has come to me.”

When Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah told him, “This is the man
of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall rule over my people.”
So when Saul met Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me, if you
will, where the seer’s house is,” Samuel answered Saul, “I am the
seer; go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me
to-day; and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that
is in your mind. As for your asses that were lost three days ago,
do not trouble yourself about them for they have been found. And
to whom belongs all that is best in Israel? Does it not belong to
you and to your father’s house?” Saul answered and said, “Am
I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and is not
my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?
Why then do you speak to me in this way?”

But Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into
the hall and made them sit at the head of the guests (who were about
thirty in number). Samuel also said to the cook, “Bring the part
which I gave you and told you to put aside.” So the cook took up
the leg and what was on it and placed them before Saul. Then
Samuel said, “See what has been kept for you! Set it before you
and eat, for it was kept for you until the appointed time, that you
might eat with the people whom I have invited.” So Saul ate with
Samuel that day.

After they came down from the high place into the town, they
spread a bed for Saul on the roof, and he lay down. Then at daybreak
Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Rise, that I may
send you away.” So Saul rose, and he and Samuel went out into
the street. As they were going out of the town, Samuel said to Saul,
“Tell the servant to go on before us, but you stand here that I may
tell you the message from God.”

Then Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head,
and kissed him and said, “Has not Jehovah anointed you to be a
prince over his people Israel? You shall rule over Jehovah’s people[86]
and deliver them from the power of their enemies on every side.
This is the sign that Jehovah has anointed you to be a prince over
his own people: when you go from me to-day you shall find two
men at Rachel’s tomb; and they will say to you, ‘The asses that
you went to seek are found, and now your father is thinking no more
about the asses but is worrying about you, saying, “What shall I
do for my son?”‘ Then you shall go on from there and come to
the oak of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will
meet you, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves
of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. They will greet you
and give you two loaves of bread which you shall take from their
hand. After that you shall come to Gibeah. As you come to the
city you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high
place with a lyre, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them,
while they prophesy. Then the spirit of Jehovah will come suddenly
upon you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be changed
into another man. When these signs come to you, do whatever you
can, for God is with you.” So when Saul turned away from Samuel,
God gave him a new heart, and all those signs came to pass that
day.

Saul’s uncle also said to him and to his servant, “Where did you
go?” He said, “To seek the asses; and when we saw that they
were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” Saul’s uncle said,
“Tell me what Samuel said to you.” Saul replied, “He told us that
the asses were surely found.” But Saul did not tell him that
Samuel had said he should become the ruler.

After about a month, Nahash, the Ammonite, came up and besieged
Jabesh in Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash,
“Make terms with us and we will serve you.” But Nahash, the Ammonite,
said to them. “On this condition will I make terms with you:
that I bore out the right eye of each of you, and so bring disgrace
upon all Israel.” The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us have
seven days in which to send messengers through all the land of Israel.
Then, if there are none to save us, we will come to you.”

So the messengers came to Gibeah where Saul lived and told
the facts in the hearing of the people, and they all set up a loud wail.
Just then Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he
said, “What is the trouble with the people that they are wailing?”
Then they told him what the men of Jabesh had said. When he
heard it, the spirit of Jehovah came suddenly upon him and he be[87]came
very indignant. He took a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces,
and sent them through all the land of Israel by messengers, who
said, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel,
the same shall be done to his oxen!”

Then a terror from Jehovah fell upon the people, and they all
gathered together. And Saul said to the messengers who came,
“Say to the men of Jabesh in Gilead, ‘To-morrow by the time the
sun grows hot help shall come to you.'”

So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh, and they
were glad. Therefore the men of Jabesh said to the Ammonites,
“To-morrow we will come out to you, and you shall do to us whatever
you please.” So on the following day, Saul divided the people
into three divisions; and they went into the midst of the camp early
in the morning, and fought against the Ammonites until noon. The
Ammonites who stayed behind were so scattered that not two of
them were left together.

Then all the people went to Gilgal and there in the presence of
Jehovah made Saul their ruler, and they offered sacrifices there to
Jehovah; and Saul and all the men of Israel were very happy.

JONATHAN’S BRAVE DEED

Saul picked out three thousand men from the Israelites. Two
thousand were with Saul in Michmash and on the highland of Bethel,
and a thousand were with his son Jonathan in Gibeah. But Saul
had sent the rest of the people each to his home.

Then Jonathan attacked the company of the Philistines in
Gibeah; and the Philistines heard of it. But Saul sounded a call
to arms throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”
So all Israel heard the report that Saul had attacked the Philistines,
and also that Israel was hated by them.

Then the Philistines were gathered together to fight with Israel:
three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and foot soldiers
as many as the sand of the seashore. They came up and camped in
Michmash. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a tight
place (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves
in caves, in holes, in the rocks, in tombs, and in pits. Also many
people crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.

Then Saul counted the people who were with him and found[88]
that there were about six hundred men. And Saul and his son Jonathan,
together with the people who were with them, remained in
Gibeah, while the Philistines camped in Michmash. Then the Philistines
came out of the camp in three divisions to steal whatever they
could find: one division turned toward Ophrah, in the land of Shual,
another toward Bethhoron, and another toward the hill that looks
down over the valley of Zeboim. But the garrison of the Philistines
went out to the pass of Michmash.

Now on that day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man
who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over against the Philistines’
garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.

Meantime Saul was sitting just outside of Gibeah under the
pomegranate-tree which is near the threshing-floor, and there were
with him about six hundred men. But the people did not know that
Jonathan had gone.

Along the ravine by which Jonathan tried to go over against
the Philistines there was a steep rock on one side, and a steep rock
on the other; one was named The Shining, and the other The
Thorny. One rock rose up north of Michmash, and the other south
of Geba.

So Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor,
“Come, let us go over to the camp of these heathen Philistines.
Perhaps Jehovah will act for us, for there is nothing that can keep
Jehovah from delivering his people either by many or by few.” His
armor-bearer replied, “Do whatever you wish, I will do my best
to help you.” Then Jonathan said, “See, we will cross over to the
men and show ourselves to them. If they say to us, ‘Stand still until
we can reach you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and will not
go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go
up; for this shall be the proof that Jehovah has given them into
our power.”

When both of them showed themselves to the Philistines, the
Philistines said, “There are Hebrews coming out of the holes where
they have hidden.” So they called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer,
“Come up to us, and we will show you something!” Then
Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for Jehovah
has given them into the power of Israel.”

So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet and his armor-bearer
after him. And the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his
armor-bearer followed and put them to death. In the first attack[89]
Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about twenty men with spears
and rocks from the field. Then there was a great panic in the camp,
in the open field, and among all the Philistines. Even those who
were out robbing were panic-stricken, and the earth quaked, so that
it produced a God-sent panic.

The watchmen of Saul in Gibeah looked and saw the great company
of Philistines melting away and rushing here and there. Then
Saul said to the people who were with him, “Look now and see who
is gone from us.” When they searched they found that Jonathan
and his armor-bearer were not there. So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring
the ark of God here,” for at that time it was with the Israelites.
While Saul was still speaking to the priest, the noise and
disorder among the Philistines kept on increasing. Therefore, Saul
said to the priest, “Do not wait to consult Jehovah!”

Then Saul and all the people that were with him gathered together
and went into battle. And every Philistine’s sword was
turned upon his fellow, so that there was a very great confusion
among them. The Hebrews who once were on the side of the Philistines
and who had joined their army also went over to the side of
the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the
men of Israel who were hiding in the highlands of Ephraim, when
they heard that the Philistines had fled, closely followed them in
the battle. So Jehovah delivered Israel that day, and the battle
passed over beyond Bethhoron. But Saul made a great mistake
that day, for he strictly commanded the people, saying, “The man
who shall eat any food until evening and until I take vengeance on
my enemies shall be punished.” So none of the people tasted food.

Now there was honey on the surface of the ground; and when
the people came to the forest, they saw a stream of honey, but no
one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the punishment.
But Jonathan had not heard when his father commanded the people.
Therefore he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand
and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and
he felt refreshed. Then one of the people spoke up and said, “Your
father strictly commanded the people, saying, ‘The man who eats
food this day shall be punished.'” But Jonathan replied, “My
father has brought great trouble on the land. See how I have been
refreshed because I tasted a little of this honey. If only the people
had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies, many more of
the Philistines would have been slain.”[90]

©Curtis Publishing Company
Saul and David
Painted by W. L. Taylor

Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night
and take spoil until daybreak, and let us not leave one of them.”
They said, “Do whatever you think best.” But the priest said,
“Let us ask of God.” So Saul asked of God, “Shall I go down after
the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them over to Israel?” But he
did not answer him that day. Therefore Saul said, “Come here,
all you leaders of the people, and find out who has done wrong to-day.
For as surely as Jehovah the deliverer of Israel lives, even
though it be Jonathan my son, he shall die.” But not one of the
people answered him.

Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and I and Jonathan
my son will be on the other.” The people said to Saul, “Do
what you think best.” Therefore Saul said, “Jehovah, God of Israel,
why hast thou not answered thy servant this day? If the sin be
mine or that of Jonathan my son, Jehovah, God of Israel, show it
by the lot marked Urim; but if the sin lies with thy people Israel,
show it by the lot marked Thummim.” Then the lot fell on Jonathan
and Saul and not on the people. So Saul said, “Cast the lot
between me and Jonathan my son. He whom Jehovah selects must
die.” The people said to Saul, “It shall not be so!” But Saul made
the people do as he said, and they cast the lot between him and Jonathan
his son; and it fell on Jonathan.

Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”
So Jonathan told him, “I did indeed taste a little honey with the
end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am! I am ready to
die.” Saul said, “God do so to me and more too; Jonathan, you
shall surely die!” But all the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan
die who has brought this great deliverance to Israel? Far from
it! As surely as Jehovah lives, not one hair of his head shall fall
to the ground, for he has done this day what God wished.” So the
people saved Jonathan from death.

DAVID’S VICTORY OVER THE GIANT

As long as Saul lived there was bitter war with the Philistines.
Whenever Saul saw a strong or able man, he would take him into
his service.

Now the spirit of Jehovah had left Saul and an evil spirit from
Jehovah troubled him. So Saul’s servants said to him, “See now,[91]
an evil spirit from Jehovah is troubling you. Let your servants
who are here advise you, and let them seek a man skilled in playing
the lyre. Then, whenever the evil spirit comes upon you, he
shall play on the lyre, and you will be well.” Saul said to his servants,
“Find me a man who plays well, and bring him to me.”

Then one of the young men said, “I have seen a son of Jesse
the Bethlehemite who is a skilled musician, a strong and able man,
a soldier, careful in speech, handsome, and Jehovah is with him.”
So Saul sent messengers to Jesse with the command, “Send me
David your son, who is with the flock.”

Then Jesse took ten loaves of bread, a skin of wine, and a kid,
and sent them to Saul by his son David. So David came to Saul
and entered his service; and Saul loved him and he became his
armor-bearer. Saul sent this message to Jesse: “Let David remain
in my service, for I am well pleased with him.” And whenever
the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take the
lyre and play, and Saul would breathe more easily and would be
well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war, and camped
between Socoh and Ezekah in Ephesdammim. Saul and the men
of Israel came together and camped in the valley of Elah; and they
were drawn up ready for battle against the Philistines.

The Philistines were standing on the hill on one side, and the
Israelites were standing on the hill on the other side with the valley
between them. Then there came out from the ranks of the Philistines
a champion named Goliath, who was about ten feet tall. He
had a helmet of bronze on his head and wore a bronze breastplate
of scales which weighed one hundred and fifty pounds. He also
had bronze greaves upon his legs and a bronze back-plate between
his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and
the head of his iron spear weighed about twenty pounds; and his
shield-bearer went before him.

He stood and called to the ranks of Israel: “Why have you
come out to form the line of battle? Am I not a Philistine and you
servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come
down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we
will become your servants; but if I conquer and kill him, then you
shall become our servants and serve us.” The Philistine added,
“I defy the ranks of Israel to-day; give me a man that we may
fight together.”[92]

When Saul and all the Israelites heard these words of the Philistine,
they were terrified. But David said to Saul, “Let not my
lord’s courage fail him; I will go and fight this Philistine.” Saul
said to David, “You are not able to go and fight against this Philistine,
for you are only a youth and he has been a warrior from
his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant kept his father’s
sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of
the flock, I would go out after him and kill him and rescue it from
his mouth. If he attacked me, I would seize him by his throat and
kill him with a blow. Your servant has killed both lion and bear.
Now this heathen Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has
defied the armies of the living God. Jehovah who saved me from
the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will save me from
the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may
Jehovah be with you.”

Saul clothed David with his own garments, and put a helmet of
bronze on his head and gave him a coat of mail. And David fastened
on his sword over his coat and was not able to walk, for he was
not used to them. So he said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for
I am not used to them.” So David took them off.

Then he took his club in his hand, and he chose five smooth
stones from the bed of the brook and put them in his bag, and he
took his sling in his hand and drew near to the Philistine. When
the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him, for he was
but a fair and ruddy youth. So the Philistine said to David, “Am
I a dog that you come against me with a club?” And he cursed
David by his gods, and said, “Come to me that I may give your
flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the field.”

Then David answered the Philistine, “You come to me with a
sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of
Jehovah of hosts and of the God of the armies of Israel whom you
have insulted this day. Jehovah will deliver you into my hand
that I may kill you and cut off your head.”

When the Philistine started to attack him, David put his hand
into his bag and took from it a stone, and slung it and struck the
Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and
he fell on his face to the earth. Then David ran and stood over the
Philistine, and drawing his sword from its sheath, he killed him
and cut off his head with it.

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they[93]
fled. The men of Israel and of Judah rose up and raised the battle-cry
and followed the Philistines to the entrance to Gath and to the
gates of Ekron, so that the wounded of the Philistines fell all the
way from the battle-field even to Gath and Ekron.

SAUL’S MEAN JEALOUSY

When the Israelites and David returned from slaying the Philistines,
the women came out from all the cities of Israel, singing and
dancing, to meet Saul with tambourines, with cries of rejoicing, and
with cymbals. The women sang gaily to each other and said,

Saul was very angry, for their words displeased him, and he said,
“To David they give credit for ten thousands, but to me only
thousands; what more can he have but the rulership?” So Saul
kept his eye on David from that day onward. Saul feared David
and did not let him stay near him. He made him commander over
a thousand men; and David went out and came in at the head of
the soldiers. In all that he did David acted wisely and had success,
for Jehovah was with him. When Saul saw that he acted
wisely, he was still more afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah
loved David, for he went out and came in at their head.

Michal, Saul’s daughter, also loved David, and when they told
Saul, he was pleased, for he said, “I will give her to him, that she
may lead him to destruction and that the Philistines may capture
him.” So Saul commanded his servants, “Say to David secretly:
‘See, the ruler is pleased with you and all his servants love you;
now therefore become his son-in-law.'” When Saul’s servants told
this to David, he said, “Do you think it easy for me to become the
son-in-law of a ruler when I am poor and have no reputation!”
When Saul’s servants told him David’s answer, he commanded,
“Say to David: ‘Saul wishes no price for his daughter except the
proof that you have killed a hundred Philistines;'” for Saul thought
that David would be killed by them.

So David went with his men and killed a hundred Philistines;
and Saul gave him his daughter Michal as his wife. Then Saul[94]
knew that Jehovah was with David and that all Israel loved him, so
he feared David still more.

Then Saul commanded his son Jonathan and all his servants to
put David to death. But Jonathan was very fond of David. And
Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him,
“Do not sin against your servant David, for he has not wronged
you and his behavior toward you has been excellent; for he risked
his life and killed the Philistine, so that Jehovah saved all Israel.
You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin by shedding innocent
blood in killing David without cause?”

So Saul listened to Jonathan and gave his solemn promise: “As
surely as Jehovah lives, he shall not be put to death.”

Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. And
Jonathan brought David to Saul and he was with him as before.

But there was war again, and David went out and fought against
the Philistines and killed so many of them that they fled before
him. Then an evil spirit from Jehovah came upon Saul while he
was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand and while David
was playing on the lyre. Saul tried to pin David to the wall with
the spear, but David slipped away so that Saul drove the spear
into the wall; and David fled and so escaped.

That night Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch
him, so as to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife,
told him, “If you do not save your life to-night, you will be killed
to-morrow.” So Michal let David down through the window;
and he fled away and escaped. Then Michal took the household
god and laid it in the bed, and she put a pillow of goat’s hair under
its head and covered it with a garment. And when Saul sent messengers
to seize David, she said, “He is sick.”

