Biblia innocentium : being the story of God's chosen people before the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ upon Earth / written anew for children by J.W. Mackail

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BIBLIA INNOCENTIUM:

BEING THE STORY OF GOD'S CHO.
SEN PEOPLE BEFORE THE COM.
ING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
UPON EARTH, WRITTEN ANEW
FOR CHILDREN BY J. W. MACKAIL,
SOMETIME FELLOW OF BALLIOL
COLLEGE, OXFORD.

Jkte&L

A LIST OFTHE CHAPTERS OFTHIS
BOOK.

I. The Fall of the Morning Star p. t

II. The Six Days of Creation 2

III. The Garden of Eden 5

IV. The Serpent in Paradise 6
V. The Mark of Cain 8

VI. The Children of Lamech 9

VII. The World before the Flood 10

VIII. Noah's Ark. u

IX. The Bow in the Cloud 12

X. The World after the Flood 14

XI. The Tower of Babel »4

XII. The Shepherd Princes 15

XIII. The Battle of Four Kings against

Five 16

XIV. The City of Peace 17
XV. The Promised Land t8

XVI. The Well in the Wilderness 19

XVII. The Visit of the Three Angels 23

XVIII. The Riot in Sodom 22

XIX. The Pillar of Salt 23

XX. The Bondwoman and her Son 24

XXI. The Altar on the Hill/Top 25

XXII. The Cave in the Field 26

XXIII. The Camels at the Well 27

XXIV. The Meeting in the Dusk 29
XXV. The Mess of Pottage 31

XX VL The Dish of Savoury Meat 32

XXVI I ♦ The Anger of E sau 34

XXVI I L Jacob's Ladder 35

XXIX* The Fair Shepherdess 36

XXX* The Sisters 37

XXXL Laban's Flocks 38

XXXI L The Flight from Haran 39

XXXIIL The Angel by the River 40

XXXIV* Jacob's Home^Coming 42

XXXV* The Coat of Many Colours 43

XXXVI* The Midianite Merchants 44

XXXVII* Potiphar's Wife 46

XXXVIII* Joseph in Prison 47

XXXIX* King Pharaoh's Dreams 49

XL* The Seven Years of Plenty 50

XLI* The First Journey to Egypt 51

XLII* The Second Journey to Egypt 54

XLIIL The Dinner in Joseph's House 55

XLIV* The Silver Cup 56

XLV* Judah's Pleading 57

XLVL The Mercy of Joseph 59

XL VI I* The Third Journey to Egypt 60

XLVIII* The Grandchildren 6*

XLIX* The Mourning in the Meadow 63

L* The Ark of Bulrushes 64

LI* The Exile in the Desert 65

LI I* The Burning Bush 67

LI 1 1* The Taskmasters 68

LIV* The Ten Plagues 69

LV* The Passover 71

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LVL The Pillar of Cloud and Fire 72

LVIL The Passage of the Red Sea 73

LVIIL Angels' Bread 75

LIX* The Ten Commandments 76

LX* The Tables of Stone 78

LXL The Golden Calf 78

LXIL The Tabernacle in the Wilder^

ness 79

LX III ♦ The Twelve Spies 81
LXIV* The Murmuring in the Wik

ness 8a

LXV\ Aaron's Rod 83

LXVL The Serpent of Brass 84
LXVIL The Victories in the Wilder,

ness 85

LXVIIL Balaam's Ass 86

LXIX, The Hidden Grave 88

LXX* The Scarlet Ribbon 89

LXXL The Crossing of Jordan 91

LXXIL The Walls of Jericho 92

LXXIIL The Ambassadors 92

LXXIV* The Staying of the Sun and

Moon 94

LXXV* The Days of the Judges 95

LXXVL The Iron Chariots 96

LXXVIL Jael's Hammer 97

LXXVIIL The Oak in Ophrah 98

LXXIX* Gideon's Fleece 99

LXXX* The Choosing of the Three

Hundred 100

in

mk

LXXXL The Trumpets at Midnight 101

LXXXIL The Chase of the Kings 102
LXXXIIL The Story of the Trees who

went out to choose a King 103

LXXXI V. The Tower of Thisbe 104

LXXXV\ Jephthah's Daughter 106

LXXXVL The Lion in the Vineyards 107

LXXXVIL Samson's Riddle 108

LXXXVIIL The Gates of Gaza no

LXXXIX* The Stolen Secret m

XC* Samson's Revenge 113

XCL The Famine at Bethlehem 114

XCIL The Vow of Ruth 114

XCIIL The Gleaner 115

XCIV* The Threshings Floor in

the Dark xxy

XCV* The Kinsmen n8

XCVL The Child in the Temple no

XCVIL The Voice by Night 121

XCVIIL The Ark in Battle 122

XCIX* The Terror of the Ark 124

C* The Lost Asses 126

CI. The Street at Dawn 128

CIL The Gap in the Cliffs 130

CIIL The Boy Harper X32

CIV* The Giant's Challenge 132

C V* The Five Smooth Stones 134

CVL The Image under the Coun/

terpane 135

CVIL The Camp in the Forest 136
iv

~ ..V *TT -K,^»S^.

CVIIL The Witch of Enclor 138
CIX- The Woeful Battle on Mount

Gilboa 140

CX, The Stolen Crown 141

CXL The Castle of Zion 142

CXIL The Triumph of the Ark 143

CXIIL The Thirty Knights 144

CXI V. The Shot from the Wall 146

CXV\ The Story of the Ewe/ Lamb 147

CXVL The Sick Child 148

CXVIL The Rebellion of Absalom 149

CXVIIL The Flight into the Wilder,

ness 151

CXIX* The Counsel of Ahithophel 152

CXX* The Well in the Courtyard 153

CXXL The Battle in the Wood 154

CXXIL The Two Runners 155

CXXIIL The Sorrowful Victory 156

CXXIV, The City of Meadows 157

CXX V. The Watching of Rizpah 158

CXXVL The Angel's Sword 159

CXXVIL The Choice in the Dream 160

CXXVIIL The Judgment of Solomon 161

CXXIX* The Glory of Solomon 163

CXXX* The Building of the Temple 164

CXXXL The Feast of the Dedication 165

CXXXIL The Cedar Palace 166

CXXXIIL The Queen of Sheba 167

CXXXIV* The Division ofthe Kingdoms 168

CXXXV* The Man of God from Judah 169

CXXX VL The Widow's Jar 171

CXXXVIL The Altars on Mount Car^

mel 173

CXXXVIIL The Little Cloud 174

CXXXIX, The Still Small Voice 175

CXL* Naboth's Vineyard 176

CXLL The Council or the Kings 178

CXLIL The Random Arrow 179

CXLIIL The Chariot of Fire 180

CXLIV* The LadyofShunem 181

CXLV* The Syrian Captain 182

CXLVL The Bags of Silver 184

CXLVIL The Blind Army 185

CXLVIIL The Famine in Samaria 186

CXLIX* The Empty Camp 188

CL* The Arrows of Kingjoram 189

CLL The Mutiny of the Captains 190

CLIL The Ride from Ramoth'

Gilead 191

CLIIL The Window over the Gate 193
CLIV* The Story of the Cedar and

the Thistle 194

CLV* The Assyrian Captivity 195

CLVL The Tempest 196

CLVIL Jonah's Gourd 197

CLVIIL The Destroying Angel 199

CLIX* The Graveyard on the Hill 200

CLX* The Waters of Babylon 201

CLXL The Vision of the Cherubim 203

CLXIL The Vision of the Horses in

the Valley 204

VI

CLXIIL The Vision of the Golden

Lamps 205

CLXIV, The Vision of the Four

Chariots 205

C LXV* The Complaint of the Cap'

tives in Babylon 206

CLXVL The Valley of Dry Bones 207

CLXVIL The Magicians 208

CLXVIIL The Wisdom of Daniel 209

CLXIX* The Fiery Furnace 211

CLXX* The Proud King 213

CLXXL The Writing on the Wall 214

CLXXIL The Den orLions 2x6

CLXXIIL The Feast in the Palace of

the Lily 217

CLXXIV, The Malice of Haman 2x9

CLXXV* The Golden Sceptre 220

CLXXVL The Book of the Chronicles

of the Kingdom 222

CLXXVIL TheBanquetintheQueen's

Pavilion 223

CLXXVIIL The Riding of the Posts 224

CLXXIX* The Return from Babylon 225

CLXXX, The Ruins at Night 226

CLXXXL The Building of the Wall 227

CLXXXIL The Heathen Host 228

CLXXXIIL The Valour of Judith 229

CLXXXIV, The Supper in the Tent 230

CLXXXV* The Head of Holofernes 222

CLXXXVL The Errand of the Arch. °

Angel 233

vii

CLXXXVII. The Journey to Media 234
CLXXXVIII. The Flight of the Evil

Spirit 236

CLXXXIX. The Return from Ecba,

tana 237

CXC The Wages of Raphael 238

CXCL The Angel of Accusing 239

CXCIL The Four Messengers 240

CXCIIL The Patience of Job 241

CXCIV* Job's Comforters 242

CXCV* The Prosperity of Job 243

CXCVL The Man in Golden Ar^

mour 244

CXC VI L The King's Elephants 245
CXCVIIL The Wisdom of the Ro.

mans 247

CXCIX* The Peace of the Empire 248
CC* The Vision of the King'

dom of the Saints 248

VIM

CHAPTER I

THE FALL OF THE MORNING

STAR.

EFOREthebe^l
ginning of the
world God was
in heaven; about
his throne were
the angels and
archangels and
all the heavenly
host in their or^
ders,who praised
and served God continually* Nearest the
throne of God were the seven great arclv
angels, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel,
Israfiel, and Azrael, and a seventh whose
name is now blotted outof thebookof life*
This last was the brightest of all the hea^
venly people; he was called Lucifer, the |
Morningbtar,becausehewasmoresplen^
did than all the rest* But he grew proud
over his own beauty, and though he was
next to God, nothing would content him
but to be first of all, & to sit in God's place
on the throne*Therefore he plotted to cast
down the Most High and become lord in
heaven; and a third part of the heavenly

yfm.

f-YI^

host joined him, being d&zzlcd by his brightness
and thinking him as great as God* Then there was
war in heaven; and the faithful angels, with Nlu
chael the archangel as their chief captain, won the
victory over Lucifer and the rebel angels, & drove
them out of heaven* The crystal walls of heaven
opened before them, & the wicked angels poured
down out of heaven into the gulf of night* Then
Michael and the victorious angels returned into
heaven, the walls closed again behind them, and
there was peace* But the place nearest the throne
of God was empty, & the brightest of the Morns
ing Stars had fallen out of heaven*Then to fill up
the dark empty place and restore the splendour
of his house, it pleased God to create man* And
as Lucifer had fallen from the place next to God
through pride. God ordained that man should
rise to the place next to God through humility;
and that when the time was fulfilled, the Son of
God should humble himself and become man,
that through him man might be lifted up to hea^
ven and become more glorious than the angels
who fell*

CHAPTER II*
THE SIX DAYS OF CREATION*

|N the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth as a dwells
ing place for man* The earth was
without shape or light or substance,
void & empty, like a boiling steam
of darkness* till the Spirit of God

spread out his wings and brooded over it. For six
days of creation God wrought on the house of
man, to make it perfect* On the first of the six
days God said, " Let there be light"; and there was
light* He looked at the light and saw that it was
good; then he divided it from the darkness, and
called the light Dayand the darkness Night; be^
tween day and night he made Evening to bring
peace, & between night and day he made Morn^
ing to bring joy; so the evening and the morning
were the first day* On the second day God divide
ed the world of waters, parting the waters above
from the waters below by the strong arch of the
sky which he stretched between* Below the sky
there was nothing yet but the steaming waste of
waters; above it were the clouds, and the stores
houses of the rain and snow; so the evening and
the morning were the second day* On the third
day God drew the dry land out of the waters be/
low, and gathered them into one place by them'
selves; and the dry land was Earth, & the waters
in the hollows or the land were the Seas* Then
he created out of the earth grass and all kinds of
plants and trees with their leaves and flowers and
fruit; so the evening and the morning were the
third day* On the fourth day God created lights
in heaven to divide day from night, and to give
light on earth, and to be signs of the seasons and
the days and the years* He made the two great
lamps of light, the sun to be lord of the day, the
b2 3

moon to be lady of the night, & in the night also
he set the whole multitude of the stars, which he
numbered & named; so the evening & the morn*
ing were the fourth day* On the fifth day God
created out of the waters all kinds of fishes and
birds, and all the creatures that swim or fly; then
he blessed the living things which he had made,
and commanded them to multiply, so that the
waters might be full of fish, and the land full of
birds; so the evening and the morning were the
fifth day* On the sixth day God created out of the
ground all the beasts, botn wild and tame, and all
the creatures that walk or run or creep upon the
land* Thus the house of man was made and fur*
nished:the green earth & the sea, both filled with
live things, the sky above them and the waters
above the sky, the sun and moon and stars, even*
ing and morning, night and day* Then, seeing
that the house was ready and that all was well
made& ordered in it, God created man out of the
dust of the ground, making him in his own like*
ness, and breathing his own spirit into him; and
he blessed him, and gave him lordship over the
whole earth and all that lived in it* Thus God
finished the six days of his creation, and on the
seventh day he rested from his work and was well
pleased, seeing that it was all good; therefore he
blessed the seventh day and appointed it to be the
day of his rest; and for delight over the new world
the Morning Stars sang together, and all the sons
of God shouted for joy*

4

CHAPTER IIL
THE GARDEN OF EDEN.

HE whole earth then was fresh,
green, and bright; no rain fell, but
a mist rose from the earth daily
and watered the ground* But in ail
the earth the most beautiful place
I was the Garden of Paradise, which
God planted eastward in Eden* A wall ran all
round it, with one gate that looked to the rising
sun* Inside it a river rose out of the ground that
watered the garden, and then parted into four
streams that ran into the four quarters of the world*
The first of the four rivers was Pison, which flow/
ed south through Havilah, the land of gold and
spice and precious stones; the second was Gihon,
which ran west and flowed into the land of the
blacks; the third was Hiddekel, which went east/
ward into Asia; and the fourth was Euphrates*
Paradise was planted with every kind of tree that
is lovely in leaf, or good for fruit; &in the middle
of it two trees grew side by side and rose higher
than all the rest* one the tree of the Knowledge
of good and evil, the other the tree of Life* In this
garden God put the man whom he had created*
whose name was Adam, and gave the keeping of
it into his charge* All the beasts and birds came
in pairs before Adam in the garden, & worship/
ped him as their master, and he gave them each

their own name* But he himself was alone in the
garden, and had no companion* Then God made
a deep sleep fall on him, and as he slept, took out
one of his ribs and closed up the flesh again, and
made the rib into a woman; then he brought her
to Adam and woke him again out of sleep* Adam
at once knew that the woman was sent him to be
his wife* He called her Eve, the mother ; & Adam
and Eve lived in Paradise together, & were witlv
out sin or fear or shame* God gave Adam leave
to eat the fruit of all the trees in the garden, ex/
cept the apples growing on the tree of the Know
ledge of good and evil; he forbade Adam to eat
of them, that he might not lose his innocence and
die,

CHAPTER IV*

THE SERPENT IN PARADISE*

IF all the beasts with whom Adam
1 and Eve lived and talked in Para/
dise, the wisest was the serpent*
He asked Eve,"Has God told you
Inottoeatofanytreeinthegarden?"
She answered, " We may eat the
fruit of any tree except the tree of the Knowledge
of good &evil; but we must not eat that, nor even
touch it, or we shall die/' He said, " You shall not
die : if you eat of it you shall know good and evil,
and be as wise as God himself/' Eve looked atthe
tree; it was pleasant to the eye; the fruit seemed
6

goodtoeat;&in her desire to know good and evil
she forgot her obedience* From looking, she fell to
wishing; from wishing, to touching; at last she
plucked an apple and ate it; then she gave another
to Adam, and he ate it also* Till then they had
only known good; now they knew good and evil,
and the clothing of innocence fell off them* Now
they were afraid of God; &trying to conceal their
nakedness & shame, they made themselves covers
ings of fig-leaves, and hid among the trees all the
rest of the day* In the cool of the evening God came
to walk in the garden, & they heard his voice call'
ingthem*They came before him in great fear and
misery ; and A dam said to God," I heard the sound
of thee in the garden, and was afraid, because I
was naked, and hid myself/' God said to Adam,
"Who told you that you were naked ? Have you
been eating of the tree of which I told you not to
eat ?" Adam answered," The woman whom thou
gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit from the
tree, and I ate/' Then God said to Eve, "What
is this that you have done ?" She answered," The
serpent beguiled me, and I ate/' Then God gave
judgment upon all the three* He condemned the
serpent to go crawling on the ground and eat dust
for ever ; and Adam and Eve were sentenced to be
driven out of Paradise and not to eat any more of
the tree of Life; for it did not grow anywhere ex^
ceptinthat garden* Labour and sorrow were sent
into their life, and in the end they had to die; the

ground was cursed to them, & made to bear thorns
and thistles, and only to yield food by hard work
and the sweat of Adam's brow; and Eve had to
bear her children with sorrow & pain* Then God
clothed them both with coats of skins and drove
them out of the garden; and when they left Para^
diseitwas barred behind them, and a guard of an-*
gels setatthe gate withaflamingswordthatturned
every way, so that no man thenceforth might be
able to go in and eat fruit from the tree of Life*

CHAPTER V*

THE MARK OF CAIN*

FTER Adam & Eve were driven
out of Paradise they had two chik
dren, Cain and Abel; Abel was a
shepherd, and Cain a tiller of the
ground* But Cain was proud and
displeased God; and when they
were both making sacrifice to God, Abel of his
sheep and lambs, Cain of his fruit and corn, God
accepted Abef s offering but refused Cain's* At
that Cain's face fell; and when he and his brother
Abel were alone in the field, he struck Abel to the
ground and killed him, & buried the body, thinks
ing that the murder would never be known* But
the voice of Abel's blood cried out of the ground
to God; and God called Cain and said to him,
" Where is Abel your brother?" Cain lied, and
8

said/' I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
Therefore God laid this curse on him, to go on till'
ing the ground without its yielding anything to
him, because he had spilt his brother's blood upon
it; and to be a fugitive and vagabond in the earth,
& hid from the face of God.Cain said to God," My
punishment is greater than I can bear ; I am driven
out to wander upon the earth, and anyone who
finds me will kill me/' Then God set a mark upon
him, that he might be known, and promised that
vengeance should be taken sevenfold upon any/
one who killed him*

CHAPTER VL
THE CHILDREN OF LAMECH*

AIN went out from the presence
of God, and lived alone to the east
of Eden, where he built a city and
had many children, who peopled
that land* Long afterwards one of
I his family called Lamech,who was
old & nearly blind, met something as he went in
a wood that he thought was a wild beast, and shot
two arrows at it* But this was Cain ; and the first
arrow shot him dead, and the second killed La/
mech's own son* When Lamech found out what
he had done, he made great lamentation, crying to
his wives, " Hear my voice, O wives of Lamech,
listen to my speech; for I have slain a man to my

9

wounding, and a young man to my hurt* If the
vengeance for Cain was sevenfold, truly the ven^
geance for me shall be seventy times seven/' Lax
mech had three sons and a daughter* Two of his
sons were called jabal & Jubal; Jabal was the first
of all men to live in tents, and keep herds of cattle;
Jubal was the first musician, & invented the harp
and pipe* The third son, who was called Tubal'
cain, invented the use of metals and was the first
workman in brass & iron* But Lamech's daughter
Naamah was very beautiful, & became the wife
of one of the fallen angels; for many of the fallen
angels married daughters of men when they saw
them to be fair, and had children, who were the
giants and the mighty men of old*

CHAPTER VII*

THE WORLD BEFORE THE FLOOD*

JJ3FTER Abel was dead and Cain
gone away into his banishment,
Adam and Eve had many more
children, and as time went on the
world became full of people* But
all the while men grew worse and
worse, & turned to wickedness and evil thoughts*
Enoch the prophet warned them to beware of
God's judgments; but when his warnings were in
vain, God took him up alive to heaven in a chariot
of fire, and he did not see death* After him lived
jo

Noah, who walked with God upon earth* He
was a just man, and a good son, and comforted his
parents for their work and the toil of their hands*
But the wickedness of the rest of the world grew
greater and greater continually, and the earth was
filled with corruption and violence; so that God
determined to destroy them all in the Flood*

CHAPTER VIIL
NOAH'S ARK*
IOD warned Noah that the Flood
was coming to destroy all that was
alive on the earth, except Noah
| himself & his family, and one pair
of every kind of creature, which

J were to be saved along with Noah

in an ark* Then at God's bidding Noah began to
build the ark of wooden planks and beams, and
built at it diligently for years until it was finished*
It had three stories, witn a door in the side and win^
dowsnearthetop; & was covered with pitch both
inside and out, to keep it sound and dry* Noah
stored in it food enough to feed himself and his
family and all the beasts and birds and creeping
things that were to be with them* At last there
came a day in spring when the ark was ready ; then
Noah went into it with his wife & his three sons,
Shem, Ham and Japheth, and their three wives,
eight persons in all* The creatures followed him

u

in, beasts and birds and creeping things, one pair
of each kind; and at the end of a week all were in
their places* Then God shut the door of the ark &
made it fast. That same day the fountains of the
great deep were broken up & the windows of hea^
ven were opened; and for forty days and nights a
great rain fell unceasingly, and all the waters un/
der the earth broke their oars and spouted up from
below* Soon the ark floated and began to drift on
the surface of the water* Before the end of the forty
days all the hills were covered with water, and no^
thing was to be seen but the ark floating on the
rainy sea* By midsummer all that had been alive
on the earth was drowned, both men and beasts;
and the world lay under water for a hundred and
fifty days*

CHAPTER IX*

THE BOW IN THE CLOUD*

HEN the fountains of the deep
were stopped and the windows of
heaven were shut, & the rain ceased
to fall* A clear drying wind rose &
blew, and the flood began to ebb,
and the water sank lower & lower
continually* The peaks of the mountains soon
began to shew above the flood, and in autumn the
ark touched ground on the mountains of Ararat
and settled fest there* Still the waters went on
sinking* When winter was over, hilltops could be

seen out of the windows of the ark* Then Noah
opened the window, and sent out a raven and a
dove as messengers to see what news they would
bring* The raven flew off and wandered to and
fro until the ground was dryland never cameback
to Noah ; but the dove, finding nowhere to settle,
becausethe face of the earth was still covered with
water, came back; and Noah put out his hand at
the window and pulled her in again to the ark*
After seven days he sent her out again a second
time; and in the evening she came backtothe ark,
carrying in her beak a Freshly plucked olive leaf;
so Noah knew that the earth was drying up and
thetreesbeginningto grow green again* He waited
seven more days& sent the dove out a third time;
and this time she flew into the green woods and
lived there, & did not come back to him any more*
Then Noah set to work & broke open the roof of
the ark, and all round him there was dry ground ;
so he came out of the ark with his wife & children
and all the creatures* They had been in the ark a
year and ten days* WTien Noah came out of the
ark he built an altar and offered sacrifice to God,
who blessed him and his children, & commanded
them to increase and fill the earth once again* Also
God promised never to send another flood to de^
stroy the earth, and for a token of his promise he
made the rainbow & set it in the cloud, that when
the clouds brought rain men might see the rain*
bow in them & take courage, knowing that a new
flood was not coming to drown the world*

*3

CHAPTER X.

THE WORLD AFTER THE FLOOD.

UT the flood had swept over the
garden of Paradise, and thrown
down the wall, and left it bare and
open like the rest of the earth, and
washed away the Tree of Life; so
that the guard of angels with the
flaming sword were not there any more* In the
flood also died Methusaleh, the son of the prophet
Enoch, who had the longest life of any man who
has ever lived, nine hundred and sixty nine years*
Afterthe flood Noah became a husbandman; also
he planted the first vineyards and made wine; &
the world grewto be peopled again as it had been
before the flood. In those days lived Nimrod, who
wasamighty hunter before the Lord* He was the
first of the great kings of the world; the beginning
of his kingdom was in Babylon; and out of that
landhe went into Assyria and built himselfacity,
and called it Nineveh*

CHAPTER XL
THE TOWER OF BABEL*

H E whole world then were of one
race and spoke one language* As
they journeyed all together from
the East, they came to the plain of
Babel in the land of Shinar & set'
tied in it* There they dug clay and

burned it into bricks, and made mortar from bitU'
men, and in the pride of their hearts they began to
build a city with avast tower, which they planned
to build up until its top reached heaven, to be a
mark for them from vast distances all across the
land, that they might notwander andbe scattered
abroad over the face of the earth* But as they were
building it, God sent confusion of tongues among
them, so that they did not understand one ano/
ther's speech; and they left off building the city,
and were scattered over the face of all the earth*
But the half/built tower of Confusion was left
standing there in the middle of the plain, until
little by little the sun & the rains crumbled it away*

CHAPTER XIL
THE SHEPHERD PRINCES*

|H E RE were three brothers, called
Abraham, Nahor, & Haran, who
all lived together & fed their flocks
on the eastern hills beyond the ri^
ver, in Ur of the Chald^es* There
Haran died, leaving a son called
Lot to inherit his share of the flocks; and after-*
wards Abraham and Lot went westward to seek a
new home, while Nahor stayed in Ur* Between
the river and the sea lay the land of Canaan, a
pleasant country full of corn and wine and olives
and honey, watered by rivers and wells, and set
between great mountains on the north & the rocks

t 5

and sands of the southern desert, Abraham and
Lot crossed the river and passed into the land of
Canaan, and lived there in tents under a tree or
by a well, moving with their flocks & herds from
one pasture to another, and so travelling slowly
down the country towards the south* A time of
famine came, when they went into Egypt & lived
there till the famine was over; then they returned
with such a quantity of flocks and herds that one
pasture could not hold them all ; so they separated,
and Abraham gave Lot the first choice of land. Lot
looked about him, and seeing the plain ofjordan
to be well watered and like a garden of God, he
chose to live there, and pitched his tents among
the five Cities ofthe Plain, near Sodom ; but Abra^
ham remained at Bethel, among the hills of the
midland* ^X^hen Lot was gone, God said to Abra^
ham, " Lift up your eyes and look from this hill
northward & southward and eastward and west'
ward; all the land which you see I will give to you
and to your children for ever/'

CHAPTER XIIL
THE BATTLE OF FOUR KINGS

AGAINST FIVE.

|N the days of Amraphel king of
Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar,
Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and
Tidal king of nations, these four

[kings made war with the five kings
>f the Cities ofthe Plain, the king

of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, & the kings of
Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar* For twelve years
the five cities obeyed Chedorlaomer, but in the
thirteenth year they rebelled* In the fourteenth
year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with
him came with an army, & conquered the giants
in the lowlands & the cave-dwellers in the wilder^
ness, and as they returned through the plain, the
kings of the five cities of the plain went out to
battle against them; and they joined battle in the
vale of Siddim, four kings with five* There the
five kings were beaten by the four, and fled to the
mountains; and the kings of Sodom & Gomorrah
fell in the flight among the naphtha'pits*Then the
four kings plundered the five cities and went on
their way, carrying ofFLot among their prisoners*

CHAPTER XIV*
THE CITY OF PEACE*

HEN Abraham heard the news
of this battle & of Lot being taken
prisoner, he armed his household
servants & pursued the four kings ;
& coming on their camp suddenly
by night in two bands, surprised
and routed them, and rescued Lot and all thepri^
soners* As Abraham returned, Melchizedekthe
king of Salem came out of his City of Peace to
meet him* He was priest of the most high God,
ci 17

and had neither parents nor children, and neither
beginning of days nor end of life, but lived in the
City of Peace for even He blessed Abraham, and
gave him bread & wine* Then thekingof Sodom
came, & begged Abraham to keep all the plunder
and only give him back his people who had been
taken prisoners* But Abraham gave him every/
thing back, and would not keep for himself so
much as a thread or a shoe4atchet out of all that
he had taken; then he went back to his home in
the hills, and Lot lived in a house in Sodom*

CHAPTER XV*
THE PROMISED LAND*

B RAH AM began to grow old, &
had no children; therefore he cried
to God, and said, u Lord God, what
wilt thou give me ? for I shall die
childless, and my steward, Eliezer
of Damascus, possess my house/'
3ut God brought him out of his tent into the clear
night, and said, " Look at the sky and number the
stars in it, if you are able; so many shall your
children be* I am the Lord that brought you out of
Urofthe Chaldees,togiveyou this land to inherit
it/' Abraham answered, " Lord God, how shall I
know that I shall inherit it?" Then a deep sleep
came on him as he waited, and a horror of great
darkness fell on him ; and in the darkness God
18

spoke, and said, i 4 Know that your children shall
be strangers & servants in a land that is not theirs,
and shall be afflicted four hundred years; then I
will judge the nation that holds them in bondage,
and they shall come out with great riches; and in
the fourth generation they shall return again to
this land, for the time is not full till then/ After
God had spoken thus, a smoking furnace and a
burning lamp passed before Abraham through
the darkness, and the voice of God spoke once
more, and said, "To your children have I given
this land/'

CHAPTER XVL
THE WELL IN THE WILDERNESS.
HILE Abraham & Sarah his wife
still had no child and were waiting
for the promise of God to come,
there was an Egyptian maid called
Hagar in the household, who was
- g * n g to have a child, and because
of this she despised her mistress; and then Sarah
treated her so harshly that she ran away into the
wilderness* As she sat by a roadside well in the
wilderness, an angel of God appeared to her and
said to her, u Return and submit yourself to Sarah
your mistress; for you shall have a son, who will
grow up to be a wild man living in the east, and
twelve princes & a great nation shall descend from

C2 ip

him/' Then H agar returned out ofthewilderness,
and soon afterwards she had a son, who was called
IshmaeLButthatwellin the wilderness was called
thence/thewellof the Sight of the Living One; for
Hagar said, M Do I still live after seeing God V f

CHAPTER XVIL

THE VISIT OF THE THREE
ANGELS.

|T was in the heat of the day, and
1 Abraham was sitting in the door
ofhistentunderthe great oak on the
plain of Mamre, when he looked
up and saw three strangers coming
'on foot across the plain* He rose
from the tent^door & ran to meet them, and wel/
corned them courteously, asking them to stay &
rest under the tree and eat a morsel of bread be/
fore they went on* So they stopped and sat down
in the cool of the tent* Then Sarah baked cakes
upon the hearth, and Abraham chose a calf from
the herd and had it dressed, and brought butter
and milk, and stood by the strangers while they
sat & ate under the tree* Now these three strangers
were angels, but Abraham did not know it* When
the heat of the day was over, they rose up and set
their faces toward Sodom; and Abraham went
with them to bring them on their way* As they
went, one of the three strangers stopped and said
20

to Abraham, "The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah
is great, and their sin is very grievous ; I am going
now to see whether they have done altogether ao
cording to the cry which is come to me; if not, I
will know/' Meanwhile the other two had turned
away and gone on towards Sodom* Then Abra^
ham knew that he was a great angel, and drew
nearer and said, "Wilt thou also destroy the
righteous with the wicked? Perhapsthere are fifty
righteousmen within thecity; wiltthounot spare
the place for the fifty righteous that are therein I"
The sun was going down, and the angel answered,
" If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city,
then I will spare all the place for their sake/' Then
Abraham said, " I have taken upon me to speak
unto my lord, I who am but dust and ashes* Per^
haps there may lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt
thou destroy all the city for lack of five ?" He said,
" If I find there forty and five I will not destroy it/'
The sun sank a little lower, and Abraham spoke
again : " Perhaps there shall be only forty found
there/' The angel answered, " I will not do it for
forty's sake/' Then he said, " Oh, let not my lord
be angry, and I will speak : perhaps there shall be
but thirty found in it/' The angel answered, " I
will not do it, if I find thirty there/' Then he said
once more, " Behold now, I have taken upon me to
speak to my lord: perhaps there shall be twenty
found there/' The angel answered, " I will not
destroy it for twenty's sake/' Then for the last

21

time Abraham said, " Oh, let not my lord be an'
gry, & I will speak yet but this once : perhaps ten
shall be found there/' The an gel answered, " I will
not destroy it for ten's sake;" and as the sun set, he
passed out of sight, and Abraham returned home*

CHAPTER XVIIL

THE RIOT IN SODOM.