Again Saul sent the messengers to the house of David with the
command, “Bring him up to me on the bed, that I may put him to
death.” When the messengers came in, there was the household
god in the bed with the pillow of goat’s hair under its head. Saul
said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my
enemy go?” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me: ‘Let me go;
why should I kill you?'”

JONATHAN’S LOVE FOR DAVID

Then David went and found Jonathan and said, “What have I
done? What is my guilt, and what is my sin in the mind of your[95]
father, that he is seeking my life?” Jonathan replied, “No, no!
You shall not die. You know that my father does nothing great
or small that he does not tell me, and why should my father hide
this from me? He surely will not.” David answered, “Your father
well knows that you are fond of me, and he is saying to himself,
‘Do not let Jonathan know this that he may not be grieved.’ But
as surely as Jehovah lives and as you live, there is only a step between
me and death.”

Then Jonathan said to David, “What do you wish me to do
for you?” David answered, “To-morrow is the festival of the New
Moon and I ought to sit at the table with Saul, but let me go and I
will hide myself in the field until evening. If your father misses
me, then say, ‘David asked permission of me to run to Bethlehem,
his native town, for the yearly sacrifice is there for all his family.’
If he says, ‘Good,’ then it is well with your servant; but if he gets
angry, then you will know that he is planning to harm me. Now
show kindness to your servant, for in the presence of Jehovah you
have made a solemn agreement with your servant. But if I am
at all guilty, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your
father?” Jonathan said, “That shall never be! If I learn that
my father is planning to do you harm, I will tell you.”

Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father
answers you harshly?” Jonathan answered, “Jehovah the God of
Israel be witness that about this time to-morrow I will find out how
my father feels. If he feels kindly toward you, then I will send and
tell you. Should my father wish to do you harm, God do to Jonathan
whatever he will and more too if I do not tell you and send you
away that you may go in peace. May Jehovah be with you, as he
has been with my father. And if I am yet alive, O may you show
me kindness like that of Jehovah himself! But if I should die,
you must never cease to be kind to my family. And if, when
Jehovah destroys all the enemies of David from the face of the
earth, the family of Jonathan should be destroyed by the family
of David, may Jehovah punish the crime by the hand of
David’s enemies.” So Jonathan renewed his solemn promise to
David, because he loved him; for he loved him as much as he loved
his own life.

Then Jonathan said to him, “To-morrow is the festival of the
New Moon and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. On
the third day, when you will be greatly missed, go to the place where[96]
you hid yourself when my father attacked you, and sit down beside
the heap of stones. I will shoot three arrows on one side of it, as
though I shot at a mark. Then I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go,
find the arrows.’ If I call to the boy, ‘See, the arrows are on this
side of you; pick them up!’—then come; for all goes well with you,
and as surely as Jehovah lives, there is nothing to fear. But if I
call to the boy, ‘See, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for Jehovah
sends you away. And as for the promises which you and I have
made, Jehovah is witness between you and me forever.”

So David hid himself in the field; and when the festival of
the New Moon came, Saul sat down at the table to eat. He sat
on his seat, as usual, by the wall, and Jonathan sat opposite, and
Abner sat beside Saul; but David’s seat was empty. Saul, however,
did not say anything that day, for he thought, “It is an
accident.”

But on the next day when David’s place was again empty, Saul
said to Jonathan, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the table,
either yesterday or to-day?” Jonathan answered, “David asked
permission to go to Bethlehem, for he said, ‘Let me go, for we have
a family sacrifice in the town, and my brother has commanded me
to be there. Now if you approve, let me go away that I may see
my family.’ Therefore, he has not come to your table.”

Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to
him, “Son of a rebellious slave girl! Do I not know that you are
making the son of Jesse your friend to your own shame and to your
mother’s shame? For as long as the son of Jesse lives, neither you
nor your rule will be safe. Therefore, send now and bring him to
me, for he is doomed to die.”

Then Jonathan answered Saul his father and said, “Why should
he be put to death? What has he done?” But Saul flung his spear
at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father had made
up his mind to put David to death. And Jonathan rose from the
table in hot anger and ate no food on the second day of the month,
for he felt hurt because his father had insulted David.

The next morning Jonathan went out into the field to the place
agreed upon with David, and a small boy was with him. He said
to his boy, “Run, find now the arrows which I shoot.” As the boy
ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy came to the place
where the arrow which Jonathan had shot lay, Jonathan called to
him, “Is not the arrow beyond you? Hurry, be quick, do not stop!”[97]
So Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and brought them to his
master. But the boy knew nothing about the signal. Only Jonathan
and David understood.

THE COST OF A LIE

Then David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest who came
trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and
no one with you?” David answered Ahimelech the priest, “Saul
has given me orders about some business and has said to me, ‘Let
no one know anything about the business on which I am sending
you and about which I have given you orders.’ I have also directed
the young men to meet me at a certain place. Therefore, if you have
at hand five loaves of bread, give them to me or whatever can be
found.” The priest answered David, “There is no plain bread at
hand, but only holy bread.” So the priest gave him holy bread,
for there was no other bread there except that which had been removed
from the temple to be replaced at once by hot bread.

Now Doeg, the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen, was there
that day. And David said to Ahimelech, “Have you not here at
hand a spear or sword? For I did not bring my sword or my
weapons with me, since the king’s business required haste.” The
priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you slew in
the valley of Elah is there, wrapped in a cloth. If you wish to take
that, do so, for there is no other except that here.” David answered,
“There is none like that; give it to me.”

Then David went from there and escaped to the stronghold of
Adullam. When his brothers and all his father’s clan heard of it,
they went down there to him. Every one who was in trouble and
every one who was in debt, and every one who was discontented
gathered about him, and he became their leader. About four hundred
men were with him.

When Saul heard that David and the men with him had been
found, he was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree at the high
place, with his spear in his hand. And all his servants were standing
about him. Saul said to his servants who stood about him,
“Hear, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields
and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands
and commanders of hundreds? Is it not true that all of you have
plotted against me so that no one tells me that my son has made
an agreement with the son of Jesse, and that none of you has pity
upon me or tells me that my son has made my servant David my
enemy as he now is?” Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing[98]
by the servants of Saul, spoke up and said, “I saw the son of Jesse
go to Nob, to Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub. And the priest inquired
of God for him and gave him food and the sword of Goliath
the Philistine.”

Then Saul sent for Ahimelech the priest, and all his family and
the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to him. Then
Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub!” He answered, “Here I am,
my lord!” Saul said to him, “Is it not true that you and the son
of Jesse have plotted against me and that you have given him bread
and a sword and have inquired of God for him, that he might rebel
against me?” Ahimelech answered Saul, “Who among all your
servants is trusted like David, your son-in-law, chief over your subjects,
and honored in your household? Is this the first time I have
inquired of God for him? Far be it from me to be disloyal! Do not
think that I or any of my clan have any evil intention, for your
servant does not know the slightest thing about all this.” But Saul
said, “Ahimelech, you shall surely die, you and all your family.”

Then Saul said to the guards who were standing about him,
“Turn and kill the priests of Jehovah, for they have plotted with
David; and although they knew that he was fleeing, they did not
tell me.” But Saul’s servants would not raise their hands to kill
the priests of Jehovah. Then Saul said to Doeg, “Turn and kill
the priests.” So Doeg, the Edomite, turned and killed them. On
that day he killed eighty-five men who wore the priestly robes.

But Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled
to David. When Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the
priests of Jehovah, David said to him, “I knew that day, because
Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I myself
am responsible for the death of all your family. Stay with me,
have no fear, for whoever seeks your life must first take mine, for
you are placed in my charge.”

A SOLDIER WHO SPARED HIS ENEMY

Now when David was told, “The Philistines are fighting against
Keilah and are robbing the threshing-floors,” he inquired of Jehovah,
“Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” Jehovah said to David,
“Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” But David’s men
said to him, “See, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more will
we be if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”[99]
When David again inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah answered him,
“Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your
hand.” So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the
Philistines and drove away their cattle and killed a great many of
them. In this way David delivered the people of Keilah.

Now when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, fled to David in
Keilah, he came down with the priestly robe used in consulting Jehovah
in his hand. And when Saul was told that David had come
to Keilah, Saul said, “God has given him into my power, for by entering
a town that has doors and bars he has let himself be trapped.”

So Saul called all the people to arms to go down to Keilah to besiege
David and his men. But when David knew that Saul was plotting
evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring here
the priestly robe.” Then David said, “O Jehovah, the God of Israel,
thy servant has surely heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah,
to destroy the town because of me. Will Saul come down, as thy
servant has heard? O Jehovah, God of Israel, tell thy servant.”
Jehovah said, “He will come down.” Then David said, “Will the
men of Keilah turn me and my men over to Saul?” Jehovah said,
“They will.” Then David and his men, who were about six hundred,
left Keilah, and wandered from one place to another. When
it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he no
longer followed him. So David lived in the Wilderness of Ziph and
stayed in the mountain strongholds.

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David
hiding in the hill country of Hachilah?” So Saul went down to the
Wilderness of Ziph with three thousand men of Israel to hunt for
David. And Saul camped in the hill country of Hachilah; but David
stayed in the wilderness. When David saw that Saul was following
him into the wilderness, he sent out scouts and learned that Saul
had come to the place just in front of him. David then arose and
went to the place where Saul had camped. And he saw the place
where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his
army; and Saul was within the barricade, and the people were
camped about him.

Then David turned to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the
son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and said, “Who will go down with
me to Saul’s camp?” Abishai said, “I will go with you.” So
David and Abishai came to the people by night, and Saul was lying
asleep inside the barricade, with his spear stuck into the earth[100] at
his head and with Abner and the soldiers lying about him.

Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy to you
to-day. Now let me pin him to the earth with his spear at one
stroke, for I will not need to strike him twice!” David replied,
“As surely as Jehovah lives, either Jehovah will smite him, or his
day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and meet his
end. Jehovah forbid that I should harm him whom Jehovah has
called to rule! But now take the spear that is at his head and the
jug of water, and let us go.” So David took the spear and the jug
of water from Saul’s head, and they departed. But no man saw it
or knew it, for they were all asleep, and no one awoke, for a deep
sleep from Jehovah had fallen upon them.

Then David went across and stood on the top of a hill at a distance
with a great space between them. And David called to the
soldiers and to Abner, the son of Ner, and said, “Do you make no
answer, Abner?” Abner answered, “Who are you that calls?”
David said to Abner, “Are you not a man, and who is like you in
Israel? Why then have you not kept guard over your lord the
ruler of Israel? For one of the people came to destroy your lord.
You have not done what is right. As surely as Jehovah lives you
ought to be put to death, for you have not kept watch over your
master whom Jehovah has called to rule. Now see where his spear
is and his jug of water that was at his head.”

Saul knew David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son
David?” David replied, “It is my voice, my lord.” And he
added, “Why is it that my lord is following his servant? For what
have I done? Or of what am I guilty? Now therefore let my
lord listen to me. If Jehovah has stirred you up against me, let him
accept an offering. But if men have stirred you up against me,
let them be cursed before Jehovah, for they have driven me out
to-day, saying, ‘Go serve other gods,’ so that I have no share in the
land which Jehovah has given to his people. May I not meet my
end far away from the presence of Jehovah, for the ruler of Israel
has come out to seek my life, as one hunts a partridge on the
mountains.”

Then Saul said, “I have done wrong. Come back, my son
David, for I will do you no more harm, for you have spared my life
to-day. I have acted foolishly and have made a great mistake.”
David answered, “Here is Saul’s spear! Let one of the young
men come over and take it. May Jehovah reward each one who[101]
does right and is faithful; for Jehovah gave you to me to-day, but I
would not harm one whom Jehovah had called to rule. Just as your
life was of great value in my sight so may my life be of great value
in Jehovah’s sight, and may he deliver me from all trouble.”

Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David!
You shall do great deeds and shall surely succeed!” So David
went his way, but Saul returned home.

ABIGAIL’S SENSIBLE ADVICE

Then David went away into the Wilderness of Maon. Now
there was a man in Maon, whose property was in Carmel. The
man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand
goats, and he was shearing his sheep at Carmel. His name was
Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. The woman was sensible
and beautiful, but the man was rough and ill-mannered; and he
was a Calebite.

When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing
his sheep, he sent ten young men with the command, “Go up to
Carmel and enter Nabal’s house and greet him in my name. You
shall say to him and to his family, ‘Peace and prosperity be to you
and your family and to all that you have. Now I have heard that
you have sheep-shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we
did not insult them, and nothing of theirs was missing all the while
they were in Carmel. Ask your young men and they will tell you.
Therefore receive my young men favorably, for we have come on
a feast-day. Give also whatever you have at hand to your servants
and to your son David.'”

When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal for David
as they were told, and then waited. But Nabal answered David’s
servants, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Many
are the slaves these days who break away from their masters!
Should I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I
have prepared for my shearers and give it to men of whom I know
nothing?” So when David’s young men returned and told him, he
said to them, “Let every man put on his sword.” So they all put
on their swords. David also put on his sword; and about four hundred
men followed David, and two hundred stayed with the baggage.

[102]

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David
has just sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master,
but he insulted them. The men have been very good to us and
we have not been harmed nor have we missed anything, as long as
we were with them in the open country. They were as a wall about
us both night and day all the time we were near them guarding the
sheep. Now therefore decide what you will do, for evil is planned
against our master and against all his household, for he is such an
ill-tempered man that no one can say a word to him.”

Then Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two
skins of wine, five roasted sheep, five baskets of parched grain, a
hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and
loaded them on asses. She said to her young men, “Go on ahead
of me; see, I am coming after you.” But she said nothing about it
to her husband Nabal. As she was riding on the ass and coming
down under cover of a hill, David and his men were coming down
toward her, so that she met them. David had just said, “It was in
vain that I guarded all that belongs to this fellow in the wilderness,
so that nothing of his was missing, for he has returned me evil for
good. May God bring a similar judgment upon David and more
too, if by daybreak I leave a single man of all those who belong to
him.”

When Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from her ass
and bowed down before him with her face to the ground. As she
fell at his feet she said, “Upon me, my lord, upon me be the blame.
Only let your servant speak to you, and listen to her words. Let
not my lord pay any attention to that mean man Nabal, for as his
name is, so is he. ‘Fool’ is his name and folly rules him. But
your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you
sent. Now, my lord, as surely as Jehovah lives and as you live,
since Jehovah has kept you from murder and from avenging yourself
by your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek to
harm my lord be like Nabal. Let this present which your servant
has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow him.
I beg of you, forgive the wrong done by your servant, for Jehovah
will certainly make my lord’s family strong, for my lord is fighting
for Jehovah, and you shall not be guilty of any evil deed as long as
you live. Should a man rise up to pursue you and seek your life,
Jehovah your God will care for you, but he will cast away the lives
of your enemies as from a sling. When Jehovah has done for you
all the good that he has promised and has made you ruler over[103]
Israel, you will not have to be sorry that you shed blood without
cause or that you were revenged by your own hand. When Jehovah
gives prosperity to my lord, then too remember your servant.”

David said to Abigail, “Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel,
who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your good sense.
A blessing on you, who have kept me this day from murder and
from avenging myself by my own hand. For as surely as Jehovah
the God of Israel lives, who has kept me from doing you harm, unless
you had quickly come to meet me, truly by daybreak not one
man would have been left to Nabal.”

So David received from her all which she had brought him.
And he said to her, “Go back in peace to your house. See, I have
listened to your advice and granted your request.”

When Abigail returned to Nabal, he was holding a feast in his
house like a king. He was feeling merry, for he was very drunk;
so she told him nothing whatever until daybreak. But in the morning,
when the effects of the wine were gone, his wife told him what
she had done. Then his heart stopped beating and he became like
a stone. About ten days later he had a stroke from which he died.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Thanks be
to Jehovah who has punished Nabal’s insult to me and has kept
me from doing wrong, for Jehovah has visited Nabal’s crime upon
his own head.”

Then David sent to ask Abigail to become his wife. When his
servants came to her at Carmel and said, “David has sent us to
you to take you to him to be his wife,” she rose and bowed her face
to the earth and said, “See, your slave is willing to be even a servant
to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” Then Abigail quickly
rose and mounted an ass; and five of her maids followed as servants.
So she went with the messengers of David, and became his wife.