T dusk that same evening thetwo
angels came to Sodom, and there
Lot sat in the city gate* He rose up
to meet them and bowed to the
ground, & prayed them to stay the
night in his house* They excused
themselves at first, and said, "We will lodge in
the street," but he would take no refusal; so they
went home with him, and he made them a feast*
But late at night, before they lay down to rest, the
whole mob of Sodom, old and young, came round
the house and shouted to Lot, " Where are the
men who came here to night? Bring them out/'
Lot went out, shutting the door behind him, and
tried to pacify the people* But they refused to lis/
ten, crying, "Stand back/' and "This fellow is a
stranger here, and he will needs play the judge/'
and threatening to make it worse for him than for
the strangers ; and at last they made a rush at the
door to break it open * Then the two angels coming
to the door pulled Lot in and shut the door again
22

behind him, & struck all the people outside with
blindness, so that they went about till they were
weary & could not find the door, but raged vainly
in the street all night*

CHAPTER XIX.
THE PILLAR OF SALT.

HENtheangelssaidto Lot/'Have
you any here besides? If so, bring
them out of this place; for the cry
of Sodom is grown great before the
face of God, and he has sent us to
destroy it/' Lot had a wife & two
daughters at home, and two other daughters who
were married and lived in the town ; he went to
their houses & woke them in the night, that they
might fly with him; but they would not believe
he was in earnest* So the rest of the night was
soon gone; and at break of dawn the angels has/
tened him, and bade him be gone at once as he
was; & while he still lingered, they took him and
his wife and his two daughters by the hand and
dragged them out of the town, and there bade him
escape for his life and not look behind him or stand
still in all the plain, but hasten to the mountain,
lest he should be swept away* Lot said, " Oh, not
so, my lord; we cannot reach the mountain before
the destruction overtake us, but yonder close by
is the city of Zoar, and it is a very little one; may

23 '

we escape to it, and live?" The angel answered,
"This also is granted you; make haste, and es^
cape thither; for after sunrise we cannot delay
any longer, and now it is clear day/' So Lot fled
across the plain, and the sun rose over the earth
as he entered Zoar; andthenarain of fire fell from
heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and over-*
threw the cities and destroyed the whole land so
that there was notalive soul nor a green blade left
in all the plain* Lot's wife neglected the angel's
warning, and lingered outside Zoar to look he
hind her at Sodom; & she was caught in the rain of
fire, and turned into a pillar of salt* WTien Abra^
ham rose that morning, and looked from his tent
towards the land of the plain, he saw the smoke
of the country going up like the smoke of a furnace*

CHAPTER XX*
THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON
SjYE AR after the visit of the three
angels, Abraham and Sarah had a
son born, whom they called Isaac*
By this time Ishmael the son of
Hagar was a boy of fourteen; and
when Sarah saw him playing by
the tents, she became jealous, and said to Abra^
ham, " Send away that slave^woman and her son
into the wilderness, for he shall not inherit along
with a son of mine*" Abraham was sorry to do this,
24

but saw no help for it; therefore early in the morn'
inghe rose & sent away Hagar and her boy, with
some bread & a leather bottle of water which she
carried on her shoulder* They wandered in the
wilderness till the bottle was empty, & they could
find no more water, and began to faint for thirst*
At last in despair Hagar laid Ishmael under a
bush, & went and sat down about a bow/shot off,
that she might not see him die* and wept aloud*
But God heard the crying of the boy, and an angel
called to Hagar out of heaven, saying, "Do not
fear, for your boy shall live, & a great nation come
of him, and twelve princes who shall build castles
and towns in all the waste country of the south*"
Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of
water close by, where she filled her bottle and gave
herboy drink; and he lived, and grew up, andbc
came an archer in the wilderness*

CHAPTER XXI*
THE ALTAR ON THE HILL/TOP*
JOD proved Abraham, and said
J to him, " Take now your son, your
only son Isaac, whom you love, &
go to a land that I will shew you,
& offer him there for a burnt offers
________ __inguponthemountaintop/'Early

in the morning Abraham rose and saddled his ass,
and rode away with Isaac and two servants*They
went through the land for three days ; and on the

25

third day Abraham saw far off a shining moun/
tain top and knew it for the place that God had
told him of* He said to his men, " Stay here, while
I and the boy go yonder and worship, and we will
come back again to you/' So Abraham and Isaac
left the two servants with the ass at the bottom of
the mountain, & began to climb up on foot, Isaac
carrying the bundle of faggots, and Abraham the
fire* Then Isaac said, " Father, here are the fire &
the wood* but where is the lamb for the burnt'
offering?" Abraham answered, " My son, God
himself will provide the lamb;" and they went on
together* WTien they came to the hilltop Abra^
ham built an altar there, and laid the wood in or^
der on it; then he bound Isaac and laid him on the
altar* But as he took the knife in his hand an angel
called to him out of heaven, " Do not lay hand on
the boy, to do him harm/' Then Abraham looked
up, and close behind him he saw a ram caught by
his horns in a thicket, which he took and offered
up to God; then he and Isaac went down the hill
again and rode home*

CHAPTER XXIL
THE CAVE IN THE FIELD*

ARAH fell ill and died in the city
of Hebron, and Abraham mourned
over her* Then he stood up from
r fl before his dead and said to the sons
of Heth, who lived in the city, "I
am a stranger among you; give me

aburying/place that I may bury my dead out of my
sight/' The sons of Heth answered him, " Hear
us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us;
take the choice of our burying/places & bury your
dead there/' Then Abraham stood up & bowed
to thepeople of the land, and said, " Intreat for me
then to Ephron the son of Zohar to sell me his
field and cave, called Machpelah, which he has in
Hebron/' Ephron stood up in the city gate and
answered, " My lord, I give you the field and the
cave; they are worth four hundred pieces of silver,
but what is that between you and me?" Then
Abraham weighed out the full price to Ephron
there in the gate, four hundred pieces of silver in
good money, and so in presence of all the people
the cave of Machpelah with the field and the row
of trees planted round it were made sure to him in
possession; and there he buried Sarah with great
mourning*

CHAPTER XXIIL

THE CAMELS AT THE WELL

HEN Sarah was dead and Abra^
ham very old, he wished, beforehe
died, to find awife for his son Isaac
among their own kindred* He calk
ed his steward, Eliezer of Damas^
cus, and said to him, " Go across
the river to Haran, wheremy brother Nahor lives
with his people, and bring awife for my son from

27

there; for hemustnot many among the daughters
of the land where we dwell/' Eliezer said, " what
if the woman will not come? Shall Isaac go back
to Haran and live there ?" Abraham answered,
44 When God brought me to this land,he promised
to give it to my children; therefore Isaac must not
go back; but God will send his angel with you,
thatyou may bring a wife for my son to this land/ 1
So Eliezer went on his journey with servants &
ten camels, carrying rich presents with him* After
travelling for many days, he came at evening to a
little town where the women were drawing water
at a well outside the wall; There he made his camels
kneel down by the well, and prayed to God to pros^
per his errand* As the words were in his mouth, a
beautiful girl came out of the town gate with her
watery' ar upon her shoulder, and went down to the
well* When she had filled her jar, and come up,
he went to meet her and asked her for a drink of
water* " Drink, my lord/' she said, & let down her
jar on her hand to give him drink; & when he had
drunk, she said, "I will draw water for the camels
too/' So she emptied her jar into the trough and
ran down again to the well, and drew water till
there was enough for all the camels* While they
were drinking, Eliezer opened a package & took
out two bracelets and a forehead^' ewel of gold, and
put the bracelets on her arms & the jewel on her
forehead, asking her, fi Fair maid, whose daughter
are you ? and is there room in your father's house
28

for me to lodge ?""Yes," she said; « we have corn
and straw for the camels, & room for you to lodge
in. I am Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the
son of Nahor/' Then Eliezer bowed down and
blessed God,becausehehad brought him straight
to the house of his master's brethren*

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE MEETING IN THE DUSK.

EBEKAH ran home to tell the
household, and shewed them the
forehead') ewel and the gold brace/'
lets onher hands .Then her brother
Laban hastened out to the well,

I where Eliezer stood by his camels,

and brought him to the house. He ungirthed his
camels & shook out straw for them and gave them
fodder; then they broughthim indoors and set out
food before him, but he would not eat till he had
told his errand. So he told them how God had
blessed Abraham and given him great riches ; &
how Sarah had borne him a son in his old age,
who would inherit all he had; and how Abraham
would not take a wife for his son from the people
of the land, but had sent to find one among his
kindred across the river; and of his own journey,
and how he had come to the well & prayed God
to shew him the woman whom hehad appointed,
&howhehadmet Rebekah, " And now/' he said,

29

44 give me my answer *" They answered "This, is
the very hand of God; take Rebekah, and let her
be your master's son's wife"; and that night they
held the feast of betrothal, and Eliezer gave costly
presents of gold and silver and stuffs to them all*
The next morning he said he must set off at once
to go back to his master* They would fain have
had Rebekah stay with them for a little while, ten
days at the least; but when it was left to her to
decide, she said, " I will go now"; & so they gave
her their blessing and let her go, taking her nurse
and her maidens with her* They crossed the river
and travelled back into the south till one day at
evening they came in sight of Abraham's tents*
Isaac had gone out by the well of the Sight of the
Living One, & walked in the field alone, mourns
ing for his mother, when he saw the line of camels
coming in the dusk* Rebekah asked Eliezer of
Damascus, "What man is this that walks in the
field?" and he looked, and answered, "It is my
master's son*" Then she alighted from her camel
and covered her face with her veil* So she became
Isaac's wife, and he loved her, and was comforted
for his mother's death*

30

CHAPTER XXV.
THE MESS OF POTTAGE.

ISAAC and Rebekah had two sons
1 who were twins, and no more chil^
1 dren; and soon after they were born,
Abraham died at a great age, an £>ld
j man & full of years, and they buried
» him in the cave among the trees at
Hebron, beside Sarah his wife* After his death
Godblessed Isaac with the blessing of Abraham,
& he lived peaceably in the land of Canaan, going
from one place to another, and digging wells and
pasturing his flocks and herds* The elder of the
twins, who was called E sau, grew up a roughhairy
man, a cunning hunter andaman of the field; but
the younger, Jacob, was asmooth^faced man who
lived indoors and did his business about the tents*
Esau was his father's favourite child, & Jacob his
mother's* When they were both grown up, Esau
came in from ahard day's hunting faint with hun^
ger,and found Jacob in the tent cookingamess of
pottage* He said, "Give me some of that"; and
Jacob said, " Youmay haveitall if you will sell me
your birthright for it*" Esau was careless andhmv
gry , and said to himself, " What good is my births
right tome?" so he sold it to Jacob for the mess of
pottage; then he ate & rose up and went his way,
thinking no more about it*

31

CHAPTER XXVL
THE DISH OF SAVOURY MEAT.

IH E N Isaac was very old & weak

I and nearly blind, and did not know
when he might die, he called Esau
to his bedside & told him, "Take
your bow and arrows and go out
I aftergame, and dress me a dish of
savoury meat such as Hove, that I may eat of it &
bless you before I die/' So Esau took his bow and
arrows and went out into the field after game* But
Rebekah had heard what Isaac said to him; and
as soon as Esau was gone she said to Jacob, " Do
as I tell you : goto the flock and fetch me two good
kids, and I will make of them savoury meat for
your father such as he loves, and you shall take
ittohim and have the blessing/' For Isaacwas so
blind that he could not tell one person from ano^
ther but by their voice or by touching them Jacob
said, " My brother is hairy and I am smooth ; if my
father feels me and finds out who I am, I shall get
his curse and not his blessing/' "The curse be on
me, my son/' said Rebekah ; " only do as I tell you
and fetch me the kids/' So he brought them, and
she made a dish of savoury meat* Then she took
clothes of Esau's that she kept in the house, and
made Jacob put them on, & covered his hands and
neck with the rough skins of the kids* When he
was dressed up, he took the dish to his father, with
bread and wine, and invited him to sit up and eat.
3*

Isaac asked, " Who arc you ?" and he said, " I am
Esau your first-born." Isaac said, " How are you
back so soon, my son? Come near, that I may
feel you, whether you be my very son Esau or
not/' Then Jacob went up to the bed; and Isaac
felt him, and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but
the hands are the hands of E sau ; are you my very
son Esau?" Jacob answered," lam;" thenhe was
satisfied, and sat up and ate, and then gave Jacob
his blessing: and this was, that he should possess
the dew of heaven and the fatness of earth, and
have plentyof corn and wine, and be lord over his
brethren* Then Jacob went away; and he was
hardly gone, when Esau came infromhishunting
withnis dish of savoury meat, and brought it in to
Isaac, saying," Rise and eat and bless me/' Then
Isaac trembled greatly, and cried, "I have given
my blessingalready, &now I cannot takeitback/'
w hen Esau heard this, he cried out aloud with a
bitter cry, " Bless me, even me also, O my father;
have you not kept a blessing for me ?" But Isaac
answered, " See, I have made him your lord, and
given him corn and wine; what shall I do now for
you, my son ?" Esau cried out again, " Have you
but one blessing, O my father ? Blessme, evenme
also/' Then Isaac blessed him also, as well as he
could; but all that he could give him was a dwell/
ing far from the fatness of earth and the dew of
heaven; and to live by the sword, and serve his
brother, yet not for ever*

d 33

CHAPTER XXVIL
THE ANGER OF ESAU.

HEN Esau, who once had cared
so little about his birthright, hated
Jacob for having stolen the bless^
ingof the first-born from him, and
thought with himself," When my
father is dead, and that will not be
long, I willkill Jacob/' Rebekah saw whatwas in
his mind, & determined that Jacob must go away
out of danger, till Esau's anger was spent & he had
forgotten his wrong* "And then/' she thought
with herself, " I will send & fetch him back again/'
Now Esau had married one of the daughters of
Heth from among the people of the land, and this
wasagrief of mind to both Isaac and Rebekah; so
she complained to Isaac that she was weary of her
life because of the daughters of Heth* "If Jacob
too were to marry another of them/' she said, " it
would break my heart; let us send him to Haran
to our kindred across the river, that he may take a
wifethere amonghisownpeople,as Iwas brought
to be your wife long ago/' Isaac agreed; and they
sent Jacob away quietly, going on foot and alone,
to the house of his uncle in Haran* But Rebekah
never saw him again, for she died before he came
back*

34

CHAPTER XXVIIL
JACOB'S LADDER.

JACOB travelled all day, till the
1 sunhadset&it grew dark; then,as
there was no place of shelter near,
he wrapped himself in his cloak
and lay down in the field, putting
I astoneunder hisheadfor apillow,
and so fell asleep under the open night* As he slept
he dreamed, and in his dream he saw a ladder set
up with its foot on earth and its top reaching to
heaven, and the angels of God went up and down
on it* Above it God himself stood, & in his dream
Jacob heard God say," This land on which you lie
shall be given to you and to your children, who
shall be as many as the dust of the earth ; and I my
selfwillbewith you & keep you in all places where
you go, and in the end I will bring you back to rest
in this land" Then Jacob awoke out of his sleep
& said to himself, " Surely the Lord is in this place,
and I knew it not" ; and he saw the darkness and
the stars, and was afraid, and said, H How dreads
ful is this place! this is none other but the house
of God, & this is the gate of heaven*" Early with
dawn he rose, and taking the stone that his head
had lain on, set it up on end for a pillar ofmcmo/
rial, and made a vow that if God kept him safely
and gave him bread and clothing andbroughthim
backatlastinpeacetohishome,that stone should
d2 35

be the place of God's house* So the place of Jacob's
dream was afterwards called Bethel, the House
of God*

CHAPTER XXIX*
THE FAIR SHEPHERDESS.

JACOB went on his journey and
I crossed the river & came at last to
the land of the people of the east*
I There he saw a well in the field
I covered with a great stone, & three
(flocks of sheep lying by it; for it
was the well out of which they watered the flocks*
He went up to the shepherds & gave them greet'
ing, asking whence they were, and if they knew
Laban the son of Nahor* They answered, "We
are shepherds of Haran,andwe know Laban* He
is well; & see, there is his daughter Rachel coming
with her flock of sheep " Jacob said, " Lo,it is yet
high day, and it is not time to fold the cattle; water
your sheep, & go and feed them/' They answered,
" We are only waiting for Rachel & her flock, that
when she comes, we may roll the stone from the
well's mouth and water all the flocks together,
and drive them afield*" With that Rachel the fair
shepherdess came up, leading her flock; & Jacob
kissed her, and lifted up his voice and wept, and
told her that he was her cousin, Rebekah's son*
Rachel ran home and told her father Laban, who

36

came out and embraced Jacob and brought him
in ; and when Jacob had told all his story, he lived
there & kept Laban' s flocks in the land of the east.

CHAPTER XXX.

THE SISTERS-
FTERamonth'stime,Labansaid
to Jacob, "You shall not serve me
for nothing, though you are my
kinsman; tell me, what shall your
wages be ?" Now Laban had two
daughters, Leah and Rachel, but
Rachel was the younger and fairer of thetwo, and
Jacob loved her ; therefore he said to Laban, " I will
serve you seven years for your daughter/' So he
stayed with Laban and served him seven years;
andthey seemed to him butafew days, forthelove
he had to Rachel* When the seven years were
finished, a feast was made to all the people of the
place, and at night Laban brought in the bride to
Jacob, covered with a veil* But the next morning
by daylight Jacob found that it was Leah, the cV
der sister, who had been given him instead of his
own fair maid Rachel. Hewent inangerto Laban,
saying, " What is this?" Then Laban said, " In
our country, the younger sister is never given in
marriage before the first-born; but if you will serve
me other seven years for Rachel, you may have
her as well/' Jacob could do no nothing better; so

37

he had both Laban' s daughters to wife, and kept
his flocks and herds for seven years more*

CHAPTER XXXL
LABAN'S FLOCKS.

Tthe end of the other seven years
Jacob wished to go back to his own
country; but Laban begged him to
stay, & asked him to name his own
wages and he should have them;
for the flocks and herds, which had
>een little before Jacob came, had increased into
a multitude since they were in his keeping* Jacob
agreed to stay, and for his hire he chose to have all
the speckled & spotted cattleandthebrown sheep
andthestripedgoats for his own; andsohe served
Laban six years more* But Jacob was so skilful a
herdsman that his own sheep and cattle increased
more than Laban's and were better and stronger
than the others; and so it remained, however they
divided them : so that at the end of six years La'
ban's sons complained that Jacob had taken away
all their wealth, and Laban himself was not so
friendly to him as before* Therefore Jacob made
a plan to be gone suddenly; and his wives took his
side, saying, " Since our father gave us to you, we
are become strangers here, & have no inheritance
in our father's house/'

38

CHAPTER XXXIL
THE FLIGHT FROM HARAN*

HE time of sheep/shearing came,
& Laban was gone to see after some
flocks that fed three days' journey
off* Then Jacob, taking his oppor/
tunity, gathered all his goods and
flocks and cattle, and mounted his
wives and children on camels, & crossing the river,
set forth in haste towards his own land* But Ra/
chel, unknown to Jacob, had stolen Laban's gods
and taken them away with her amongthe houses
hold stuff* The third day after, word came to La/
ban at his sheep/shearing that Jacob was fled*
He gathered his kinsmen and pursued him, and
at the end of seven days overtook him amongthe
mountains, and said, " What is this that you have
done, stealin g away from me unawares, & not tell/
ing me, that I might kiss my daughters and send
you on your way with music & singin g and mirth ?
This is a foolish thing to do; and but that God
warned me last night in a dream not to hurt you,
you are helpless in my hand* And if you must
needs be gone, why have you stolen my gods?"
Jacob answered, " I was afraid you would not let
your daughters go with me ; but I have stolen no/
thing of yours; I give you leave to search the camp
with your kinsmen/ Laban searched the tents,
but could find nothing* for Rachel had hidden his

39

gods under the saddle of a camel, and sat on it;
then Jacob in his turn was angry, & said to Laban,
"What wrong have I done ? \v hy have you pur/
sued me so hotly? Now let our kinsmen judge
between us* For twenty years I have served you
faithfully, fourteen years for your daughters, and
six for your cattle, in drought by day and frost
by night: you changed my wages ten times ; arid
now, had not God rebuked you yesternight, you ;
would have taken everything from me and sent
me away empty /' Then Laban said/ 1 Let us make
peace/' So they piled a great mound of stones for
a memorial, and swore to each other before God
that neither of them would ever pass that mound
to harm the other* Thereafter they feasted, and
early the next morning Laban rose and kissed his
daughters and blessed them, and returned into his
own land*

CHAPTER XXXIII*

THE ANGEL BY THE RIVER*

I AC OB went on his way, sending

messengers before him to Esau,

to ask his pardon; & when he lay

lat Penuel,by the ford of the river,

jthey came back, saying they had

I given Esau the message, and that

for answer he was coming himself to meet Jacob,

with four hundred men at his back* This news

40

fillcdjacob withterror*He prayed to God/' Keep
me now, O Lord, as thou hast kept me till now;
for I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies
thatthouhast shewnme since I crossed this brook
twenty year sago with nothing but the stafFinmy
hand/' Then he chose thebest of his sheep, goats,
camels, oxen & asses, and sent them on in separate
droves with a space between each* When Esau
met the first drove & asked the herdsman whose
it was and where it was going, he was to answer,
" It is a present to my lord Esau from his servant
Jacob/' The second herdsman, when Esau met
him, was to say the same,& the rest inlike manner;
for so, he thought, Esau might be pacified before
he met him* So these separate droves crossed the
river by the ford and went forward each in order,
and the rest of the camp followed, & late at night
he sent his wives and children across last of all*
But he remained alone on the other side of the
river; & there an angel wrestled with him all night
till the breaking of day* At dawn the angel said,
" Let me go, for daybreaks"; but Jacob answered,
" I will not let you go, except you bless me/' Then
the angel said to him, "As a prince you have had
power with God and with man, & have prevailed ;
and your name henceforth shall be no more Ja^
cob, but Israel, Prince of God/' Then Jacob said,
" What is your own name ?" The angel answered,
44 Do not ask me my name, for it is secret," and
passed away; & at sunrise, Jacob crossed the ford

4i

of Penuel, and found that he went lame where the
angel had touched him on the hollow of the thigh
as they wrestled by night*

CHAPTER XXXIV.

JACOB'S HOME-COMING,

HEN Jacob looked forth and saw
Esau coming with his four hun^
dred men, & went on alone in front
l of the others to meet him, bowing
[down to the ground before him
i seven times as he came near* But
Esau ran and embraced Jacob and fell on his neck
and kissed him, and they both wept* Then Esau
asked, " What is the meaning of all the droves I
met on my way?" "To find me grace in the sight
of my lord," said Jacob; and Esau answered, "I
have enough, my brother; keep them/' Then
Esau said," Letus go on together, and I will travel
with you"; but Jacob excused himself, saying,
" My lord, you see that I have children and flocks
with me, and I must not overdrive the flocks or
tire the little children; let me follow you softly at
my own pace." So Esau, after offering Jacob some
of his men for a guard, turned & went back home
as he had come; and when he was gone, Jacob
followed slowly by little journeys* On his way he
came to Bethel, where he had dreamed of the lad/
der; and there he built an altar, and God came
42

down to him and blessed him and went up again
into heaven* As they journeyed on from Bethel,
Rachel died near Bethlehem among the conv
fields, leaving a newlyborn baby, the last of Ja^
cob's children, who was called Benjamin; and
they buried her there by the wayside, and set a
pillar over her grave* So at last Jacob came to his
old father Isaac at Hebron ; & not long afterwards
Isaac died, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried
him* Thereafter Esau and Jacob parted, because
they had so many cattle that one land had not
pasture enough for them both* Esau went south
toward the desert and lived in the mountains; but
Jacob and his twelve sons stayed at Hebron*

CHAPTER XXXV*

THE COAT OF MANY COLOURS*

JACOB'S favourite among his
] children was Joseph, the elder son
J of his dear dead Rachel; for her
[younger son Benjamin was still a
[little child* Jacob made Joseph a
,^_^^~— ^^ j coat of many colours, & loved him
the best ; & because of this his other brothers hated
him* When Joseph was a boy he had a dream, &
his dream was this * that he and his brothers were
binding sheaves in the cornfield, when his sheaf
rose & stood upright, and their sheaves setthenv
selves round about and bowed before his sheaf*

43

Afterwards he dreamed again ; and this dream was
that thesun&the moon and the eleven stars came
and bowed down before him* WTien he told these
dreams to his father and brothers, his father chid
him, & said, "What foolish dream is this ? Shall I
and your mother and your eleven brothers bow
down to the earth before you? " but nevertheless
kept the dream in his mind* But his brothers hated
him more than they did before*

CHAPTER XXXVL
THE MIDIANITE MERCHANTS*

JOSEPH'S brothers were away
] feeding their flocks in Shechem,&
J Jacob sent him to them to see how
lthey all were, and bring him word
again* He went from Hebron to
iShechem and did not find them
there; butashe was wandering in search of them,
he met a man who told him he had heard them say
that they were going further off to Dothan, where
there was ahill with two fountains* Then Joseph
went on there, & found them feeding their flocks
on the hill* But when his brothers saw him far off,
coming over the fields in his coat of many colours,
their anger broke out, and they said to one ano^
ther," H ere comes the dreamer ; let us kill him and
throw him into a pit, and say that a wild beast has
devoured him; then we shall see what becomes
44

of his dreams/' They all agreed to this except
Reuben, the eldest of Jacob's sons, who pleaded
for his life, but he could not prevail on the others*
Then he said, " At least shed no blood; cast him
into a pitin the wilderness withoutfood or water,
and let him die there/' He proposed this plan to
save Joseph's life, meaning to come back alone to
the pit when the others were gone, and take him
out and send him back home* The rest agreed to
his plan; and when Joseph came, they seized him
and stripped offhis coat of many colours, and cast
him into an empty pit* Then Reuben went away,
and the rest sat down to eat* As they were eating,
they saw a troop of camels in the distance; and
presently a company of Midianite merchantmen
came up, who were on their road to Egypt with
tneir camels laden with spicery* Then some one
proposed that instead of leaving Joseph to die in
the pit to no profit, they should sell him for a slave
to the merchants, and so be rid of him; and they
all agreed to this; so they drew him up out of the
pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver, & the
merchants took him away* W hen Reuben came
backtothe pit and found Joseph gone, he rent his
clothes, not knowing what had become of him, &
cried," What shall I do ? forthe child is gone/' But
the rest had killed a kid and dipped Joseph's coat
in its blood, & tookitback to Jacob, saying, "We
found this lying in the field; is it your son's coat,
or not ? " Jacob knew the coat & believed that some

45

wild beast had devoured his son; and he tore his
clothes and put on sackcloth and mourned for him
many days, refusing to be comforted as long as he
should live*

CHAPTER XXXVIL

POTIPHAR'SWIFE*

HE Midianite merchants carried
Joseph into Egypt with them, and
sold him for a slave to Potiphar,
captain of the guards to Pharaoh
king of Egypt*SoheservedinPox
tiphar's household, and God was
with him, and he did all his work so well that after
a while he was made steward, and put in charge
over all thehouse.NowJoseph was very beautiful,
and his mistress, Potiphar's wife, cast her eyes on
him and would have had his love* But he refused to
be false to his master, & though she spoke to him
day by day, he would not listen to her, or be with
her* At last he went into the house on a day to do
his business, when there were none of the people
of the house indoors* She found him there alone,
and when all her words and wooing were in vain,
she caught hold of him by his garment; & he left
it in her hands and escaped away* Then her love
turned into hatred ; she called her servants, & said
to them, "This Hebrew slave has been brought
into the house to mock me; he came in now and

4 6

would have done me violence; but when I cried
out aloud, he fled & left his garment in my hand/'
When her husband came home she told the same
story to him; and he believed her, and put Joseph
into the king's prison; for he was governor of the
prison, and it was close by his house* But God
gave Joseph favour in the eyes of thekeeper of the
prison, who treated him kindly, and put him in
charge over the rest of the prisoners*

CHAPTER XXXVIIL
JOSEPH IN PRISON*

HILE Joseph was in prison, the
chief butler & the chief baker in the
palace of Pharaoh fell under suspi^
cion of plotting to poison their lord
the king, and were put in ward in
the same prison ; there they lay for
a while, & Joseph had charge of them along with
the rest of the prisoners* On one night each or them
dreamed a strange dream ; and when Joseph came
in to them in the morninghe found them both sad
because of their dream, and not able to interpret it*
44 Tell me what it was you dreamed/' he said ; and
the chief butler began :" In my dream," he said," I
thought a vine was before me, and on the vine
there were three branches; and it seemed to bud
and blossom, & ripe grapes came on it*The king's
cup was in my hand; and I plucked the grapes and

47

pressed them into the cup, and gave the cup into
the king's hand/' Then Joseph said, " The inters
pretation of your dream is this :The three branches
are three days; and within three days you shall be
restored to your office and give the cup into the
king's hand as before* But remember me, I pray
you, when it is well with you, & have me delivered
out of prison ; for I am here for no wrong that I
have done/' Then the chief baker, when he heard
the chief butler's dream so well interpreted, was
the readier to tell his own/' In my dream," he said,
44 1 thought I had three baskets of white bread on
my head ; and in the uppermost basket were all
sorts of pastry for the king's table; and the birds
came and ate them out of the basket upon my
head/' Joseph answered him, "Thethree baskets
are three days; within three days Pharaoh shall
take your office from you and hang you on a gal^
lows, & the birds shall eat your flesh there/' The
third day after this was Pharaoh's birthday, when
he made a feast to all his household; and on that .
day the chief butler and the chief baker wereboth
taken out of prison, & the chief butler was restored
to his place, to give the cup into the king's hand
as before, and the chief baker was hanged, just as
Joseph had foretold/Yet the chief butler did not re/
member Joseph, but forgot him; and he remained
in prison*

4 8

CHAPTER XXXIX.

KING PHARAOH'S DREAMS.