MAKING THE BEST OF TROUBLE

Then David said to himself, “I shall be killed some day by the
hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into
the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up hope and search
no more for me in all the land of Israel; and so I will escape from
him.” David, therefore, with the six hundred men who were with
him went over to Achish, king of Gath. And David and his men[104]
lived with Achish at Gath, each with his family. When Saul was
told that David had fled to Gath, he gave up looking for him.

David said to Achish, “If now you will grant me the favor, give
me a place in one of the towns in the open country, that I may live
there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”
So Achish gave him Ziklag, and David lived in the open country of
the Philistines a year and four months.

And David and his men went up and made a raid upon the
Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for these tribes live
in the land which extends from Telem to the land of Egypt. As
often as David made a raid on the land, he did not leave alive man
or woman, but taking the sheep, the oxen, the asses, the camels,
and the clothing, he returned and went to Achish. Then when
Achish said, “Where have you made a raid to-day?” David answered,
“Against the South Country of Judah, or against the South
Country of the Jerahmeelites, or against the South Country of the
Kenites.” And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made
his people Israel hate him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

Now in those days the Philistines gathered their forces to make
war against Israel. And Achish said to David, “You and your men
shall surely go with me in the army.” David replied, “You shall
then know what your servant can do.” Achish said to David,
“In that case I will make you the captain of my body-guard from
this time on.”

Then the Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and the
Israelites camped at the fountain in Jezreel. When the rulers of
the Philistines were marching past, by hundreds and by thousands,
and David and his men were marching in the rear with Achish, the
commanders of the Philistines said, “What are those Hebrews doing
here?” Achish said to them, “Is this not David, the servant of
Saul the ruler of Israel, who has been with me these two years, and
I have found no fault in him from the time that he came to me to
the present?”

But the commanders of the Philistines were displeased and said
to him, “Send the man back to the place where you had stationed
him. Do not let him go down with us into battle, lest we have a
foe in the camp; for how could this fellow better win back the favor
of his master than with the heads of these men? Is not this the
David of whom they sang to one another in the dances:

[105]

Then Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as Jehovah
lives, you are upright, and your conduct toward me both in
and out of the camp has been satisfactory, for I have found nothing
wrong in you from the time that you came to me to the present;
but you are not trusted by the other rulers. Go back home, therefore,
in peace, that you may do nothing to displease the rulers of
the Philistines.” David said to Achish, “But what have I done?
What have you found in your servant from the day that I entered
your service, that I may not go out and fight the enemies of my
lord the king?” Achish answered, “I know that you are as faithful
to me as an angel of God, but the commanders of the Philistines
have said, ‘He shall not go with us into battle.’ Therefore, you and
those who came with you are to rise early in the morning, and go
to the place where I have stationed you. Do not plan any evil, for
I trust you, but rise early in the morning and, as soon as it is light,
depart.”

So David and his men arose early in the morning to return to
the Philistine land, but the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

On the third day, when David and his men returned to Ziklag,
the Amalekites had made a raid on the South Country and on
Ziklag, and had attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had
also carried away captive all who were in it, including the women
and children. They had not killed any but had carried them away
with them. Then David and the people who were with him wept
aloud until they were no longer able to weep.

David was in great trouble, for the people spoke of stoning him,
because they all felt bitter, having lost their sons and daughters:
but David took courage, for he trusted in Jehovah his God. So
David with his six hundred followers went on to the Brook Besor,
where those who were too tired to cross the brook stayed behind.

They found there an Egyptian in the open field and brought him
to David and gave him food to eat and water to drink. Then David
said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where do you come
from?” He replied, “I am an Egyptian lad, an Amalekite’s servant,
and my master left me behind because three days ago I fell
sick. We marched into the South Country of the Cherethites and
into that which belongs to Judah and into the South Country [106]of
Caleb, and Ziklag we destroyed by fire.” David said to him, “Will
you guide me to this robber band?” He replied, “Swear to me by
your God, that you will neither kill me nor turn me over to my
master, and I will guide you to this band.”

When he had brought him down, the Amalekites were scattered
over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all
the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines
and from the land of Judah. David fought against them from twilight
to the evening of the next day, and only four hundred young
men who were mounted on camels escaped.

So David took from the Amalekites all that they had carried
away and rescued his two wives; nothing at all was missing. Then
he took all the flocks and the herds and drove those animals before
the people, and they said, “This is David’s spoil.”

When David came to the two hundred men who had been so
faint that they could not follow him, all the wicked, mean fellows
who went with him said, “Because these men did not go with us,
let us not give them any of the spoil that we have taken, except
that each man may take his wife and children and depart.” David
answered, “My brothers, you shall not do so with that which Jehovah
has given us, after he has saved our lives and given this
robber band that attacked us into our power. Those who stay
with the baggage shall have an equal share with those who fight.”
So from that day to the present he made this a law and a rule in
Israel.

When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the
leaders of Judah and to his relatives, saying, “See! a present for
you from the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah.”

THE DEATH OF TWO BRAVE WARRIORS

Samuel had died and all Israel had mourned for him and had
buried him in his own town Ramah. Saul, too, had put the mediums
and those who had messages from the spirits of the dead out of the
land.

Then the Philistines came and camped in Shunem, and Saul
gathered all the Israelites and camped in Gilboa. But when he
saw the army of the Philistines, he was terrified and filled with fear.
So he asked of Jehovah whether he should go against them[107], but
Jehovah did not answer him either by dream or by lot or by the
prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman
who is a medium, that I may go and ask through her.” His servants
said to him, “There is such a woman at Endor.”

So Saul did not let any one know who he was, but put on other
clothes and went, taking two men with him. And they came to
the woman at night. He said, “Ask for me through some departed
spirit and bring up for me the one for whom I shall ask.” The
woman said to him, “You know what Saul has done, how he has
driven from the land the mediums and those who have messages
from the spirits of the dead. Why then are you trying to catch
me, to put me to death?” But Saul swore to her by Jehovah, saying,
“As surely as Jehovah lives, no punishment will come to you
from this act.” Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up
to you?” Saul said, “Bring up Samuel.”

When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and said to Saul,
“Why have you deceived me, for you are Saul?” Saul replied,
“Do not be afraid! What do you see?” The woman said to Saul,
“I see a god coming out of the earth.” Saul asked, “What does he
look like?” She said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped
in a cloak.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel; and he bowed
with his face to the earth and worshipped.

Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing
me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great trouble, for the Philistines
are making war against me, and God has turned from me and answers
me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams. So I have
called you to tell me what I shall do.” Samuel said, “Why do you
ask of me when Jehovah has turned from you and become your
enemy? He has taken the authority from your hand and given it
to another, even to David. To-morrow you, with your sons beside
you, shall fall, and Jehovah will deliver the army of Israel into the
power of the Philistines.”

Then Saul fell at full length upon the earth, for the words of
Samuel filled him with fear, so he had no strength left, for he had not
eaten any food all that day and night. When the woman came to
Saul and saw that he was in great trouble, she said to him, “See,
I have taken my life in my hand and have done what you asked me.
Now therefore, listen also to my advice and let me set before you a
little food, and eat that you may have strength to go on your way.”
Saul refused and said, “I will not eat”; but his servants, as we[108]ll as
the woman, urged him, until he listened to their advice. Then he
rose from the earth and sat upon the couch. And the woman had
a fat calf in the house which she quickly killed. And she took flour
and kneaded it and baked from it bread without yeast. She set it
before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose up and
went away that night.

The Philistines fought against Israel, but the Israelites fled from
them and fell dead on Mount Gilboa. Then the Philistines closely
followed Saul and his sons; and they killed Jonathan and Abinadab
and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. So the battle went against Saul,
and when the archers found out where he was, he was severely
wounded. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword
and kill me with it, so that these heathen Philistines may not come
and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he
was very much afraid. Saul, therefore, took his own sword and fell
upon it. When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also
fell upon his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons
and his armor-bearer died on the same day.

When the Israelites who were in the towns of the lowland and
across the Jordan saw that the Israelites had fled and that Saul and
his sons were dead, they left their towns and fled, and the Philistines
came and took them.

On the next day, the Philistines came to rob the dead, and found
that Saul and his three sons had fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut
off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers through
all the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to their idols
and to the people. And they put his armor in the temple of Ashtarte
and fastened his body on the wall of Bethshan.

When the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines
had done to Saul, their brave men rose up and marched all
night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall
of Bethshan and brought them to Jabesh and mourned over them
there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the oak-tree
in Jabesh and ate no food for seven days.

On the third day after David returned to Ziklag, after defeating
the Amalekites, a man came from the camp of Saul with his clothes
torn and with earth upon his head. When he came to David, he
fell on the ground before him. David said to him, “Where do you
come from?” He answered, “I have escaped from the camp of
Israel.” David said to him, “How did the battle go? Tell me.[109]”
He answered, “The people fled from the battle-field, and many of
them fell, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead!”

Then David and all the men who were with him tore their
clothes and mourned and wept and went without food until evening,
because Saul and Jonathan his son and the people of Jehovah had
fallen by the sword.

David then sang this dirge over Saul and Jonathan:

A SHEPHERD BOY WHO WAS CALLED TO LEAD A NATION

After this David asked of Jehovah, “Shall I go up into one of
the towns of Judah?” Jehovah answered, “Go up.” When David
asked, “To which shall I go?” he said, “To Hebron.” So David
went up with his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail. And David
brought the men who were with him, each with his family, and they
lived in the towns about Hebron. Then the men of Judah came
there and made David ruler over the people of Judah.

When they told David about the men of Jabesh in Gilead who
had buried Saul, David sent messengers to them and said, “May
you be blessed by Jehovah because you have shown this kindness
to your master Saul and have buried him. Even so may Jehovah
show kindness and faithfulness to you. I also will repay you for
this kind deed which you have done. Therefore be brave and courageous;
for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have
made me ruler over them.”[110]

Now Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbaal
the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim and made him
ruler over Gilead and all Israel. But the people of Judah remained
loyal to David.

There was constant war between the followers of Saul and those
of David. But David kept growing stronger while the followers of
Saul grew weaker.

Then Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon, went about
midday to the palace of Ishbaal, as he was taking his rest at noon.
The doorkeeper of the palace was cleaning wheat, but he grew
drowsy and slept. So Rechab and Baanah his brother slipped in
and, attacking Ishbaal, they killed him and cut off his head.

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said,
“See, we are your relatives. When Saul was ruler over us, it was
you who led the Israelites, and Jehovah has said to you, ‘You shall
be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall become the leader of
Israel.'” So all the leading men of Israel came to David, and he
made an agreement with them in Hebron in the presence of Jehovah,
and they made David ruler over Israel. David was thirty
years old when he began to rule and he ruled forty years.

When the Philistines heard that they had made David ruler
over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David; but
when he heard of this he went down to the fortress.

Three of David’s thirty warriors went down to him to the top
of the rock, to the fortress of Adullam, while a force of the Philistines
was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. David was at that
time in the fortress, and a company of the Philistines was in Bethlehem.
And David said, longingly, “O that some one would bring
me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem which is near the
gate!” Then the three famous warriors broke through the line of
the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem which
was near the gate and brought it to David. He would not drink of
it, however, but poured it out as an offering to Jehovah and said,
“Jehovah forbid that I should drink it. This is the blood of the
men who went at the risk of their lives.” Therefore he would not
drink it.

When the Philistines came and spread out over the Valley of
Rephaim, David asked of Jehovah: “Shall I go out against the
Philistines? Wilt thou give them into my hand?” Jehovah said
to David, “Go; for I will certainly give the Philistines in[111]to your
hand.” So David went to Baal-perazim, and defeated them there;
and he said, “Jehovah has broken down my enemies before me,
like waters which break through their banks.”

Then the Philistines came up again and spread out over the
Valley of Rephaim. When David asked of Jehovah, he said, “You
shall not make a direct attack. Go around behind them and attack
them opposite the balsam-trees. When you hear the sound of
marching in the tops of the balsams, act quickly, for then Jehovah
will have gone out before you to overthrow the army of the Philistines.”
David did as Jehovah commanded him and drove the
Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer.

JERUSALEM MADE THE CAPITAL CITY

David and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the
people of the land who had said to David, “You shall not come in
here, for the blind and the lame will turn you back,” for they
thought, “David cannot come in here.”

But David took the fortress of Zion, and lived there. He also
built a wall around it, and called it the City of David.

David continued to grow more powerful, for Jehovah of hosts
was with him. And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers to him,
and cedar-trees and carpenters and masons, and they built a palace
for him. So David knew that Jehovah had made him ruler over
Israel and his kingdom powerful for the sake of his people Israel.

David again gathered all the chief men of Israel, thirty thousand
in all, and went with all the people to Baal-Judah, to bring up
from there the ark of God. They placed the ark of God upon a
new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab on the hill.
Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, guided the cart. Uzzah
went beside the ark of God, while Ahio went before it. David and
all the people of Israel danced before Jehovah with all their might to
the music of harps and lyres and drums and castanets and cymbals.

When they came to the threshing-floor of Nachon, Uzzah
stretched out his hand to hold up the ark of God, for the oxen
stumbled. Then the anger of Jehovah was aroused against Uzzah
and he struck him down there, because he had stretched out his
hand to the ark; so he died there in the presence of God. David
was afraid of Jehovah that day, and said, “How can the ark of[112]
Jehovah come to me?” So David was not willing to remove the
ark of Jehovah to the City of David, but carried it aside to the
house of Obed-edom, the Gittite, and it remained there three
months. But Jehovah blessed Obed-edom and all his family.

When the report came to David, “Jehovah has blessed Obed-edom
and all his family because of the ark of God,” David joyfully
brought up the ark from the house of Obed-edom to the City of
David. When the bearers of the ark of Jehovah had gone six
paces, David offered an ox and a fat animal as a sacrifice; and he
danced before Jehovah with all his might, and he had about his
waist a priestly garment made of linen. So David and all the
house of Israel brought up the ark of Jehovah with shouting and
the blare of trumpets.

When they had brought in the ark of Jehovah and had set it in
its place in the tent that David had built for it, he offered burnt-offerings
and sacrifices to Jehovah. When David had finished offering
these sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of Jehovah
of hosts and gave to each of the many Israelites who were there, to
both men and women, a roll of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake
of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

This message also from Jehovah came to Nathan, the prophet:
“You shall say to my servant David: ‘Jehovah of hosts declares,
I took you from the pasture from following the sheep to be chief
over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went,
to destroy all your enemies before you, and I will make you a name,
like that of the great in the earth. When your life is ended and you
are buried with your fathers, I will raise up your son after you, and
I will make his rule strong. I will be a father to him, and he shall
be my son. When he goes astray I will gently correct him. I will
not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from Saul. Your
house and your dominion shall always stand firm before me; your
authority shall stand forever.'”

DAVID’S KINDNESS TO JONATHAN’S SON

Then David asked, “Is any one left of the family of Saul to whom
I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” And there was a servant
of Saul named Ziba. When they called him before David, he said
to him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “Your servant.” David
said, “Is there any one else belonging to the family of Saul to w[113]hom
I may show kindness like that which God shows to us?” Ziba answered,
“A son of Jonathan is still living, but he is lame in his feet.”
David inquired, “Where is he?” Ziba replied, “He is in the house
of Machir in Lodebar.”

Then David sent and brought him from the house of Machir;
and when Meribaal the son of Jonathan came to David, he bowed
down to the ground before him. David said, “Meribaal!” He
answered, “Here is your servant!” David said to him, “Fear not,
for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan,
and I will give back to you all the land of your grandfather
Saul; and you shall always eat at my table.” Meribaal bowed down
and said, “What is your servant that you should look favorably
upon one as unworthy as I?”

Then David called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I
have given to your master’s son all that belongs to Saul and to his
family. You with your sons and servants shall cultivate the land
for him and harvest the fruits, that your master’s son may have
food to eat; but Meribaal, your master’s son, shall always eat at my
table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants; and he
said to David, “Your servant will do all that my lord commands.”

So Meribaal ate at David’s table like one of his own sons. Meribaal
also had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived
in the house of Ziba were Meribaal’s servants. So Meribaal lived
in Jerusalem, and though he was lame in both feet, he always ate
at David’s table.

A RICH MAN WHO WAS A THIEF

One evening, while Joab was besieging Rabbath Ammon, David
rose from his bed and walked upon the roof of the royal palace.
From the roof he saw a woman bathing; and she was very beautiful.
And David sent to ask about the woman; and some one said,
“Is not this Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David
sent messengers to bring her; and she came to him, but later returned
to her home.

Then David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. In the
letter, he said, “Place Uriah in the front line where there is the
fiercest fighting, then draw back from behind him, that he may be
struck down and die.” So Joab, in posting guards over the city,
sent Uriah to the place where he knew there were brave men. When[114]
the men of the city went out to fight against Joab, some of the soldiers
of David fell, and Uriah the Hittite was killed.

Then Joab sent to tell David all about the war, and he gave this
command to the messenger: “If, after you have finished telling
the ruler all about the war, he is angry and says to you, ‘Why did
you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they
would shoot from the wall? Who struck down Abimelech the son
of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him
from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go near the
wall?’ then say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'”

So the messenger of Joab went to Jerusalem and told David all
that Joab commanded him. Then David said to the messenger,
“Say to Joab, ‘Let not this thing trouble you, for the sword takes
one and then another. Go on fighting against the city and capture
it,’ and encourage him.”

When Bathsheba heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she
mourned for him as was the custom. When the mourning was over,
David sent for her, and she became his wife and she had a son.

What David had done displeased Jehovah and he sent the
prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There
were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich
man had many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing except
one little ewe lamb which he had bought. He fed it, and it grew
up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his own small
supply of food and drink out of his own cup, and it lay in his bosom
and was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveller came to the rich man; and he spared his own
flock and did not take an animal from it nor from his own herd to
make ready for the traveller who had come to him, but took the
poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the guest who had come.”

Then David was very angry, and he said to Nathan, “As surely
as Jehovah lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall
repay seven times the value of the lamb, because he showed no pity.”

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Jehovah the God of
Israel declares: ‘I made you ruler over Israel and I delivered you
out of the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your
master’s wives to be your own, and I gave you the nations of Israel
and Judah. If that were too little, I would add as much again. Why
have you despised Jehovah by doing that which is wrong in his sight?
You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have
taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword[115]
of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword shall never cease to
smite your family, because you have despised me and have taken
the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'”

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Jehovah!” Then
Nathan said to David, “Jehovah has also put away your sin so that
you shall not die. Yet, because by this deed you have shown contempt
for Jehovah, the child that is born shall surely die.” Then
Nathan went to his house.

And Jehovah smote Bathsheba’s child so that it fell sick. David
prayed to God for the child, and ate no food but went in and lay all
night in sackcloth upon the earth. The older men in his house stood
over him to raise him up from the earth; but he would not rise nor
eat with them. When on the seventh day the child died, the servants
of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for
they said, “While the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he
paid no attention to our voice. How can we tell him that the child
is dead, for he will do some harm!”

But when David saw that his servants were whispering together,
he knew that the child was dead, and said to his servants, “Is the
child dead?” They replied, “He is dead.” Then David rose from
the earth, washed and put oil on himself, changed his clothes, and
went into the temple of Jehovah and worshipped. After that he
went to his own house; and he asked for bread, and when they set
it before him, he ate.

His servants said to him, “What is this you have done? You
ate no food and cried for the child while it was alive, but when the
child died, you rose and ate bread.” He replied, “While the child
was yet alive, I ate no food and cried aloud, for I said, ‘Who knows
whether Jehovah will have mercy, so that the child will live?’ But
now that he is dead, why should I eat no food? Can I bring him
back? I am going to him, but he will not come back to me.”

ABSALOM THE UNGRATEFUL SON

Some time later Absalom, David’s son, prepared a chariot and
horses and fifty men to run before him. He used to rise early and
stand beside the highway which led to the city gate. He would call
to him every man who had a suit that was to come before the ruler
for judgment and say, “Of what city are you?” When the man
replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,” Absal[116]om
would say to him, “Your claims are good and right; but the ruler
has not appointed any one to hear you. Oh, that some one would
make me judge in the land, so that every man who has any complaint
or cause would come to me, and I would see that he received
justice!” And whenever a man came near to bow before him, he
would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. In this
way Absalom treated all the Israelites who came to David for justice.
Thus, Absalom stole from David the hearts of the Israelites.

At the end of four years, Absalom said to his father, “I should
like to go and keep my promise, which I have made to Jehovah in
Hebron.” David said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to
Hebron; but Absalom sent messengers to all the tribes of Israel to
say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, cry, ‘Absalom
has become ruler in Hebron.'” With Absalom there went two hundred
men from Jerusalem, who were invited and went innocently,
knowing nothing at all of what he was going to do. Absalom also
sent for Ahithophel, David’s adviser, from the city of Giloh, while
he was offering the sacrifices. And the plot was strong, for more
and more people kept going over to Absalom.

When a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the
men of Israel have gone over to Absalom,” David said to all his servants
who were with him at Jerusalem, “Up, let us flee; for, if we
do not, none of us will escape from Absalom. Go at once, or he may
quickly overtake us and bring evil upon us and kill the people of the
city.” Then David’s servants said to him, “It shall be done as our
lord wishes; we are your servants.”

So David and all the people who followed him went out and stood
at the last house, while all the officers and the royal body-guard and
all the men of Ittai the Gittite, the six hundred who had followed
him from Gath, passed on before him.

Then David said to Ittai, “Why do you also go with us? Go
back and stay with the new ruler, for you are a foreigner and away
from your own land. Yesterday you came, and to-day shall I make
you go up and down the land with us, while I go where I may? Go
back and take your men with you, and may Jehovah show you kindness
and faithfulness.” But Ittai answered, “As surely as Jehovah
lives and as my lord the ruler of Israel lives, wherever my lord is,
whether dead or living, there your servant will be!” David said to
Ittai, “March on.” So Ittai marched on with all his men and with
all the children who were with him.[117]

All the people were weeping aloud while David stood in the Kidron
valley, and they went by before him on the way to the wilderness.
And Zadok and Abiathar came carrying the ark of Jehovah
and set it down until all the people had passed. Then David said
to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I win Jehovah’s
favor, he will bring me back and show me both it and the place
where he dwells. But if he declares, ‘I have no trust in you, then
here am I, let him do to me as he thinks best.'” So Zadok and Abiathar
carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there.

But David went up, weeping as he climbed the Mount of Olives
with his head covered and his feet bare. All the people who were
with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

And when David came to the summit, where one worships God,
Hushai the Archite with his garment torn and earth upon his head,
came to meet him. David said to him, “If you go on with me you
will be a burden to me. But if you go back to the city, and say to
Absalom, ‘Your brothers have gone away and your father has gone
after them; I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your
father’s servant in the past, so now I will be your servant,’ you can
defeat for me the advice of Ahithophel. And have you not there
with you Zadok and Abiathar the priests? See, they have there
with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan,
Abiathar’s son. By them you shall send word to me of everything
that you hear.” So Hushai, David’s friend, went into the city,
when Absalom came to Jerusalem.

Then David and all the people who were with him, reached the
Jordan tired out, but he refreshed himself there.

And Absalom, with all the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem,
and Ahithophel was with him. When Hushai, David’s friend, came
to Absalom, Hushai said to him, “May the king live, may the king
live!” But Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your love for your
friend? Why did you not go with your friend?” Hushai answered,
“No! to him whom Jehovah and his people and all the men of Israel
have chosen, to him will I belong and with him will I stay. Also
whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served
your father, so will I serve you.”

The advice which Ahithophel gave in those days was thought
by David and Absalom to be the same as if it had come from God
himself. And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me now pick out
twelve thousand men, and set out and follow David to-night[118]. Thus
I will come upon him when he is tired and weak and will frighten
him, and all the people who are with him will flee. Then I will kill
only the king, and I will bring back all the people to you as the bride
turns to her husband. Seek only the life of one man, and all the
people will be at peace.” This advice pleased Absalom and all the
leaders of Israel.

Then Absalom said, “Call now Hushai and let us hear also what
he has to say.” When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to
him, “Thus Ahithophel has spoken; shall we act as he advises? If
not, you advise us.” Then Hushai said to Absalom, “The advice
that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. You know that
your father and his men are mighty warriors and are now angry, like
a bear robbed of her cubs. Your father is also a soldier and will not
stay at night with the people. Even now he has hidden himself in
one of the caves or in some other place. If some of the people fall
at first, whoever hears it will say, ‘There is a slaughter among the
people who follow Absalom.’ Then even he who is brave, whose
heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely lose courage; for
all Israel knows that your father is a great warrior, and they who
are with him are brave men. But I advise, let all the Israelites be
gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as many as the sand that
is by the sea, with you yourself marching in the midst of them. In
this way we will come upon him in some place where he will be found,
and we will fall upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him
and of all the men who are with him not even one shall be left. If
he goes into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and
we will pull it down into the valley, until not even a small stone is
found there.”

Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai
is better than the advice of Ahithophel.” For Jehovah had planned
to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, so that Jehovah might bring
evil upon Absalom.

Then Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “This
is what Ahithophel advised Absalom and the leaders of Israel; and
this is what I advised. So now send quickly and say to David, ‘Do
not spend this night at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means
cross over, for fear that David and all the people with him be
killed.'”

Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at Enrogel; and a
maid-serv[119]ant was to go and bring them news, and they were to go
and tell David, for they must not be seen coming into the city. But
a boy saw them and told Absalom. Then they both went away
quickly and entered into the house of a man in Bahurim, who had
a well in his courtyard into which they descended. The women took
and spread the covering over the mouth of the well, and scattered
dried fruit upon it, so that nothing was known. And when Absalom’s
servants came to the woman at the house and said, “Where
are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” the woman answered, “They have
gone over the brook.” When they had searched and could find
nothing, they returned to Jerusalem.

But as soon as the men had gone away, Ahimaaz and Jonathan
came up out of the well, and went and told David and said, “Get
up, cross quickly over the water, for so has Ahithophel advised in
regard to you.” Then David and all the people who were with him
rose and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak there was not one left
behind.

A BROKEN-HEARTED FATHER

After Absalom and all the men of Israel crossed the Jordan,
David counted the troops who were with him, and put over them
commanders of thousands and of hundreds. And he divided the
troops into three divisions; one was under the command of Joab,
another under Abishai, and another under the command of Ittai.
Then David said to the people, “I too will surely go out with you.”
But the people said, “You shall not go out; for if we are defeated,
or if half of us die, it will make no difference, for you are equal to
ten thousand of us. It is therefore more important for you to be
ready to help us from the city.” David said to them, “I will do
what you think best!” So he stood beside the gate, while all the
troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands.

David commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently
for my sake with the young man, with Absalom!” All the people
heard when he gave the commanders this order about Absalom.

So the troops went out into the field against Israel. The battle
was fought in the forest of Ephraim. And the soldiers of Israel were
defeated there by those who were loyal to David, and the loss of
life on that day was great—twenty thousand men. The battle spread
over the whole country; and the dense thickets killed more people
than were killed by the sword.

Absalom happened to meet the soldiers of David while riding
upon his mule, and the mule we[120]nt under the thick branches of a great
oak, and Absalom’s head caught fast in the oak, and he was hung
between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went
on. A certain man saw it and told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging
in an oak.” Joab said to the man who told him, “You saw him!
Why did you not strike him to the ground? I would have given
you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” But the man said to Joab, “If
I were to feel the weight of a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I
would not raise my hand against the ruler’s son, for in our hearing
he commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Take care of the young
man Absalom.’ If I had treacherously taken his life, nothing would
have been hidden from the ruler of Israel, and you yourself would
not have tried to save me.” Joab answered, “I will not waste time
with you.”

So he took three spears in his hand and drove them into
Absalom’s heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the oak.
Then Joab said to a negro slave, “Go, tell the ruler of Israel what
you have seen.” And the negro bowed before Joab and ran off.

Now David was sitting between the two gates, and when the
negro came, he said, “Let my lord receive the good news; Jehovah
has punished for you this day all those who rose up against
you.'” David said to the negro, “Is it well with the young Absalom?”
The negro answered, “May the enemies of my lord and
all who rebel against you to harm you be as that young man!”

Then David was very sad and went up to the chamber over the
gate and wept. As he wept he said, “My son Absalom, my son,
O my son Absalom! Oh that I had died for you, Absalom, my son,
my son!” And it was reported to Joab, “The ruler of Israel is weeping
and mourning for Absalom.” So for all the people the victory
that day was turned to mourning, because they heard that David
was mourning for his son. Therefore, the people stole away into the
city, as people who are ashamed steal away when they have run
away in battle. But David covered his face and cried aloud, “My
son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!”

HOW SOLOMON BECAME THE RULER OF ISRAEL

Now when David was old, Adonijah thought, “I will be ruler of
Israel.” So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and fifty
men to run before him. His father, David, had never in his life
troubled him by saying, “Why have you done thus and so?”
Adonijah was very good-looking and was the next younger son after
Absalom. He also had made an agreement with Joab and with[121]
Abiathar the priest to help him. But Zadok the priest and Benaiah
and Nathan the prophet, as well as Shimei and Rei and David’s
famous warriors, were not on his side.

Adonijah held a feast and killed for it sheep, oxen, and fat beasts
by the Serpent’s Stone, which is beside the Fuller’s Spring; and he
invited to the feast all his brothers and all the royal officials of Judah;
but he did not invite the prophet Nathan nor Benaiah nor the famous
warriors nor his brother Solomon.

Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have
you not heard that Adonijah has been made ruler without David
our lord knowing it? Now, therefore, let me advise you that you
may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go at
once to David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, solemnly
promise your servant that Solomon your son should rule after you?
Why then has Adonijah been made ruler?’ While you are still
talking with him, I will come in and repeat your words.”

So Bathsheba went into David’s room; he was very old, and
Abishag the Shunamite was caring for him. When David said,
“What do you wish?” she said to him, “My lord, you solemnly
promised your servant by Jehovah: ‘Solomon your son shall rule
after me.’ But now Adonijah has been made ruler without your
knowledge, my lord! Now, my lord, all the Israelites are looking
to you, to tell them who shall rule after you. If you do not tell them,
then, when my lord dies, I and my son Solomon will be treated as
criminals.”

While she was still talking with David, Nathan the prophet came
in. And they told David, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he
came in and bowed before David with his face to the ground. Then
Nathan said, “My lord, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall rule after
me?’ For he has gone down this day and killed many oxen and fat
beasts and sheep and has invited all your sons and the commanders
of the army and Abiathar the priest; and there they are eating and
drinking before him and saying, ‘May the new ruler Adonijah live!’
But he has not invited me, even me your servant, nor Zadok, the
priest, nor Benaiah nor your servant Solomon. If you have done
this, my lord, you have failed to show your servants who is to rule
after my lord.”

David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came in and
stood before hi[122]m. Then David made this solemn promise; “As
surely as Jehovah lives, who has delivered me from all trouble, as
I have solemnly promised to you by Jehovah, the God of Israel,
saying, ‘Solomon your son shall rule after me’; so I will certainly
do to-day.” Then Bathsheba bowed her face to the earth and said,
“May my lord live forever.”

Then David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the
prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” When they came before
him, he said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord.
Let Solomon my son ride upon my own mule, bring him down to
Gihon, and there let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet make
him ruler over Israel and blow the trumpet and say, ‘May Solomon
the ruler live!’ Then you shall go up after him, and he shall go in
and sit upon my throne, for he shall rule after me; and I have appointed
him to be chief over Israel and Judah.” Benaiah answered
David, “So may it be! May Jehovah confirm the words of my lord.
As Jehovah has been with my lord, even so may he be with Solomon,
and may he make his throne greater than the throne of my
lord David!”

Then Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah together with the Philistine
body-guards, went down and put Solomon on David’s mule and
brought him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of
the tent and poured oil on Solomon’s head, and they blew the trumpet,
and all the people said, “May Solomon live!” Then all the
people followed him and the people played on flutes and rejoiced
so loudly that the earth seemed to be shaken by the sound that they
made.

Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it just as
they had finished eating. And they were terrified and each rose
up and went away. But Adonijah in his fear of Solomon went and
caught hold of the horns of the altar. When it was reported to Solomon,
“See, Adonijah fears Solomon the ruler, for he has caught
hold of the horns of the altar and says, ‘Let Solomon solemnly
promise me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword,'”
Solomon said, “If he shall show himself a worthy man, not one of
his hairs shall be touched, but if he is found guilty of disloyalty, he
shall die.” So Solomon had him brought from the altar. And he
came and bowed before Solomon the ruler. And Solomon said to
him, “Go to your home.”