WO years afterwards, king Pha->
raoh dreamed a dream; and in his
dream he stood by the river, when
seven fat and goodly cows came up
out of it and fed in the meadow.
"Then after them came up seven
others, lean & ugly, and ate up the first seven; and
the king awoke* Then he fell asleep and dreamed
again, and in his dream seven ears of corn came
up on one stalk, plump and good; and after them
sprang up seven thin ears blasted with the east
wind; and the seven thin ears devoured the seven
full ears; and the king awoke out of his dream. In
the morning he was troubled, and sent for all the
magicians and wise men of Egypt and told them
his dream; but none of them could interpret it to
him. Then the chief butler remembered Joseph,
& told the king of his dream and the chief baker's
dream in prison, and how Joseph had interpreted
them both, and it had befallen as he had said.
Pharaoh sent for Joseph out of prison; and they
brought him out hastily, and he shaved and put
on clean clothes and came to the palace.Then the
king told him his two dreams, and Joseph inter/
preted them thus: "O king/' he said, " the seven
cows, & the seven ears of com that you saw, both
mean seven years (for the two dreams are one) ;
e 49

i*^

and God shews you by the dreams what is about
to befal in Egypt* Seven years of great plenty are
coming throughout all the land; and after them
shall be seven years of famine, so grievous that the
years of plenty shall be forgotten ;& the doubling
of the dream means that this is very certain, and
will shortly come to pass* Let Pharaoh therefore
look out a wise man and set him over the whole
land of Egypt, with officers under him every/
where, to gather the corn that is left over in tne
seven good years, and lay it lip in storehouses in
every city in Egypt ; ana so the people shall have
food through the seven years of famine that are
to follow/'

CHAPTER XL*

THE SEVEN YEARS OF PLENTY*

SHEN King Pharaoh was pleased,
and said to his servants, " w ho is
wiser than this young man him^
self, to whom God has shewn all
these things?" and with that he
took the ring from his own hand
and put it on Joseph's hand, and gave orders to
clothe him in fine linen & put a gold chain about
his neck, and made him ride in the second of the
royal chariots, next his own, with men going be^
fore him & crying to the people, " Bow the knee";
and he made him governor of all Egypt, to be
SO

above all men but the king, and married him to
a princess, the daughter of the priest of the tem^
pie of the Sun* Joseph was thirty years old when
he began to rule over Egypt* Seven years of great
plenty followed; and Joseph gathered corn and
put it In granaries in every city, till there was such
great store that he had to leave off keeping count
of it* Then followed seven years of dearth ; and
in all other lands there was famine, but in Egypt
there was plenty of bread* For Joseph opened his
granaries and sold the corn to the Egyptians, and
to the peoplewhocame for corn out of othercoun/
tries where there was famine* As the years of fa/
mine went on, the Egyptians sold all their cattle
and lands to the king for food, and became the
king's chattels, holding their land of him ; and the
king became owner of the whole land of Egypt*

CHAPTER XLL

THE FIRST JOURNEY TO EGYPT*

I H E years of famine were in the

land of Canaan also; but in the se^

I cond year Jacob heard that there

| was corn in Egypt, and told his

sons to go thither &buy bread* So

his ten sons went to buy corn in

E gypt ; but his youngest child Benjamin, Joseph's

full brother, stayed at home, lest any harm might

befal him on the journey* When the ten brothers

cz 51

came to Egypt, they took their places among the
crowd that came every day to buy corn of the go*
vernor, and when Joseph came out of his palace
they bo wed down to the ground before him J oseph
knew his brothers at once, and remembered the
dreams he had dreamed fifteen years before, when
he was a boy; but they did not know him; for he
was dressed as a great lord, and spoke to them in
Egyptian through an interpreter* When he saw
they did not know him, he made himself strange
& spoke roughly to them* "Whence come you ?"
he said; and they answered, "From the land of
Canaan to buy food, my lord/' "You are spies/'
said he* "Nay, my lord/' they said; "your ser^
vants are come to ouy food; we are all one man's
sons; we are true men and no spies/' " No," said
he again; "you are come to see the nakfcdness of
the land*" " My lord," they answered, " we were
twelve sons of one man in the land of Canaan, &
one brother is dead, and the youngest is at home
with our father*" But Joseph would not listen to
them, and put them all in prison for three days*
On the third day he called for them and said, " If
you are true men, you may go with the corn you
came to buy for your household; but you must
leave one brother in prison here, & bring me that
other youngest brother of whom you speak; so I
shall know if vour story is true*" At this they were
greatly troubled, and began to say to one another,
" This distress is come upon us because of our brc
52

ther Joseph when he cried to us for mercy and we
would not hear/' " Did I not plead with you in vain
for his life ?" said Reuben; u and now you see how
his blood is being required at our hands/' All this
while Joseph understood every word they said;
but they did not know it, for he spoke to them
in Egyptian through an interpreter* But Joseph
was so moved that he turned away and wept* .
Then he turned to them again, and passing over
Reuben, who was the eldest, he chose Simeon,
who was the next in age, to remain in prison, and
let the rest go ; and he ordered his steward to fill
their sacks with corn, and put back their money
into the sacks* So they started on their way home*
But at night, when they came to their inn, one of
them opened his sack to get out some corn, and
found his money lying in the sack's mouth* He
shewed it to his brothers, and their heart failed
them, for they did not know what to think of it*
So they went on their journey, and came to their
father, and told him all their story; and when they
emptied outtheir sacks of corn, there wasabundle
of money in each sack* But Jacob said bitterly to
them, "Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and
now you wish to take Benjamin from me too, and
bring my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave*"

53

CHAPTER XLIL
THE SEGONDJOURNEYTO EGYPT.

HE famine continued in the land;
and when the corn that Joseph's
brothers had brought with them
from Egypt was all done, Jacob
told them to go again and buy some
more food* But they said that un/
less they took Benjamin with them it would be
useless to go, for the governor would not so much
as see them* " Why did you tell him you had a
brother at all?" Jacob said; and they answered,
44 He asked us closely about our home & kindred,
& we told him; how could we know that he would
tell us to bring our brother to him ? " And Judah
went on, and said : " Send the lad with me, and let
us go, that we may all live, and not die; I will be
surety for him; if we had not lingered, we might
have been there & back now/' At last Jacob con/
sented* "Take Benjamin and go/' he said, "and
carry with you a present of the fruits of the land
for the governor, balm & honey, spices & nuts and
almonds; and take back the money that you found
in your sacks, as well as fresh money to buy more
corn with; &may God Almighty give you mercy
before the man, that he may let both Simeon and
Benjamin go/' So they went again into Egypt*

54

CHAPTER XLIIL

THE DINNER IN JOSEPH'S HOUSE.

3H EN Joseph heard that they were
| come, he told his steward to bring
them in to his house, & have dinner
ready at noon* When they were
brought indoors, they were afraid
I that they would be charged with
having stolen the money they had found in their
sacks, & be sold for slaves* They took the money
to the steward, and told him how they had found
it in their sacks & could not guess how it had got
there j but he only said that they had paid him for
the corn and need not be afraid* Then he brought
Simeon out of prison to them, and they all went
into Joseph's house& washed, and gotready their
present for the governor; for the steward had told
them they were to dine with him* When Joseph
came in at noon, they brought him their present
and bowed down before him ; and he asked them
aftertheir father, and said, " Isthis your youngest
brother of whom you told me ? "But as he looked at
Benjamin, he could not refrain himself any longer,
and went away hastily into his own room & wept*
Thenhe washed his face and came outagainj and
dinner was served for Joseph at a high table by
himself,and forthe Egyptians of his household at
another, and for the brothers at a third ; and what
made them wondermostwasthatthey were made

55 .

to sit exactly in the order of their age* Joseph sent
dishes to them from his table, but Benjamin's dish
was five times as much as any of the rest; & they
ate and drank and were merry*

CHAPTER XLIV*

THE SILVER CUR

FTER dinner, Joseph said to his
steward, " Fill their sacks with corn,
as much as they can carry, and put
my silver cup in the mouth .of the
sack of the youngest, & send them
laway as soonasitislightto^morrow
morning/' So they started at daybreak; but be
forethey were far out of the city the steward came
riding after them and charged them with having
stolen his master's cup* They said, "We know
nothing ofit; if the cup is found amongus.jve will
all become the governor's slaves, and the one on
whom it is found shall be put to death/'" No,"he
said; "notthe innocent for the guilty ;heon whom
the cup is found shall be my slave, and the rest of
you go free/' Then they unloadedall their sacks &
opened them, and he searched them through, be
ginning with the eldest, and going down to the
youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's
sack* The steward seized Benjamin; and the rest
loaded their asses again and returned with him in
grief to the city* They found Joseph in his house,
56

and fell on the ground before him* If What deed is
this that you have done?" he said* Judah answered,
" What shall we say unto my lord ? how can we
clear ourselves? God has found out our iniquity,
and weareallmy lord's slaves/' "God forbid," Jo^
seph answered; "the man on whom the cup was
found shall be my slave; butfor you, getyou gone
in peace to your father/' Then ) udah came near
and spoke to Joseph thus*

CHAPTER XLV*
JUDAH'S PLEADING*

MY lord," said Judah, "let thy
servant, I pray thee, speak a word
in my lord's ears, and let not thine
anger burn againstthy servant; for
thou art even as Pharaoh* My lord
_ asked his servants, saying: Have
ou a father, or a brother? &we said unto my lord,
" e have a father, an old man,- and a child of his
old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, & he
alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him*
Then thou saidst unto thy servants : Bring him
to me, that I may set .mine eyes upon him; and we
said unto my lord; Thelad cannot leave his father ;
for if he should leave his father, his father would
die* And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except
your youngest brother come with you, you shall
see my face no more; & when we went back to thy

57

servant our father, we told him the words of my
lord* Then our father said: Go again, and buy us
a little food; and we said: We cannot go; if our
youngest brother be with us, then we will go; for
we may not see the man's face except our youngest
brother be with us* And thy servant my father
said to us: You know that my wife bore me two
sons, and the one went out from me, and I said,
Surely he is torn in pieces ; and I saw him not since;
and if you take this other also from me and mis^
chief befal him, you will bring down my grey hairs
with sorrow to the. grave* Now, therefore, when
I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not
with us, he will die, and thy servants shall bring
down the grey hairs of thy servant our father with
sorrow to the grave: for tny servant became surety
for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him
not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my
father for ever* Now, therefore, I pray thee, let thy
servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my
lord, and let the lad go up with his brethren; for
how shall I go to my father, and the lad be not with
me?lest I see theevil that shall come on my father/'

58

CHAPTER XLVL

THE MERCY OF JOSEPH.

JOSEPH could bear no more; he
1 called out hastily for every one to
leave the room, and as soon as he
was left alone with his brothers he
wept aloud, so that the E gyptians
I outside heard it, & said to his bro/
thers in their own language, " I am Joseph." They
were so' frightened that they could not speak; he
told them to come near him, and said again, " I am
Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt,
Do not be grieved nor angry with yourselves that
you sold me hither; for God sent me here before
you, that I might save your lives ; and he has made
me lord of Pharaoh's house and ruler throughout
all Egypt* Hasten back now to our father and bid
him come here with all his household, and I will
keep him; for there are still five more years of fa^
mine to come. Tell him of all my glory in Egypt,
and bring him hitherto me/' The news quickly
came to Pharaoh's palace; the king was pleased,
and said, u Let Joseph's father come at once, & he
shall have thebest of the land of E gypt" Then the
brothers went joyfully home, taking with them
waggons from Egypt to carry their household
stuff, and twenty asses laden with bread and meat
and good things for their father by the way* When
they came back to Jacob and told him that Joseph

59

was alive and was governor of Egypt, his heart
fainted, for he could not believe it; but when he
saw the waggons that Joseph had sent* and heard
all that he had said, he revived, and said, " It is
enough; Joseph my son is yet alive; I will go and
see him before I die/'

CHAPTER XLVIL
THE THIRD JOURNEYTO EGYPT.

55H EN Jacob took his journey with
his whole household, between six^
ty and seventy persons in all; and
when he had come to the border of
Canaan, God spoketohim in avi^
sion by night, saying/ 4 Do not fear
to go into Egypt; for there I will make your chil/
dren a great nation, and bring them again thence/'
So he travelled on across the desert to Egypt, and
Judah went on before to tell J oseph, who drove out
in his chariot to meet his father, & fell on his neck
and weptagood while; andjacob said, " Now let
me die, since I have seen vour face/' Then Joseph
wenttothekingandtoldhimthathis father andall
his household were come; and he presented them
to the king, who received them kindly and told Jo/
seph to choose the best of the land for them to
dwell in, and appoint some of them (fortheywere
all shepherds) to be keepers of the royal flocks*
Joseph made them live in the land of Goshen, be^
60

twecn the river and the desert, where there was
good pasture, and gave them bread through the
rest of the years of famine; and they prospered &
increased*

CHAPTER XLVIIL

THE GRANDCHILDREN.

HEN Jacob felt the time of his
[ death draw near, he called Joseph
to him and said, " Promise me, as
I you are kind and true, not to bury
► me in E gypt, but to take me home
gj &bury me with my fathers"} and
Joseph promised* Not long after, a message came
to Joseph that his father was sick, & he went to see
him, taking his two boys, Manasseh& Ephraim,
with him* Then Jacob gathered his strength and
sat up in bed, and said to Joseph, "When God
Almighty appeared to me at Bethel and blessed
me, he promised the land of Canaan to me and to
my children for even Now your two sons shall
each have a full share in it as if they were my own
children/' Then his mind wandered back to old
days/' And as for me," he said, "when I was coming
home, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan
on the way, when there was yet but a little way
to come to Bethlehem ; and I buried her there by
theroadofBethlehem";andhelookedatJoseph's
sons and said, "Who are these?" Joseph said to

61

him/ 4 These are my sons, whom God has given
me in this place/' Then Jacob said, " Bring them
to me, and I will bless them/' Joseph took them
both and brought them close, holding Manasseh,
the first-born, in his lefthand towards Jacob'sright
hand,& Ephraim, the younger, in his right hand
towards Jacob's left hand* But Jacob crossed his
hands, and laid his right hand on Ephraim's head,
and his left on Manasseh's* Then Joseph, thinks
ing he mistook the two boys, would have taken
his father's right hand, to remove it to Manasseh's
head from Ephraim's, saying,"Not so, my father,
this is the first-born/' But Jacob said, " I know,
my son, I know; he also shall become apeople, &
be great; but his younger brother shall be greater
than he/' Then he blessed them both, and said to
Joseph, " Behold, I die; but God shall be with you
& bringyou back again to theland of your fathers ;
and in that land I have given you a double portion
above your brothers/' Thereafter he called all his
sons together, and told them what should befal
them in the days to come, and blessed them, and
charged them to bury him, when he died, in the
cave in the field at Hebron, where Abraham and
Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah were buried, and
where he himself had buried his wife Leah; and
when he had made an end of what he had to say,
he died, and was gathered to his people*

62

CHAPTER XLIX*

THE MOURNING IN THE
MEADOW.

[OSEPH wept for his father and
I kissed him, & closed his eyes ; & he
I commanded that the body should
be embalmed; and they mourned
for him in Egypt for seventy day s*
i When the days of the mourning
were over, Joseph asked leave from the kingto go
and bury his father at Hebron as he had promised ;
and Pharaoh gave him leave* So Joseph and his
brothers bore him away, and the court of Pharaoh
and the princes of E gypt went with them on horses
back and in chariots, as far as the threshing-floor
in the meadow of the Egyptians, and there held a
great lamentation for seven days ; then the E gyp'
tians went back, and Jacob's sons carried his body-
to Hebron, and buried it in the cave in the field,
and returned to Egypt* After Jacob was dead,Jo^
seph's brothers were afraid that he might have
only spared themfortheir father's sake, and might
punish them now for their cruelty to him ; so they
came and fell down before him and prayed him to
forgive them* But Joseph wept for pity, and told
them to have no fear* H You did indeed devise evil
against me," he said, "but God meant it for good,
to save many people alive/' So Joseph lived in E/
gypt in great honour; and when he was old and

6 3

about to die, he told the children of Israel that
when the appointed time came, God would visit
them & lead them back out of Egypt to their own
land ; and he took an oath of them to carry his bones
with them when they went* So he died, and they
embalmed him, and put him in a coffin in Egypt;
and his brothers died, and all that generation*

CHAPTER L*

THE ARK OF BULRUSHES*

|H E children of Israel lived for a
longtimein Egypt, till thelanduras
filled with them; and new kings
reigned, and Joseph was forgotten*
At lastaking arose who oppressed
I the children of Israel, and set task'
masters over them to make them work in the brick'
fields and build cities for him, and made their lives
bitter with hard bondage* But the more they were
oppressed, the more they grew; therefore the king
gave orders that all their male children should be
thrown into the river as soon as they were born*
Now a man and his wife among the children of
Israel had a boy born to them; and the mother
kept her baby hidden for three months to save him
from the river; but when she could hide him no
longer, she made an ark of bulrushes, and putting
him in, laid him among the reeds by the river
brink; and his sister was set to watch a little way

6 4

ofE As the baby lay there among the reeds, the
King's daughter came down from the palace with
her maidens to bathe in the river, and saw the
ark lying among the reeds as she walked along
the river bank; she sent a maid to fetch it; and
when it was fetched and opened the baby was cry
ing inside, & she had pity on him* Then his sister
came up & asked her, u Princess, shall I go & find
awoman to nursethe baby for you ?" " Go," said
the princess; & she went and fetched her mother,
to whom the princess gave her own baby, & said,
44 Nurse this child for me/' The child lived and
throve, & when he was grown his mother brought
him back to the princess* She adopted him as her
son, and called him Moses, that is to say, Drawn
out of the river; and he was taught all the wisdom
of the Egyptians*

CHAPTERLL

THE EXILE IN THE DESERT*

IOSES went out from the palace

to look at the labours of his coun^

trymen, & saw one of them being

cruelly beaten by an Egyptian*He

looked this way and that, & seeing

no one else near, he killed the E^

yyptianand hid him in the sand*Thenextday,he

found two of the children of Israel quarrellingwith

one another, and rebuked the one who was in the

f 6 5

wrong; but the man turned on him and answered,
" Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do
you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian
yesterday ?" When Moses found that what he
had done was known, he was afraid that Pharaoh
might hear of it & put him to death ; so he fled away
from Egypt and escaped into the Arabian desert,
where he sat down by a well* As he sat there, the
seven daughters of Jethro, the prince of Midian,
brought their flocks to the well; & when they had
filled the watering^troughs, shepherds came and
would have driven them away; but Moses took
their part, and helped them to water their flocks.
When they came home their father asked them :
"How is it thatyou are back so soon to-day }"
They said, "An Egyptian stranger helped us, and
drew water for us/ Then he said, " And where is
he? why did you leave the man by the well? go
back, and ask him to come and eat bread with us/'
Sothey brought Moses to the tents; and he stayed
there, & afterwards married one of Jethro's dauglv
ters, and kept a flock in the desert*

66

CHAPTER LIL

THE BURNING BUSH.

[OSES led his flock round behind
1 the desert for pasture, & came with
it to Mount Horeb :& there he saw
a burning bush on the mountain,
all in a flame of fire and yet not con^
sumed* He turned aside to go near
and see, when a voice came to him out of the bush
and said, " Put off your shoes from off your feet,
for the place where you stand is holy ground/' So
he put offhis shoes, and stood barefoot; then God
spoke to him out of the burning bush, saying, "I
have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt &
heard their cry and known their sorrow; and I am
come down to deliver them* I am sure that the
king of Egypt will not let them go, no, not by a
mighty hand; but I will stretch out my arm, and
smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do
in the midst of i t ; go th erefore, and lead them out/'
Moses asked God/ 1 Give me a sign, that the peo^
pie may believe my message/' God said to him,
" What is that in your hand? "and he answered,
44 A rod/' Then God told him to throw the rod in
his hand upon the ground* When he did so, it be»
came a serpent, and he started back from it; but
when he put out his hand and caught it by the
tail, it became a rod in his hand again as it was at
first* Then Moses returned, and took his wife and
(z 67

children, and the wonderful rod in his hand, and
travelled back to Egypt* On the way he met his
brother Aaron, who had come to search for him
in the desert; and he kissed him, and told him the
words and signs of God; then they went together
among the children of Israel, who were making
bricks in Egypt to build cities for King Pharaoh,
and told them how their deliverance was at hand*

CHAPTER LIIL
THE TASKMASTERS*

FTER this, Moses and Aaron
went to King Pharaoh, and said,
" The Lord God of Israel bids you
let his people go that they may hold
a feast to him in the wilderness/'
But Pharaoh answered, "Who is
the Lord God, that I should obey him ? I know
him not, nor will I let Israel go* Get you to your
tasks, & do not hinder the people from working/'
The same day, he commanded his taskmasters
not to supply any more straw to the children of
Israel for making bricks* " Let them go & gather
it themselves," he said; " they are idle, therefore
they cry, Let us go and hold a feast to our God; let
more work belaid on them, andtheywillnotlisten
to vain talk*" So the children of Israel wereworse
treated than before, for they had to go on making
the full number of bricks for their daily task and to
68

gather straw as well, and were beaten if they fell
short; & they murmured against Moses & Aaron
for having led them into this trouble* Moses cried
to God, " Lord, why hast thou sent me ? thou hast
not delivered thy people at all;" & God answered
him, " Nowyou shall see what I will do ; I am the
Lord."

CHAPTER LIV.
THE TEN PLAGUES.

SBHEN God began to work great
signs and wonders in Egypt by the
hand of Moses and Aaron, & sent
hisplagues,oneafteranother,upon
Pharaoh and his people, to make
them let the children of Israel go.
For when Moses and Aaron had gone again to the
king, & he had refused to listen to them, they stood
on the brink of the river with the rod that turned
into a serpent in their hand, and stretched it out
over the river; and the water in the river and in all
the ponds & pools was turned into blood, and the
fish died and the water could not be drunk; this was
the first plague of E gypt* Then they stretched out
the rod over the waters a second time; and frogs
came up out of the water & covered all the land, so
that the houses & beds and ovens and dishes were
filled with them* But Pharaoh called his magi^
cians, & they too turned water into blood & made

6 9

frogs with their enchantments ; & he hardened his
heart against the two plagues of the water, and
would not let the people go/TThen Moses & Aaron
stretched out the rod overthedustof theland,and
a third plague came; for the dust became lice that
covered both men & beasts* Pharaoh's magicians
tried to do this, but could not; then they told him
that it was the work of God* But he was stubborn
and would not hear; therefore a fourth plague was
sent, swarms of flies that came into the land and
filled the houses; and then a fifth, which was a sore
sickness upon all the Egyptian sheep and cattle
and horses : yet Pharaoh's pride was not broken,
and he would not let the people go for the three
plagues of the earth* So a sixth plague was sent on
him; for Moses and Aaron took handfuls of ashes
of the furnace & sprinkled them towards heaven;
and it became a small dust in all the air over E gypt,
that made boils break out over man & beast* Then
a seventh plague followed; Mosies stretched forth
his rod towards heaven, and there came thunder
and lightning and hail, such as never was known
before or since in Egypt, and it destroyed the flax
and the barley, and beat down all the crops in the
fields & broke the trees* Again for the eighth time
Moses stretched forth his rod, andall that dayand
all night an east wind blew, & with the next morn^
ingitbroughtupacloud of locusts from across the
sea, that covered the land & devoured all thatthe
hail had left, so that there was not one green thing
70

left in Egypt : yet Pharaoh kept his pride. Then
oncemore,fortheninthtime t Mosesstretchedforth
his hand, and there was a thick darkness, darkness
that might be felt, over all Egypt for three days,
so that no man saw another, or dared to stir from
his place* But Pharaoh's heart was still hardened,
and he would not let the people go because of the
four plagues of the air* These nine plagues had
fallen on all Egypt, except where the children of
Israel were; so thatall thewhilethe children of I S'
rael had water & pasture and fair weather, & were
not vexed by frogs, or lice, or flies, and had no sick-'
ness on either man or beast* WTienaplague came,
Pharaoh would send for Moses and promisetolet
the people go if it were taken away ; but when it left
off, he hardened his heart again ; & after the ninth
plague of the three days' darkness, he told Moses
to be gone, and not to come in his sight any more,
or he would put him to death ; and Moses answers
ed him : H You say well ; you shall not see my face
again/ 1

CHAPTER LV*
THE PASSOVER*

gjHEN God said to Moses, "Rid
the people make ready to go; for
I myself will come down to-night
& bring yet one more plague upon
the Egyptians, & that shall be the
end*" Moses calledall the elders of

i

Israel together & said, " Make ready; gather your
households to/night,and in each household kill a
lamb and roast it, and sup off the roast meat with
unleavened bread and bitter herbs, each one of you
girt and shod and with staffin hand, as men who
are in haste to be gone; for at midnight God will
pass through Egypt and smite the Egyptians*
When you kill the lamb take a sprig of hyssop
and dip it in the blood, and shake it over the lintel
and posts of the doorway; and let no one go out at
the door till morning; for when the Destroyer goes
through the land to-night he will only pass over
the houses that have blood on the doors/'

CHAPTER LVL

THE PILLAR OF CLOUD AND FIRE.

HE children of Israel didas Moses
S commanded; and at midnight the
| Destruction of God went out and
slew all the first /born in Egypt,
from the first-born of Pharaoh that
sat on his throne to the first-born of
the slave behind the mill; & there was a great cry
in Egypt; for in every house there was one dead*
Pharaoh sent hastily for Moses and Aaron in the
dark of night and besought them to be gone; and
all the E gyptians, thinking themselves as good as
dead, were eager for them to go, & brought them
gold and silver and raiment to hasten them* So
72

that night before day broke the whole multitude
of thechildren of Israel were on their journey, with
their women and children and flocks and herds ;
and that day & the next they marched on as far as
the edge of the wilderness/They carried the bones
of Joseph with them in a coffin, as he had bidden
when he was dying, a hundred and fifty years be/
fore; & the angel of God went before themtolead
them on their journey, in a pillar of cloud by day
to shew them the way and a pillar of fire by night
to give them light*

CHAPTER LVIL

THE PASSAGE OFTHE RED SEA.

ROM the edge of the wilderness
the pillar of cloud & fire no longer
led them straight forward out of
Egypt, but wheeled to the right &
led them down between themoun/'
tains & the Red Sea, till they came
to where the cliffs ran out into the sea and left no
passage, & there they encamped on the sea^shore*
But when Pharaoh heard of the way they had
gone, he thought that they were shutin there, like
beasts in a trap, and that if he pursued them he
might fall on them and cut them in pieces or drive
them back to be slaves in Egypt; so he armed six
hundred chariots & a great host of horsemen, and
pursued them* When the Egyptian army came

73

in sight, the children of Israel were afraid, & cried
out that it was better to be slaves in Egypt than
to die in the wilderness* But Moses said," Do not
be afraid; for after to-day you shall never see the
Egyptians again; stand still, and see the salvation
of the Lord/' As night fell, the pillar of cloud & fire
removed from before their camp, and went behind
it, between them and the camp of the Egyptians,
so that it gave light to the children of Israel, but
was a cloud and darkness over the Egyptian army
and kept them from coming near. Then Moses
stretched out his rod over the sea, and the waters
were divided, and stood in heaps on each side of a
long lane of land ; & the children of Israel marched
into the midst of the sea upon dry ground with a
wall of waters on their right hand and a wall of
waters on their left* The E gyptian army passed in
after them under the cloud, going slowly because
they could not see their way ; and before dawn the
children of I srael had crossed over and were on land
on the other side, and the Egyptians were in the
middle of the sea/path, still wrapped in thick dark'
ness, and with the wall of waters to right and left*
Then God looked on the Egyptians through the
pillar of fire and cloud, and troubled their host,
and took off the wheels of their chariots; and they
turned confusedly and began to go backward* But
as morning broke, Moses stretched out his rod
over the sea again, & it returned to its place, covers
ing chariots and horsemen; and Pharaoh and all
his army were drowned in the Red Sea*

74

CHAPTER LVIIL

ANGELA BREAD.

HE children of Israel sang a song of
victory on the edgeof the Red Sea,
while the women danced and play>
ed on tambourines* Then they set
out on their march through the wiV
jderness* But after a few days they
began to be hungry and thirsty; for the food they
had brought with them out of Egypt was soon
done, and they had nothing to drink but the bitter
springs and wells of the desert: so thatthey began
to murmur against Moses & to wish themselves
back in Egypt, where they had sat by the cookings
pots and eaten their fill of bread* Then God sent
manna from heaven to feed them* Early in the
morning the glory of God shone in the pillar of
cloud, and when the dew that lay on the ground
was drunk up by the rising sun, they saw the face
of the ground covered with small round grains like
coriander^seed, coloured like spice, and tastinglike
cakes made with flour & honey-They gathered as
much of this as they could eat that day, and when
the sun grew hot, the rest melted away where it
lay on the ground* Every night the manna fell like
rain allround their camp, and every morning they
gathered their daily food, and ground it in mills
or pounded it in a mortar and made cakes of it;
and it did not keep till the next day* They called

75

it angels' bread, and they fed on ft for all the while
they were in the wilderness* Also ^hen they had
no water, Moses took the wonderful rod which
he had stretched out over the river of Egypt and
over the Red Sea, and struck a rock in the desert,
and water gushed out of the rock enough for all to
drink ; and this rock followed them and gave them
water in all their wanderings* So they journeyed
on through the wilderness, eatingangels' food day
by day, and drinking of the water from the rock
that followed them*

CHAPTER LIX*
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS*

O they went on their journey, and
three months after they had left
Egypt they came to Mount Sinai,
where God had spoken to Moses
out of the burning bush, and en^
camped on the plain below it for
three days* On the morning of the third day a
thick cloud came down and rested on the moun/
tain^top,&therewerethundersandlightningsand
alongloudtrumpet'blast outof the cloud; and the
whole mountain smoked and shook, and Goddc
scended on it in aflame of fire* Then out of the
middle of the cloud and thick darkness, among
thunderings& lightnings, the voice of God spoke
thus,&said:"I AMTHE LORDTHYGOD
76

WHO HAVE BROUGHT THEE OUT
OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, OUT OF
THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE. THOU
SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BE.
FOREME.THOUSHALTNOTMAKE
ANY GRAVEN IMAGE TO BOW
DOWN TO NOR SERVE. THOU
SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF
THE LORD THY GOD FALSELY. RE.
MEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO
KEEP IT HOLY. HONOUR THY FA.
THER AND THY MOTHER, THAT
THY DAYS MAY BE LONG UPON
THE LAND. THOU SHALT NOT
KILL. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT
ADULTERY. THOU SHALT NOT
STEAL. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR
FALSE WITNESS. THOU SHALT
NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR'S
HOUSE, NOR HIS WIFE, NOR HIS
SERVANT, NOR HIS OX, NOR HIS
ASS,NORANYTHINGTHATISHIS."
The voice of God spoke these words, and ceased.

77

CHAPTER LX,
THE TABLES OF STONE.

LL the people saw the lightnings
and felt the earth tremble, & heard
the thunder and the noise of the
trumpet, & the voice of God giving
% his ten commandments; and they
were afraid, and stood far off. But
Moses and Aaron, with seventy of the elders of
I srael, went up on to the mountain, and when they
had passed through the storm and darkness they
saw above them a pavement of sapphire^stone,
like the body of heaven in colour and clearness,
spread under the feet of God. Then Aaron and the
seventy elders went down again to the people; but
Moses went higher up to the mountain'top, and
the cloud covered him from the sight of the people
for forty days 8C forty nights. While he was there,
God gave him laws for the people; and when he
came down he brought with him two tables of
stone engraved with the writing of God.

CHAPTER LXI.

THE GOLDEN CALF.

UT while Moses was on the moun/
tain the people grew weary of wait*
ing for him; tillatlast they came all
together to Aaron, & said, " Make
us a god to lead us; forMoses is gone,
and no man knows what is become

ofhim/'Aarontoldthepeopleto takeoff their gold
rings, & lay them in aheap on the ground; then he
melted them down in a furnace & cast out of them
the figure of a golden calf, which the people set up
in the middle of the camp, and began to sing and
dance round it, crying," This is the God of Israel,
who brought us out of the land of Egypt/' That
very day Moses came down from the mountain
carrying the two stone tables of God* When he
came near the camp, and saw them dancing round
the golden calf, he was so angry that he threw the
tables down & broke them; then he came swiftly
into the camp and took the calf and ground it to
powder, and then sprinkled the powder into water
and made the people drink it* Then God called
him up into the mountain again, & there he wrote
the commandments of God on two new tables of
stone like the first/When he came down from the
mountain where he had spoken with God, his face
shone so that no one could look at him*

CHAPTER LXIL
THE TABERNACLE IN THE WIL,
DERNESS-
IHILE they stayed in Sinai, the
(children or Israel made a taber^
nacle to be God's house in their
camp, from a pattern that God had
shewn Moses on the mountain* It
I was built of wooden boards plated

79

with gold, and was hung with curtains of blue and
purple and scarlet; and the furniture in it was all
covered with gold plating, and the lamps & dishes
in it of pure gold* In this tabernacle the mercyvseat
of God was set between two golden cherubim that
spread out their wings over it from each side till
wingtouched wing above # The voice of God speaks
ing came from off the mercyvseat from between
the two cherubim ; andunder the mercyvseat was
an ark, in which were laid the two stone tables
written with the words of God*The ark was made
of acaeia^wood covered inside and out with golden
plates and with a rim of gold round the top; and
the mercyvseat and cherubim that stood on it were
of pure gold* Round the tabernacle was a square
courtyard fenced off with linen curtains hung on
silver rods* The whole tabernacle took to pieces,
so that they could carry it with them on waggons
as they made their journeys; and when they set it
up and laid the ark in it, the pillar of cloud & fire
settled down on it, and the glory of God filled it*
Aaron was appointed high priest of the taberna^
cle, and they made for him the holy oil of anoint*
ing, which was steeped in spices, myrrh and cnv
namon and calamus and cassia, and the holy robe
of blue and purple and scarlet inwoven with gold
thread and clasped at the shoulders with onyx^
stones*Overhisrobeheworeabreastplate set with
twelve precious stones engraved with the names
of the twelve tribes of Israel, and fastened on his
80

breast with twisted chains of pure gold; and the
skirtof hisrobewashung with pomegranates and
golden bells alternated, a bell and a pomegranate
and abell and a pomegranate all round about* As
long as the pillar of cloud and fire rested over the
tabernacle, the children of Israel remained in the
camp where they were ; but when it rose & moved
on, then two trumpeters blew an alarm upon silver
trumpets, and they broke up their camp, and fol/
lowed the cloud and the fire through the wilder^
ness* Day by day as the ark set forward, the peo^
pie sang," Riseup, Lord, and let thine enemiesbe
scattered, and let them that hate thee flee before
thee"; and night by night as it rested, they sang,
" Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of
Israel/'

CHAPTER LXIIL

THE TWELVE SPIES

flLL this while the children of Israel
were encamped below mount Si'
nai; but in the second month of the
second year after they came out of
Egypt they broke up their camp
in Sinai and took their journey
through the wilderness till they came to Kadesh,
on the southern border of the promised land*
There Moses chose twelve men, one from each
tribe, and sent them to spy out the land and bring
g 81

back word whether it were good or bad, and what
kind of people lived in it /They went and searched
the land, along and across, for forty days, and then
came back, bringing with them huge grapes and
figs and pomegranates, which were then just ripe*
Among the rest was one cluster of grapes so large
that one man could not carry it, and two men had
to carry it between them slung on a staff* They
shewed the fruits of the land to the people, & said,
"The land is a good land, flowing with milk and
honey, and full of cornfields and vineyards and
olive^orchards,andof fruits likethese; but the in*
habitants are very strong and fierce; they live in
great walled cities, & there are giants among them
before whom we seemed in our own sight like
grasshoppers, so that our hearts failed us for fear/'
Ten of the twelve spies said this, and frightened
the people; but the other two, Joshua and Caleb,
encouraged the people, and told them they need
not be afraid*

CHAPTER LXIV,
THE MURMURING IN THE WIL,
DERNESS.
HEN the people forgot all the
great deeds that God had done for
them,& the whole camp was full
of weeping & murmuring against
Moses and Aaron, and saying,
"Would God that we had died in

the land of Egypt ! or would God we had died in
this wilderness ! were it not better for us to return
to E gypt ? f f From that they broke into open rebels
lion, & were beginning to choose a captain to lead
them back to Egypt, when the glory of God shone
out at the door of the tabernacle, and the voice of
God spoke, saying that for their disobedience they
should wander for forty years in the wilderness un/
til they died there, and their children should enter
into their inheritance, &thatnoone of the grown
menamongthem, except Joshuaand Caleb only,
should ever see the promised land* The next day
the pillar of the cloud and fire rose and turned, &
led them back into the wilderness by the way of
the Red Sea*

CHAPTER LXV*

AARON'S ROD*

HEN the children of Israel re^
turned into the wilderness, three of
their princes, calledKorah, Dathan
& Abiram, made a mutiny against
Moses & Aaron, saying that they
had deceived the people with pro^
misesof a land flowing with milk and honey, and
now, because they could not keep their promise,
meant to kill the people in the desert* But the glory
shone out at the door of the tabernacle, and Moses
bade all the people stand awav ; and as Korah, Da^
than, and Abiram stood by their tents, the ground

g* 83

cleft asunder belowthem and theearth opened her
mouth and swallowed them all ve* Thereafter each
of the princes of Israel took his rod and laid it in
the tabernacle, and Aaron's rod was laid among
them* They were left there all night; and in the
morning, when they were taken out, the rest of
the rods were not changed, but Aaron's rod had
budded and blossomed with almond'flowers and
bore almonds,

CHAPTER LXVL
THE SERPENT OF BRASS.

jHILE the people wandered in the
1 wilderness as the cloud and fire led
I them, the time came for Aaron to
die; and he went up to the top of a
mountain, & there Moses took off
i his holy robes, and put them on
Eleazer, Aaron's son; for his other two sons, Na/
dab and Abihu, had died before this, when they
offered strange fire to the Lord in the wilderness ;
and Aaron died there on the mountain, & Moses
and Eleazer camedown again to the people* After'
wards they set out on their journey again, and the
people were discouraged, and murmured against
God* Then he sent fiery serpents into the camp,
who bit them, so that many of them died; & they
repented and came to Moses, prayinghim to take
the serpents away* Moses made a serpent of brass

8 4

and set it up on a pole in the camp, and any one
who was bitten had only to look at it, and he was
cured at once* This serpent of brass was laid up
among the treasures of the people for a long while
afterwards, till at last one of their kings broke it
in pieces,

CHAPTER LXVIL

THE VICTORIES IN THE WIL.
DERNESS*

jHEN the forty years of the wan/
J deringinthe wilderness were over,
| all the people who had been grown
j men when they left Egypt were
> dead, except Moses and Joshua &
Caleb, and the new generation of
their children set out again towards the land of
Canaan* On their way, they came down the valley
of Arnon to the border of the Amorites; and they
sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites
asking for passage through his land, & promising
not to hurt the fields or vineyards, or even to take
water from the wells without paving for it, but to
go along peaceably bythe king's highway till they
had passed through* But king Sihon refused, and
came out into the wilderness with all his people
to fight against them* They fought at Jahaz, and
the children of Israel conquered him and took all
his cities* When Sihon's neighbour, Og king of

85

Bashan, heard of this, he armed his people also,
and wentoutto fight with the children of Israel at
Edrei* Hewas one of the giants who were still left
in the earth, and was twice as tall as common men,
& had a bedstead of iron* Butthe children of Israel
overcame him and his army in battle, and took
the sixty walled cities in his kingdom, and pos/
sessed his land* Thus they became masters of all
the country up to the river Jordan; and they en/
camped in the plains of Moab near the river, wait/
ing their time to cross over; and from their camp
they could see the towers and palm/trees of the
city of Jericho opposite them*

CHAPTER LXVIII*

BALAAM'S ASS.

HEN Balak king of Moab saw
what had befallen the two kings
who had fought against Israel, he
was afraid to meet them in battle;
but he sent to a great magician cal/
led Balaam, who lived in themoun^
tains of the east, to come and curse Israel for him
and drive them out of his land* The king's mes/
sengers rode into the east till they came to Ba/
laam's house, which stood by a river in the moun/
tains* Helodged them for the night, andthe next
morning saddled his ass & set outtogoback with
them* As he rode along a narrow lane among the
86

vineyards with a wall on each side, he met an an^
gel, who was standing in the path with his drawn
sword in his hand* Balaam did not see the angel;
but the ass saw him, & swerved aside ; & when Ba^
laam struck her with his staff to make her go on,
she thrust herself to the wall and crushed Balaam's
foot against it* He struck her again and made her
go past on the other side* But the angel went back
a little & stood in a narrow place of the path where
therewasno room to pass on rightorleft; & when
the ass came up and saw him, she fell down on
the path under her master* Balaam, who still did
not see the angel, grew very angry, and struck her
a third time* Then the ass opened her mouth and
said, u What have I done, that you have struck me
these three times ?" Balaam said," You have made
a fool of me ; I wish I had a sword, that I might kill
you*" She answered, " You have ridden on me ever
since I was yours until to-day; have I ever done so
to you before?" " No," he said; and his eyes were
suddenly opened, and he saw the angel with his
drawn sword standing in the path, and fell down
on his face before him* Then the angel rebuked
Balaam for striking the ass, " For your journey is
evil in my eyes," he said ;" and if she had not turned
out of the way, I would have slain you and saved
her alive*" Balaam said, " I did not know, my lord ;
if it displease you, I will go back*" The angel an/
swered," You may go on now; but you must only
speak what God shall put in your mouth to say*

8 7

So they all went on ; and the king of Moab went
out to his border to meet Balaam, & brought him
home to the royal city *The next morning, the king
took Balaam up to a mountauvtop from which
they looked down on the camp of Israel* It lay in
the plain bythe river belowthem,&thelongrows
of tents were like avenues of trees planted by the
water,* and the king pointed to it and said to Ba^
laam, ff Curse Israel for me/' Then the Spirit of
God came upon Balaam; he fell into atrance with
his eyes open, and saw the vision of God; and m>
stead of cursing Israel he blessed them, & foretold
that they should grow greater and greater, and that
out of them should arise a Star & a Sceptre against
which no enchantments could prevail* So the king
of Moab sent Balaam awayin great anger,andhe
returned to his own land* But afterwards the Spirit
of God left him, and he went with the tribes of the
eastern desert to fight against Israel, & was killed
in battle*

CHAPTER LXIX*

THE HIDDEN GRAVE*

OD said to Moses in the plain of
Moab by Jordan, "The time is
come for you to die; you shall not
live to see the entry into the pro^
mised land, or to go over Jordan:
only from the top of the mountains

of Abarim I will shew you the land afar off*" So
Moses gathered thepeopletogether, & gavethem
his last counsel, and blessed them, and appointed
Joshua theson of Nun to be captain of the people
after him, & to lead them into the land of Canaan*
Then he went up alone to the mountain/top, and
from there God shewed him all the length and
breadth of the land, hill and valley and plain, the
fields and the cities, from Mount Lebanon to the
southern desert, and from the river to the great
sea*Whenhehad looked his fill, the glory of God
descended upon him and kissed him, and the kiss
ofGoddrewhis spiritup to Paradise; buthis body
was buriedbythefour archangels in a valley under
the mountain, where until this day no man knows
the place of his grave* H e was a hundred & twenty
years old when he died, yet his eye was not dim^
med nor his strength abated; and no such pro^
phet ever arose after him ; and all the children of
Israel mourned for him thirty days*

CHAPTER LXX-
THE SCARLET RIBBON*

HEN the mourning for Moses
was finished,Joshua prepared to
go over Jordan; but first of all he
sent two men across to spy out the
land secretly* They crossed the
river and came at evening to the

city of Jericho, which lay opposite the camp of
the children of I srael;& they looked over the to wn,
and lodged with a woman called Rahab, who had
ahouseonthe town wall* But some one sawthem
in the city, & brought word to the king of Jericho,
who sent men to Rahab' s house at night to seize
them and kill them* Rahab took the spies up to
the flat roof of the house and hid them under a
heap of flax that was spread out there to dry;
and when the king's men came and asked for
them she said, " There were two men here, but
they left when it grew dark, about the time of shut'
ting the city gate for the night; if you make haste
after them you will overtake them/' The king's
men went offin haste to set guards at the fords of
the river, and the town gates were shut after them
as they went out, that if the spies were still in the
city, they might not be able to escape* But Rahab
went up to the spies and told them how she had
saved their lives, and took an oath from them in
the name of their whole people to spare her and
all her family if the children of Israel took the city.
They swore to this ; then she let them down by a
rope from one of her windows on the town wall,
bidding them hide among the hills for three days
till the guards were taken off the fords; and they
gave herascarlet ribbon and told her to tie it in her
window, that her house might be known and no
harm come to it when the city were taken* Then
they stole off to the hills in the darkness, and hid
90

there till the search for them had been given up ;
and then they crossed the river again and returned
to Joshua and told him what they had seen and
heard in Jericho*

CHAPTER LXXL

THE CROSSING OF JORDAN.

HEN the children of Israel broke
up their camp and marched down
to the river, and in front of them
the priests went carrying the ark
of God*The river was in high flood
and over all its banks* But as soon
as the priests carrying the ark came to it and their
feet touched the edge, the water above them stood
still and rose up in a heap, and the water below
flowed away, and a dry passage was left, on which
all the people crossed over* The priests stood with
the ark in the middle of the river-bed till all had
passed; then they came up out of the river, and as
soon as they reached the other side the waters re
turned to their channel and filled and overflowed
all their banks asbefore.Joshuapicked out twelve
men to take twelve great stones from the place in
the river-bed where the priests had stood with the
ark, and the stones were carried up and laid on the
bank for a memorial, that when in times to come
children asked, "What do these twelve stones
mean ?"theirfathersmighttellthem," It was here

91

that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the
ark of the Lord when it passed over/' The next
morning, the manna on which the children of Is^
raelhad fed for forty years in the wilderness ceased;
and they fed on the corn and fruits of the land; for
it was harvest time* But one pot of manna was
kept in the tabernacle, that there might be a me/
mory of the angels' bread with which God had fed
his people in the wilderness*

CHAPTER LXXIL

THE WALLS OF JERICHO*

HE children of Israel encamped
all round Jericho, so that no man
could go out or in, and besieged it;
but the king of Jericho barred the
gates,&thoughthe was safe within
| the great stone wall of his city* As
Joshua was setting the army in array, he saw an
angel standing near him with a drawn sword in
his hand* He went up and asked him, " Are you
for us, or for our adversaries?" and the angel an^
swered, " I am captain of the Lord's host/' Joshua
fell on his face before him, saying/ 1 What saith
my lord to his servant?" and the angel told him
what he must do to take the city* Then Joshua
gave orders accordingly; and the children of Israel
marched round the city with the ark in the middle
of the host, and in front of the ark seven priests
92

blowing on seven trumpets of rams' horns; but
the people did not shout, or make any noise* The
next day they marched round Jericho again in the
same manner, and so every day for six days* On
the seventh day they rose early and marched round
the city seven times; and at the seventh time the
priests blew a long blast on their trumpets, and
all the host shouted a great shout; and with that
shout thewallof the city fell down flat,& the army
of Israel went up into Jericho, every man straight
before him, and took it, and destroyed it utterly*
But the two spies went to the house of Rahab,
where the scarlet ribbon was fastened in the win^
dow, and brought her away in safety to the camp
with her family and all she had*

CHAPTER LXXIII*

THE AMBASSADORS.

FTE R the taking ofjericho, great
fear fell upon all the kings & cities
of the land of Canaan, and some
ofthem sent to submitthemselves
to Joshua, while others prepared to

fight against him* But the people

of Gibeon persuaded the children of I srael to make
peace with them by this device* They took old
sacks on their asses, and old wine bottles split and
sewn up, and old clothes, and old patched shoes
on their feet, and dry mouldy bread, and came to

93

the camp of Israel, saying, "We are ambassadors
from a very* far country, who have heard the fame
of all that God has done for you in the land of E*
gypt, and are come to make alliance with you/'
Then they shewed their old worn shoes & clothes,
and their mouldy bread, and said, " These clothes
were new, and this bread was hot from the oven
when we left home, but they have grown old he*
cause of the length of our journey/' Then Joshua
made alliance with them. But a day or two after, he
found that they lived in one of the cities of Canaan,
quite close by ; & he could not touch them, because
he had sworn peace with them; but for their deceit
they were set to hew wood and draw water for the
people*

CHAPTER LXXIV,

THE STAYING OF THE SUN AND
MOON.

HEN the five kings of the Amo/

j rites who dwelt in the hill country

| of the south heard that the Gibeon*

ites had made peace with Joshua,

i they gathered a great army and

J besieged GibeomThe Gibeonites

sent messengers to Joshua to come quickly and
help them; and he set out at once and marched all
night, and in the morning fell on the camp of the
five kings before Gibeon and routed them and
94

pursued them down the hill to Beth^horon,till it
was near sunset* But when he saw the sun going
fast down, he cried out in the sight of all Israel,
"Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou,
moon, in the valley of Ajalon/' Then the moon
stayed from rising in the valley, & the sun stood
still over the city towers in the midst of heaven
about a whole day, till the children of Israel had
quite scattered their enemies* The five kings had
hidden in a cave, but were found there & dragged
out and hanged* Thereafter Joshua conquered
all the highlands and lowlands of the south, and
fought with seven kings, and overthrew them one
by one; & when all the kings of the north gathered
their armies by the waters of Merom, he fell on
them there and overthrew them all together; so
he conquered the whole land; and it was divided
among the twelve tribes of Israel for their inherits

ance*

CHAPTER LXXV-

THE DAYS OFTHE JUDGES-

HE children of Israel settled in the
| land of Canaan and lived there by
their tribes and families, tilling the
ground and pasturing their flocks;
they had no king over them, but
every man did as was right in his
own eyes. Only from time to time the nations

95

about them became powerful & oppressed them ;
and then judges rose up who delivered them from
their oppressors and gave the land rest* Such was
Ehud, who delivered them from Eglon king of
Moab, when he had overrun the land & possessed
the city of palm-trees; and Shamgar the son of
Anath, who killed six hundred Philistines at one
time with his oX'goad;&Jair,whohad thirty sons
that rode on thirty ass^colts and had thirty cities
on the hills; and Barak, and Gideon, ana Jeph/
thah, and Samson, of whom it is told thus*

CHAPTER LXXVL
THE IRON CHARIOTS*

INGJabin and Sisera his captain,
who lived in a castle in the forest,
oppressed Israel with a great army
and nine hundred chariots of iron ;
so that travellers went through by
ways,& the highways and villages
were left without people* At that time Deborah
the wife of Lapidoth was a prophetess in Israel, &
sat under a palm tree onamountain* She sent for
Barak the son of Abinoam to come to her out of
the north country; and when he came, she said,
if The Lord God of I srael commands you, Go and
draw toward Mount Tabor with ten thousand
men; & he will bring Sisera with his army and his
chariots to vou to the river Kishon, & deliver them
into your hand*" Barak answered, " I will go if
96

you will go with me, but not else"; and she said,
"Then I will go; but the journey shall not be to
your honour, for Sisera shall fall by the hand of a
woman/' Then they went up together to Mount
Tabor with ten thousand men at their feet, and
Sisera came out of the forest with his nine hundred
chariots of iron, and encamped on the plain below
by the river Kishon* There Barak and his ten
thousand men rushed down upon them from the
mountain, and the stars in their courses fought on
the side of Israel with thunder and tempest; the
river swelled into a fierce torrent & swept away the
iron chariots, and all Sisera's army was scattered
like dust*

CHAPTER LXXVIL

JAEL'S HAMMER.

HEN Sisera saw his army routed,
I he alighted from his chariot & fled
across the plain on foot and alone
till he came to where the tents of
Heber the Kenite werepitchedby
I a grove of oaks* The men were all
away in the fields; but Jael the wife of Heber came
out ofher tent to meet him, & bade him take refuge
with her* He went in with her into the tent, and
she covered him with a cloak, and brought him
milk to drink; so being very weary, he fell asleep*
Then as he slept, she took a tent^pin & a hammer,
h 97

and, going softly to him, struck the pin through
both his temples into the ground, & he died* Soon
after, Barak came up in pursuit* Jael went out to
him, saying, " Come, and I will shew you the man
whom you seek"; and when he went with her into
the tent, there Sisera lay dead* But in the castle in
theforest Sisera's mother sat longthatday looking
outather window over the gate, and cried through
thelattice, ii Why is his chariot so long in coming ? "

CHAPTER LXXVIIL

THE OAK IN OPHRAH*

FT ER this the land had peace, un*
til the Midianites gathered all the
children of the East, and came
swarming in like grasshoppers,
with their camels and tents* and
stripped all the land bare, so that
the people hid in the dens and caves of the moun/
tains for shelter, and cried to God to deliver them*
Then an angel came down and sat under an oak
in Ophrah, where Gideon the son of Joash was
threshing wheat by his winepress on the rock, &
said to him, " Go forth, and save Israel/' Gideon
answered him, "O my lord, how shall I save Is**
rael ? for my family is poor in Manasseh, & I am
theleastinmy father's house/' But the angelsaid,
" I will bewith you"; and he stretched out the rod
in his hand, and touched the rock* and fire rose up
9 8

out of it; and with that the angel vanished out of
sight* Then the Spirit of God came upon Gideon,
and he blew a trumpet and gathered the people
of the tribes around him, and encamped by a well
on the mountain/side with thirty two thousand
men ; but the host of the Midianites lay along in
the valley below and were like the sand by the
sea/side for multitude*

CHAPTER LXXIX.

GIDEON'S FLEECE-

JIDEON prayed to God to grant
him a sign that he was to save Is^
rael; and the sign he asked for was
I this : that if he left a fleece of wool on
I the threshing-floor all night, there
I should be dew on the fleece only, &
all the rest of the ground be dry* In the morning
it was so; for when he rose early, all the ground
was dry, but the fleece was wringing wet, & when
he squeezed it together, he wrung a bowlful of
water out of it* Then he prayed for another sign,
that it might be dry on the fleece and wet on all
the ground; and God gave him this also, for the
next morningthe ground was all wet with dew, &
only the fleece was dry*

1)2 99

CHAPTER LXXX*

THE CHOOSING OFTHE THREE
HUNDRED.

HEN the word of God came to
Gideon, saying/' The people with
youaretoomany;theymightboast
afterwards that their own strength
had won them victory* Proclaim
through the army that all who are
afraid may go home* ' So he made proclamation;
and twenty /two thousand of his men left him,
and ten thousand remained* But God said again,
f Still there are too many " Then Gideon brought
his ten thousand men down to the water to drink,
andthree hundred of them lapped thewaterin the
hollow of their hand, and all the rest went down
on their knees to drink; and he sent all the rest
away, and only kept the three hundred who lap/
ped the water in the hollow of their hand* When
Gideon was left with only three hundred men he
began to be afraid ; but Crod told him to go down
into the valley when it grew dark and listen to
what he should hear in the Midianite camp* At
nightfall he crept down the hill, and when he got
close to the camp he heard one of the soldiers who
had just waked out of a dream, telling it to his fel/
low; " I dreamed," he said, "that a cake of barley
bread tumbled into the camp and struck a tent
and overturned it, so that the tent lay flat along/*
100

When his fellow heard the dream he answered,
"This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon
the son of Joash,a man of Israel; for God has de^
livered Midian and all our host into his hand/'

CHAPTER LXXXL

THE TRUMPETS AT MIDNIGHT.

IHEN Gideonheardthisheclimlv
ed up again to his own camp, and
divided his three hundred men ins
to three companies, giving every
man a trumpet and an empty jar
I with a lighted lamp in it, and or/
dered them to spread out silently round the
enemy's camp; and when he gave the signal by
blowing his trumpet, all to blow their trumpets
together on every side of the camp, and cry," The
sword of the Lord and of Gideon/' So they went
silently down and surrounded the camp at mid**
night, just after the middle watch was set; and at
the signal they all broke their jars and held up their
lamps in one hand, and with the other they held
their trumpets and blew, and cried, *i The sword
of the Lord and of Gideon/' The Midianite army
were startled out of sleep, and rose and cried and
fled, and in the darkness they all turned their
swords against each other, till a hundred & twenty
thousand men that drew sword lay dead on the
ground.

CHAPTER LXXXIL

THE CHASE OF THE KINGS.

LL next day Gideon and his three
hundred men pursued the two
kings of Midian, who had fled
across Jordan into the desert with
about fifteen thousand men that
wereleftoftheirarmy*Ashepass**
ed through the cities of Succoth and Penuel he
asked for bread, for he had brought no food with
him, and his men were faint with hunger* But the
townspeople refused it, saying/' Arc the hands of
the kings of Midian in your hand, that we should
give you bread?" Gideon did not stop then, but
followed the track across the desert, and falling on
the Midianite camp by night, he scattered them
and took both their kings prisoners* Before the
sun was up he returned upon Succoth and Penuel,
and shewed them the captive kings; then he took
thorns and briars of the wilderness, and with them
he taught the men of Succoth, and he beat down
the tower of Penuel and slew the men of the city*
When he returned home from the chase of the
kings, the people came to him & asked him to be
king over them, because he had delivered them
from the hand of Midian* But he would not, and
went back to live in his own house, and died there
in a goodoldagejandforfortyyearsmorethe land
had peace*
102

CHAPTER LXXXIIL

THE STORY OF THE TREES WHO
WENT OUT TO CHOOSE A KING.

HEN Gideon died he left seventy
sons (for he had many wives) and
also one son called Abimelech,
whose mother was a woman of the
city of Shechem* After his father's
death Abimelech went to Shechem
to his mother's family & made friends with the
people of the town, who gave him money out of
their treasury* With this money he hired a band
of broken men & went to his father's house, and
there killed his seventy brothers upon one stone,
all except the youngest, called Jotham, who hid
himself and escaped* Then the men of Shechem
assembled & made Abimelech king* But Jotham
went to the top of the hill above Shechem and
there stood and cried to the people of the town:
44 Hear me,men of Shechem, that God may hear
you* Once upon a time, the trees went forth to
choose a king; & they said to the olive-tree, Reign
over us* But the olive-tree said to them, Should I
leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour
God & man, and go to be promoted over the trees ?
Then the trees said to the fig-tree, Come you, and
reign over us* Butthefig/treesaid to them, Should
I forsake my sweetness and myjjood fruit, and go
to be promoted over the trees ? Then the trees said

103

to the vine, Come you, and reign over us* But the
vine said to them, bhould I leave my wine, which
cheers God and man, and go to he promoted over
the trees ? Then all the trees said to the bramble *
Come you, and reign over us* And the bramble
said to the trees, If you choose me truly to beking
over you, then come and put your trust in my
shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble
& devour the cedars of Lebanon* Now look to it,
O men of Shechem, whether you have done well
by my father's house* My father fought for you,
and adventured his life far, & delivered you out of
the hand of Midian ; and you have risen up against
my father's house to-day, and have slain his sons,
threescore and ten persons,upon one stone,& have
made Abimelech, the son ofhismaidservant,king*
If you have dealt truly with my father's house to^
day, then rejoice in Abimelech and let him also
rej oice in you j but if not, let fire come out from each
of you and destroy the other*"

CHAPTER LXXXIV*

THE TOWER OF THISBE*

HEN Jotham had spoken thus
from the hill, he ran away and hid
himself, and Abimelech reigned
over Israel* But soon the men of
Shechem quarrelled with him, &
when he was away, they began to

fortify their city against him; and the men of the
city of Thisbe joined them, & did likewise* Then
the captain whom Abimelech had left in Shech em
sent to him secretly, bidding him come by night
and lie in wait outside the city in four companies,
and set upon it in the morning as soon as the sun
was up* About sunrise next morning, the captain
of the men of Shechem stood in the city gate, and
saw one of the companies that were lying in wait
moving down from the hilL He said to Abime^
lech's captain, who was standing beside him,
H Who are those yonder?" and he laughed, and
answered, " You see the shadows of the hills as if
they weremen/' But presently more bands of men
began to appear, coming by the middle of the plain
and past the Wizards' Oak; then the men of She'
chem armed hastily and went out to battle ; & they
were beaten and cnased back into the city* They
gathered to make a stand in the tower of their
temple; but Abimelech sent men to cut boughs
from the forest, and heaped them round the tower
and set them on fire, and burned the tower and all
the people in it* Then Abimelech marched against
the city of Thisbe and took it, driving the men of
the city into their tower like the men of Shechem*
Butashecameuptothetowertosetfiretothedoor,
a woman on the top of the tower threw down a
millstone on him which struck him on the head
and killed him; and so the curse of Jotham came
on Abimelech, and on the men of Shechem*

105

CHAPTER LXXXV*

JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER.

1FTE RWARDS the children of
Ammon oppressed Israel* They
conquered the tribes that lived be^
J yondJordaninGilead*and crossed
over Jordan to make war against
the other tribes ; and the children of
Israel gathered to fight with them and encamped
in Mizpeh ; but they had no captain to lead them*
Now there was a mighty man then called Jeph'
thah* whom his brothers had thrust out of his in^
heritance after their father's death* becausehe was
the son of a strange woman; and he had gone to a
foreign country and become a great captain; so
the elders of the people sent for him* and made
him judge over Israel to lead them in battle against
the children of Ammon* Jephthah came to the
camp at Mizpeh* and sent messengers to the king
of Ammon bidding him go back into his own
country; but he would not* and so the two armies
prepared for battle* Before they met* Jephthah
made a vow that if he conquered the enemy he
would offer in sacrifice whatever first came out of
the door of his house to meet him on his return*
Then he joined battle, and smote the children of
Ammon with great slaughter from Aroer to Min^
nith,and took twenty of their cities* But when he
returned from the battle to his house at Mizpeh*
io6

his daughter, who was his only child, came out to
welcome him, dancing to music ; and when he saw
her, he rent his clothes, and cried out, " Alas ! my
daughter/' But she said, " Let me die, since my
people have taken vengeance on the children of
Ammon ; only let me go up & down on the moun/
tains for two months with my companions to be^
wail myself/' So she went to the mountains with
her companions, & at the end of two months she
returned to her father, and he did with her accord'
ing to his vow*

CHAPTER LXXXVL

THE LION IN THE VINEYARDS.