Then David died and was buried in the City of David, after having
ruled over Israel forty[123] years.

A YOUNG MAN’S WISE CHOICE

Solomon went to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice there, for that was
the great high place. He offered upon that altar a thousand animals
as a burnt-offering.

In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night
and said, “Ask what I shall give you.” Solomon said, “Thou hast
showed to thy servant David my father great kindness. Now, O
Jehovah my God, thou hast made thy servant ruler in the place of
David my father, although I am but a child who does not know how
to go out or come in. Give thy servant, therefore, an understanding
mind to rule thy people, that I may see clearly what is good and
what is evil; for who is able to rule this thy great people?”

Jehovah was pleased that Solomon had asked this; and God
said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for
yourself long life nor riches nor the life of your enemies, but have
asked for yourself understanding to see clearly what is just, I have
now granted what you ask; I have given you a wise and understanding
mind. I have also given you that which you have not asked,
both riches and honor.” When Solomon awoke, he found that it
was a dream; and he returned to Jerusalem.

Once two women came to Solomon and stood before him. The
one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same
house. While with her in the house I had a child. Three days later
this woman also had a child, and we were alone by ourselves in the
house. While we two were alone this woman’s child died in the
night, because she lay upon it.

“Then she rose at midnight and took my son from beside me,
while your servant slept, and laid it on her breast and laid her dead
child on mine. When I rose at dawn to nurse my child, there it was
dead; but when I looked at it closely in the morning, I found that
it was not my son.” Then the other woman said, “No; the living is
my son, and the dead child is your son.” So they quarrelled before
Solomon.

Then Solomon said, “One says, ‘This one who is alive is my
son, and your son is dead.’ But the other says, ‘No; your son is
dead, and my son is the one that is alive.’ Bring me a sword.” So
they brought him a sword. Then he said, “Divide the living child
in two and give half to the one and half to the other.” At that the
woman to whom the living child belonged spoke to Solomon—for[124]
she loved her son with all her heart—and said, “Oh, my lord, give
her the living child and on no account put it to death.” But the
other said, “It shall be neither mine nor yours! Divide it!” Then
Solomon said, “Give the first woman the living child, and on no
account put it to death; she is its mother.”

When all Israel heard of the decision which Solomon had given,
they had great respect for him, for they saw that he had divine
wisdom to decide questions justly.

BUILDING A GREAT TEMPLE

In the fourth year of Solomon’s rule over Israel he built the
temple of Jehovah. The temple was ninety feet long, thirty feet
wide, and forty-five feet high. The porch before the large room of
the temple was thirty feet wide and fifteen feet deep. Solomon
made windows for the temple with casings, broad on the inside and
narrow on the outside.

The temple was built with stone which had been made ready at
the quarry; neither hammer nor chisel nor any iron tool was heard
while the temple was building. Against the wall of the temple on
the outside Solomon built wings, both around the larger room and
the inner room, and made side-chambers around the temple.

The entrance to the lower side-chambers was on the south side
of the temple. Winding stairs led to the second floor, and from the
second to the third. Solomon built the wings against the sides of
the temple, each seven and a half feet high; and they were joined
to the temple with timbers of cedar.

He covered the walls of the temple on the inside with boards
of cedar from the floor of the temple to the rafters: and he covered
the floor of the temple with boards of cypress.

He also made a room thirty feet square in the back part of the
temple with boards of cedar reaching from the floor to the rafters.
He built it as an inner room, even as the most holy place. The
temple, that is the large room in front of the inner room, was sixty
feet long. And there was cedar inside the temple with carving in
the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar, no stone was
seen. Solomon prepared the inner room as a place for the ark.

In the inner room Solomon made two winged bulls of olive
wood. The height of each was fifteen feet. Each of their wing[125]s
measured seven and a half feet across, fifteen feet from the end of
one wing to the end of the other. He set these up in the inner room
of the temple; and their wings were stretched out so that the wing
of the one touched the one wall, while the wing of the other touched
the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle
of the temple; and he covered them with gold.

Then Solomon gathered in Jerusalem the leaders of Israel to
bring up the ark of Jehovah out of Zion, the City of David, at the
time of the autumn festival in September. When all the leaders
of Israel had come, the priests took up the ark and the tent of meeting
and all the sacred vessels that were in the tent. So the priests
brought in the ark of Jehovah to its place in the inner room of the
temple under the wings of the winged bulls. There was nothing in
the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses put there at
Horeb. And when the priests came out from the inner room, the
cloud filled the temple of Jehovah, so that the priests could not
stand and perform their service on account of the cloud, for the
glory of Jehovah filled his temple.

Then Solomon said:

As Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of
all the assembly of Israel, he spread out his hands toward heaven
and said, “O Jehovah, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee
in heaven above or on earth beneath, who keepest thy solemn agreement
and showest kindness to thy servants who serve thee whole-heartedly,
who hast kept with thy servant David my father the
promise that thou didst make to him.

“But will God actually dwell on earth? Indeed heaven and the
highest heaven cannot hold thee; how much less this temple that I
have built!”

A RULER WHO WRONGED HIS PEOPLE

Solomon was building his palace thirteen years before he finished
it. He also built the throne-hall where he judged the people. This
room was the Hall of Judgment; and it was covered with cedar from
floor to ceiling.

[126]

His palace where he lived, in another court farther in from the
Hall of Judgment, was of the same workmanship. He made a
palace, too, similar to this hall, for Pharaoh’s daughter whom he
had married. All these buildings were of costly stones, hewn according
to measurements, sawed with saws, both on the inside and
outside.

Solomon also gathered together chariots and horsemen; he had
one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen
that he placed in the chariot cities and with him at Jerusalem. And
Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel who provided food for
him and for his household: each man had to provide food for a
month in the year.

When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she
came to test him with puzzling questions. So she came to Jerusalem
with a very large number of servants, with camels that carried
spices and a great amount of gold and precious stones. As
soon as she came to Solomon, she told him all that was in her mind.
And Solomon answered all her questions: nothing was too difficult
for him to answer.

When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon,
the palace that he had built, the food on his table, the housing of
his officers, the way his waiters served him, their clothing, his cup-bearers,
and the burnt-offering which he offered at the temple of
Jehovah, she was greatly surprised. She said to Solomon, “What
I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom was true.
But I would not believe the words until I came and saw with my
own eyes; but as it is, the half was not told me; your wisdom and
prosperity are even greater than what was reported to me.”

Now Solomon loved women; and he married many foreign
wives—Moabites, Canaanites, Edomites, Sidonians, Hittites, and
Ammonites. He had seven hundred wives of princely birth, and
three hundred concubines. When Solomon was old, his wives influenced
him to worship other gods, and he was not loyal to Jehovah
his God. Solomon built a place of worship for Chemosh, the god
of Moab, on the hill that is opposite Jerusalem, and for Milcom,
the god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign
wives, burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods.

Then God raised up as a foe against him Rezon, the son of
Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer, king of Zobah.
He gathered men about him and became commander of a robber
band, and he went to Damascus and lived and reigned there[127]. He
was a foe to Israel as long as Solomon lived.

Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, was a man of great ability. When
Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he placed him
over all the men of the tribe of Joseph who were working for the ruler.

Once upon a time, when Jeroboam went away from Jerusalem,
the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh met him on the way and took him
aside. Now Ahijah had put on a new garment, and while they two
were alone in the field, Ahijah took hold of the new garment he
had on and tore it in twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam,
“Take for yourself ten pieces; for Jehovah, the God of Israel, declares,
‘I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will
give ten tribes to you, but he shall have only one tribe.'” So
Jeroboam also rebelled against Solomon.

Solomon, therefore, wanted to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam
arose and fled to Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of
Solomon.

REHOBOAM’S GREAT MISTAKE

When Solomon died, Rehoboam his son ruled after him. As
soon as Jeroboam, who was still in Egypt, heard that Solomon had
died, he returned at once to his home town, Zeredah in Mount
Ephraim.

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had come to
Shechem to make him ruler. But they said to Rehoboam, “Your
father laid a heavy yoke upon us. Now make the hard service of
your father and the heavy yoke that he laid upon us lighter, and
we will serve you.” He said to them, “Go away for three days;
then come again to me.” So the people went away.

Then Rehoboam asked advice from the old men who had been
in the service of Solomon his father during his lifetime and inquired,
“What answer do you advise me to give this people?”
They said to him, “If now you will serve this people and give them
a favorable answer, then they will be your servants forever.”

But he rejected the advice which the old men had given him
and asked the young men who had grown up with him and had
been in his service. And he said to them, “What answer do you
advise that we give to this people who have said to me, ‘Make the
yoke that your father laid upon us lighter’?” The young men who
had grown up with him said to him, “Make this answer to them:[128]
‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins! While my father
loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will make your yoke heavier; my
father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with
scourges.'”

So when all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as he
had directed, he answered the people harshly and did not follow the
advice which the old men had given him, but spoke to them as the
young men had advised, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy,
but I will make your yoke still heavier; my father punished you
with whips, but I will punish you with scourges.” So Rehoboam
paid no attention to the demand of the people.

When all Israel saw that he paid no attention to their demand
they gave him this answer: “What interest have we in David? We
have nothing in common with the son of Jesse! To your tents, O
Israel! Now look out for your house, O David!”

So the Israelites went to their homes.

Then Rehoboam sent to them Adoniram, who was over the men
who did forced labor. But when all the Israelites stoned him to
death, Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot and fled to Jerusalem.
So Israel has refused to obey the house of David to the
present day.

As soon as all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they
sent and called him to the assembly of the people and made him
ruler over all Israel. None remained loyal to the house of David
except the tribe of Judah.

ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW’S SON

When Asa had been ruler of Judah for thirty-one years Omri
became ruler over Israel, and he ruled twelve years. He bought the
hill Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built a
city on the hill and named it Samaria, after Shemer, the owner of
the hill.

When Omri died, Ahab his son ruled in his place. But Ahab
displeased Jehovah more than all the kings who had ruled before
him. He married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the
Sidonians, and then began to worship the Phœnician god Baal. He
also built an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he built in
Samaria.

[129]

Then Elijah from Tishbe in Gilead said to Ahab, “As surely as
Jehovah the God of Israel lives, whom I serve, there shall be no
dew nor rain for years except as I announce it.”

Then this message from Jehovah came to Elijah: “Go from here
and hide yourself near the Brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.
You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens
to feed you there.”

So he obeyed the command of Jehovah and lived near the Brook
Cherith. The ravens brought him bread every morning and meat
every evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the
brook dried up, for there had been no rain in the land.

Then this message from Jehovah came to him, “Arise, go to
Zarephath which belongs to Sidon, and live there. I have commanded
a widow there to provide for you.” So he went to
Zarephath.

When he came to the gate of the city, a widow was there gathering
sticks. Calling to her, he said, “Bring me, I beg of you, a
little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” As she was going to get
it, he called after her, “Bring also a bit of bread with you.” She
replied, “As surely as Jehovah your God lives, I have nothing
baked, and only one handful of meal in the jar and a little oil in
the jug. Now I am gathering a few sticks, that I may go in and
prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
Elijah said to her, “Fear not; go and do as you have said, but first
bake for me a little dough and bring it to me. Afterward make
some for yourself and your son. For Jehovah the God of Israel
declares: ‘The jar of meal shall not be empty, nor the jug of oil fail,
until Jehovah sends rain upon the earth.'”

So she did as Elijah directed; and she and her child, as well as Elijah,
had food to eat. From that day the jar of meal was never empty
and the jug of oil did not fail, as Jehovah had said through Elijah.

Now after this the woman’s son fell sick; and his sickness was so
severe that he stopped breathing. So she said to Elijah, “What
have I to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to
remind me of my sin by taking the life of my son!” He said to
her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and
carried him up into the upper room where he was staying and laid
him on his own bed. Then he prayed earnestly to Jehovah and
said, “O Jehovah, my God, hast thou also brought misfortune upon
this widow, with whom I am staying, by taking the life of her son?”
And he stretched himself upon the child three times and pra[130]yed to
Jehovah and said, “O Jehovah, my God, I pray thee, give back
this child’s life to him again.”

So Jehovah listened to Elijah’s prayer; and the life of the child
came back to him, and he sat up. Then Elijah took the child and
brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave
him to his mother; and said, “See, your son lives!” The woman
said to him, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the
message of Jehovah that you speak is true.”

THE PROPHET OF FIRE

In the third year of the famine this command came from Jehovah
to Elijah: “Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain
upon the earth.” So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab.

The famine was so severe in Samaria that Ahab had called Obadiah,
the overseer of the palace. Obadiah was very loyal to Jehovah;
for when Jezebel tried to kill the prophets of Jehovah, he took
a hundred and hid them in a cave and kept them supplied with
bread and water. Ahab said to Obadiah, “Come, let us go through
the land to all the springs and to all the brooks, in the hope that we
may find grass, so that we can save the horses and mules and not
lose all of them.” So they divided the land between them, Ahab
going in one direction and Obadiah in another.

While Obadiah was on the way, Elijah suddenly met him. As
soon as Obadiah knew him, he fell on his face and said, “Is it you,
my lord Elijah?” He answered, “It is; go, tell your master:
‘Elijah is here.'” But Obadiah said, “What sin have I done, that
you would give your servant over to Ahab to kill me? As surely
as Jehovah your God lives, there is no nation nor kingdom where
my lord has not sent to find you; and when they said, ‘He is not
here,’ he made each of the kingdoms and nations take an oath,
that no one had found you. Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord,
Elijah is here!’ As soon as I have left you the spirit of Jehovah
will carry you to a place unknown to me, so that when I come and
tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will put me to death, although
I, your servant, have been loyal to Jehovah from my youth! Have
you not been told what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of
Jehovah, how I hid a hundred by fifties in a cave and fed them continually
with bread and water?” Elijah answered, “As surely as
Jehovah of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will show myself [131]to
Ahab to-day.”

So Obadiah went to Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet
Elijah. As soon as Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is it you, you
who have brought trouble to Israel?” He answered, “I have not
brought trouble on Israel, but you and your father’s house have;
because you have failed to follow the commands of Jehovah and
have run after the Phœnician gods. Now therefore call together to
me at Mount Carmel all the Israelites and the four hundred and
fifty prophets of the god Baal who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

So Ahab sent for all the Israelites and gathered the prophets
together at Mount Carmel. Then Elijah came to the people and
said, “How long are you going to falter between worshipping Jehovah
or Baal? If Jehovah is the true God, follow him, but if Baal,
then follow him.” But the people were silent. Then Elijah said
to the people, “I, even I only, am left as a prophet of Jehovah, but
there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. Let us take two
oxen; let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it in pieces and
lay it on the wood, without lighting any fire, and I will dress the
other ox and lay it on wood, without lighting any fire. Then you
call on your god and I will call on Jehovah. The god who answers
by fire is the true God.” All the people answered and said, “It is a
fair offer.”

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the
oxen for yourselves and dress it first, for you are many, and call on
your god, without lighting any fire.” So they took the ox which
he gave them and dressed it, and called on their god from morning
until noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us.” But there was no voice nor
answer, although they leaped about the altar which they had built.

When it was noon, Elijah mocked them, saying, “Call loudly, for
he is a god; either he is thinking, or he has gone out, or he is on a
journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!” Then
they called loudly and cut themselves, as was their custom, with
swords and lances until the blood gushed out upon them. When
noon was past, they cried out in frenzy until the time of the offering
of the evening sacrifice; but there was neither voice nor answer nor
was any attention paid to their cry.

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And
all the people drew near to him, and he rebuilt the altar of Jehovah
which had been thrown down. Then around the altar he made
a ditch that would hold about two bushels of seed. When he had
placed the pieces of wood in order, he cut up the ox and laid it [132]on
the wood. Then he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on
the burnt-offering and on the pieces of wood.” And he said, “Do
it the second time”; and they did it the second time. He said, “Do
it the third time”; and they did it the third time, so that the water
ran round the altar. And he also filled the ditch with water.

When it was time to offer the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet
came near and said, “O Jehovah, God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of
Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, that I
am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy command.
Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know
that thou, Jehovah, art God, and that thou mayst win their hearts.”

Then the fire of Jehovah fell and burned up the burnt-offering
and the wood, the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that
was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their
faces and cried, “Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God.” But
Elijah commanded them, “Take the prophets of Baal; do not let
one of them escape!” So they took them down to the Brook Kishon
and there put them to death.

Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink; for there are
signs of a heavy rain.” So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah
went up to the top of Carmel and crouched down upon the earth,
with his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go
up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said,
“There is nothing.” But seven times he said, “Go again.” So the
servant went back seven times, but the seventh time he said, “There
is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising out of the sea.”
Then Elijah said, “Go, say to Ahab, ‘Make ready your chariot;
go down, that the rain may not stop you.'” In a little while the
heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy
rain. And as Ahab rode toward Jezreel, Elijah was given divine
strength, so that he tightened his belt and ran before Ahab to the
entrance to Jezreel.

GOD’S LOW WHISPER

Now when Ahab told Jezebel that Elijah had put the prophets
to death with the sword, she sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “As
surely as you are Elijah and I am Jezebel, may the gods do to me
what they will and more too, if I do not make your life as the life
of one of those prophets by to-morrow about this time.”[133]

Then he was afraid and fled for his life. And he came to Beersheba,
which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he
went on a day’s journey into the wilderness and sat down under a
desert tree, and he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough;
now, O Jehovah, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

Then he lay down and slept under the desert tree, but an angel
touched him and said to him, “Rise, eat!” When he looked, he saw
there at his head a loaf, baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So
he ate and drank and lay down again. But the angel of Jehovah
came again the second time and touched him and said, “Rise, eat,
or else the journey will be too long for you.” So he rose and ate and
drank and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty
nights to Horeb the mountain of God.

Then Jehovah passed by, and a very violent wind tore the mountain
apart and broke the rocks in pieces before Jehovah; but Jehovah
was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake; but
Jehovah was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a
fire; but Jehovah was not in the fire. After the fire there was the
sound of a low whisper. As soon as Elijah heard it, he wrapped his
face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the
cave. Then he heard a voice saying, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very jealous for Jehovah the
God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken thee, thrown down
thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword, and I only am
left; and they seek to take my life.”

Then Jehovah said to him, “On your way back go to the wilderness
of Damascus, and when you arrive there, anoint Hazael to rule
over Aram, Jehu, the son of Nimshi, to rule over Israel, and Elisha,
the son of Shaphat, to be prophet in your place. Then every one
who escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death; and every
one who escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. Yet
I will spare seven thousand in Israel—all who have not worshipped
Baal and kissed his image.”

After he had left, Elijah found Elisha the son of Shaphat, as he
was ploughing with twelve pairs of oxen. When Elijah went up to
him and threw his mantle upon him, he left the oxen and ran after
Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then
I will follow you.” Elijah said to him, “Go back, for what have
I done to you?” So Elisha turned back and took one pair of oxen
and offered them as a sacrifice and, using the wooden ploughs a[134]nd
yokes as fuel, boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people to
eat. Then he arose and followed Elijah and served him.

AHAB THE THIEF

Now Naboth, the Jezreelite, had a vineyard in Jezreel next to
the palace of Ahab, who ruled at Samaria. So Ahab said to Naboth,
“Give me your vineyard, that I may have it as a vegetable-garden,
for it is near my palace; and I will give you a better vineyard for
it; or, if it is more pleasing to you, I will pay you its value
in money.” But Naboth answered Ahab, “May Jehovah save me
from the crime of giving you what has come down to me from my
fathers!”

So Ahab went into his house sullen and in bad humor because
of what Naboth had said to him. And he lay down on his bed and
covered his face and would eat no food.

But Jezebel his wife came to him and said, “Why are you in such
bad humor that you will not eat?” He replied, “Because I made
this offer to Naboth, ‘Give me your vineyard for its value in money,
or else, if it is more pleasing to you, I will give you another vineyard
for it.’ But he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.'”
Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “Are you not the one who now
rules in Israel? Rise, eat, and set your mind at rest. I will give
you the vineyard of Naboth.”

So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his
seal and sent the letters to the leaders and officials who lived
in Naboth’s city. In the letters she wrote, “Proclaim a fast and
put Naboth in front of the people. Then set up two base men before
him and let them bring this charge against him: ‘You cursed
God and the ruler of Israel.’ Then carry him out and stone him to
death.”

The leaders and officials of Naboth’s city did as Jezebel commanded
in her letters to them. They proclaimed a fast and put
Naboth in front of the people. Then the two base men came in and
sat before him, and the scoundrels in the presence of the people
said, “Naboth cursed God and the ruler of Israel.” Then they carried
him out of the city and stoned him to death. And they told
Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

[135]

As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death,
she said to Ahab, “Rise, take the vineyard of Naboth which he refused
to sell you, for Naboth is not alive but dead.” As soon
as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he went down to the vineyard
of Naboth to take it. But this command came from Jehovah
to Elijah, the Tishbite, “Rise, go down to meet Ahab, the ruler of
Israel, who lives in Samaria; he is just now in the vineyard of Naboth,
where he has gone to take it. Say to him, ‘This is the message
of Jehovah, “Have you killed and also taken his vineyard? In
the very place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth there they
shall also lick your blood.”‘” Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you
found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have. And Jehovah
has declared: ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.'”
When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and
put sackcloth on his flesh and ate no food.

MICAIAH’S COURAGE IN TELLING THE TRUTH

For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. But
in the third year, when Jehoshaphat the ruler of Judah came to visit
the ruler of Israel, Ahab said to his followers, “Do you not know
that Ramoth in Gilead belongs to us; yet we sit still instead of taking
it from the king of Aram?” Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will
you go with me to attack Ramoth in Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied,
“I am with you, my people are as your people, my horses as your
horses.”

And Jehoshaphat said to the ruler of Israel, “Ask now what Jehovah
has to say.” So Ahab gathered the prophets together (in
all about four hundred men), and asked them, “Shall I go to fight
against Ramoth in Gilead or shall I not?” They said, “Go up; for
Jehovah will give it into your hands.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Is
there any other prophet of Jehovah, that we may ask him?” The
ruler of Israel answered, “There is another by whom we may ask
of Jehovah, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, but I hate him; for he
prophesies for me nothing good, but only evil.” Jehoshaphat said,
“Do not say so.”

Then the ruler of Israel called a servant and said, “Bring
quickly Micaiah, the son of Imlah.” The messenger who went to
call Micaiah said to him, “See, the prophets have all of them promised
the ruler of Israel success. Agree with them, and prophesy[136]
success.” But Micaiah said, “As surely as Jehovah lives, I will speak
what he says to me.”

When he came to Ahab, he said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go
to Ramoth in Gilead to fight, or shall we not?” He answered him,
“Go up and conquer! Jehovah will give it into your hands!” But
Ahab said to him, “How many times shall I warn you to speak nothing
to me in the name of Jehovah but the truth?” He said, “I
saw all the Israelites scattered upon the mountains as sheep that
have no shepherd. And Jehovah said, ‘These have no master; let
each of them go home in peace!'”

The ruler of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that
he would prophesy for me nothing good, but only evil?” Micaiah
said, “Hear then the message from Jehovah: I saw Jehovah sitting
on his throne and all the host of heaven standing about him. And
Jehovah said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so that he will go up and fall
at Ramoth in Gilead?’ One suggested one thing and another, another,
until a spirit came out and stood before Jehovah and said,
‘I will deceive him.’ Jehovah said to him, ‘By what means?’
He said, ‘I will go out and become a lying spirit in the mouth of all
his prophets.’ Then Jehovah said, ‘You shall succeed in deceiving
him. Go out and do so.’ So Jehovah has now put a lying spirit
in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, for he has decided to
bring evil upon you.”

Then Zedekiah came near and struck Micaiah a blow on the
cheek and said, “How was it that the spirit of Jehovah went from
me to speak to you?” Micaiah replied, “Indeed, you shall see on
the day when you shall go from one hiding-place to another.” Then
the ruler of Israel said, “Take Micaiah back to Amon, the governor
of the city, and to Joash, the ruler’s son, and say, ‘This is the ruler’s
command: Put this fellow in prison and feed him with a scanty fare
of bread and water until I return successful.'” Micaiah said, “If
you indeed return successful, Jehovah has not spoken by me.”

Then Ahab, the ruler of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the ruler of
Judah, went up to Ramoth in Gilead. And the ruler of Israel said
to Jehoshaphat, “I will dress myself so that no one will know me,
and go into the battle, but you can put on your robes.”

But a certain man shot an arrow, and by chance it struck the
ruler of Israel between the breastplate and the lower part of his armor.
So Ahab said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn about and
carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” But the battl[137]e grew
more intense, so that Ahab stayed until evening propped up in his
chariot in the sight of the Arameans, and the blood ran out of the
wound into the bottom of the chariot. And that evening he died.

About sunset the cry went out through the army, “Each to his
town and each to his land, for the ruler is dead!” So they went to
Samaria and buried Ahab there. And when they washed the chariot
by the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood just as Jehovah
had said.

THE MANTLE OF ELIJAH

When Jehovah took up Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind, he was
going with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay
here, for Jehovah has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said,
“As surely as Jehovah lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”
So they went down to Bethel.

Then the followers of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha
and said, “Do you know that to-day Jehovah will take away your
master from you?” He said, “Yes, I know it; say no more.”
And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for Jehovah has sent
me to Jericho.” But he said, “As surely as Jehovah lives and as
you live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.

© Curtis Publishing Company
The Parting of Elijah and Elisha
Painted by W. T. Taylor

Then the followers of the prophets at Jericho came near to Elisha
and said, “Do you know that to-day Jehovah will take your master
from you?” He answered, “Yes, I know it; say no more.” And
Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for Jehovah has sent me to the Jordan.”
But he said, “As surely as Jehovah lives and as you live, I
will not leave you.” So they both went on.

Fifty followers of the prophets stood opposite them at a distance,
while they two stood by the Jordan. Then Elijah rolled up his mantle
and with it struck the waters; and they were divided, so that
they two went over on dry ground. When they had gone over, Elijah
said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from
you.” Elisha said, “Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
He replied, “You have asked what is difficult; but if you see me
when I am taken from you, it shall come to you; but if you do not,
it shall not come.”

As they were going on their way talking, a fiery chariot with
horses of fire sudd[138]enly came and separated the two; and Elijah went
up in a whirlwind to heaven. When Elisha saw it, he cried, “My
father, my father! the chariots and the horsemen of Israel!” And
he saw Elijah no more, but he took hold of his own robes and tore
them in two. Then he took up the mantle that had fallen from Elijah.

ELISHA HEALING THE SICK BOY

One day Elisha went over to Shunem where a rich woman lived,
and she asked him to be her guest. Afterward, whenever he passed
by, he stopped there to eat. So she said to her husband, “Now I
see that this is a holy man of God who is constantly passing by our
door. Let us make a little chamber on the roof, and put there for
him a bed, a table, a seat, and a candlestick, so that whenever he
comes to us, he can stay there.”

One day when he came, he went into the upper room and lay
down there. Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunamite.”
So he called her, and she stood before him. Elisha said to
Gehazi, “Say now to her, ‘See, you have been so anxious to care for
us; what can be done for you? May I ask the ruler or the commander
of the army to do a favor for you?'” She answered, “I
am living among my own people.” Elisha said, “What then can
be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Verily, she has no son, and
her husband is old.” Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called
her, and she stood at the door. Then Elisha said, “At this time
a year from now you shall hold a son in your arms!” But she said,
“No, my lord, O man of God, do not deceive your servant!” But
the next year the woman had a son at the very time Elisha
had promised her.

When the child had grown up he went out one day to his father
to the reapers. And he called to his father, “My head, my head!”
So his father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” When
he had been taken to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon
and then died. His mother went up and laid him on the bed of the
man of God, and shut the door as she went out.

Then she called her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants
and one of the asses, that I may go quickly to the man of God
and return.” He said, “Why do you go to him to-day, for it
is neither the feast of the new moon nor the sabbath?” She said,
“I have good reason.”

[139]

Then she saddled an ass and said to her servant, “Drive on fast,
do not stop until I tell you.” So she went to the man of God
on Mount Carmel. But when Elisha saw her at a distance, he said
to Gehazi, his servant, “See, there is the Shunamite! Run down to
meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is your husband
well? Is the child well?'” And she answered, “All is well.” But
when she came to the man of God on the mountain, she caught hold
of his feet. When Gehazi tried to push her away, Elisha said, “Let
her alone, for she is deeply troubled and Jehovah has not told me
the reason.” Then she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I
not say, ‘Do not deceive me?'”

Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tighten your belt, take my staff in your
hand and go! If you meet any one, do not speak to him, and if any
one speaks to you do not answer him, and lay my staff on the face
of the child.” But the mother of the child said, “As surely as
Jehovah lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he rose
and went with her. And Gehazi had gone on before them and had
laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was neither sound
nor sign of life in the boy. So he went back to meet him and told
him, “The child has not awakened.”

When Elisha came into the house, there was the child lying dead
on his bed. So he went in and shut the door after them and prayed
to Jehovah. He also went up and lay upon the child and put his
mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon
his hands. As he lay upon him, the flesh of the child became warm.
Then he turned and walked backward and forward in the house,
and again went up and lay upon him, and the child sneezed seven
times, and then opened his eyes. Calling Gehazi, he said, “Call
this Shunamite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in
to him, he said, “Take up your son.” Then she went nearer, fell
at his feet, and bowed to the ground; after that she took up her
son and went out.

A SLAVE GIRL WHO HELPED HER MASTER

Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was
a man who was beloved by his master and was held in high honor,
for through him Jehovah had given victory to Aram. He was an
able man, but he was a leper.

[140]

Now the Arameans had gone out to rob and had brought away
captive from the land of Israel a little maid who became the servant
of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “O that my master
were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him
of his leprosy.” So Naaman went in and told the king what the
maid from the land of Israel had said. The king of Aram said, “Go
now, and I will send a letter to the ruler of Israel.”

So Naaman set out and took with him a thousand pounds of
silver and six thousand gold pieces and ten suits of fine clothes.
He also brought to the ruler of Israel the letter, which read: “This
letter is to tell you that I have sent Naaman, my servant, to you,
that you may cure him of his leprosy.” When the ruler of Israel
read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I a god, who can
kill and make alive, that this king sends a man to me to cure him
of his leprosy? But you can clearly see that he is seeking a quarrel
with me!”

When Elisha the man of God heard that the ruler of Israel was
tearing his clothes, he sent this message to him: “Why are you
tearing your clothes? Let him come now to me and he shall know
that there is a prophet in Israel!” So Naaman came with his
horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And
Elisha sent a messenger to him to say, “Go and wash seven times
in the Jordan and your flesh will again be well and clean.”

But Naaman went away in a rage, saying, “I expected that he
would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of
Jehovah his God and wave his hand over the place, and so cure the
leper. Are not Amana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better
than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be
clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants
came near and said to him, “If the prophet had told you to do some
great thing, would you not have done it? Why not, then, when
he says to you, ‘Wash and be clean!'” So he went down and dipped
himself seven times in the Jordan as the man of God commanded;
and his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was
cured of his leprosy.

Then Naaman, with all his followers, returned to the man of
God. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Now I
know that there is no god in all the earth, but in Israel; therefore
accept a present from your servant.” But Elisha said, “As surely
as Jehovah lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing.” And
although he urged him to take it, he would not. Then Naaman[141]
said, “If not, at least give your servant a load of earth, what two
mules can draw, for your servant will from this time on offer burnt-offering
and sacrifice to no other god but Jehovah.” And Elisha
said to him, “Go, and may good fortune attend you.”

But when he had gone from him a short distance, Gehazi, the
servant of Elisha the man of God, thought to himself, “My master
has let this Naaman the Aramean go without accepting what he
brought! As surely as Jehovah lives, I will run after him and take
something from him.” So Gehazi ran after Naaman; and when
Naaman saw some one running after him, he stepped down from the
chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?” Gehazi replied, “All
is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘Just now two young men of
the followers of the prophets have come to me from the highland
of Ephraim. Give them a hundred pounds of silver and two suits
of fine clothes.'” Naaman said, “Agree to take twice as much
silver.” So he urged him and bound up two hundred pounds of
silver in two bags, with two suits of fine clothes, and laid them on
two of his servants, and they carried them before Gehazi. But
when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and hid
them in the house and let the men go.

Then he went in to Elisha; but when he stood before his master,
Elisha said to him, “Where do you come from, Gehazi?” He answered,
“Your servant has not been anywhere.” But Elisha said
to him, “Was I not in spirit with you when the man turned from
his chariot to meet you? Now you have received money and you
may get clothes, olive yards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and slaves;
but the leprosy of Naaman shall stick to you and to your children
forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence a leper as white
as snow.