JFTERWARDS the children of
Israel were oppressed by the Phi'
listines; and an angel appeared to
awoman of Israel, the wifeof Ma/
noah of Zorah, and told her that
she should bear a son who would
deliver the people* She told this to her husband,
and he prayed to God: "O Lord, let thine angel
come again to us to tell us how we shall bring up
the child who shall beborn/'Then the angel came
again and told them what they were to do, and
that the child's hair was never to be cut, for his
strength would be in it, and by his strength he
would do great deeds* Then Manoah offered sa^
crifice upon a rock, and when the flame went up

107

from the sacrifice, the angel went up into heaven
with the flame* Afterwards they had a son born,
whom they called Samson; as he grew up he be/
came stronger than all other men; & his strength
layinhislonguncuthair*Onaday,ashe was going
through the vineyards, a lion roared at him; he had
no weapon in his hand, but he sprang on the lion
and tore him with his naked hands as if he had
been a kid, and then went on his way and said nor-
thing about it* After a while he was going to be
married at Timnath & passed by the place where
he had killed the lion* He turned aside to look at
the dead lion, and found that a swarm of bees had
made their honey in the dry carcase : and he took
outapiece of the honeycomb and ateitas he went
along*

CHAPTER LXXXVII*

SAMSON'S RIDDLE*

IH E N Samson came to Timnath,
(the marriage feast was made, and
thirtyof his companions were there
as guests* At the feast they asked
riddles ; & Samson said to his com/
Ipanions, "I will ask you a riddle,
and if you can tell me the answer before the seven
days of the feast are over, I will give each of you
a sheet and a change of garments; but if you
cannot guess it, you shall give me thirty sheets
108

and thirty changes of garments/' They all said,
"Put forth your riddle/' Then he said, "Out of
the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong
came forth sweetness/' They could not guess the
riddle ; and at last when it was the seventh day they
went to the bride & said to her, "You must make
Samson tell you the answer, and let us know it,
or we will burn your father's house/' She went to
Samson and burst into tears, saying, "You do not
love me if you will not tell me the answer to your
riddle/' For a while he would not tell her, but at
last she wearied him into tellingher ; then she went
away and told his thirty companions, and just be^
fore sunset they came to Samson, & said," What
is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than
alion?" He answered, " If you had not ploughed
with myheifer,youwouldnothave found out my
riddle"; and went away to the country of the Phi'
listines, who were at war with Israel, and there
killed thirty men in battle and brought back their
garments, & gave them to his companions; then
he broke off his marriage and went back in anger
to his father's house; but the bride was given in
marriage to one of his thirty companions*

109

CHAPTER LXXXVIIL

THE GATES OF GAZA.

lAMSONhad set fire to the standi
ing corn of the Philistines & gone
to live on the top of a rock; and the
Philistines sent out armed men to
take him* The men of Judah pre
mised to give him up, if the Phi'
listines would make peace with them; so they
climbed up to the rock and found him there, and
said to him, "What is this you have done to the
Philistines?" He said, " I have only doneto them
as they have done to me/' They said, " We have
come to bind you and give you up to them/' He
answered, " Very well; only swear to me that you
will not kill me yourselves/' They swore to this,
and then he let them disarm him and bind him
with two new cords, & bring him down from the
rock* But when he came to the Philistines, he
snapped the cords like threads of flax, and caught
up the jawbone of an ass that lay on theground
and killed a thousand Philistines with it* Then he
went to the city of Gaza, and the men of the city,
when they knew that he was there, barred their
gates and kept quiet all night, intending to search
for him & kill him as soon as it was daylight* But
at midnight he rose and went to the gate, & find'
ing it locked, he wrenched the gates off, with the
gate-posts and bar, and went away carrying them
no

on his shoulder, and left them on the top of a hill
outside the city on the road to Hebron*

CHAPTER LXXXIX,

THE STOLEN SECRET.

FTERWARDS Samson loved
a woman called Delilah, who lived
in the valley of the vineyards; and
the five lords of the Philistines
bribed her with eleven hundred
1 pieces of silver to entice him to tell
her the secret of his great strength^that they might
take him* So she asked him, & he told her: "If I
were bound with seven green withies that were
never dried, my strength would leave me/' Then
the lords of the Philistines brought her seven green
withies and set men to lie in wait in the chamber;
and she bound him while he slept, SC cried, "The
Philistines are upon you, Samson/' At the cry he
started up, & the withies broke like a thread when
it touches the fire; so the secret of his strength
was not known* Then Delilah said to him, "You
have mocked me and told me lies; tell me now
truly with what you maybe bound"; and he said,
" If they bind me with new ropes that have never
been used, I shall be weak like another man/' So
the Philistines set men to lie in wait again, and
she bound him with new ropes, and cried out,
" The Philistines are upon you, Samson " But he

rose and broke the ropesoffhisarmslikeathread*
Then she asked him again to tell her truly; and he
told her to weave the seven locks of his hair into
the web on the loom* But when she did so as he
lay asleep, and cried out to him, he awoke and tore
the pin out of the beam & went away carrying the
web* At last she said to him* " How can you say
you love me, when you will not tell me yoursecret,
and have mocked me & told me lies three times ?"
and she wearied him and gave him no peace day
after day, till at last he told her the truth, that if
his hair were cut off, he would become as weak as
any other man* Then Delilah sent for the lords
of the Philistines to come once more; and they
came with the money in their hands & set armed
men to lie in wait in the chamber* Wiiile Samson
was asleep with his head in her lap, a man came in
and shaved off the seven locks of his head, and his
strength went from him* Then Delilah cried out,
"The Philistines are upon you, Samson "; and
he awoke and did not know what had been done
to him, but said, " I will go out as before, & shake
myself/' But the Philistines took him easily, and
put out his eyes and brought him to their city of
Gaza ; and there they bound him in fetters of brass
and set him to grind corn in the prison* But when
he was in prison his hair began to grow again, and
his strength to come back with it*

U2

CHAPTER XC
SAMSON'S REVENGE.

HE lords and people of the Phu
listines assembled at Gaza to hold
a great festival & rejoice over Sam^
son j and when they had feasted,
they sent for Samson out of prison
'to make sport for them* A boy led
him from the prison into the great hall where all
the lords and ladies sat below, and crowds of the
common people were outside on the roof looking
on* When Samson had made sport for them, he
said to the boy that led him, " Let me lean on the
pillars that bear up the house, and rest for a little/'
The boy guided him to the pillars and set him be
tween them ; & when he felt them in his hands he
called to God, and said, u O Lord God, remember
me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee,
only this once, O God, that I may be avenged of
the Philistines for my two eyes/' Then he took
hold of the two pillars with his two hands, and
crying out, " Let me die with the Philistines," he
bowed himself with all his might and tore the piV
lars away, and the house fell in upon himself and
the lords and the people, and crushed them all to
death ; so the dead whom Samson slew at his death
were more than all those whom he had slain in his
life*

i l 113

CHAPTER XCL
THE FAMINE AT BETHLEHEM.

N thedays of the Judges there was
afamineintheland of Israel; anda
man of Bethlehem in Judah, with
his wife Naomi and their two sons,
because food was scarce at home,
left his plot of land there and went
to live in the country of Moab* There he died, &
his two sons married two women of Moab called
Orpah and Ruth* When they had lived there for
about ten years, the two sons both died also, one
afterthe other; and Naomi set out to return to her
own land again; for she had heard that God had
visited his people, and given them abundance of
bread*

CHAPTER XCIL

THE VOW OF RUTH* .

AOMPS twodaughters/in'law set

forthwith her on her journey; and

when they were gone a little way,

Naomi bade them turn & go back,

saying to them, "Go, return each

of you to her mother's house; may

the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt

with the dead and with me; may the Lord grant

you to find rest, each of you in the house of her hus^

114

band/' Then she kissed them, and they wept and
said to her, " Surely we will return with you to
your people/' But she answered, "Turn again,
my daughters ; for I can do nothing more for you ;
it grieves me most for your sake that the hand of
the Lordisheavy on me/' Then they wept again,
and Orpah kissed her & returned home* But Ruth
clung to her & said, " Entreat me not to leave you,
or to return from following you; for whither you
go I will go, & where you lodge I will lodge; your
people shall be my people and your God my God;
whereyou die will I die, and there will I be buried;
may God forget me if anything but death shall
ever part you and me/' When Naomi saw that
Ruth was fixed in her purpose, she said no more,
& they went on together until they came to Beth'
lehem*

CHAPTER XCIIL

THE GLEANER.

[ARLEY harvest was beginning

at Bethlehem; and Ruth said to

her mother'in4aw,"Let me go into

the fields and glean corn, wherever

they will allow me" ; and Naomi

said, "Go, my daughter/' So she

went and gleaned in the fields after the reapers ;

and as it chanced, she lighted on a field belonging

to a rich man called Boaz,akinsman of Naomi's

i 2 115

husband* WTiile she gleaned behind the reapers,
Boaz came out from Bethlehem, and gave greets
ing to his harvesters, saying, " The Lord be with
you"; and they answering, "TheLord bless you/'
wlien he saw Ruth among the gleaners, he said
to the servant who was in charge of his reapers,
44 Whose girl is that ?" and he answered," It is the
woman of Moab that has come back with Naomi
out of the country of Moab; she asked leave to
glean after thereapers among the sheaves, and she
has been at work from morning till now/' Then
Boaz went up to Ruth and said to her, " Do you
hear, my child ? do not go to glean in another field,
but keep here by my maidens; I have told the
young men not to annoy you; and when you are
thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink of what has
been drawn for the harvesters* I have heard of your
goodness to your mother-in-law ever since your
husband died, & how you left your own land and
kin to come here with her: may a full reward be
given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose
wings you are come to trust/' Ruth thanked him
and bowed to the ground before him, and so she
gleaned in his barley field all morning* When
dinner-time came, he told her to sit among the
reapers and eat and drink with them* Then she
rose up to glean again ; & Boaz told his men to let
her glean as close among the sheaves as she would,
and to let fall some of the handfuls on purpose
and leave them for her* So she was busy in the
116

field till evening, and then beat out what she had
gleaned* This came to about three measures of
barley, which she took up and carried home into
the town, and she told Naomi of her day's work,
and the name of the man in whose field she had
gleaned* Then Naomi said, "God bless him,be^
cause he has not failed in kindness to the living
and the dead; he is one of our nearest kinsmen/'
"He told me/' said Ruth, "to keep by his men
till they had ended their harvest"; and Naomi
said, "It is good, my daughter; go out with his
maidens, and do not be found in any other field/'
So Ruth gleaned every day among the maidens
of Boaz till the end of the harvest*

CHAPTER XCIV*

THE THRESHING-FLOOR IN THE
DARK.
IHEN Naomi said to Ruth, "My
] daughter, shall I not seek rest for
I you, that it maybe well with you ?
Boaz our kinsman is winnowing
I barley to-night on his threshings
I floor; go there at nightfall, & after
he has supped and lain down to sleep, go and lie
down at his feet, and for the rest, do as he tells you/'
So Ruth washed and dressed herself, and went out
at nightfall to the winnowing^floor* When it grew
dark, Boaz ate his supper, and went to lie down at

«7

the end of the heap of winnowed corn,& she came
softly and lay at his feet* In the middle of the night
he awoke and turned himself, & felt a woman lying
at his feet* H e said, " Who are you ?" and she said,
44 1 am Ruth your servant; spread your skirt over
me, for you are my near kinsman/' He answered,
44 God bless you, my child, for coming to me & not
going after young men, whether they were poor
or rich* But there is a nearer kinsman than I ; if
he will do his part, it is well; and if not, I will; lie
down till morning/' In the grey of the morning
he awoke her and made her hold her cloak, and
measured six measures of barley into it and sent
her home* Then Ruth told Naomi what hadhap^
pened, & she said to her, " Sit still, mv daughter,
till you know how things will befal; for the man
will not be at rest till he have finished the matter
this day/'

CHAPTER XCV*

THE KINSMEN*

HEN day broke Boaz went up

from his threshing-floor to the city

and sat down in the city gate, and

presently the kinsman of whom he

had spoken to Ruth came by; to

whom he said, " Ho, such a one!

turn aside and sit down here"; and he called ten

of the elders of the city, and they all sat down to**

118

gether in the gate* Then Boaz said to his kinsman,
44 Naomihas comebackfrom the country of Moab
andhasaplot of land to sell which belonged to her
husband j if you will buy it, let me know, for I am
next of kin after you/' The kinsman said, " I am
willing to buy it/' Then Boaz said, " Whoever
buys the land must also take with it Ruth the
Moabitess,her son's widow, to keep up the name
of the dead upon his inheritance/' The kinsman
said, " I cannot do that; do you buy the land and
take the woman/' Then Boaz said to the elders
and the people in the gate, " Bear witness that I
have bought the plot of land from Naomi; and
that with it I take Ruth to be my wife, that the
name of the dead may not be cut off from among
his brethren/' So Boaz married Ruth; and they
had a child, whom Naomi laid in her bosom and
nursed; and the women said to her, "This child
shall be a new life to you; for your daughter^in^
law, who is better to you than seven sons, has
borne him/'

CHAPTER XCVL
THE CHILD IN THE TEMPLE.

H E RE wasaman ofthehill^coun^
try, who had two wives, called
Hannah and Peninnah; and he
loved Hannah the best, but she had
no children, & Peninnah mocked
her* Every year he went up to work-
up

ship and make offerings at Shiloh, the house of
God's rest; and when he went, he took his two
wives with him. But Hannah fretted sorely be^
cause she hadnochildren,andwenttothe temple,
where Eli the high priest sat on the high seat by
the doorway, and there she wept and prayed in
an agony, so that Eli thought she was a drunken
woman and spoke sharply to her* But when she
told him how she was in great sorrow & was pour'
ing out her soul before God, he said to her, "Go
in peace; and may God grant you your petition
that you have asked of him/' So they went home
to the hillscountry ; and within a year afterwards
Hannah had a son, whom she called Samuel; and
when he was weaned, she took him up with her
to God's house in Shiloh and brought him to Eli,
and said, " My lord, I am the woman that stood
here praying to God; for this child I prayed, and
God has given him to me; therefore he shall be
given to the service of God for all his life/' So the
child stayed at Shiloh and served in the temple,
beingalittle child withalinen pinafore; and every
year his mother made him a little coat and brought
it up with her when she came to see him*

t20

CHAPTER XCVIL

THE VOICE BY NIGHT.

N those days the words of God

I were precious, andhe did not shew

himself openly ; for the sons of Eli

the high priest were wicked men

I who brought shame on the temple*

Eli was growing old, and his eyes

were dim; & Samuel slept at nights in the temple
before the ark* One night when Samuel had lain
down to sleep, but before the lamp that burned
before the ark had gone out, a voice called him by
his name* He thought that Eli had called him, and
cried, " Here I am," & ran to Eli* But Eli said, " I
did not call you; lie down again*" He went back
and lay down ; and again a voice called, " Samuel !"
H e rose a second time & went to Eli; but Eli said*
"I did not call you; lie down again"; so he went
back to bed* Then once more the voice in the dark
temple called, "Samuel!" and when he rose and
went to Eli the third time, Eliperceived that God
had called the child, & said to him, " Go, lie down ;
and if the voice calls you again, say, Speak, Lord,
for thy servant heareth*" So Samuel went andlay
down in his place, and God came and stood and
called," Samuel! Samuel!" Heanswered," Speak,
Lord, for thy servant heareth"; and God said,
" Because Eli's sons have given themselves up to
wickedness, and he has not restrained them, I will

121

send a judgment on his house which shall make
the ears of all who hear of it to tingle; & no sacri/
fice shall purge them ; for what I begin, that I end/'
When God had finished speaking to him, Samuel
lay still until morning, and then rose and opened
the doors of the temple as he did every morning;
but he was afraid to tell Eli of his vision, until Eli
called him, & asked him, " What is it that he has
saidtoyou?" Then Samuel told him ofit all, &hid
nothing from him; & he said, " It is the Lord; let
him do what seems him good/' But when Samuel
grew up, God continued with him, & he became
a prophet, and his words went through all Israel*

CHAPTER XCVIIL

THE ARK IN BATTLE.

H E children of Israel fought a/
gainst the Philistines, and were
beaten; therefore they sent for the
ark out of Shiloh to come to the
army and give them victory* Eli's
two sons brought the ark into the
camp, and when it came, all the people shouted a
greatshout, so thatthe earth rang again* The Phi/
listines heard it and wondered; and when they
learned that the ark was come into the camp, they
were mightily afraid, & said to one another, " God
is come into their camp ; woe unto us ! who shall
deliver us out of the hands of these mighty gods

122

that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in
the wilderness?" Yet they resolved todotheirbest,
saying to one another, " Quit yourselves like men,
and fight, O Philistines, that you may not beser^
vants to the men of Israel, as they have been to
you/' Then they joined battle; and the men of
Israel fled, and there was a great slaughter; & the
ark was taken by the Philistines, and both Eli's
sons were slain* A man ran out of the army and
came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent
and earth upon his head, telling the news, and a
great crying rose* Eli was sitting on a seat by the
roadside at the city gate, waiting for news of the
ark; he heard the crying, and asked, " What does
this noise mean? "The messenger came up to him
and said," I fled to-day out of the army*" Eli said,
"What has happened there, my son?" He an^
swered, "Israel is fled before the Philistines, and
there has been a great slaughter among the people ;
your two sons also are dead; and the ark of God is
taken " When Eli heard of the ark, he fell from
ofFhis seat backward by the side of the gate, dead*

1*3

CHAPTER XCIX*

THE TERROR OF THE ARK.

HE Philistines took the ark away
with them to their own city of Aslv
dod, & there th ey set it in the temple
of their God Dagon, & left it there
for the night* The next morning
when they opened the temple doors
Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before
the ark* They took him & set him up in his place
again, and left him; but themorningafter, hehad
fallen down on his face again before the ark, and
his head and both his hands were broken off& lay
upon the threshold* Then the people of Ashdod
were afraid, and called a council of the lords of the
Philistines, by whose advicetheark was sent away
toother cities, first to Gath,&thento Ekron; but
in each city where it stayed it brought plague and
sickness on the people ;& after seven months they
were afraid to keep it among them any longer*
Then they took counsel of their magicians, who
advised them to send back the ark* " Make a new
cart/ 1 they said, "and take two cows who have
never been under the yoke; harness them to the
cart, and shut their calves up at home; then take
the ark and lay it upon the cart, & put jewels and
gold for a trespass^offering in a coffer on the cart
beside it, and leave the cows to take their own way*
If they go up by the House of the Sun to the bor^
124

der of Israel, then we shall know that ft is the ark
that has done us this evil; but if they do not, then
it is not the God of the ark who has smitten us, but
it was all a chance that happened/' The Philis^
tines did so ; and when the ark was laid on the cart,
the cows set offby themselves & took the straight
way to the House of the Sun, and went along the
highway lowing as they went&not turningaside
either to right or left; and the five lords of the Phi'
listines followed the cart as far as the border, watch'
ing them* The men of the House of the Sun were
reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, when
they looked up & saw the ark coming* The cows
came into the field and stood still of their own ac
cord by a great stone* The reapers came round and
took the ark off the cart, and laid it on the stone;
and when the five lords of the Philistines sawthis,
they went back to Ekron* After this there was
peace between Israel and the Philistines; and the
people of the City of Woods sent down to the
House of the Sun and fetched the ark up into the
hills, and kept it there*

125

CHAPTER C

THE LOST ASSES.

HEN Samuel grew old, he set his
sons to judge the people of Israel;
but they took bribes andperverted
justice; then all the people gathers
J ed together and said to Samuel,
! "Give us a king to judge us, & to
go out before us to battle, like the kings of other
nations" ;& God said to Samuel, "Do as they ask,
and make them a king/' In those days there was a
man of the tribe of Benjamin called Saul, who was
the goodliest of presence among all the children
of Israel, and stood higher by the head and should
ders than any of the people* The asses of Saul's
father strayed and were lost; and he told Saul to
take a servant with him & go to seek them* They
went through the land along and across for three
days, searching for the asses, until they came to
the hillscountry of Judah; but they could not find
them* At last baul said to the servant, " Come, let
us go home again, or my father will leave offcaring
for the asses and be anxious about us/' The ser^
vant answered, "There is a wise man who lives in
yonder town on the hilltop, and all that he says
comes true; perhaps he might shew us the way we
should go/' " But we have nothing to give him/'
said Saul; "even the food we brought with us is
all done/' The servant said, " I have a small piece
126

of silver with me; I will give it to the wise man to
tell us our way ?! Saul answered, Well said ; come,
let us go" ; so they went up the hill to the town* As
they went up, they met the girls of the town com/
ing out to draw water, & asked them, Is the wise
man here? "They answered, all speaking at once,
"Yes, he is in front of you, if you make haste; he
has just come to the city to-day, forthere is a feast
to-day in the high place; if you make haste into
the city you will find him at once, before he goes
up to the high place to eat; the people will not eat
till he comes, because he first blesses the feast, and
afterwards those who are invited sit down and eat;
go up, & you will find him now/' Then Saul and
his servant went up, & met the wise man coming
outof the gate on his way to the high place* Now
this wise man was Samuel; & when he met Saul,
God said to him, "This is the man whom I have
chosen to be captain over my people Israel/'

127

CHAPTER CL

THE STREET AT DAWN.

[AUL came up and asked Samuel
1 where the wise man lived; & Sanv
uelanswered," I amhe. Come with
me and eat, and to-morrow I will
let you go. As for the asses that were
I lost three days ago, do not be troub"
led about them, for they are found; and on whom
but you is the desire of all Israel?" Then he took
Saul with him to the high place, & gave him the
chief seat among all the guests; so they feasted, &
Samuel took Saul home with him at night* At
daybreak the next morning they rose & went out
together. Noone was stirring in the street; andas
they went along Samuel stopped and said to Saul,
44 Bid the servant pass on before us, and stand still
here alone with me." Then he took out a vial of
oil and anointed him, saying, " You are the man
that shall be king of Israel, w hen you have left
me, you will meet two men by Rachei s grave, who
will tell you that the asses you went out to seek
have been found. Then you will go on, and come
to the oak on the hill, & there you will meet three
men, one carrying three kids, another three loaves
of bread, and the third a bottle of wine; they will
give you greeting & two loaves of bread. Then you
will come to the hill of God, and near it you will
meet a company of prophets coming down from
128

the high place with harps & flutes, prophesying;
and the spirit of God will come upon you, and you
will prophesy along with them* Afterwards you
must go to the gathering/place of the people, and
wait formethere*"Then Samuel went back to his
house, and Saul went on his way, and everything
happenedthatday as Samuelhad foretoldhim* At
thegathering^placeofthepeoplehisunclemethim
and asked him, "Where have you been?" Saul
said," To seekthe asses that were lost; & when we
did not see them anywhere, we went to Samuel/'
'? What did Samuel say to you ? " his uncle asked*
Saul said nothing about the kingdom, but only
answered, " He told us plainly that the asses were
found/' Presently Samuel came, and lots were
drawn among the people by tribes and families to
choose a king* The lot fell on Saul's tribe, & then
on his family, and then on himself; and when they
fetched him & brought him out before the people,
he stood higher than anyone else by his head and
shoulders* Samuel said, fi See you him whom the
Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him a,*
mongall the people ?"and all thepeople shouted,
and said, "God save the King!"

129

CHAPTER CIL

THE GAP IN THE CLIFFS.

HE Philistines overran the land of

Israel with a great army, so thatthe

i peoplehidthemselves in caves and

([ thickets and rocks and pits, or went

away across Jordan ; & Saul could

only gather a little army of about

six hundred men* He encamped under a pome/
granate tree, and the army of the Philistines lay on
the hills opposite him, & there was a narrow way
up to their camp through a gap in thecliffs, Asthe
armies lay there, Jonathan the son of Saul said to
his armour-bearer, f 4 Come, let us go over and at/
tack the Philistines/' He answered, "I am with
you/' Jonathan said, "We will shew ourselves, &
if they bid us come up, we will go up, but if they
say, Stay there until we come to you, we will stand
still/' Then they shewed themselves in front of
the hill, and the Philistines said to one another,
"See, the children of Israel are coming out of the
holes where they had hid themselves/' and called
down to them, u Come up to us, and we will shew
you something/' Then Jonathan, bidding his u,
mour/bearer follow him, climbed up the rocks on
his hands and knees, and attacked them; and the
wholeof their army was seized with panic &took
to flight, beating one another down as they fled*
The noise came across the valley to Saul, who
130

gathered his men and started in pursuit; and the
people who were hidden in the hills came out of
their holes and joined him, and the battle rolled
far away* As he started, Saul laid a curse on any>
one who should taste food or turn aside in the pur^
suit till nightfall* When it grew towards evening,
and they were faint for hunger, the battle passed
into a wood where honey dropped from the trees;
and no one dared to touch it* But Jonathan, who
had not heard the curse, dipped the end of his spear
into the honey and ate of it and was strengthened*
At nightfall they stopped in the pursuit, & supped
in haste, and Saul enquired of the oracle whether
he should go on after the enemy all night; but it
would not answer* Then Saul said, " Some one
has broken the curse; he must die, were it my own
son/' So they cast lots to find out who it was, and
the lot fell on Jonathan* Saul saidtohim, " What
have you done ? " & he said, " I did but taste a little
honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand,
and lo! I must die/' But the people all cried out,
H Shall Jonathan die, who has wrought this great
salvation in Israel? There shall not one hair of his
head fall to theground/'So they rescuedjonathan,
and Saul stopped from pursuing the Philistines,
and both the armies broke up and returned home*

ki

m

CHAPTER CIIL

THE BOY HARPER.

ROM time to time an evil spirit
troubled King Saul, & his servants
sought out a harp-player to come
and play before him when the evil
spirit troubled him* They found in
the town of Bethlehem in Judaha
shepherd boy called David, the youngest of the
seven sons of Jesse of Bethlehem, who was the
grandson of Boaz and Ruth* David was a cunning
harp-player; & when theevil spirit came on Saul,
he came and played to him until he was well; then
he went back to Bethlehem and fed his father's
sheep* But his six brothers were all in the army
that fought under king Saul*

CHAPTER CIV*

THE GIANT'S CHALLENGE*

H E Philistines made war again
upon the children of Israel; & now
they had a great giant in their army
called Goliath of Gath* He was
eleven feet high, and was all armed
in brass, with helmet & mail/coat
and gorget and greaves; his coat of mail weighed
two hundred & fifty pounds* The two armies lay
facing each other in a wooded valley; and every

morning and every evening Goliath came out in
front of the camp, with his armour-bearer going
before him and carryinghis shield, and challenged
the army of Israel; but no one dared to go out to
fight with him. On a day Jesse said to David, ff Go
to-morrow to the camp and take your brothers
some bread and cheese and parched corn, and see
how they all are/' Next morning, David rose at
the first break of dawn, leaving his sheep with a
keeper, and made such good speed that when he
reached the camp it was still morning & they were
setting the battle in array* Then the giant Goliath
came out in front of the army of the Philistines
and cried, " I challenge the whole army of Israel ;
send out a man, that we may fight/' David heard
the soldiers saying that anyone who overcame
the giant should have great riches and marry the
king's daughter; and he said, f? Why does no one
go out and fight with him?" His eldest brother
heard him, and was very angry* " How have you
got here, boy?" he said; "and with whom have
you left those few sheep in the wilderness?" "I
only asked a question," David answered ; and with
that he went straight to king Saul, and said to
him, 4i O king, let me go and fight with this Phix
listine*" f 4 You cannot, you are too young," said the
king* David answered, "When I was keepingmy
father's sheep, a lion & a bear came & took a lamb
out of the flock* I went out after them and pulled
the lamb out of the lion's mouth; and when he

133

turned on me, I caught him by the mane & killed
him, and then I killed the bear too;andGod,who
saved me from thepawof the lion and the paw of
the bear, will save me from the hand of this Phu
listine."

CHAPTER CV.

THE FIVE SMOOTH STONES.

HEN King Saul gaveDavid leave
to go forth and fight, & offered him
his own armour to wear; but when
David put it on and tried to go in
it, it was not easy, for he had never
y worn armour before; so he took it
all off again, and picked five smooth pebbles out
of the brook andputthem in his shepherd's scrip,
and took his sling in his hand & went out against
Goliath. The giant came on, with his armour^
bearer carrying his shield before him, and when
he saw an unarmed boy coming to meet him, he
broke into a rage and cursed him by his gods. But
David took a stone out of his scrip and laid it in his
sling, and ran towards Goliath and slung it. It
struck him on his forehead under the rim of the
helmet, and he fell forward on his face stunned ;
then David ran lightly up & drew Goliath's sword
out of the sheath as he lay, and cut off his head at
a blow. When the Philistines saw their champion
fallen, they all fled, and David brought back the
*34

giant's head & his armour to the camp* So he was
married to Saul's daughter Michal, and was made
commander of the army; & Jonathan, Saul's son,
loved him like his own brother*

CHAPTER CVL
THE IMAGE UNDER THE
COUNTERPANE*
UT when Saul and David came
back together* the women went out
to meet them dancing and singing,
" Saul has slain his thousands, and
David his ten thousands*" Saul
grew very angry,& thought/'They
haveascribedtoDavidtenthousands,&tomeonly
thousands, and what can he have more but the
kingdom ? " & from that day forth he hated David*
The next day the evil spirit came on him; & when
David went in to play to him as he sat alone, he
threw a javelin at him; but David slipped aside,
and the javelin flew past him and stuck into the
wall* David ran away home, and Saul sent men
to keep watch at his door all night & kill him when
he came out in the morning; but at night his wife
Michal let him down through a window, and he
fled away* In the morning Saul sent more men
to fetch David; then she took an image and laid it
in David's bed, with its head on the pillow, and
drew the counterpane over it, and told them that

David was ill* They went back to Saul, who sent
them again, saying, " Bringhim to me in the bed,
that I may kill him/' So they went into the bed'
room, & when they pulled away the counterpane,
they found nothing but an image in the bed* But
David went to the temple at the high place where
the sword of Goliath was laid up behind the altar •
screen, and he took the sword and went into the
mountains, where he and a band of his followers
lived in caves in the forest*

CHAPTER CVIL

THE CAMP IN THE FOREST.

AUL was told where David lay in
hiding in the wilderness, and he and
his chief captain Abner went with
threethousandmentoseekhimout*
David withdrew further into the
I mountains,leaving watchmen to let
himknowwhen Saul'smen came* Sothey searched
the forest all day without findinghim, & then en^
camped on the hill for the night* But in the middle
of the night, David & his sister's son Abishai crept
in softly to Saul's camp, & found every one asleep,
and Saul asleep among them with his spear stuck
in the ground by his pillow andajugof water athis
head* Abishai whispered to David, " God has de^
liveredy our enemy into your hand ; let me run him
through with the spear, and I will not strike a se^
136

cond time/* David answered, " No; his day shall
come to die, or he shall go into battle and perish;
but God forbid that I should stretch forth my hand
against the Lord's anointed* Take the spear that is
by his pillow, and the water^jug, & let us go/' So
they took the jug and the spear, and stole out of
the camp again silently without awakinganyone*
They climbed down into the bed of the torrent at
the foot of the hill and up the other side, until at
daybreak they were opposite the camp with the
deep narrow valley between; then David stood &
shouted across," Answer you not, Abner ? " Abner
awokeandanswered/'Whoareyouthatcrytothe
king? "Then David cried across the valley in the
clear dawn, "Are you not a valiant man? why have
you not kept watch over your lord the king? for
there came one of the people in to kill him* By
God's life, you deserve to be put to death forkeep^
ing your master so ilL Seewheretheking's spearis
now,andthe jugof water that stood at his pillow/'
So when Saul knew that David might easily have
killed him, & had spared his life, he said he would
do him no more harm, and returned home ; and
David and his men came back and lived again in
the forest*

*37

CHAPTER CVIIL
THE WITCH OF ENDOR*

AMUELwasdead,&Saul'sking^
dom was failing in his hands, & the
Philistines made war on him again
with a great army* Saul was afraid,

dand sought to use divinations, and
find out how the battle would go;
but he could get no answer from dreams, or pre**
cious stones, or prophets* Then he told his ser'
vants to find out a witch, that he might enquire of
her* This was not easy, because Saul had put ax
way all the witches from his land ; but at last they
found a woman with a familiar spirit who lived at
Endor* Saul disguised himself, and wentwith two
servants at dead of night to her house, and said to
her, " Divine to me by the familiar spirit, & bring
up to me him whom I shall name/' The witch an/
swered, " You know that King Saul has put away
all the wizards and those who have familiar spirits
out of the land; are you laving a trap for my life ? ^
He swore that no harm should befalher; then she
asked, " Whom shall I bringup for you ?" " Bring
me up Samuel/' he said* Suddenly the witch
shrieked aloud & cried, " Why have you deceived
me? you are Saul/' "Do not be afraid," said the
king; "whom did you see?" She said, "I saw a
spirit ascending out of the earth*" "What form is
he of? " said the king* She answered, " An old man
138

comes up, covered with a mantle/' Then Saul saw
the ghost of Samuel rise before him, and bowed
down with his face to the ground* The phantom
asked him, " Why have you disquieted me, to
bring me up 1" & Saul answered, " I am soredis^
tressed; for the Philistines make war against me,
and God is departed from me, and answers me no
more, neither by prophets nor by dreams ; there^
fore I have calledyou up to tell me what I shall do/'
Then it said," W hy do you ask of me, seeing the
Lord is departed from you and is become your
enemy, & has rent the kingdom out of your hand ?
You and all I srael are delivered into the hand of the
Philistines; & to-morrow you shall be with me/'
With these words it sank under earth again, and
Saul fell down in a swoon; for he had eaten no^
thing foraday and a night, & had no strength left*
At last the witch and his two servants roused him
and laid him on a bed and prepared food for him;
then they ate and rose up hastily and went away
while it was still night*

*39

CHAPTER CDC

THE WOEFUL BATTLE ON MOUNT
GILBOA*

HE next day thebattle was fought
on Mount Gilboa; the army of Is<
rael fled before the Philistines, and
there was a great slaughter* Saul's
three sons were killed fighting be^
side him, and he himself was mor/
tally wounded by an arrow* When he could go
no further, he bade his armour-bearer draw his
sword and thrust him through, that the enemy
might not take him prisoner and torture him* But
the armour-bearer was afraid, and would not; so
Saul fell on his own sword and died; and when his
armour-bearer saw that he was dead, he also fell
on his own sword and died with him* The Philis^
tines came to strip the slain after the battle and
found the dead king amongthem; the gold crown
& armlet had been stolen from the body; but they
cut off his head and fastened it in the temple of Da^
gon,and took his armour and put it in the temple
of Ashtaroth,& hungup his headless body on the
city wall* But the men of the city of Dry Stones,
whom Saul had saved from their enemies when
hewasmadeking,cameatnightandtookhisbody
down from the wall and carried it home, and there
they buried it and made great lamentation*

140

CHAPTER CX.

THE STOLEN CROWN.

H E third day after the battle, a
man came runningto David in his
castle in the wilderness, with his
clothes all torn and earth upon his
head, and fell to the ground before
him, saying," The people are fled
from the battle, and many are fallen and dead, &
Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also/' Now
this was the man who had stolen the crown and
armlet from Saul's dead body as it lay upon the
battlefield* David asked him how he knew. " I
was by chance on Mount Gilboa," he said, "and
there I saw the king leaning on his spear, and the
horsemen and chariots of the enemy close after
him. The king called to me, and when I came, told
metokill him, for he could not stand up or go any
further. Being sure that he could not live after he
was fallen, I killed him, and took the crown from
his head and the armlet from his arm, and brought
them to you ; see, here they are, O king/' But Da^
vid answered him, "Your blood be on your own
head if your story is true, for you have slain the
Lord's anointed;" and ordered one of his guards
to cut him down where he stood; so the liar died.
But David made great mourning for Saul and for
Jonathan.

141

CHAPTER CXL

THE CASTLE OF ZION*

HEN the men of Judah made Da^
vid king in Hebron; but Abner,
Saul's chief captain, took Eshbaal
the son of Saul across the river,
& proclaimed him king in Maha^
naim; and for two years they were
both kings and their captains fought with one an^
other* But the house of Saul grew weaker and
weaker, & at last Abner quarrelled with his mas/
ter & went to Hebron to make peace with David*
Nowjoab, David's chief captain,had a blood'feud
with Abner because he had killed one of Joab's
brothers in battle* Joab was away on a foray when
Abner came to Hebron; but he came back soon
after Abner was gone, and was very angry with
David for letting him go in safety* Then he sent a
messenger after Abner to bring him back; and
when hecame,not suspectingany treachery, Joab
took him aside and stabbed him in the city gate*
Not longafter,twoof Eshbaaf s officers murder^
ed him in his bed, and brought his head to David;
but for all their reward, David hanged them both
in Hebron* So David was king over all Israel;
and he besieged the castle of Zion, which was so
strong that the garrison set blind and lame men
on the ramparts in mockery of him; for they
thought it impossible that their castle should be
142

taken* But David took ft by storm and lived in it,
and built a palace and a city there, which is the
city of Jerusalem*

CHAPTER CXIL

THE TRIUMPH OF THE ARK*

flHEN David was established in
his kingdom he went to the City
of Woods to fetch the ark of God
from the house where it had been
since it came back on the cart from
the Philistines, & brought it up to
lis city ofJerusalemwithmusicandrejoicing,and
the king went dancing before the ark* But Queen
Michal looked through a window and saw King
David leaping & dancing before the ark, and dex
spisedhim in her heart; andwhenhecamebackto
the palace, she could not hold her tongue, but up'
braided him fornotbehaving likeaking; so David
put her away from being the queen, and she lived
as a childless widow until the day of her death*
Then David counselled to build a great temple for
the ark; but a word of God came to him saying,
" Because you have shed much blood in war and
still have wars all about you, you may not build
the house of God's rest; but your son who will be
king after you shall have peace all his days, and
rest from his enemies and a quiet throne; and he
shallbuild God's house/' So David set masons to

»43

hew stones, and gathered store of gold and silver
andiron & brass, and cedar^trees out of Lebanon,
thathis son might find everything ready for builds
ing; and meanwhile he fought against the Philis^
tines and the people of Edom and Ammon and
the Syrians beyond the river, and won victories
and great renown*

CHAPTER CXIIL

THE THIRTY KNIGHTS.

[ING David had thirty mighty
1 mentthefirstwas AdinotheTach"
monite who sat in the seat, chief
among the captains, and prince a«^
mong the thirty; he lifted up his
I spear against eight hundred men,
and slew them at one time. Next to him were
Eleazer and Shammah; and these were the first
three* These three chiefs of the thirty came to
David in harvest time, when he was in a hold, and
the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem*
David looked across the valley of Rephaim to the
town of Bethlehem where he had been born, and
longed, & said," Oh, that one would give me drink
of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is by
the gate!" Then these three mighty men broke
through the whole host of the Philistines, & drew
water out of the well of Bethlehem bv the gate,
and brought it to David* But he woula not drink
*44

it, and poured it out on the ground before God,
saying, " Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should
drink this; is not this the blood of the men that
went in jeopardy of their lives for me ?" therefore
he would not drink it* After these three, Abishai
the brother of Joab was chief; he lifted up his
spear against three hundred, and slew them* Also
when the Sitter on the High Place, the son of the
giant in Gath, being girded with a new sword,
thought to have slain David, Abishai succoured
David and slew the Philistine* Next to him was
Benaiah, the captain of the Greek guards, who
had done many acts : he slew two lion^likemenof
Moab; he went down and slew a lion in a pit in the
time of snow; also he slew an Egyptian, a goodly
man; and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand,
but he went up to him with a staff, and plucked
the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, & slew him
with his own spear* After these were the other
five^and'twenty knights, all mighty men : among
whom were Sibbechai, who slewSaph, one of the
sons of the giant, & Elhanan and Jonathan, who
slew the other two sons of the giant, & Uriah the
Hittite*

H5

CHAPTER CXIV.
THE SHOT FROM THE WALL.

T the time of year when kings go
forth to battle, David sent out Joab
& his thirtyknights with an army,
and they besieged the city of Rab/'
bah; but David himself stayed at
Jerusalem* He was walking in an
evening on the roof of his cedar palace, when he
looked down and saw a very beautiful woman
washing herself at a fountain below* He sent to
find out who she was, and they told him she was
Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite* David
desired to have her for his own wife* He sent a
message to the army for Uriah to come home, &
tell him how the war was going* Then he kept
him for two days feasting in the palace, and sent
him back withaletter to carry to Joab, which said,
"Set Uriah in the front of the battle where it is
hottest, & retire from him, that he maybe smitten
and die*" When Joab read the king's letter he or-*
dered an attack on the city and set U riah in front
of the army* The men of the town sallied out, and
therest of the army fell back from Uriah, who was
killed byashotfrom the town wall; & afew more
menwhohad stood by him were killedatthe same
time* Joab sent off a messenger to David imme/
diately, & told him t u The king will be angry when
he hears we have attacked the city & been beaten
146

off, & will say, Why did you fight so near the city ?
Did you not knowthat they would shoot from the
wall r who smote Abimelech the son of Gideon ?
did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon
him from the wall, so that he died in Thisbe?
Then say to him : Uriah the Hittite,your captain,
is dead also/' So the messenger took the news to
David, who sent back word by him to Joab, saying,
" Do not be troubled by this ,♦ for the sword devours
oneaswellasanother/'ThenassoonasBathsheba
had finished her mourning for Uriah, he had her
brought to the palace, and married her, and they
had a child*

CHAPTER CXV.

THE STORY OF THE EWE.LAMB.

J H E N the prophet Nathan came
to David and said, "Oking, there
were two men in one city, the one
rich and the other poor* The rich
man had many flocks & herds ; the
poor man had nothing but one lit-'
tie ewe^lamb, that lived with him & his children;
it ate of his own meat & drank of his own cup, and
lay in his bosom & was like a daughter to him*The
rich man had to prepare food for a traveller who
came to his house; and he grudged to take one of
his own flocks and herds to dress and set before the
traveller; but he took the poor man's lamb from
1 2 147

him by violence and killed it & dressed it/' David's
anger was kindled, and he said, " By God's life,
the man that did this deserves to be put to death;
and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he
did this thing and had no pity/' Then Nathan
answered David, "You are the man* The Lord
God anointed you king over Israel, and delivered
you out of the hand of Saul, and gave the people
into your hand; and if that had been too little, he
would have given you such and such things be^
sides : why have you despised him, to do evil in
his sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite and
taken his wife to be your wife; therefore the sword
shall never depart from your house; God will
raise up sorrow againstyou fromyour own family,
and what was done secretly shall be punished be/
fore all Israel and before the sun/'

CHAPTER CXVL

THE SICK CHILD.

IHENthechildthathad been born

I to David & Bathsheba fell ill; and

David fasted and lav all night on

the ground, & would not taste food

or listen to his councillors* On the

seventh day the child died* David's

servants were afraid to tell him ; but when he saw

them whispering together, he asked/' Is the child

dead?" and they said, "Yes/' Then he rose and

148

washed himself and ate bread* They asked him,
u How is it that you fasted and wept for the child
while it was alive, but rose and ate bread when it
died?" and he answered them, " While the child
was yet alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, Wlio
can tell whether God will be pitiful to me, that the
child may live ? But now he is dead, why should
I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to
him, but he shall not return to me/' So David took
comfort, and went about the work of his kingdom ;
and afterwards David & Bathsheba had another
child, whom they called Solomon*

CHAPTER CXVIL

THE REBELLION OF ABSALOM.

O long time after, a bitter hatred
broke out between David's eldest
son Amnon and his second son
Absalom, till, from bad to worse,
Absalom killed his brother by trea^
_ cheryata feast, and fled to the court
of his grandfather, the king of the Passage of the
Wilderness* After three years Absalom was ah
lowed to come back, but fortwo years morehe was
shut up in his own house and David refused to see
him* Then at last thev were reconciled, and Ab^
salom became heir to tne kingdom; buthewasnot
content with this, and conspired to dethrone his
father David & make himself king* Absalom was

149

the most beautiful man in all Israel, and lived in
great state, with fifty men that ran before him
wherever he went; and he was gracious to all,
and when he heard of any man that lacked justice
he would say, "O that I were judge in the land,
that every man that had a suit or cause might come
to me, & I would do him justice F'So he stole the
people's hearts away; and at last he proclaimed
himself king at Hebron with sound of trumpet,
& the people gathered roundhim* Ahithophel,the
wisest of David's councillors, joined him there,
and ruled everythingby his counsel* WTien news
came to David that the whole nation went after
Absalom, and that he was preparingto march on
Jerusalem, he left his palace of Zion and fled into
the wilderness* All his household went on in front,
except a few women who were left to keep the
house; then the king followed with his Greek
guards and his captains (for they remained faiths
fulto him), & they all crossed the valley and went
up the ascent of Mount Olivet, barefoot & with
covered heads, weeping as they went*

150

CHAPTER CXVIIL

THE FLIGHT INTO THE WILDER,
NESS.
T the top of the hill, Hushai of
Erech, one of David's councillors,
came to join him, with his coat rent
& earth upon his head* David said
to him, "Ifyou come with me, you
willbeofnouseto me; return to the
city and join Absalom and pretend to be his ser,
vant, and so you may help me by thwarting the
counsel of Ahithophel/' So Hushai returned, and
as he came into the city by one gate, Absalom and
his men came in by another* By this time David
was beyond the top of the hill; and there Shimei
the son of Gera,aman of the house of Saul, came
out on the hillside as he passed, & threw stones at
him & cursed, crying, " Come out, come out, you
bloody man/' Then Abishai, David's nephew,
said to him, " Why should this dead dog curse my
lord the king? Let me go over, I pray you, & take
off his head/' But David said/' Let him curse ;bc
hold, my son seeks my life; how much more may
this Benjamite do it ? Let him alone, and it may
be that God will requite me good for his cursing
this day/'

151

CHAPTER CXIX.

THE COUNSEL OF AHITHOPHEL.

IE AN WHILE Absalom was
holding a council in the palace ; and
Ahithophel advised, " Letmepuiv
sue David this same evening with
a small force, & come on him sud/
I denly at night while he is weary &
weak^handed; then all the people who are with
him will take to flight, and we shall seize David
alone and kill him, and the war will be over; and
I will bring back all the people to you, as a bride is
brought to her husband/' This advice pleased the
council well Then Absalom said/' Call Hushai
also, & let us hear what he says/' So Hushai was
broughtin, & Absalom said tohim, " Ahithophel
has spoken after this manner; shall we do accord'
ingly ? If not, speak/' Then Hushai said, " Ahu
thophel's counsel is not wise* Your father is a good
captain, and his guards are mighty men; you will
not take them by surprise; if you pursue him
hastily he will lie in ambush in a valley and attack
you unawares, & if some of your men fall, the cry
will go abroad that there is a slaughter amongthe
people that follow Absalom, and the hearts of the
people will melt* My counsel therefore is this:
Gather all Israel together and go forth yourself at
the head of a great army; then wherever we find
David we shall surround him & swallow him up ;
152

or if he have taken shelter in a city, we shall bring
ropes and draw the city into the river, until there
be not one small stone left where it stood/'

CHAPTER CXX.

THE WELL IN THE COURTYARD.

JUSHAPS advice pleased Absa^
lorn more than Ahithophel's; and
so it was determined, and the comv
cil broke up. Now David had left
two of his men by a fountain out'
I side the city (for they dared not
shew themselves in the city) to bring him news.
Hushai sent a girl out to tell them what had been
determined at the council, and to warn David not
to stop the night in the plain. But a boy saw them
hidingby the fountain, & told Absalom, who sent
soldiers after them; then they crept down into a
well in the courtof a house, and the woman of the
house put a lid on the well's mouth and spread a
heap of corn over it. When Absalom's men came
and asked where they were, she said, " They have
gone over the brook of water." So they searched,
but could not find them, and returned into the city.
Then the men climbed out of the well and ran to
tell David; so he went on all through the night, &
by the next day's dawn had crossed Jordan & was
safe in the wilderness* But Ahithophel, when he

153

saw that his counsel was not followed, saddled his
ass and rode home to his own city, & hanged hinv
self in his house*

CHAPTER CXXL
THE BATTLE IN THE WOOD.

AVID gathered an army in the
wilderness, and there was a great
battle in the wood of Ephraim*
Absalom fought at the head of his
men,but David could not bear to go
out to battle; he watched his army
march through the city^gate, & gave charge to his
captainsinthehearingofallthearmyto deal gently
with Absalom* When the armies met, Absalom's
men fled & there was a great slaughter in the wood*
As Absalom rode under a great oak in the forest, a
low bough caught his head ; his longhair, of which
he was so proud that he onlyhaditcutonceayear,
was entangled in the branches, and his mule went
away from under him, so thathe was left hanging
in the oak tree between heaven and earth* One of
David's soldiers saw this happen, and ran to tell
Joab*"Why did you not strike him to the ground?"
saidjoab, "and I would have given you ten pieces
of silver/' " I would not touch him for a thousand
pieces of silver," he answered ;" nothing is long hid
from our lord the king, & you wouldhave been the
first to put me to death for disobeyinghis orders*"
154

" I cannot waste time talking/' Joab said ; & with
that he galloped up to the oak and ran Absalom
through the body with his spear* Then he blew a
trumpet to stop the pursuit, and they took Ab-
salom's body & flung it into a pit in the wood, and
threw a great heap of stones over it; and his army
fled and dispersed, each man to his own home*

CHAPTER CXXIL

THE TWO RUNNERS.

[ORTHWITHtworunners started
to run to the city and take the king
news of thebattle* Davidwas sitting
in the gateway between the inner 8c
outer gate, and a watchman stood on
the roof of the gateway/tower and
looked across the plain* The watchman saw a
single man come running in the distance, and cried
to the king; who said, " if he be alone, there is tid-
ings in his mouth ;" and the runner came apace and
drew near* Then the watchman espied another
man running, & called down to the gate ; and the
king said, " Healso brings tidings/' Presently the
watchman said, " Methinks the running of the
foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz son of
Zadok*" u He is a good man, & comes with good
tidings/' said the king* Then Ahimaaz came up
running, and cried to the king, " Peace," and fell
down on his face before him, and said, " Blessed be

155

the Lord, who has put down those who rose up
against my lord the king/' But David only said,
"Is theyoungman Absalom safe? " Ahimaazan'
swered, "When I was sent, I saw a great tumult,
but I do not know what it was about/' "Turn a-*
side, and stand there/' said the king* In a few
minutes more the second runner, who was David's
negro servant, came up, and cried, "Tidings, my
lord the king: for the Lord has avenged you this
day of all that rose up against you/' But the king
said," Is the young man Absalom safe ?" He an/
swered, " May the enemies of my lord the king,
and all that rise against you to do you hurt, be as
that young man is/' And the king was much mov/
ed, & went up to the chamber over the gate, weep/
ing;& as hewent,he said,"Omy son, Absalom,
my son, my son Absalom, would God I had died
for you, O Absalom, my son, my son !"

CHAPTER CXXIIL

THE SORROWFUL VICTORY.

O the victory that day was turned

into mournin g, when word went a^

mong the peoplehowthekingwas

jrieved for his son, and they crept

>y stealth into the city, as shamed

men steal away when they have

fled in battle* At last Joab went in to theking,and

told him thathehad shamed the faces of all hisses

156

vants, who had fought for him and saved his life:
" For I see/' he said," that if Absalom had lived &
all we had died, it would have pleased you well*
Now rise and go forth, or I swear by God it willbe
worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you
from your youth up till now/' Then the kingrose,
and satin the gate* But he never forgave Joab: and
when he was dying, he charged his son Solomon,
who became king after him, to put Joab to death
as a traitor and murderer*

CHAPTER CXXIV*

THE CITY OF MEADOWS*

HUS the war ended; but when
David returned from the wilder^
ness to his kingdom, the men of
Judah began to quarrel with the
men of Israel over their shares in
bringing him back; and the quarx
rel grew so fierce that when a man of Benjamin
called Sheba blew a trumpet and cried, " We have
no part in David/' the tribes followed him and re^
volted from David; only the army and the men of
Judah remained loyal to him* Joab went out with
the army and besieged Sheba in the City of Mea^
dows, and filled up the moat with a mound and
began to batter the wall* Then a wise woman out
of the city cried to Joab to come near and speak
with her* When he came, she said, "You seek to

destroyacity andamotherin Israel; why will you
swallowup the inheritance of the Lord?" Hean^
swered," Far be it from me to swallow up or de/-
stroy; but a man of Mount Ephraim, Sheba by
name, has rebelled against the king; give him up
to me,and I will take away my army from your
city/' She said, " His head shall be thrown to you
over the wall/' Then the woman went to all the
people in her wisdom, & they cut off Sheba' s head
and threw it out to Joab* So he blew the trumpet
to retire, & all the people dispersed to their homes,
and the revolt came to an end*

CHAPTER CXXV-

THE WATCHING OF RIZPAH.

HERE was a famine in the days
of David for three years, year after
year, and when he enquired of the
precious stones, they answered, " It
is for Saul and his bloody house,
because he slew the Gibeonites/'
Forjoshuaandthe children of Israel had sworn
safety to the Gibeonites when they conquered the
land; but Saul had sought to destroy them, and
broken the oath* David said to the Gibeonites,
44 What shall I do for you ?. wherewith shall I make
atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of
the Lord?" They answered, 4 * We will have no
silver nor gold in repayment; but let seven of the
158

sons of the man who destroyed us be delivered to
us, that we may hang them on the hill/' Then the
king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of
Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons
of Merab the daughter of Saul, & delivered them
to the Gibeonites; and they hanged them on the
hill under the open sky, all seven together, at the
beginning of harvest time* But Rizpah the dauglv
ter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it upon the
rock, and kept the birds of the air off them by day
and the beasts of the field by night, sitting there
night and day from the beginning of harvest all
through the burning summer till the winter rains
dropped on them out of heaven* When this was
told the king, he took their bones and buried them
all together in the burying'place of their family;
and after that the land had peace*

CHAPTER CXXVL

THE ANGEL'S SWORD*

AVI D offended God in number^
ingthepeople; &the prophet Gad
came to him, saying, "Choose one
of three things ; Shall seven years
of famine come unto you in your
I land ? or will you flee three months
before your enemies while they pursue you? or
shall there be three days' pestilence in your land ?
now advise, and see what answer I shall return to

* 159

him that sent me/' David chose the last, H For the
Lord'smercies are many/' he said ;" let us fall into
his hand and not into the hand of man/' So at
morning the Angel of the Pestilence went forth
among the people, and between morning and
midday had destroyed seventy thousand men* At
noon he reached Jerusalem and stood over the city
by the threshing-floor of Araunah; and when
David looked up, he saw the angel stand between
earth and heaven, with a drawn sword in his hand
stretched out over Jerusalem* Then David and all
the elders of Israel fell upon their faces in prayer;
and God was appeased, and said to the angel, "It
is enough ; stay your hand/' and the angel put up
his sword into the sheath/Then David would have
bought the threshing-floor from Araunah to build
an altar on it; but Araunah gave him the floor &
the oxen without payment, as a king to a king.
So David built an altar there and offered sacrifice,
and God answered him by fire upon the altar out
ofheaven*

CHAPTER CXXVIL

THE CHOICE IN THE DREAM.

HEN David grew old and near
his death he had his son Solomon
crowned to be king after him; So,
lomon rode down the city on the
royal mule with the Greek guards
round him, & they blew the silver

trumpets and set the crown on his head and pro^
claimed him king, and the whole people made re'
joicing* So David died, and Solomon was king*
Then God appeared to Solomon in a dream by
night and told him to ask a gift; and in his dream
Solomon said, " O Lord, thou hast made me king
instead of David my father, and I am like a little
child who does not know how to go out or come
in : give me therefore wisdom to judge thypeople,
and to discern between good and bad/' God an^
swered him : " Because you have asked this thing,
& have not asked long life, nor riches, nor victory,
see, I have given you a wise heart such as no man
has had before, nor shall any man have after; and
also I have given you besides that which you have
not asked for, riches, & honour, & length of days/'
So Solomon awoke out of his dream.

CHAPTER CXXVIIL

THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON.

IN the morning two women came

I before Solomon as he sat upon his

throne, and cried to him forjudge

ment* Each of them was carrying

a baby, but one of the two babies

_ I was dead. The one woman cried to

the king and said : u O my lord, I and this woman

live in one house together alone, with no one

else in the house, and we each of us bore a child,

m 161

the one within three days of the other* But last
night this woman'schild died inthenight, because
she overlaid it; and she rose in the middle of the
night and took my baby from me while I slept, &
laid her own dead baby in my bosom; but when
I saw it by daylight, it was not my child, the son
that I bore/' Then the other woman said, " No;
but the living child is mine, and the dead is yours ;"
& the first cried again, u No; butthe deadis yours,
and the living is mine/' Thus they spoke before
theking;& there was no oneto bear witnessto one
or the other ♦ The king said, " Bring me a sword/'
When it was brought, he said," Divide the living
child in two, and give half to the one woman, and
half to the other/' But the woman who had spoken
first, and whose child it really was, cried out to the
king, "O my lord, give her the child, and slay it
not!" for her heart melted over her child* KingSo^
lomon answered and said, "Give her the living
child; she is its mother/' All the people heard of
this judgment of Solomon and praised it, and saw
that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice*

i6z

CHAPTER CXXIX*
THE GLORY OF SOLOMON.

N king Solomon's days the people
I were as the sand by the sea in
multitude, eating and drinking &
making merry* He reigned over all
the kings round about him, & had
I peace all his days; the people lived
safely under him, every man under his vine and
under his fig/tree* He had four thousand chariots
and forty thousand chariot^horsesjhemade silver
and gold as plentiful as stones, and cedar trees as
common wood* He built Tadmor in the wilder/
ness, and many other great cities with walls and
brazen bars* All the dishes in his palace, and in the
House of the Forest of Lebanon which he built,
were of pure gold* He had ships in his harbours
that sailed to Tarshish and the furthest southern
seas; the voyage took three years to go and return,
and once in every three years his fleet came back
bringing gold and silver and ivory, and apes and
peacocks: and he built another fleet on the Ara/
bian gulf, that sailed to Ophir and brought back
gold and sandalwood and precious stones* So he
was richer than all other kings; also Godgavehim
such wisdom as excelled all the wisdom ot the chiL-
drenof the East, and all the wisdom of Egypt* He
made three thousand proverbs, andathousand &
five songs; and he had all knowledge of trees, from
m 2 163

the cedar of Lebanon to the weed that grows out
of the wall, and of beasts and birds andfishes and
insects ; so that the kings of the peoples of the earth
came out of all lands to hear his wisdom*

CHAPTER CXXX,

THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE.

HE greatest of all Solomon's works
was the temple that he built at Je/
rusalem, of hewn stone and cedars
wood, with a pillared porch before
it carved over with lilies, and win/
dows of narrow lights along either
walL The stone of which it was built was quarried
underground & made ready before it was brought
up, so that the house rose silently, and no noise of
hammer or axe or any tool of iron was heard in it
while it was building* The roof was of cedar beams
brought by sea on rafts from the forests of Leba/
non, and the floor and the panelling of the walls
were of cedar, and the whole of the house within
was carved with cherubim & palm/trees and lions
and wild vines & open flowers, & all the carving
overlaid with pure gold J n the temple was an inner
chamber, called the Holy of Holies, shut off by
golden lattice work and a curtain of blue and pur/
pie & crimson with cherubim wrought into it* In
the Holy of Holies stood two great golden cheru/
bimeacn sixteen feet high, with vast outstretched
164

wings;theirwingsreachedacrossthechamberout*
wards to eitherwall and inwards till they touched
oneanother in the middle of thehouse; andwhen
the temple was finished, the ark of God was set
in the H oly of H olies under the wings of the covers
ing cherubim, & the curtain drawn before it, & it
remained there in thick darkness except when the
glory of God descended upon it and lighted up all
the golden room*

CHAPTER CXXXL

THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION.

N front of the temple stood two
great pillars of brass seventy feet
high, one on each side of the door<
way, with a raised pattern on them
of lilies and pomegranates; and all
round the inner court ran a triple
cloister of stone, roofed with cedar* In this inner
court stood Solomon's molten sea, which he had
cast of brass & adorned round the edge with lilies
and wild vines cast in the metal; it rested on the
backs of twelve oxen of brass that stood in a circle
under it, all looking outwards; and it held water for
two thousand baths* But in the temple itself all
the metal work, even the nails & the door^hinges,
was ofpure gold* At the dedication of thetemple,
King Solomon made a feast to all the people for
seven days; all the priests and singers of the whole

land were assembled together, dressed in white
linen, with cymbals and harps and psalteries, and
with them a hundred and twenty priests to sound
upon trumpets ; and at a signal all the trumpeters
sounded together and the singers lifted up their
voice as one man with the trumpets and cymbals,
andsang,"PRAISETHE LORD,FORHE
IS GOOD; FOR HIS MERCY ENDUR.
ETH FOR EVER/' Then abright cloud filled
the temple, so that the priests could not stand to
minister; for the glory of God had filled his house*

CHAPTER CXXXIL

THE CEDAR PALACE.

|OLOMON also built the palace
of the Forest of Lebanon, which
was panelled with cedar and ivory,
and stood on four rows of cedar
pillars, with a cedar portico in front
of it, and two inner courts built of
costly stones, one for himself and the other for the
queen his wife, who was the daughter of king Pha/
raoh of Egypt* When the palace was finished,
the queen was brought into it with great rejoicing,
carried on cushions of tapestry and dressed all in
cloth of gold, with spices burning round her and
music sounding out of the ivory palace to welcome
her in* In the portico of the palace was King So^
lomon's throne of judgmentfrom which he judged
166

the people, of ivory and gold; six steps went up to
it, and upon each step stood two golden lions, one
on either side, twelve lions in all; there was not
the like of it in any kingdom.

CHAPTER CXXXIIL

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA.

HE Queen of Sheba heard of the
fame of Solomon, and of his riches
and wisdom, and came from very
far to visit him, with a great train
of camels bearing spices and gold
and precious stones* She proved
Solomon with hard questions, and he answered
them all; and when she heard his wisdom, and
sawthe splendour of his house, and the dresses of
his servants and his cupbearers, and the bridge by
which he went up to the house of God, she fellinto
a swoon; and when she came to herself she gave
Solomon great gifts of gold & spice and precious
stones, (no such spices were ever brought to the
land again), and returned into the south to her
own land.

i6 7

CHAPTER CXXXIV,

THE DIVISION OF THE
KINGDOMS.

HI3UT the labour that built the tenv
pie and the palace, and the wealth
that was spent on the splendours
of Solomon's court, was all wrung
out of the people; and though they
wereproud of Solomon's glory, the
burdens that he laid on them were very heavy to
bear; so that when he died & his son Rehoboam
became king after him, all the people assembled
under Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and asked the
new kingto make their burdens lighter than they
had been in the days of Solomon* Rehoboam told
them to come back for their answer in three days,
and meanwhile he called his council. The old men
who had been Solomon's councillors advised him
to give a fair answer to the people* " Be their ser^
vant to-day," they said, "and you will have them
for your servants for ever/' But the young men
of his own age, who had grown up with him, ad'
vised him to answer the people roughly, and say,
44 My little finger shall be thicker than my father's
loins; my father chastised you with whips, but I
will chastise you with scorpions/' On the third
day Jeroboam and all the people came for their
answer, and the king answered them according to
the counsel of the youngmen, saying, " My father
168

made your burden heavy, but I will add to it; he
chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you
with scorpions/' When the people heard this they
cried out, "To your tents, O Israel: now see to
your own house, David!" & all the tribes except
Judah revolted from king Rehoboam and made
Jeroboam king over IsraeL So the kingdom was
divided, and from that day forth there were two
kingdoms, one of Judah & one of IsraeL Butjenv
boam feared that if his people went up to Jerusa^
lem to sacrifice at Solomon's temple, their heart
might turn again to the house of David; therefore
he made two golden calves and set them upintwo
of his cities, Bethel and Dan, and said, " It is too
much for you to go up to Jerusalem to worship;
behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you
out of the land of Egypt/'

CHAPTER CXXXV.