ELISHA’S WAY OF TREATING ENEMIES

Once while the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he said to
his officers, “In such and such a place we shall hide and surprise
them.” But Elisha, the man of God, sent word to the ruler of
Israel, “Take care that you do not pass that place, for the Arameans
are hiding there.” So the ruler of Israel sent soldiers to
the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned
him many times, so that he could there be on his guard.

[142]

The king of Aram was very much troubled by this, and he
called his officers and said to them, “Can you not tell me who has
betrayed us to the ruler of Israel?” One of his officers replied,
“No one, my lord, O king, for Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the
ruler of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber.” The
king said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.”
And they told the king, “Elisha is now in Dothan.”

So the king sent horses and chariots there and a great army.
And they arrived at night and surrounded the city. When the
man of God rose early the next morning and went out, an army
with horses and chariots was about the city; so that his servant said
to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He answered,
“Fear not, for they who are with us are more than they who are
with them.” And Elisha prayed and said, “Jehovah open his eyes,
that he may see.” Then Jehovah opened the eyes of the young
man, and he saw that the highlands around about Elisha were full
of horses and chariots of fire.

When the Arameans came toward him, Elisha prayed to Jehovah,
and said, “Make this people blind.” So Jehovah made them
blind, as Elisha asked. Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the
way nor the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man
whom you seek!” So he led them to Samaria.

But as soon as they came to Samaria, Elisha said, “O Jehovah,
open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And Jehovah
opened their eyes, so that they could see, and there they were in
Samaria. When the ruler of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha,
“My father, shall I cut them down?” Elisha answered, “You
shall not cut them down; would you cut down those whom you have
not taken captive with your sword nor with your bow? Set bread
and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their
master.” So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they
had had food and drink, he sent them back to their master. So
the robber bands of Arameans no longer invaded the land of
Israel.

Later, Benhadad, king of Aram, gathered all his army and
besieged Samaria. The famine was so severe in Samaria while they
were besieging it, that an ass’s head was sold for eighty pieces of
silver.

Once as the ruler of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman
cried o[143]ut to him, “Help, my lord.” He answered, “If Jehovah does
not help you, from where can I bring help to you? From the
threshing-floor or from the wine-press?” However, the ruler of
Israel said to her, “What is the trouble with you?” She answered,
“This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him to-day,
and we will eat my son to-morrow!’ So we cooked my son
and ate him, and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son that
we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”

When the ruler of Israel heard the words of the woman, he tore
his clothes; and as he was passing by on the wall, the people looked
and saw that he wore sackcloth next to his skin.

Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders beside him;
and while he was still talking with them, the ruler of Israel came
down to him and said, “See, this is the evil that comes from Jehovah!
Why should I put my hope in Jehovah any longer?” But
Elisha said, “Hear the word of Jehovah, for he says, ‘To-morrow
about this time a peck of fine meal shall be sold for a piece of silver
and two pecks of barley for a piece of silver in the gate of Samaria.'”
Then the charioteer on whose arm the ruler of Israel leaned answered
the man of God, “If Jehovah himself should make windows in
heaven, could this be possible?” He said, “You shall see it with
your own eyes.”

Now there were four lepers just outside the gate; and they said
one to another, “Why do we sit here until we die? If we say, ‘We
will enter the city,’ then, since there is famine in the city, we shall
die there; but if we sit here, we shall die too. Now, come, let us go
over to the army of the Arameans. If they spare our lives, we shall
live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.”

So they set out in the evening to go over to the camp of the
Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the
Arameans, no one was there, for the Lord had made the army of
the Arameans hear a noise of chariots and of horses and of a great
army, and they said to one another, “Surely the ruler of Israel has
hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to
attack us.” So they rose and fled in the twilight; and they left
their tents, their horses and their asses, even the camp as it was,
and fled for their lives. When these lepers came to the edge of the
camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank and carried away
silver and gold and clothing and hid them. Then they came back
and entered another tent and carried away what was in it and went
and hid that.

[144]

Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right; this
day is a day of good news. If we keep still and wait until morning
punishment will overtake us. Now, come, let us go and tell those
in the palace.” So they called the watchmen at the city gate and
said to them, “We went to the camp of the Arameans, but there
was no one there and no sound of men’s voices. The horses and
asses were tied and the tents were just as they had been.”

The watchmen at the city gate shouted this news to those in
the palace. And the ruler of Israel rose in the night and said to his
servants, “I will now tell you what the Arameans have done: they
know that we are hungry; so they have gone out of the camp to
hide themselves in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the
city, we will take them alive and get into the city.'”

But one of his servants spoke up and said, “Let some men take
a pair of the horses which are left here. If they die, they will be
like most of the Israelites who are dying! Let us send and find
out.” So they took two men on horseback, and the ruler of Israel
sent them after the army of the Arameans with the command, “Go
and see.” They followed them to the Jordan; and all the way was
filled with clothes and weapons which the Arameans had thrown
away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the ruler
of Israel.

Then the people went and carried things away from the camp
of the Arameans. So a peck of fine meal was sold for a piece of silver,
and two pecks of barley for a piece of silver, just as Jehovah
had said.

THE END OF AHAB’S SELFISH FAMILY

Elisha the prophet called one of the followers of the prophets
and said to him, “Tighten your belt, take this flask of oil in your
hand and go to Ramoth in Gilead. When you arrive there, look
for Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, and when you go in take him into
an inner room, away from those who are with him. Then from the
flask pour oil on his head, and say, ‘Jehovah declares, I have
anointed you to rule over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee
without delay.”

So the young man went to Ramoth in Gilead. When he arrived,
the officers of the army were sitting together. And he said, “Commander,
I have a message for you.” Jehu said, “To which of us?”
He replied, “To you, O commander.” Then Jehu rose and went[145]
into the house; and the young man poured the oil on his head and
said to him, “Jehovah the God of Israel says, ‘I have anointed you
to rule over Jehovah’s people, over Israel!'” Then he opened the
door and hurried away.

When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they asked
him, “Is all well? Why did this insane fellow come to you?” He
answered, “You know the man and his message.” But they said,
“You are deceiving us. You must tell us.” Jehu replied, “He said
this to me: ‘Jehovah says, I have anointed you to rule over Israel.'”
Then each quickly took his garment, laid it at his feet on the bare
stairs, and blew the horn and cried, “Jehu is the ruler of Israel.”
So Jehu plotted against Joram.

Now Joram, with all the Israelites, had been defending Ramoth
in Gilead against Hazael king of Aram, but Joram had gone back to
Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received from the
Arameans when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu
said, “If it is your will, let no one escape from the city to bring
news to Jezreel.” Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went toward
Jezreel.

While the watchman was standing on the tower of Jezreel, he
saw the cloud of dust about Jehu, as he came, and said, “I see a
cloud of dust.” Joram said, “Send a horseman to meet him and
ask whether he comes with peaceful purpose.” So the horseman
went out to meet him and said, “The ruler of Israel asks, ‘Do you
come with peaceful purpose?'” Jehu replied, “What have you to
do with peace? Turn and follow me.” So the watchman said,
“The messenger went to them, but does not return.” Then Joram
sent out a second horseman who went to them and said, “The ruler
of Israel asks, ‘Do you come with peaceful purpose?'” Jehu answered,
“What have you to do with peace? Turn and follow me.”
So the watchman said, “He also went to them but does not return;
however, the driving is like the driving of Jehu, for he drives very
fast.”

Then Joram said, “Get my chariot ready,” and when it was
ready he went to meet Jehu and found him in the field of Naboth
the Jezreelite. When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Do you come with
peaceful purpose, Jehu?” Then Joram turned to flee, but Jehu
drew his bow and struck Joram between the shoulders, so that the
arrow went through his heart, and he fell down in his chariot.

[146]

Then Jehu said to Bidkar, his charioteer, “Take him up and
throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I well remember
that, as you and I rode together after Ahab, his father, Jehovah
pronounced this sentence upon him: ‘Surely I saw yesterday the
blood of Naboth and his sons, and I will punish you on this same
piece of land.’ So throw him into this piece of land, as Jehovah said.”

Then Jehu arrived at Jezreel. As soon as Jezebel heard of it,
she painted her eyes, arranged her hair, and looked out of the window.
As Jehu came in at the gate, she said, “Is all well with you,
you traitor, you murderer of your master?” But he looked up to
the window and cried, “Who is on my side? who?” Two or three
slaves looked down at him, and he said, “Throw her down.” And
they threw her down and the horses trampled on her. When Jehu
had gone in and had had something to eat and drink, he gave this
command, “Look after this woman and bury her, for she is a king’s
daughter.” But when they went to bury her, they found no more
of her than the skull, the feet, and the hands. When they went
back and told Jehu, he said, “This is what Jehovah declared by his
servant Elijah when he said, ‘On the piece of land at Jezreel the
dogs shall eat Jezebel’s flesh, and her body shall be as refuse on the
surface of the field, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.'”

THE BOY JOASH ON THE THRONE OF JUDAH

When Joram had ruled twelve years over Israel, Ahaziah the
son of Jehoram began to rule over Judah. And he went down to
Jezreel to visit Joram, who was ill. When Jehu struck down Joram,
Ahaziah saw it and fled toward Beth-gannim. But Jehu followed
after him with the words, “Shoot him down, too, in the chariot.”
So they shot him down on the way up to Gur, near Ibleam, but he
escaped to Megiddo and died there.

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, learned that her son was
dead, she rose and put to death all of Ahaziah’s children except
Joash, whom his aunt, Jehosheba, secretly took and placed with his
nurse in the bedchamber. In this way she hid him from Athaliah,
so that he was not put to death. He was with her, hid in the temple
of Jehovah, six years, while Athaliah ruled over the land.

But in the seventh year Jehoiada the priest called together the
officers of the royal guard and brought them into the temp[147]le of Jehovah.
After he had made them make a solemn promise, he showed
them Ahaziah’s son, and gave them these orders, “This is what you
shall do: a third part of you who go in on the Sabbath to guard the
palace shall keep watch over it. Two divisions of you, including
all who go out on the Sabbath to guard the temple of Jehovah, shall
surround Joash, each with his weapons in his hand. And let every
one who comes within the ranks be put to death. Thus you shall
guard Joash, when he goes out and when he comes in.”

The officers did as Jehoiada the priest commanded. And he
brought out Ahaziah’s son and put the crown and the royal ornaments
upon him; and they made him ruler over Judah and poured
oil upon his head and clapped their hands, crying, “Long live the
ruler!”

But when Athaliah heard the people shouting, she came to them
in the temple of Jehovah. When she saw Joash standing by the
pillar, as was the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters by
him, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets,
she tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” But Jehoiada
the priest gave this order to the officers: “Bring her out between
the ranks, and kill with the sword whoever follows her,” for the priest
said, “Let her not be put to death in the temple of Jehovah.” So
they seized her, and she was killed as she went through the horses’
entry to the palace.

Jehoiada made a solemn agreement between Jehovah and the
new ruler and the people, that they should be Jehovah’s people;
also between the ruler and the people, and Joash ruled forty years
in Jerusalem.

A YOUNG MAN WHO SAID, “SEND ME”

© Curtis Publishing Company
The Prophet Isaiah
Painted by W. L. Taylor

Uzziah, Joash’s grandson, was sixteen years old when he began to
rule over Judah and he ruled fifty-two years in Jerusalem.

He fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of
Gath and of Jabneh and of Ashdod and built cities near Ashdod
and among the Philistines. And God helped him against the Philistines.
The Ammonites also paid tribute to Uzziah, for he became
very strong.

And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and
at the Valley Gate and at the corner of the wall, and fortified them.
He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, for
he had many herds in the lowland and farmers in the plain a[148]nd vine-dressers
in the mountains and in the fruitful fields, for he loved to
cultivate the ground. But he was a leper to the day of his death.
He lived in his own house, while Jotham, his son, was at the head
of the royal household, ruling the people of the land. And Uzziah
died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David,
and Jotham, his son, became ruler in his place.

Isaiah said it was in the year that Uzziah, the ruler of Judah,
died that I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne; and the
train of his robe filled the temple. Guardian angels stood above
him. Each had six wings, one pair to cover the face, another pair
to cover the feet, and another pair with which to fly. And they
cried to one another:

The foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of those
who called, and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I said:
“Woe is me! I am ruined; for I am a man with unclean lips, and
I live among a people with unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the
King, Jehovah of hosts!” But one of the guardian angels flew to
me with a hot coal in his hand that he had taken from off the altar,
and with it he touched my mouth and said: “See, this has touched
your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin forgiven.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

JEREMIAH’S CALL TO DO A HARD TASK

This was the message which came to me from Jehovah: “Before
you were born I knew you and prepared you for your work. I
have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” But I
(Jeremiah) said: “O Lord Jehovah! I do not know how to speak
in public, for I am only a youth.” Then Jehovah said to me: “Do
not say, ‘I am only a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send
you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be
afraid of them, for I am with you to protect you.”[149]

Then Jehovah stretched out his hand and touched my mouth
and said to me: “See. I have put my words in your mouth, and I
have appointed you this day over the nations and kingdoms, to tear
up and break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to
plant.”

Again this message came from Jehovah, “What do you see?”
I answered, “A great kettle brewing hot, and it faces from the
north.” Then Jehovah said to me: “From the north trouble is
brewing for all the people of the land. For I am about to call all
the kingdoms of the north, and they shall come and each set up his
throne at the entrance to the gates of Jerusalem and around its walls
and against all the cities of Judah. And I will pass judgment upon
Jerusalem and these cities for all their wickedness, for they have
been disloyal to me and offered sacrifices to other gods and have
worshipped that which their own hands have made.

“Therefore make ready, rise, speak to them all that I command
you. Do not be afraid of them, for see, I myself will make you this
day like a fortified city, and like a bronze wall against the rulers
of Judah, its leaders, its priests, and the common people. Though
they fight against you, they will not overcome you, for I am with
you to protect you.”

THE YOUNG JOSIAH AND THE BOOK OF THE LAW

Josiah was eight years old when he began to rule, and he ruled
thirty-one years in Jerusalem. In the eighteenth year of his rule
he sent Shaphan, the scribe, to the temple of Jehovah with the command,
“Go up to Hilkiah, the chief priest, and see that, when he has
taken the money that is brought into the temple of Jehovah and
that which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people, they
give it to the workmen who have charge of the temple of Jehovah.
Then let them give it to the carpenters, the builders, and the masons
who are in the temple of Jehovah, to repair the breaks in it and to
buy timber and cut stone to restore it.” But no account was asked
of them for the money that was given to them, for they dealt honestly.

Then Hilkiah, the chief priest, said to Shaphan, the scribe, “I have
found the book of the law in the temple of Jehovah.” And Hilkiah[150]
gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. Then Shaphan went to
Josiah and told him, “Your servants have taken the money that
was found in the temple and have turned it over to the workmen
who have charge of the temple of Jehovah.” Shaphan, the scribe,
also said to Josiah, “Hilkiah, the priest, has given me a book.” And
Shaphan read it to him.

When Josiah had heard the words of the book of the law, he tore
his clothes. Then he gave this command to Hilkiah, the priest, to
Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to Achbor, the son of Micaiah, to
Shaphan, the scribe, and to Asaiah, his servant, “Go, ask of Jehovah
for me and for the people and for all Judah about the words of this
book that has been found; for Jehovah must be very angry with
us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book
nor done all that we are there commanded to do.”

So Hilkiah, the priest, and Ahikam and Achbor went to Huldah,
the prophetess, who lived in Jerusalem and talked with her. She
said to them, “This is the message of Jehovah, the God of Israel:
‘Tell the man who sent you to me, Jehovah says, I am now about
to bring evil upon this place and upon its people even all that is written
in the book which the ruler of Judah has read. But you shall
say to him who sent you to ask of Jehovah, Jehovah the God of
Israel declares, Because you listened and humbled yourself before
Jehovah and have wept before me, I also have heard you,'” So
they brought back word to Josiah.

Then at his command they got together all the leaders of Judah
and of Jerusalem. And Josiah went up to the temple of Jehovah,
and with him all the men of Judah and all the people of Jerusalem,
as well as the priests and the prophets and all the people, including
the children. And he read to them all the words of the book of the
covenant which was found in the temple of Jehovah. And Josiah
stood by the pillar and made a solemn promise before Jehovah to
obey all the commands and carry out the rules written in this book.
And all the people also agreed to do so.