THE MAN OF GOD FROM JUDAH.

MANofGodoutofJudahcameto

Bethel while king Jeroboam stood

by the altar burning incense before

I his golden calf, and cried against the

I altar, saying, " O altar, altar, a child

] shall be born to the house of David,

who shall offer on you the priests of the high
places that burn incense on vou, & men's bones
shall beburnt upon you/' Trie king stretched out

169

his hand, crying, "Lay hold on him!" when at
once his hand stiffened so that he could not draw
it back again; and the altar was rent asunder and
the ashes poured out of it* But the man of God
returned to go home by another way; forGodhad
said, when he sent him," Eat no bread, nor drink
water there, nor turn again by the same way that
you came/' Now there was an old prophet in Be^
thel, whose sons came and told him of the man out
of Judah, and what he had done that day* He told
them to saddle his ass, & mounted and rode after
the man of God till he found him sitting by the
wayside under an oak He asked him, "Are you
the man of God that came from Judah ? " and he
answered, "I am/' Then he said, "Come home
with me and eat bread/' But the man of God an^
swered, " I may not ; for the word of the Lord said
tome, Eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn
again to go by the way that you came/' The old
prophet said, " I am a prophet also as you are ; & an
angel spokeaword or the Lord to me also, saying,
Bring him back with you to your house, that he
may eat bread and drink water/' But he lied* So
the man of God went back with him* But while
they sat at table, the word of the Lord came indeed
to the old prophet, and he criedtotheman of God
and said, " Because you have disobeyed the mouth
of the Lord, and have eaten bread & drunk water
in the place of which the Lord said to you, Eat no
bread, nor drink water there, your body shall never

»7°

belaidin the graveof your fathers/' Afterthey had
eaten and drunk, the man of God saddled his ass
and went on his way; and on his way a lion met
him and killed him* His dead bodylayin theroad
with his ass standing by it, & the lion stood over
it all day* Men passed by and saw this sight and
brought the news to the city* When the old pro**
phet heard of it, he rode forth & found him lying
so with his ass beside him and the lion standing
by; but the lion had not touched the body, nor
hurt the ass* The old prophet took up the dead
man and laid him on his ass and brought him back
to the city, and there buried him in his own grave;
and they mourned over him, saying, " Alas, my
brother!" Then he said to his sons, " When I am
dead, bury me in the grave where the man of God
is buried; lay my bones beside his bones ; for the
saying which he cried against the altar and against
the high places shall surely come*"

CHAPTER CXXXVI*

THE WIDOW'S JAR*

HABson of Omri reigned over Is^
rael,and married Jezebel, the prnv
cess of Sidon* He set up altars to
Baal & Asherah, the gods of Sidon,
and served them; therefore God
sent word to him by the prophet
Elijah of Thisbe, that there were to be three years

171

of drought and famine in the land* When Elijah
had given his message to the king, he went away
and lived in hiding by a brook in the desert; he
drank the water of the brook, & everyday, morn**
ing and evening, ravens brought him bread and
meat* After a while the brook dried up because
there was no rain, and he had to leave that place*
He went to a town, and outside the town gate he
foundawidowwomangatheringsticks,andasked
her to give him a morsel of bread* She said, "I have
no food left but a handful of meal in a barrel and
a little oil in a jar; I am gathering two sticks to
lightafire andbakeacake for myself and my son,
that we may eat our last meal and die/' Elijah
an s wered," Go and do so ; but make me a cake first,
and the barrel of meal shall not waste, nor the jar
of oil fail, until the day that God gives rain upon
the earth*" So she went and did as he said; and for
a full year she and her house lived upon the barrel
of meal that wasted not and the jar of oil that did
not fail*

172

CHAPTER CXXXVIL

THE ALTARS ON MOUNT
CARMEL*

IN the third year of the famine, the

I word of God came to Elijah, sayv

I ing " Go, shew yourself to Ahab, &

I will send rain/' So he went to the

king, and said to him, ff Send, and

i gather all Israel upon Mount Car'

mel, and let the four hundred and fifty prophets
of Baal and the four hundred prophets ofAsherah
bethere,whoeatatthe queen stable." The people
gathered on Carmel; and Elijah said to them, " I
only remain a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's pro^
phets are four hundred and fifty men ; let us then
build two altars, and lay sacrifices on them, but
kindle no fire; then let them call on the name of
Baal, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and
let the God be God that answers by fire/' All the
people said, P It is well spoken/' So the priests of
Baal made their altar and called on their god from
morning till noon, crying, if O Baal, hear us !" but
there was no voice, nor any thatanswered.Atnoon
Elijah mocked them, and said, " Cry aloud ; for
he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing,
or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps, and
must be awaked/' bo they cried aloud and cut
themselves with knives after their manner from
midday till the time of evening prayer; but there

*73

was no voice nor answer, nor any that regarded*
Then Elijah built his altarof twelve great stones,
& made a trench round about it; he laid his sacrix
fice on the altar, and had twelve barrels of water
brought from the river and poured over the altar
until it filled the trench* Then Elijah cried to God,
and the fire of the Lord fell & consumed the sacri^
fice and the stones of the altar and licked up the
water in the trench; and when the people saw it
they fell on their faces, and cried* "The Lord is
God* the Lord is God/'

CHAPTER CXXXVIIL

THE LITTLE CLOUD*

HEN Elijah said to Ahab*" Arise*
eat and drink; for there is a sound
of a noise of rain/' So Ahab arose
to eat and drink; but Elijah went
up to the top of Carmel and threw
himself down on the ground with
his face between his knees and said to his servant*
"Climb up* & look toward the sea*" He climbed
up and looked* and said* "I see nothing/' Elijah
bade him look again* but still he saw nothing;
and so he looked seven times* and at the seventh
time he said* " I see a little cloud rising out of the
sea like a man's hand*" Then Elijah said, "Go,
say to Ahab* Yoke and get you down* that the
rain stop you not*" In a little while the heaven
*74

was black with clouds and wind, and there was a
great rain, so that the floods came out & covered
the roads behind Ahab as he drove back across
the plain to his palace*

CHAPTER CXXXIX,

THE STILL SMALL VOICE.

HEN Queen Jezebel heard of
what Elijah had done on Carmel,
she threatened to kill him; so he
fled out of the land & went a day's
journey into the wilderness* There
he lay down under abush of broom
& prayed that he might die, saying, 9 It is enough ;
now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am not bet*
ter than my fathers/' Then he fell asleep there
under the bush of broom, until an angel touched
him & said, H Rise and eat/' He awoke & looked,
and saw a cake baked among the embers and a jug
of water standing at his head; so he ate and drank,
and went in the strength of that meat forty days
and forty nights, to the mount of God in the wiV
derness ♦ H e lodged in a cave on the mountain ; and
the voice of Godcameto him there, saying," What
are you doing here, Elijah ?" He answered, "The
children of Israel have forsaken thee, thrown down
thine altars and slain thy prophets; I only am left;
and they seek my life to take it away/' The voice
said, " Go forth and stand upon the mount before

US

the Lord/' Elijah waited for the Lord to pass by;
and first a great wind rent the mountains & broke
the rocks in pieces before him; but the Lord was
not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after
the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the
fire: and after the fire a still small voice* Elijah
wrapped his face in his mantle and went out, and
stood in the entrance of the cave* There the voice
came to him& said again, "What are you doing
here* Elijah?" and he answered as before* Then
thevoiceofthe Lord said," Go, return; Ihaveyet
left seven thousand in Israel whose knees have
not bowed to Baal & whose mouth has not kissed
him*" So Elijah went back to find king Ahab*

CHAPTER CXL*
N ABOTH'S VINEYARD*

LONGSIDE ofthepalaceof king

Ahab in Jezreel there was a vine/
I yard belonging to Naboth the Jez<>

reelite* The king wished to have it
£ to make it into a garden for himself,

and offered to buy it of Naboth or

five him a better vineyard in exchange for it* But
Naboth would not part with it, because it had be/
longed tohis family for a long while; and the king
was so displeased that he lay down on his bed with
his face turned away to the wall, and would not eat*

<7*

Queen Jezebel came and asked what ailed him;
and when he told her, she said to him, " Are you
not king of Israel? Rise and eat and be merry, for
I will give you Naboth' s vineyard/' Then she
wrote letters to the nobles of the city, sealed with
the royal seal, ordering them to seize Naboth and
hire false witness against him, and so put him to
death*They obeyed the queen; Naboth was seized
and dragged before a meeting of the people, and
two men swore falsely that they had heard him
curse his lord the king; then they carried him out
of the city, & stoned him and his children to death,
and sent word to the queen* She went in to king
Ahab and said, H Naboth is dead, and has left no
children; go, take possession of his vineyard/' So
Ahab went down to the vineyard; and there in the
vineyard Elijah was waiting for him" Have you
found me, O mine enemy ?' said the king* Elijah
answered, " Have youkilled, & also taken posses^
sion? Thus saith the Lord, In the place where
dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick
your blood; Godwill bringevil on youand cut off
your household, and dogs shall eat Jezebel by the
city ditch/'

n 177

CHAPTER CXLL
THE COUNCIL OF THE KINGS.

JEHOSHAPHAT king of V

dah made alliance with king A'
I hab, and came to visit him in the
ivory house that he had built for
himself at Samaria; and there the
I two kings planned a war against
the Syrians, sitting in their striped robes on two
thrones by the city gate* Jehoshaphat said, "Let
us enquire at the mouth of the Lord, whether we
shall go against Ramoth'Gilead to battle/' Ahab
called all his four hundred prophets ; and they said
with one voice, " Go ; for God shall deliver it into
the king's hand/' Then Jehoshaphat asked, "Is
there not a prophet of the Lord besides, of whom
we may enquire ?" Ahab answered, " There is one,
Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him; for he
never prophesies good of me, but always evil/'
However, he was sent for;andthemessengerwho
fetched him said to him, "All the prophets are
prophesying good with one mouth; you had
much better do the same/' But he said," By God's
life, what the Lord says to me, that will I speak;"
so he came before the two kings, and Ahab
asked him,"Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth'
Gilead to battle ?" He answered, " I saw the Lord
sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven
standing by him on right and left, and the Lord
i 7 8

said, WTio shall entice Ahab, that he may go and
fall at RamotlvGilead? One said this, and ano/
therthat; then a spirit came forth and stood before
the Lord and said, I will entice him; The Lord
said to him, H ow ? and he said, I will go forth and
be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets*
And God said, You shall entice, and prevail; go
forth/' Ahab said to Jehoshaphat," Did I not tell
you that he would prophesy no good of me ?"Then
he said to his guards, "Take this fellow away, &
keep himin prison on bread & water till I return in
peace/' But Micaiah said," If you return in peace
at all, the Lord has not spoken byme/'Sothetwo
kings went to RamotfvGilead*

CHAPTER CXLIL

THE RANDOM ARROW.

HERE the two kings joined battle
with the Syrians; and the king of
H Judah went into battle in his royal
robes, but Ahab disguised himself
as a common soldier that he might
not be known ; for the king of Syria
had ordered his captains to fight only against
Ahab* But when the battle began, a certain man
drew a bow at aventure, & the arrow struck Ahab
between thejointsof his armounAH day thebattle
went on, and king Ahab held himself up in his
chariot till evening, slowly bleeding to death* A^
n2 179

bout sunset, word ran through the army of Israel
that the king was dead, and they broke and fled,
each to his own city* But the dead king was brought
back in his chariot to Samaria, where they buried
him ; and the chariot and armour were washed in
the pool outside the city, and there the dogs licked
up his blood*

CHAPTER CXLIIL

THE CHARIOT OF FIRE*

JLIJ AH & his servant Elisha went
I together through the land; and as
they went the prophets came out
of the towns to meet them, & said
J to Elisha," Do you know that the
Lord will take away your master
from you to-day?" He said, " Yes, I know/' So
they passed on and came to the river Jordan, and
fifty of the prophets stood watching them by the
river bank* Then Elijah took off his mantle and
struck the water with it, and the river was divided,
so that they went over on dry ground* When they
had crossed the river, they went on, talking as they
went; & suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of
fire appeared and parted them asunder, & Elijah
went up in the chariot of fire by a whirlwind into
heaven* Elisha looked up till he could see him no
longer; then he took Elijah's mantle, which had
fallen from him as he went up to heaven, & went
180

back and stood by the bank of Jordan, and struck
the water with it, saying, " Whereisthe Lord God
of Elijah ?" The water divided and let him cross
over; and the prophets who were watching came
to meet him and bowed down before him*

CHAPTER CXLIV.

THE LADYOF SHUNEM*

3LISH Apassed through Shunem,
where there was a greatlady, & she
made him eat bread at her house;
& afterwards as often as he passed
by, he turned in there* Then she
said to her husband/'This is a h oly
man ; let us make a little chamber on the wall, &
furnish it for him with a bed & a table and a stool
and a candlestick, that he may lie there whenever
he comes to us/' Elisha wished to make her some
return for her kindness ; & first h e asked her/ 4 Shall
I speak for you to the king?" But she said, "lam
content to live here amongmy own people/' Then
he found that the one thing she desired was a child,
for she had none ; so he called her & said," With^
in a year you shall hold a son in your arms/' The
next year she bore a son* When her child was big
enough to walk alone, he went out one day in har^
vest time among the reapers* The heat of the sun
made him ill, & he cried to his father, " My head,
my head*" A lad carried him back to the house to

181

his mother; and he sat on her lap in the house till
noon, and then died* She took her dead child up
andlaidhim on Elisha's bed, & went out, shutting
the door behind her; then she told a servant to
saddle an ass, and rode across the plain through
the heat of the day without slacking, till she came
to Elisha's house on Mount Carmel; & there she
fell at his feet, crying, " Did I ask a son of you, my
lord?" Elisha rose and rode back with her, and
went up to the little room on the wall where the
dead child was lying on his bed* He went in and
shut the door and prayed to God, and then bowed
himself overthe child, puttinghis mouth uponhis
mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands
upon his hands; and the child grew warm, and
sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes* Then
Elisha called the mother, who came and fell at his
feet and took her child alive & well from his hands*

CHAPTER CLXV.

THE SYRIAN CAPTAIN*

I A AM AN, captain of the host of

] the king of Syria, was a great man

and a valiant, but he was a leper*

In his house was a little maid out

of thelandof Israel, who had been

taken captive by a band of Syrians,

and waited on Naaman's wife* She said to her

mistress, " Would God that my lord were with the

182

prophet in Samaria; for he would recover him of
his leprosy/' The king of Syria heard of this, and
said to Naaman, " At least go and try what the
prophet in Samaria can do for you; I will give you
a letter to his master the king of Israel/' So Naa^
man went with a great train of servants & mules
laden with gold and silver, and delivered his mas/
ter's letter to the king of Israel* Theking read the
letter till he came to the place where it said, " And
now with this letter I have sent my servant Naa^
man to you, that you may recover him of his
leprosy;" then he tore his robes for spite, and said
to his court, " Am I God, to kill and make alive,
thatthisman sends to metocureaman of leprosy?
See how he seeks a quarrel against me/' But
Elisha sent word to the king, "Send the Syrian
to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in
Israel/'So Naamancameinhischariotto Elisha' s
door; and Elisha sent out a message to him, "Go
and wash seven times in Jordan, and you shall be
cured/' At this Naaman fell into a rage: "Why
did he not come out himself," he said, "and strike
me with his mantle to cure me ? and why does he
bid me go and wash in Jordan ? are not my own
rivers at Damascus better than all the rivers in
Israel?" and he turned to go away in his anger*
But his servants came about him and pacified him*
" O our lord," they said, "if he had told you to do
some hard thing, would you not have done it? and
this is an easy thing that he tells you to do/' So

• 183

Naamanwent and dipped seven times in Jordan,
and at once became well*

CHAPTERCXLVL

THE BAGS OF SILVER.

AAMAN came back to thank
Elisha, & ask him to accept a pre-'
sent; but he would not take any>
thing; so Naaman went away to
go home* Then Elisha' s servant
Gehazi thought to himself, " My
master has spared this Syrian; but by God's life,
I will run after him and get something from him/ 1
So when Naaman had got a little w v ay he ran after
the chariot, & Naaman, when he saw him come
running, stopped and alighted, and asked, "Is all
well?" He said, " All is well; buttwo young pro^
phets have just come to visit my master, and he
has sent me to ask you for a bag of silver and some
clothes for them/' Naaman answered, " By all
means; buttaketwo bags of silver, one for each of
them;" and he sent two of his men back with
Gehazi, carryingthe silver and the clothes* When
they got to tne house, he put the silver in the tur^
retroom,and the men went back to their master ;
then he went in and waited on Elisha* Presently
Elisha asked him, "Where have you been, Ge^
hazi VI He answered, " Your servant has been no^
where/' But Elisha said, "Went not my heart
184 .

with you, when the man turned from his chariot ?
Is this a time to take money , and buy vineyards
and oliveyards and sheep and oxen and servants ?
The leprosy of Naaman therefore shall be upon
you for ever/' And he went out from his master's
presence a leper as white as snow,

CHAPTER CXLVIL

THE BLIND ARMY.

H E kingof Syriamade waragainst
the king of Israel; but when he
planned an attack on any place,
Elishasent word to the king of Iss
rael, who put a garrison there*This
happenedmore than once ortwice,
so that the king of Syria thought there must be a
traitor in his household, till one of his servants
said, " The prophet in Israel tells his master the
very words that you speak in your bedchamber/'
Then he sent men with horses & chariots to take
Elishaprisoner*Elishalivedtheninatownonthe
top of a hill; and they came by night, and sur^
rounded the hill on every side* Early in themonv
ing Elisha's servant went out, and seeing the vak
ley full of Syrians, ran back to his master, crying,
" Alas, what will become of us V: But he answered,
" Fear not ; th ere are more with us than with them ;
Lord, open his eyes, that he may see/' Then the
young man's eyes were opened, and he saw the

185

whole hillside between the town and the Syrians
full of chariots & horses of fire*But God smote the
Syrians with blindness, so that they did not know
where they were; and Elisha went down and said
to them, "This is not the way; follow me, and I
will Jeadyou to themanwhom you seek/' Sothey
followed him, and he led them into Samaria ; then
their eyes were opened again, & they found them^
selves in the middle of Samaria, with the king of
Israel's army all round about them* The king
asked Elisha," Shall I kill them V but he answer^
ed, "Would you kill those whom you had taken
captive with your sword and bow? let them eat
and drink and go back to their master/' So for a
while the Syrians ceased to trouble the land of
Israel*

CHAPTER CXLVIIL

THE FAMINE IN SAMARIA*

FTERWARDS war broke out
It again, and the king of Syria laid
siege to Samaria*There was a great
famine in the city, but Elisha shut
himself up in his house and did
nothing* When the famine was at
its worst, a woman came and cried to the king of
Israel,Joramsonof Ahab,as hewent alongon the
wall," Help me, my lord, O king !" He said to her,
" God's curse, how can I help you ? out of the barn/
186

floor, of out of the winepress ?what ails you }" She
answered," My lord, this other woman said to me
yesterday, Give your child, that we may eat him
to/day, and we will eat my child to-morrow; so
we boiled my child and ate him, and now to-day
she has hidden her child and will not give him to ,
be eaten/' When the king heard this story, he
rent his royal robe, so that people saw the sack^
cloth that he wore under it next his skin, and said,
"God do so to me if the head of Elisha shall
stand on his shoulders a day longer/' But Elisha
sat in his house; and when he heard steps outside,
he said to the people that were with him, "See,
this son of a murderer has sent to take away my
head; shut the door and hold the messenger fast,
for I hear the sound of his master's feet behind
him/' The words were hardly out of his mouth,
whenthekinghimself came; then Elisha roseand
said, I 4 Hear the word of the Lord; to-morrow a^
bout this time a measure of fine flour & two mea/
sures of barley shall be sold for a piece of silver in
the city gate/' The nobleman on whose hand the
king leaned answered, " If the Lord were to make
windows in heaven, might this thing be?" and
Elisha turned to him, and said, "You shall see it
with your eyes, but shall not eat of it/'

187

CHAPTER CXLIX*

THE EMPTY CAMP*

HAT evening four beggar men
who satin the city gate said to one
another, "Why do we sit here till
we die of hunger ? Let us go to the
camp of the Syrians; if they give
U us food we shalllive, and if they kill
us, we shall but die/' So at dusk they rose & went
out; but when they reached the camp, they found
it empty, with the horses tied & the tents as they
were, but no man to be seen* For God had made
the Syrians hear a noise in the dusk as of chariots
and horses and a great host, so that they thought
that the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the
Egyptians had been hired by the king of Israel and
were marchingagainst them; and in thetwilight,
leaving their tents and horses and the camp as it
was, they had fled for their life* The four beggar
men went into a tent, and ate and drank, & find'
ing silver and gold and clothes in it, took them
away and hid them, and then went on to another
tent and did the same there* At last they said to
one another, " If we loiter here till morning light,
some mischief will come upon us; let us go & tell
the king's household*'' So they went back and
called to the sentinels at the city>gate& told them
in what case they had found the camp* The sen^
tinels called up the king's house; and the king rose
188

in the night & said to his servants, " I will tell you
what the Syrians have done* They know that we
are starving ; therefore they have left their camp &
hidden themselves in the field, that when we come
out they may fall upon us suddenly & break into
the city /' Then some one advised that they should
send four or five men & horses to see; so they har^
nessed two chariots and went after the Syrians as
far as Jordan, and found all the road full of clothes
and arms that they had dropped in their flight*
At daybreak they returned and told the king; then
the gates were opened and the people rushed out
to plunder the camp; and that day a measure of
flour and two measures of barley were sold for a
piece of silver in the gate* But the king appointed
the nobleman on whose hand he leaned, and who
had asked how such a thing might be, to have
charge at the gate; and the crowd rushing through
the gate knocked him down & trod on him, and
he died; so he saw the plenty with his eyes, but
did not eat of it*

CHAPTER CL*

THE ARROWS OF KING JORAM*

HEN Elisha lay very sick& near
his death, the king of Israel came
to visit him, & wept over his face,
saying, " O my father, my father,
the chariot & horsemen or Israel!"
The sick man said to the king,

189

"Takeyourbow& arrows/' The kingtookthem;
then he said, " Draw the bow*" The king drew it;
and Elisha laid his hands upon the king's hands,
and said, "Open the east window ;" and when
they had opened it, he said to the king, " Shoot/'
The king shot through the window; and Elisha
cried, "The arrow of the Lord's deliverance/'
Then he said to the king, "Take the sheaf of ar^
rows, and strike with them on the ground/' The
king took them, and struck them on the ground
thrice, & stopped* Then E lisha said, " You should
have struck five or six times; then you would
have smitten the Syrians till you had destroyed
them ; now you shall smite them but thrice ;" and
when he had said this, he died*

CHAPTER CLL

THE MUTINY OF THE CAPTAINS*

|I N G Joram went out to war against
j the Syrians, and won three battles
over them; but afterwards he lost
all his battles, and was wounded &
went home to be healed; and while
I he lay sick at Jezreel, his sister's
son, the young king Ahaziah of Judah, came
to visit him* Meanwhile his captains began to
mutiny against him; and a prophet came to the
army at Ramoth^Gilead where the captains were
sitting in a room together, and said to Jehu the
190

son of Nimshi, " I have an errand to you, O cap^
tain/' So they went into another room; and there
theprophetpouredavial of oilonhishead, saying,
"The Lord anoints you king over Israel/' and
then opened the door and fled away* When Jehu
came out after him, the other captains asked,
ii Why did this mad fellow come to you?" He told
them; and they all spread their cloaks under him
at the top of the staircase, & proclaimed him king
with sound of trumpets* Then Jehu ordered that
the gates should be shut, and no news allowed
to go forth of the city; & he harnessed his chariot
and rode straight to Jezreel as fast as he could go*

CHAPTER CLIL

THE RIDE FROM RAMOTH.
GILEAD,

T the palace in Jezreel the watchx
man on the tower saw him coming
in the distance, and called down to
king Joram, " I see a company/'
fjj Joram ordered the horseman who
H was on guard at the palace gate to
gallop out & meet them & ask, " Is it peace?" But
when he rode up and cried, H Is it peace ? " Jehu an^
swered, " What haveyou to do with peace ? Turn
& ride behind me/' The watchman on the tower
looked, and told the king, "The messenger has
met them, but he does not come back/' Then the

191

king sent out a second horseman with the same
message; and presently the watchman cried from
the tower, "They have met, but he does not come
back; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu
the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously/' King
Joram said, " Harness I" and he and his nephew,
King Ahaziahof Judah, rode out each in his own
chariot; but they were hardly out of the palace
when they met Jehu in the field of Naboth the
Jezreelite* 'When they came near, Joram cried,
"Isitpeace,Jehu?"Jehuanswered,"Whatpeace,
so long as your mother, Jezebel the sorceress, is
alive ? ' King Joram turned rein, crying to the king
of Judah, " Treachery, O Ahaziah!" but as he
turned, Jehu drew his bow and shot; &the arrow
struck Joram between the shoulders and went out
through his heart, and he fell dead on his face in
the chariot* Then Jehu said to his squire, "Take
him up, and cast him in the field of Naboth; for
remember, how when land you rode together be^
hind Ahab his father, the Lord laid thisburden on
him, saying, Surely I have seen the blood of Na^
both and of his children, and I will make repays
ment in this field/'

192

CHAPTER CLIIL
THE WINDOW OVERTHE GATE.

[EANWHILE the king of Ju.
|dah had fled by the way of the gaiv
den house; but Jehu pursued him,
& within a little way overtook him
and killed him in his chariot; then
I he turned and rode back tojezreeh
When Queen Jezebel heard the cry that her son
was dead, she had put on her richest dress and
crowned herself and painted her eyes, and sat in
the window above the gate; and as Jehu rode in at
the gate below,she leaned over the window,& said,
" Had Zimri peace, who slew his master ?" Jehu
only looked up at the window and said, u Who is
on my side?" Two or three servants of the royal
household looked out to him ; & he said, H Throw
her down/' So they threw her down into the street,
and he trod her under his feet as he went into the
palace* There he ate and drank, and then said, "Go
nowtothis cursed woman and bury her, for she is
a king's daughter/' But when they went to bury
her they found that the dogs had eaten her under
thewali&nothingwasleftofherbutsomebones*
So the house of Ahab was destroyed, and Jehu
reigned over Israel*

m

CHAPTER CLIV.

THE STORY OF THE CEDAR AND
THE THISTLE.

FTER Jehu, his son Joash became
kingof Israel; and KingAmaziah
of Judah, who had won a great vio
tory over the Edomites in the Val-
ley of Salt, sent to challenge Joash
to battle* Joash sent this message
back: "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to
the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy
daughter to my son to wife; and the wild beast
that was in Lebanon passed by, and trod down
the thistle* You have indeed smitten Edom, and
your heart has lifted you up; glory over this and
tarry at home; for why should you meddle to your
hurt, and fall, even you and all Judah with you ?"
Buttheking of Judah would not listen to counsel;
therefore the king of Israel went out to war, and
the two kings met in battle at the House of the
Sun*Thekingof Israel defeated thekingof Judah
and took him prisoner; then he marched to Jeru-
salem and broke down the city wall & took away
all the treasures in the temple and palace, and re-
turned to Samaria*

194

CHAPTER CLV,

THE ASSYRIAN CAPTIVITY.

UTthe king of Judah sent for help
to thekingof Assyria inNineveh;
and soontheking of Assyria came
from Nineveh with a great army
& took Samaria after a three years'

siege and carried the inhabitants

away captive into Media, and repeopled the land
from Babylonia and Susiana; so there was an end
ofthekingdom of Israel&of ten out of the twelve
tribes, and the kingdom of Judah was left alone*
But when the ten tribes were carried away cap^
tive, they took counsel among themselves to go
forth into a further country; so they crossed Eu/
phrates by the narrow passages of the river (for the
Most High held still the flood till they had passed
over) and went a great way into the mountains
of the East ; there they lived waiting for the Most
High to stay the springs of the river again and
let them pass through, when the time should come
for them to return into their own land; and the
story tells no more of them*

02

195

CHAPTER CLVL

THE TEMPEST.

IHEN the kingdom of Nineveh
[ruled all the East, the word of the
Lord came to the prophet Jonah
bidding him go and prophesy a^
gainst it* But he did not wish to go ;
Iso he went down to the seaport of
Joppa, and there finding a ship in harbour ready-
to sail for Spain, he paid his fare and got on board
to go with them to Spain away from the presence
of the Lord* Soon after they had set sail the wind
rose, & there was a great tempest* The sailors were
afraid that their ship would be dashed to pieces;
they cried each to his god, and lightened the ship
by throwing their wares overboard into the sea*
But Jonah had gone below and layfast asleep, till
the captain came and awoke him, saying, f* w hat
do you mean, sleeper ? Rise, & call upon God, that
we perish not/' Then all the crew cast lots to know
for whose cause they were in trouble; and the lot
fell upon Jonah* They asked him who & whence
he was and what was his occupation; and when
he told them how he was a prophet and had fled
from the presence of the Lord, they said, "What
shall we do, that the sea maybe calm for us }" for
the sea grew more and more, & though they rowed
hard they could not bring the ship to land* He
said, "Take me up and cast me forth into the sea;
196

for this great tempest is upon you for my sake/'
So they took him up and threw him into the sea,
and immediately it grew calm* But God had pre**
pared a great fish to swallow Jonah; and he was
in the belly of the fish three days and three nights ;
then God spoke to the fish, and it vomited him
out upon dry land*

CHAPTER CLVIL

JONAH'S GOURD*

HEN the word of the Lord came to
Jonah a second time* bidding him
goto Nineveh and deliver his mes/
sage: so he rose & went* Now Ni^
neveh was a very great city* three
days' journey from end to end; and
Jonah went a day's journey into it* crying aloud as
he went, " Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be
overthrown*" When the cry spread, and reached
the King of Nineveh in his palace, he came down
from his throne and put off his royal robes and
dressed himself .in sackcloth ; and he proclaimed
throughout the city thatall the people should fast
and pray and leave off all their wickedness, that
God might have mercy* Then God had mercy on
them, and did not destroy the city ; but Jonah was
exceedingly angry, and cried to God, " O Lord,
was not this why I fled away from thy presence ?
for I knew thee for a gracious God, slow to anger

*97

& of great kindness ♦ Take away my life, I beseech
thee, for I had rather die than live/ But God said,
"Do you well tobe angry V Now Jonah had gone
out of Nineveh & sat on the east side of the city in
abooth that hehad made for shelter from the sun,
waiting to seewhatwouldbecomeofthecity; and
God prepared a gourd which grew over the booth
and kept it cool with the shadow of its leaves, so
that Jonah was glad because of the gourd* But
early next morning God prepared a worm that ate
into the gourd, and it withered; then God prepared
a fierce east wind, and all day the sun beat upon
Jonah till he grew faint, and was so sorry for him/
self and for the gourd that he said, u I wish I were
dead/' Then God said, " You have had pity on the
gourd, for which you did not labour to make it
grow, which came up in a night and perished in a
night ; and should not I have pity on Nineveh, that
great city, wherein are more than six score thou/
sand children too young to know their right hand
from their left, and also much cattle V*

198

CHAPTER CLVIIL

THE DESTROYING ANGEL.