Then Josiah commanded Hilkiah, the chief priest, and the second
priest and the doorkeepers to bring out from the temple of Jehovah
all the things that were made for Baal and for the Canaanite goddess
of fortune, and for the Babylonian star gods. And he burned
them outside Jerusalem in the lime-kilns by the Kidron, and carried
their ashes to Bethel. He also put away the idolatrous priests, whom
the rulers of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifice at the temples
on the heights in the towns of Judah and in the places about Jerusa[151]lem;
those also who offered sacrifices to Baal, to the sun, the moon,
and the planets and all the starry host.

He also destroyed Topheth, which is in the valley of Ben-Hinnom,
so that no man could ever make his son or his daughter pass
through the fire to Molech. He removed the horses at the entrance
of the temple of Jehovah, which the rulers of Judah had given to
the sun, and burned the chariots of the sun. Josiah broke down
and crushed in pieces the altars that were on the roof, which the
rulers of Judah had made.

Josiah also tore down the altar and the old temple at Bethel,
broke its stones in pieces, and beat it to dust.

Then he gave this command to all the people: “Keep the passover
to Jehovah your God, as is commanded in this book of the covenant.”
Such a passover as this had not been kept from the days of
the judges who ruled Israel and during the period of the rulers of
Israel and of Judah; but this passover was kept in Jehovah’s honor
in Jerusalem for the first time in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s rule.

Josiah put away all the mediums, the wizards, the idols and all
the evil things that were discovered in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem,
that he might carry out the words of the law which were written
in the book that Hilkiah, the priest, found in the temple of Jehovah.
Josiah was the first ruler who turned to Jehovah with all
his heart, with all his soul, and with all his strength in exact accord
with the law of Moses, nor were any of the rulers that followed like
him.

THE WRITING OF AN ANCIENT BOOK

When Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, had been ruler for four years,
this message came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, “Take a parchment
roll and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you about
Jerusalem and Judah and all the nations from the time of Josiah
to the present. Perhaps the people of Judah will pay attention to
all the evil which I intend to bring upon them, so that they will turn
each from his evil way, that I may forgive their guilt and sin.”

Then Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah; and Baruch
wrote on a parchment roll as Jeremiah told him all the words which
Jehovah had spoken to him. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch,
saying, “I am not permitted to go to the temple of Jehovah. Therefore
you go and read in the temple on the fast day the words of Jehovah[152]
from the roll which you have written at my command. You
shall read them to all the people of Judah who have come from their
towns. Perhaps they will pray to Jehovah and each turn from his
evil way; for great is the anger and wrath of Jehovah against this
people.” So Baruch did as Jeremiah, the prophet, commanded him,
reading in the temple from the writing the words of Jehovah.

The next year, when all the people who had come to Jerusalem
from the cities of Judah were observing a fast in the temple courts,
Baruch read to them all from the writing the words of Jeremiah.

When Micaiah, the grandson of Shaphan, had heard all the words
of Jehovah, he went down to the palace, where all the court officials
were sitting, and told them all that he had heard when Baruch read
the book to the people.

Then all the nobles sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, to Baruch
to say: “Take the roll from which you have read to all the people
and come here.” So Baruch took the roll in his hand and went to
them. And they said to him, “Sit down now and read it to us.”
So Baruch read it to them. But when they had heard all, they turned
in fear to one another and said to Baruch, “We must surely tell Jehoiakim
all this.” So they asked Baruch, “Tell us now: how did
you write all this?” Baruch answered, “Jeremiah told it all to me
and I wrote it down in ink.” Then the nobles said to Baruch, “Go,
hide both yourself and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you
are.”

But after they had put the roll in the room of Elishama, the
chancellor, they went to Jehoiakim’s room, and told all these things
to him. Then he sent Jehudi to bring the roll, and he brought it out
of the room of Elishama, the chancellor. And Jehudi read it to him
and to all the leaders who were with him.

Now Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter house with a brazier
burning before him. When Jehudi had read three or four double
columns, Jehoiakim cut it with a paper-knife and threw it into the
fire that was on the brazier, and the entire roll was burned up. But
neither he nor any of his servants who were present, were disturbed
or tore their garments. Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah begged
Jehoiakim not to burn the roll, but he would not listen to them. He
also ordered Jerahmeel, his son, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and
Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch, the scribe, and
Jeremiah, the prophet, but Jehovah kept them hidden.

[153]

Then Jeremiah took another roll and gave it to Baruch, the
scribe, who wrote on it as Jeremiah spoke to him, all the words of
the book which Jehoiakim, the ruler of Judah, had burned in the fire;
and many other similar words were added.

A PROPHET WHO SAVED A GREAT CITY

Once the king of Assyria sent a high official with a great army
to Jerusalem. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they called for Hezekiah
the ruler of Judah, Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, the
scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, and they came out to them. And
the high official said to them, “Why are you so confident? To whom
do you look for help that you have rebelled against me? You count
on Egypt to help you. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is as weak as a broken
reed. But if you say, ‘We trust in Jehovah our God,’ is not he
the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has destroyed? Now
therefore make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria, and
I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part
to set riders upon them. How then can you conquer one of the least
of my master’s servants? Have I now come up against this place
to destroy it without Jehovah’s approval? Jehovah it was who
said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.'”

Then Eliakim and Shebnah and Joah said to the high official,
“Speak, I pray you, to your servants in the Aramaic language, for
we understand it; but do not speak with us in the Jewish language
in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” But the high official
said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and
to you to speak these words? Is it not rather to the men who sit
on the wall, who will suffer most from the siege?”

Then the high official stood and cried with a loud voice, in the
Jewish language, saying, “Hear the message of the great king, the
king of Assyria. ‘Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive
you; for he will not be able to save you from my hand. Neither
let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah by saying, Jehovah will
surely save us, and this city shall not be given into the power of the
king of Assyria.'”

“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria,
‘Make your peace with me and come over to me; then each one of
you shall eat from his own vine and his own fig-tree and drink the
waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a[154] land
like your own land, a land full of grain and new wine, a land full of
bread and vineyards, a land full of olive-trees and honey, that you
may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, when he deceives
you by saying, Jehovah will save us. Has any of the gods
of the nations ever saved his land from the power of the king of
Assyria? Have the gods of the land of Samaria saved Samaria from
my power? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that
have saved their country from my power, that Jehovah should save
Jerusalem from my power?'”

Then the people were silent and made no answer; for the ruler’s
command was, “Do not answer him.” But Eliakim, the steward of
the palace, and Shebnah, the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, came
to Hezekiah with torn clothes and told him the words of the high
official. And as soon as Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and
covered himself with sackcloth and went into the temple of Jehovah.
And he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebnah,
the scribe and the oldest of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to
Isaiah, the prophet. And they said to him, Hezekiah says, “This
is a day of trouble, of discipline and of shame. It may be Jehovah
your God will hear all the words of the high official, whom his master,
the king of Assyria, has sent to defy the living God, and will punish
him for them; therefore lift up your prayer for the people.”

When the servants of Hezekiah came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to
them, “Take back this answer to your master: Jehovah says, ‘Do
not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants
of the king of Assyria have insulted me. I will put a spirit
in him, so that he will hear bad news and return to his own land;
and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.'”

So the high official returned and found the king of Assyria making
war against Libnah, for he had heard that he had gone from
Lachish. But the king of Assyria had heard that Tirkakah, king of
Ethiopia, had come out to fight against him. Now that very night
the angel of Jehovah went out and struck down in the camp of the
Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when men
arose early the next morning, these were all dead.

Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went away and returned to
Nineveh. While he was worshipping in the temple of Nisroch his
god, his sons struck him down with the sword; and they escaped
into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon, his son, became king in
his place.[155]

JEREMIAH’S COURAGE IN DANGER

The command came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, “Stand in the
door of the temple and speak this message: ‘Hear the word of Jehovah,
all you people of Judah who enter these gates to worship
him. Jehovah, the God of Israel, says: Change your ways and your
deeds and I will let you live in this place. Trust not in misleading
words, thinking, this is the temple of Jehovah. For if you really
change your ways and your deeds, if you faithfully see that justice
is done between a man and his neighbor, if you do no wrong to the
foreigners who live among you, to the fatherless nor to the widow,
and do not shed the blood of the innocent in this place nor follow
other gods to your hurt, then I will let you stay in this place, in the
land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever.

“‘But now you are trusting in misleading words that are useless.
Will you steal, murder, tell lies and offer sacrifice to Baal, and follow
other gods whom you have not known, and then come and stand
before me in this house which bears my name and say, We are free
to do all these shameful deeds? Is this my house, which bears my
name, in your eyes a den of robbers? I myself have seen these shameful
deeds,’ says Jehovah.

“‘Then go to my temple which was at Shiloh, where people used
to worship me at first, and see what I did to it because of the
wickedness of my people Israel. Now because you have done all
these deeds, and have paid no attention, although I spoke to you
earnestly and often; and have not answered, although I called you,
I will destroy the temple which bears my name, in which you trust,
and the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did at
Shiloh. I will also send you from my sight, as I have sent away your
relatives, even all the Northern Israelites.'”

When Jeremiah had finished speaking all that Jehovah had commanded
him to say, the priests and prophets seized him and said,
“You must die. Why have you said in the name of Jehovah that
this temple shall be like Shiloh and this city shall be deserted, with
no one living in it?” And all the people were gathered about Jeremiah
in the temple of Jehovah.

But when the public officials of Judah heard of these things, they
came up from the palace t[156]o the temple of Jehovah and held court
at the entrance, at the new gate of the temple. Then the priests
and the prophets said to the officials and to the people, “This man
should be put to death, for he has prophesied against this city as
you have heard with your own ears.” But Jeremiah answered the
officials and all the people, “It was Jehovah who sent me to prophesy
against this temple and city all that you have heard. Now therefore
change your ways and your deeds and listen to Jehovah your
God; and he will not do the evil things that he has threatened to
do to you. But as for me, see, I am in your power; do to me as you
think right and proper. Only remember that, if you put me to death,
you will bring upon yourselves and upon this city and upon its inhabitants
guilt for shedding innocent blood, for Jehovah has indeed
sent me to you to tell you all these things.”

Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and to
the prophets, “This man does not deserve to die, for he has spoken
to us in the name of Jehovah our God.” Certain of the elders of
the land rose and said to the assembly of the people, “Micah prophesied
in the days when Hezekiah ruled over Judah, and said to the
people of Judah, ‘Jehovah of hosts says:

“Did Hezekiah and the people of Judah put him to death? Did
they not rather fear Jehovah and ask him to forgive them, so that
he did not do the evil things that he had threatened to do to them?
But we are in danger of doing great harm to ourselves?”

THE SAD FATE OF A GUILTY NATION

Jerusalem was taken in the eleventh year of the rule of Zedekiah,
on the ninth day of the fourth month. An opening was made
through the walls, and all the princes of the king of Babylon came
and sat in the middle gate. When Zedekiah, the ruler of Judah, and
all the warriors saw them, they fled and left the city by night by the
way of the royal garden, through the gate between the two walls,
and went out toward the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans
followed them and captured Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. Then
they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, who was
then at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And the king of Babylon[157]
killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And the king of Babylon
put to death all the nobles of Judah. Moreover, he put out Zedekiah’s
eyes and bound him in chains to carry him to Babylon.

In the nineteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadrezzar, king of
Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the body-guard, an officer
of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the temple
of Jehovah and the royal palace and all the houses in Jerusalem.
All the soldiers of the Chaldeans, who were with the commander of
the body-guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. The rest
of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had
gone over to the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan carried away captive.
But he left some of the poorest of the people to take care of the vineyards
and farms.

The pillars of brass that were in the temple of Jehovah, and the
stands and the bronze sea that were in the temple of Jehovah the
Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the brass from them to Babylon.
Also the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the bowls, and all the
vessels of brass, with which sacrifices were offered in the temple,
they took away. The fire-pans and the basins of silver and of gold,
the commander of the body-guard also melted and took away.

The commander of the body-guard carried away Seraiah, the
chief priest and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three doorkeepers
and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. And
the king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath.
So the people of Judah were carried away captive from their
own homeland.

Nebuchadrezzar made Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, governor
over the people he had left in the land of Judah.

Now Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, had given this command
about Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan, the commander of the body-guard,
“Take good care of him, and do him no harm; but do to him as he
shall tell you.” So Nebuzaradan, the commander of the body-guard,
said to him, “See, I release you this day from the chains which are
upon your hand. If it seems best to you to come with me to Babylon,
come, and I will look out for you. But if you do not wish to
come with me to Babylon, do not come; go back to Gedaliah, whom
the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah,
and live with him among the people, or go wherever it seems right
for you to go.” So the commander of the body-guard gave Jeremiah
food and a present, and sent him away. Then Jeremiah went to[158]
Gedaliah, who was at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people
who were left in the land.

THE COURAGE OF FOUR CAPTIVES

Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, commanded Ashpenaz,
the chief of his servants, to bring to him certain of the Israelites and
some of their princes and nobles. They were to be young men who
were strong and handsome, well taught and quick to learn and able
to serve in the king’s palace. And they were to be taught the learning
and the language of the Chaldeans. The king gave to them each
day some of his rich food and some of the wine which he drank. He
also commanded that they should be taught for three years, and that
at the end of that time they should enter the royal service.

Among these young men were: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah; but the chief of the king’s servants gave other names to
them. To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar, and to Hananiah,
Shadrach, and to Mishael, Meshach, and to Azariah, Abednego.

But Daniel made up his mind not to injure himself with the rich
food of the king nor with the wine which he drank. So he asked
the chief of the king’s servants not to make him injure himself. And
God helped Daniel to win the kindness and favor of the chief of the
king’s servants.

But the chief of the king’s servants said to Daniel, “I fear that
my lord, the king, who has given you your food and your drink will
see that your faces are sadder than those of young men who are your
own age, and so you will endanger my head with the king.”

Daniel said to the guardian whom the chief of the king’s servants
had put over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Try your
servants ten days; and let us have vegetables to eat and water to
drink. Then compare the way we look with that of the young men
who eat of the king’s rich food. Then do to us as seems best.” So
he did as they asked and tried them ten days. At the end of ten
days they looked better and they were fatter than all the young men
who ate of the king’s rich food. So the guardian took away their
rich food and the wine and gave them vegetables.

To these four young men God gave knowledge, learning, and
wisdom; and Daniel understood all kinds of visio[159]ns and dreams.

At the end of the days which the king had fixed for bringing them
in, the chief of his servants brought them in to Nebuchadrezzar,
and the king talked with them. But not one of all the young men
was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So
they began to serve the king. On every subject which called for
wisdom and understanding and about which the king questioned
them, he found them ten times better than all the wise men and
magicians who were in his entire kingdom.

A KING’S STRANGE DREAM

Nebuchadrezzar in the second year of his reign had dreams, and
his mind was so troubled that he could not sleep. Then the king
sent for the magicians and the wise men, and those who studied the
stars to tell him what his dreams meant. So they came in before
the king, and he said to them, “I have had a dream and my mind
is troubled, for I want to know what the dream means.”

Then those who studied the stars said to the king: “O king, live
forever! Tell the dream to your servants and we will tell you what
it means.” The king answered, “What I now say is certain: if you
do not tell me the dream and what it means, you shall be torn limb
from limb and your houses shall be made ash-heaps. But if you tell
the dream and what it means, you shall receive from me gifts and
rewards and great honors; therefore tell me the dream and what it
means.” They answered the second time, “Let the king tell the
dream to his servants, and we will tell what it means.” The king
replied, “I see clearly that you wish to gain time, for you know that
what I have said is certain, and that if you do not tell the dream
to me, you will all suffer the same punishment. So you have planned
to speak lying and false words before me, until the time when it is
to happen has passed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know
that you can tell me what it means.” The Chaldeans answered the
king, “There is no man on earth who can do what the king asks,
for no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing
of any wise man or magician, or of one who studies the stars. What
the king asks is too hard. There is no one else who can tell it to the
king, except the gods, who do not live with men.” This made the
king very angry and he ordered all the wise men of Babylon put to
death.

[160]

So the command was given that the wise men were to be put
to death. And search was made for Daniel and his friends that they
too might be put to death. Then Daniel spoke wisely, to Arioch,
the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to put the wise
men of Babylon to death, and said, “Why is the king’s command
so harsh?” When Arioch told Daniel the facts, he went to the
king and asked that he give him time to tell what the dream meant.