N the reign of Hezekiah king of
Judah, Sennacherib king of As^
syria came with his army against
Judah and took their fortresses &
prepared to lay siege to Jerusalem:
but first he sent three of his cap"
tains to summon it to surrender* They rode up to
the city gate and called aloud to the king & all the
people on the wall in these words: "Thus saith
the great king, the king of Assyria; makepeace
with me, O people, & surrender your city, & eat
every man of his own vine and fig-tree and drink
every one of his own well, until I come and take
you away to another land, aland of corn and wine,
a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil^olive
and honey, that you may live and not die* Do not
be deceived &thinkthatthe Lord will deliver you*
Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered
his country out of my hand ? where are the kings
of Hamath and Arpad? where are the kings of
Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah, or the children of
E den in Telassar ? the feet of my armies have dried
up the rivers of besieged places, and made walled
cities into ruinous heaps/' But the prophet Isaiah
saidfro the king of Judah, "Do not be afraid; for
the Lord shall send a blast upon him, and he shall
hear a rumour, and return home by the way he

m

came, and fall by the sword in his own land/' That
same night the Angel of the Lord went out and
smote the camp of the Assyrians, and when they
rose early in the morning, a hundred and eighty^
five thousand men lay dead in the camp* So Sen^
nacherib and the remnant of his army returned
with shame to Nineveh ; andthere two of his own
sons killed him as he worshipped in a temple, and
fled out of the land* But King H ezekiah had riches
andhonour, and made himself treasuries for silver
and gold and pleasant jewels, and storehouses for
corn and wine and oil, and stalls for cattle and cotes
for flocks ; & when he was sick, God added fifteen
years to his life, and for a sign made the shadow
on the sundial go ten degrees backward; and there
was peace and truth in his days*

CHAPTER CLIX*

THE GRAVEYARD ON THE HILL*

JOSI AH king of Judah put down
all the worshippers of strange gods
Jin his land, and those who burned
[incense to the sun and moon and
I the host of heaven ; he took away

(the horses that the kings of Judah

had given to the sun, which were stalled in the
cloisters of the temple, and burned the chariots
of the sun with fire, and broke down the altars of
the sun and moon that stood on the palace roof,
aoo

and the high place of Moloch and Ashtaroth that
King Solomon had built on the hilLThen he went
to Bethel, and broke down the altar that Jeroboam
king of Israel had made there for the worship of
the golden calf, and as he turned he saw the tombs
of the priests of the golden calf, that were on the
hill, and took the bones out of them and burned
them on the altar* Then he said, H Whose tomb'
stone is that I see yonder ? " The people of the place
told him, " It is the tomb of the man of God out
of Judah who foretold the things that are being
done to day i" The king said, " Let him alone; let
no one move his bones/' So his bones, and the
bones of the old prophet who was buried beside
him, were left at peace in their tomb*

CHAPTER CLX,

THE WATERS OF BABYLON*

HEN Cyaxares king of Media
& Nabopolassar king of Babylon
had besieged Nineveh & taken it,
they broke down the fifty miles of
wall & the fifteen hundred towers,
and burned all the city, leaving it
,vast wilderness of ruins; then the kingdom of
Babylon grew great and began to conquer all the
other kingdoms of theEast*rharaolvNecho king
of Egypt marched with an army against the king
of Babylon, but was conquered in a great battle

201

at Carchemish on the Euphrates* After that bat'
tie the kingdom of Judah became vassal to Baby
Ion; and when it rebelled, Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon came with his army and took Jemv
salem by storm after a siege of eighteen months*
The kingof Judah fled by night to escape into the
desert, but was pursued and caught; and Nebu^
chadnezzar put out his eyes and bound him with
fetters of brass and carried him away to Babylon*
The captain of the royal guard remained behind
at Jerusalem to break down the city walls &burn
the Temple & the palace & all the great houses ;
and when this was done* he returned to Babylon*
taking the most part of the people with him into
captivity* & only leaving a few poor men as hus^
bandmen and vinedressers* A governor & a small
guard of Babylonian soldiers were left in garrison;
but within a few months afterwards* they were
treacherously attacked and killed by aband of the
fugitives from Jerusalem ; whereupon all the rem^
nant of the people* fearing the anger of the king
of Babylon when he came to hear of it* rose and
fled into Egypt; and for seventy years after the
land lay desolate and without inhabitants* But
by the waters of Babylon the captive people hung
their harps upon the willows, and wept as they
remembered Zion*

202

CHAPTER CLXL

THE VISION OF THE CHERUBIM.

N the land of Babylon by the river
Chebar the prophet saw a whirls
wind come out of the north, like
a fire unfolding itself, and in the
middle of the fire was a brightness
like amber, & four living creatures
sparkling like burnished brass, each with four
wings and four faces, and their wings were full of
eyes* They went each one straight forward, not
turning as they went, and ran and returned like
the appearance of a flash of lightning* Then as
he looked he saw beside them four wheels of the
colour of chrysolite, all four in one likeness, so
high that they were dreadful, and full of eyes*
Their appearance was as it were a wheel in the
middle of a wheel; and they went by the living
creatures, going where they went & rising off the
earth where they rose; for the soul of the living
creatures was in the wheels* Over their heads was
a canopy like the colour of the terrible crystal, and
when they went he heard the noise of their wings
which spoke; when they stood at rest they let
down their wings, but still a voice came from the
canopy over them, and cried in his hearing, " O
WHEEL/' Above the canopy that was over
their heads was the likeness of a throne made of a
sapphire, and upon the throne was the likeness of

203

a man above upon it, shining like fire, with the
brightness of a rainbow round about him* Then
the prophet knew that the living creatures were
the cherubim, and that what he saw above them
was the appearance of the glory of God*

CHAPTER CLXIL

THE VISION OF THE HORSES IN
THE VALLEY*

3 Y night in a vision the prophet saw
i a man riding on a red horse* who
stood among the myrtle trees in a
I valley* and behind him were other
horses* red* speckled, and white;
I & he said to the angel beside him*
" O my lord, what are these }" The angel answer/
ed, u These are they whom the Lord has sent to
walk to and fro through the earth*" Then the
horses spoke to the angel that stood among the
myrtle trees, saying* "We have walked to & fro
through the earth* & lo, the whole earth sits still
and is at rest;" and the angel cried to heaven* H O
Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy
on Jerusalem, which has been desolate for seventy
years?"

204

CHAPTER CLXIIL

THE VISION OF THE GOLDEN
LAMPS.

HE angel came to the prophet and
waked him as a man that is wakens
ed out of sleep, and said, "What
do you see ?" Then he looked and
saw a candlestick all of gold, with a
bowl upon the top & seven lamps,
and seven pipes from the bowl to the seven lamps,
and two olive trees, one on the right and the other
on the left, that kept pouring golden oil into the
bowl; and he asked, " W hat are these, my lord?"
The angel said, "These seven lamps are the eyes
of the Lord, which run to and fro throughout
the world; and these two olive-trees are the two
Anointed Ones that stand by the Lord of the
whole earth/'

CHAPTER CLXIV-

THE VISION OF THE FOUR

CHARIOTS.

HE prophet turned and lifted up
his eyes and looked, and lo, four
chariots came out from between
twomountainsofbrass/Thehorses
in the first chariot were red, in the
seocnd black, in the third white, &

205

in the fourth bay* The black horses went out
into the north country, and the white followed
them; the bay horses went out into the south
country; and the red horses sought to go to and
fro across the earth* Then he asked the angel who
talked with him* " What are these* my lord V and
he answered* "These are the four Spirits of the
Heavens* which go forth from standingbefore the
Lord of the whole earth/'

CHAPTER CLXV*

THE COMPLAINT OF THE CAP.

TIVES IN BABYLON*

[HEN the people were captive in
Babylon & the holy city lay waste*
they cried to God and said thus :
44 O Lord that bearest rule* of all
the trees in every wood of the earth
I thou hast chosen for thyself one
vine t & of all lands of the whole world thou hast
chosen thee one garden; and of all the flowers in
it one lily: and of all the depths of the sea thou
hast filled thee one river: and of all builded cities
thou hast hallowed Zion unto thyself* And of all
the birds that are created thou hast named thee
one dove : and of all the cattle that are made thou
hast provided thee one lamb: and among all the
multitude of peoples thou hast got thee one peo.
pie : and unto this people whom thou lovedst thou
206

hast given thy law* Now, O Lord, why hast thou
given this thy one people over to the heathen?
though thou didst hate them, yet shouldst thou
punish them with thine own hands/' But God
answered : " In the beginning when the earth was
made, before the winds blew, before the fair flow
ers were seen, before the innumerable multitudes
of angels were gathered together, then I consider^
ed these things; through me and none other they
were done, and by me and none other shall they
be brought to an end/'

CHAPTER CLXVL

THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES.

hand of God carried out the
prophet & set him down in a val'
ley in the desert, that was full of
men's bones, and made him pass
by them; they lay thick over all the
open valley, bleached and dry*The
Spirit of God said to him, u Son of man, can these
dry bones live?" He answered, "O Lord God,
thou knowest/' Then God said, u Prophesy upon
these bones and bid them hear the word of the
Lord/' So he cried to them, "O ye dry bones, hear
the word of the Lord;/' and there was a noise and
a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to
bone; and even as he looked, the sinews and the
flesh came up upon them and the skin covered

207

them above; but there was no breath in them*
Then God said/' Prophesyto the wind, prophesy,
son of man, and say to the wind, Come from the
four winds, O breath, & breathe upon these slain,
that they may live/' So he prophesied; and the
breath came into them, and they lived and stood
up on their feet, an exceeding great army*

CHAPTER CLXVIL

THE MAGICIANS*

|EBUCHADNEZZARking
of Babylon dreamed a dream by
night tnat troubled him, so that he
could not sleep; therefore he sent
for all his magicians & astrologers
and sorcerers to give him counsel*
They came before him, and said, " O king, live
for ever; tell us the dream and we will interpret
it/ 1 Nebuchadnezzar answered, " Do you tell me
what my dream was, and then I shall know that
you are able to interpret it* If you do this, I will
give you gifts & great honours; but if you do not,
you shall be cut in pieces, & your houses be made
a dunghill/' The magicians were amazed, & said
to him, " There is not a man upon earth that can
do this, nor has any king ever asked such a thing
of any astrologer; it is a rare thing that the king
requires; except the gods whose dwelling is not
with men, there is no other who can do it/' But
208

the king was very furious, and ordered the chief
of the executioners to kill all the wise men of
Babylon*

CHAPTER CLXVIIL

THE WISDOM OF DANIEL.

IO W^ among the magicians were

four children, who had beenchos/

en out of the captives from Judah

tobe brought up in the palace and

I taught wisdom & magic for three

J years, that they might stand be^

fore the king ; their names were Daniel, H ananiah,
Mishael and Azariah; and they had skill in all
magic, and in visions and dreams* When the
decree went forth to kill the wise men, Daniel
went to the chief of the executioners & prevailed
on him to delay it for a day, "and to-morrow,"
he said, "I myself will tell the king his dream/'
Then he and the other three children all prayed
to God, and God revealed the secret to Daniel in
a vision at night* In the morning he awoke and
gave thanks to God, and went to the chief of the
executioners, who was making ready to kill the
magicians; and they went together to the king*
Then Daniel stood before the king and said, " O
king, as you lay in your bed you thought of what
things should come tobe after you; then you saw,
and lo, a great image, bright and terrible, stood
p 209

before you* The head of the image was of fine gold,
the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs
of brass, the legs of iron, & the feet partly of iron
and partly of clay* You looked, & saw a stone cut
out without hands, which struck the image on its
feet of clay and iron, and broke them in pieces;
then the clay, the iron, the brass, the silver and the
gold all crumbled together & the wind blew them
away, like chaff on a summer threshing-floor ; but
the stone became a great mountain, and filled all
the earthuThis wasyour dream, O king; and this
is the interpretation of it: You, who rule over all
the children of men in glory, are the head of gold*
After you shall arise another kingdom, inferior to
you, as silver is to gold; and after it a third king-'
dona of brass, which shall bear rule over all the
earth; and then a fourth kingdom of iron, which
shall break all things in pieces; and that kingdom
shall be divided, and be partly strong and partly
weak, like iron mixed with clay; then after it God
shall set up a kingdom of his own which shall
never be destroyed, but shall break in pieces all
those other kingdoms, and shall stand for even"
When King Nebuchadnezzar heard his dream
told him, he said to Daniel, ft Truly your God is
a God of Gods & a Lord of kings and a Revealer
of secrets*" So he spared the magicians, and made
Daniel ruler over Babylon; then Daniel made re^
quest of the king, and he set the other three chih
dren over the affairs of the province; but Daniel
sat in the gate of the king*
210

CHAPTER CLXIX*

THE FIERY FURNACE.

EBUCHADNEZZAR the
king made a golden image a hun-*
dred feet high, and set it up in the
plain of Babylon* He sent for all
the princes, governors, captains, &
councillors of all the provinces of
lis kingdom to come to the dedication of the im^
age ; and aherald cried aloud :" O peoples, nations,
and languages ! it is commanded that at what time
you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sack/*
but, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you
shall fall down and worship the golden image; &
whoever does not fall down and worship shall the
same hour be cast into the middle of a burning
fiery furnace/' Then the music sounded, and all
the people fell down and worshipped* But certain
men of Babylon cametothekingandsaidtohim:
"O king* live for ever; the three children whom
you have set over the province of Babylon have
not fallen down and worshipped your golden im*
age/' Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury com-'
manded the three children to be brought before
him and asked them, " What is this ? "They an^
swered, " O king, our God whom we serve is able
to save us fromtheburningfiery furnace, and will
deliver us from your hand; we will not worship
your golden image/' Then the king was full of

p2 211

fury; he commanded that the furnace should be
heated seven times hotter than usual, and that the
strongest men in his army should bind the three
children and throw them in* So the furnace was
heated with oil and pitch and small wood till the
flames streamed out high into the air and no one
could go near it for the heat; then the three chil*
dren, in their coats & hats, just as they stood, were
seized and bound, and thrown into the furnace*
Theviolentheatofthefurnacemadethemenwho
threw them in fall down dead when they came near
it; but the three children fell bound into the mid.*
die of the fire* But God kept the heat of the fur*-
nace off them, and it only burned the cords with
which they were bound; and they stood up and
walked in the midst of the fire, praising Goa,and
singing, " O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the
Lord; praise him,& magnify him for ever* Ne^
buchadnezzar rose up in haste from his throne, &
said to his court/' Did we not cast three men bound
into the furnace ? " They answered/' Yes, O king*"
He said, " Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the
midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the
form of the fourth is like the Son of God/' Then
he went as near as he might to the mouth of the
furnace, & called to them to come out* They came
out, and the king and all his court saw that there
was not a hair of their head singed, nor were their
coats discoloured, nor did they smell of burning*
Then Nebuchadnezzar worshipped God, and
2.12.

promoted the three children in the province of
Babylon*

CHAPTER CLXX,

THE PROUD KING.

JING Nebuchadnezzar walked on
the roof of his palace, looking down
from it upon the city, that lay for
miles along both sides of the river
with its temples and gardens and
palaces and towers, & said to hinv
self, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built
for the home of my kingdom, by themightof my
power and for the honour of my majesty?" But
while the words were in his mouth a voice fell
from heaven, & said, "O king Nebuchadnezzar,
the kingdom is taken from you, and they shall
drive you from among men, and you shall live
with the beasts ofthe field eating grass like oxen,
until you know that the Most High rules, & gives
the kingdom to whomsoever he will/' Then the
king's reason left him: he was deposed from his
kingdom and driven from among men, and ate
grass like an ox for seven years in the open field,
until his hair grew like eagles' feathers and his
nails like birds' claws* At the end of seven years
his reason returned to him, and he knew what had
come upon him and worshipped the Most High;
and his councillors and lords came back to him &
established him again in his kingdom*

213

CHAPTER CLXXL

THE WRITING ON THE WALL.

ELSHAZZAR the king made
a great feast to a thousand of his
lords, & they drank out of the gold
and silver vessels which his father
Nebuchadnezzar had taken from
I the Temple in Jerusalem* W^hile
they sat drinking wine and praising their gods of
gold and silver, the fingers of a man's hand came
forth and wrote words upon the plaster of the wall
of the banqueting^house, opposite the candles*
The king saw the part of the hand that wrote,
and his countenance was changed, and his knees
knocked against one another with fear* He called
for all the astrologers and magicians, and said,
""Whoever shall read this writing and interpret
it shall be clothed with scarlet, & wear a chain of
gold about his neck, and be one of the three rulers
of the kingdom/' But none of them could read it
or interpret it* The rumour spread over all the pax
lace; and the king's mother came into the ban/
queting^house, and said, u O king* live for ever:
there is a man in your kingdom called Daniel* in
whom is the spirit of the holy gods, & your father
Nebuchadnezzar made him his master of the ma/
gicians for his excellence in interpreting dreams &
dissolving doubts and shewing hard sentences; let
him be called, and he shall interpret it*" Then the
214

king sent for Daniel; and he came in and said: "O
king, God gave your father a great kingdom, so
that all nations trembled before him; but when his
heart was lifted up with pride, his glory was taken
awayfrom him andhewas made like a wild beast,
eating grass and wet with the dew of heaven, until
he knew that God rules in the kingdoms of men*
Yet you his son have not humbled your heart, but
have drunk wineinthe vessels of the house of the
High Lord, praising your idols of silver and gold,
and not giving glory to God in whose hand your
breath is* The writing that is written on the wall
isthis,MENE,MENE,TEKEL,UPHAR.
SIN: that is to say, NUMBERED, NUM.
BERED, WEIGHED, AND DIVIDED.
And the interpretation of itisthis : God has num.
bered your kingdom & finished it ; you are weighed
in the balances and found wanting ; and your king.
dom is divided and given to the Medes and Per*
sians/' Then king Belshazzar commanded to
clothe Daniel in scarlet, and put a chain of gold
about his neck, and proclaim him one of the three
rulers of the kingdom* But that same night the
Median and Persian army under Darius king of
Media broke into Babylon by the dry bed of the
river, & killed Belshazzar in his palace & brought
the Babylonian empire to an end*

215.

CHAPTER CLXXIL

THE DEN OF LIONS.

3ING Darius set over his empire a
] hundred & twenty princes, one over
each province j but he honoured Day
niel above them all, and meditated
to set him over the whole kingdom*
i Theprinces were jealous, and plot'
ted against Daniel, but could find no occasion to
accuse him to the king* At last they came all to/
gether to the king & said, " King Darius, live for
ever tall the presidents, governors, princes, coun/
cillors & captains of your kingdom have consulted
together, and advise you to make a law, that who/
ever shall ask a petition for the next thirty days
of any god or man, except of the king, shall be
thrown the same day into the den of lions/' Then
thekingsignedthedecree* Butwhen Danielknew
that this law was made,he went into his house, and
leaving his windows open towards Jerusalem, he
kneeled down & prayed to God as he always did
thrice a day* His enemies watched him, and then
wenttotheking*&said,"Oking,thatmanDaniel,
who is one of the captives from Judah, does not
obey your decree, but prays to his God three times
a day /'The king was very angry with himself, and
laboured all the rest of the day to save him, but
could find no way of escape; for it was the law of
the Medes & Persians that no decree of the king
3l6

mightbechanged*Soatsunset Daniel was thrown
into the den of lions and a stone laid on the mouth
of the den, which the king & his lords sealed with
their own signets, that no man might move it.The
kingwentbacktohispalacein great displeasure, &
had no music played to him, & did not eat or sleep
all night* Very early in the morning he rose and
went in haste to the den of lions, and cried with
a lamentable voice into the den, "O Daniel, has
your God delivered you from the lions ?" A voice
came back out of the den : H O king, live for ever :
my God has sent his angel and shut the lions'
mouths, so that they have not hurt me/' The king
was very glad, and commanded his servants to
take Daniel up out of the den; but the men who
had accused him were brought and thrown into
the den instead of him; and the lions had the mas/
tery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces
before ever they reached the bottom of the den*

CHAPTER CLXXIIL

THE FEAST IN THE PALACE OF
THE LILY.

jHASUERUSkingofPersia,who

: reigned from India to Africa over

a hundred and twenty^seven pro^

vinces, made a feast in his Palace of

the Lily to all his people both great

I and small, & they drank royal wine

217

in abundance from cups of gold in the garden^
court of the palace, which was paved with marble
and alabaster and mother-of-pearl, and covered
from the sun with canopies of white, green, and
blue* Ontheseventh day of the feast, being merry
with wine, King Ahasuerus commanded his seven
chamberlains to bring out Vashti the Queen in
her royal robes, that the princes and people might
look on her; for she was very beautiful* But Vashti
was so proud, that she refused to come at his bid"
ding ; therefore the king decreed that she should be
removed from her royal estate and that another
queen should be chosen instead of her* Officers
were sentthrough all the provinces of the kingdom
to choose the most beautiful women that could
be foundand bringthemtothepalace,thataqueen
mightbe taken from among them; &one of those
who were chosen wasajewess called Esther, who
was one of the captives in Babylon* Her father &
mother were dead, & her cousin Mordecai, who sat
in the gate of the Palace of the Lily, had brought
her up* She was brought to the palace and given
in charge to the keeper of the women; and he was
pleased with her, and gave her dresses and orna^
ments and seven maids to wait on her; and when
her turn came to go before the king, she found
favour with him more than all the other women ;
so he set the royal crown on her head, and made
her queen instead of Vashti; but she kept it secret
that she belonged to the people of the Jews*
218

CHAPTER CLXXIV.

THE MALICE OF HAMAN.

jBOUT this time two of the royal
1 chamberlains laid a plot to kill the
king, which came to the ears of
Mordecai, as he sat in the palace
gate. He sent word of it to hiscou"
sin, Queen Esther, & she told the
king; then the two chamberlains were tried and
hanged, and the account of the trial was written in
the book of the chronicles of the kingdom* After'
wards the king promoted one of his servants call'
ed Haman to great honour, & made him a prince;
and all the king's servants in the palace bowed to
him, except Mordecai, who would not bow to him
because Haman was an enemy of the Jews. Then
Haman was full of anger, and thought it a small
thing to punish Mordecai alone, but determined
to take revenge on all the Jews throughout the
kingdom. He went to the king and said, " There
is a certain people scattered and dispersed in all the
provinces of your kingdom, who do not keep your
laws ; and it is not for your profit to endure them.
If it please the king, let them be destroyed; the
cost will be ten thousand talents of silver, but I
will pay for it." The king consented, and taking
the signet ring from his finger, gave it to Haman
that the thing might be done. So the king* s sec^
retaries were set to write copies of a letter in all

219

the languages of the kingdom,written in the king's
name, & sealed with his ring, and it was sent out
by posts to all the governors of the provinces, or/
dering them to destroy and kill all Jews, young
and old, women and little children, upon one day,
namely, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month.
Then the king and Haman sat down to drink;
but the City of the Lily was perplexed*

CHAPTER CLXXV*
THE GOLDEN SCEPTRE.

5^^^^ gHERE was great terror among
the Jews ;& Mordecai sent a copy
of the decree to Queen Esther, and
told her that she must go to the
king and make supplication for her
people ♦ She sent him answer, u All
men know that whoever comes before the king
into the inner court of the palace without being
called forisputto death, unless the king holds out
his golden sceptre to him that he may live; & for
the last thirty days I have not been called for to
go in to the king* ' He sent back word again, " Do
not think to escape yourself, when all your people
perish; nay, if you fail us now, deliverance shall
come from elsewhere, and you and your family
be destroyed; and who knows but it was for this
that you were chosen queen?" Then Esther re^
turned answer, "Gather all the Jews in the city,
zzo

and fast and pray for me for three days, night and
day, and I will go to the king; and if I perish, I
perish*" At the end of three days she put on her
royal robes, and went and stood in the gate of the
inner court opposite the king as he sat on his
throne. When the king saw her, she was pleasing
in his sight, and he held out the golden sceptre to
her & said, " What is your desire, Queen Esther ?
it shall be given you, even to the half of the king/*
dom/' She answered, " May it please the king to
come to-day with H aman to a banquet that I have
prepared for him/' So they came to the banquet;
and there the kingagainbade her name her desire*
Sheanswered,"IfIhavefoundfavourintheking's
sight, let the king and Haman come again to my
banquet to/morrow,and then I will make my re/
quest/' Haman wenthomefromthebanquet joy/
hilly, and calling his wife and all his friends, told
them of his riches and glory and how the king had
promoted him above all the princes of the king/
dom ;" Yes, and to-day," he said," when the queen
invited the king to a banquet, I was the only
other person invited, and to/ morrow I am to go
again: yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I
see Mordecai the Jew, who refuses to do me re/
verence, sitting in the palace gate/' His wife and
his friends said to him, " Let a gallows be built
eighty feet high, and to/morrow morning speak
to the king that Mordecai may be hanged on it;
then you can go merrily to the queen's banquet/'

221

The advice pleased Haman, and he had the gal*
lows built*

CHAPTER CLXXVL

THE BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES
OFTHE KINGDOM.

HAT night the king could not
sleep ; so the book of the chronicles
of the kingdom was brought and
fl readouttohim/There it was found
written how Mordecai had dis^
covered the conspiracy of the two
chamberlains; and when the king asked what re*
ward had been given him, it was found there had
been none* By this time it was morning ; and Ha*
man was in the outer court of the palace waiting
for an audience, that he might speak to the king
to have Mordecai hanged* So when the kingask/
ed, "Who is in waiting?" they said, "Haman
stands in the court/' " Let him come in," said the
king* Haman came in, and the kingat once asked
him, "What shall be done to the man whom the
king delights to honour?" He thought within
himself, "WTiom should thekingdesire to honour
but me?" so he considered, and then answered,
" For the man whom the king delights to honour,
let him be dressed in the royal robes & crown, and
let one of the princes lead him riding on thekingf s
own horse through the street of the city, proclaim*

222

ing before him, Thus shall it be done to the man
whom the king delights to honour/'The king said
to him, " Make haste, and take my robes and my
horse, and do even as you have said to Mordecai
the Jew, who sits in my gate/' So Haman took
Mordecai and arrayed him and brought him on
horseback through the city, and then hastened
home in grief, with his face covered, to tell his
wife and friends what had happened* They said,
"This promises badly for you;" and while they
were still talking, & gave him but small comfort,
a messenger from the palace came to say that the
king waited for him to go to the banquet in the
queen's pavilion ♦

CHAPTER CLXXVIL

THE BANQUET IN THE QUEEN'S

PAVILION.

JO the king and Haman came to
Jthe queen's banquet; and there the
I king said again, ff What is your dc
J sire,Queen E sther ? it shall be done,
even to the half of the kingdom/'
I Then Esther rose, and fell at the
king's feet, and answered, u If it please the king,
let my life be given me; for I and my people
are sold to be slain and to perish/' " Who and
where is he," said the king, " who dares presume
to do this?" She answered, "The enemy is this

223

wicked Haman*" The king rose up from the table
in a fury and went into the palace garden; and
Haman fell down before Esther to plead with her
for his life* He was lying across the queen's couch
at her feet, when the king came back out of the
garden into the pavilion* " Will he force the queen
also in my house before my eyes V cried the king;
and as thewordswentoutof theking's mouth, the
attendants covered Haman' s face* Then one of
the chamberlains who waited on the king said,
44 See also, the gallows eighty feet high that this
man had built for Mordecai, who saved the king's
life, stands in his house/' " Hang him on it," said
the king; and he was hurried away and hanged*

CHAPTER CLXXVIII*

THE RIDING OF THE POSTS*

HEN king Ahasuerus took his
signet ring, which he had taken
away from Haman, and gave it to
Mordecai thejew; and letters were
written from the Palace of the Lily
1 in the king's name and sealed with
his ring, to the governors of all the hundred and
twenty /-seven provinces between India & Africa,
in the language of every people, and sent by royal
posts on swift horses and camels and dromedaries,
grantingleave to thejews to gather together & de^
Fend themselves against all men who attempted to
224

do them harm on the thirteenth day of the twelfth
month, which was the day that Haman had ap/
pointed for their destruction* So when the day
came, no one dared to touch them ;& on thefour^
teenth day of the month they were glad together,
& kept the day as a festival*Then there was peace
upon thepeopleof Israel throughout all therealm
of the king*

CHAPTER CLXXIX*

THE RETURN FROM BABYLON*

HEN thepeopleof God had been
captives for seventy years in Baby
Ion, Cyrus the Persian, king of
j kings, decreed that the temple of
I God at Jerusalem should be re/
j built, & that all who wished might
go back and live again in thelandof Judah, which
had lain waste & kept Sabbath since the King of
Babylon had taken the people away* Then many
people returned, and lived in the old land of their
fathers under a prince of the house of David; &
as soon as they were settled in theland,theybegan
to rebuild the temple*Atthe layingof the founda^
tion/stone the trumpets sounded and the priests
sang together, " Praise the Lord, because he is
gooa, for his mercy endureth for ever," and the
people shouted with a great shout of jov*Butmany
of the ancient men, who had seen the first Temple
q 225

in its glory, wept aloud; so that the noise of the
shouting and weeping was heard far off*

CHAPTER CLXXX*

THE RUINS AT NIGHT.

FTER they had built the second
Temple, the walls & palaces of the
city still lay in ruins where they had
been broken do wn & burned* Word
of this came to Nehemiah the Jew,
who was cupbearer to king Arta^
xerxes in the Palace of the Lily ; then he was very
sad, so that the king asked what ailed him* "O
king," he said, "why should not my face be sad,
when the city of my fathers lies waste ? please you
to send me there, that I may build it/' So the king
made him governor of Jerusalem, and sent him to
rebuild the city* When he came to Jerusalem, he
said nothing at first of what he had come to do;
but at night he rose and mounted his horse quietly,
and rode out by the valley gate & the dragon well*
He rode outside the broken walls till he came
to the fountain gate, & there his horse could not
pass further among the rubbish heaps of the bnv
ken wall; so he climbed up the side of the valley in
the dim light and viewed the wall, and then turn^
ing back, rode in again by the valley gate before
break of day*

226

CHAPTER CLXXXL

THE BUILDING OF THE WALL.

HEN day came,Nehemiah called
J the nobles and rulers &told them
\ his commission from the king; &
j all the people joyfully rose up at
once and began to build the wall*
Beginning at the sheep gate they
auiltto the fish gate;andso by the broad wall and
the tower of the furnaces to the valley gate; and
from the fountain gate they built the wall by the
king's garden & the stairs that go down from the
castle, as far as thetower lyingout fromtheking's
high house by the court ot the prison; and so from
the water gate by the great tower to the horse gate,
and back to the sheep gate where they had begun*
Every man built with his sword buckled on for
fear of enemies, working from daybreak till the
stars appeared at night; and the governor's guard
patrolled the works night and day* So they never
ceased till they had finished buildingthe walls and
gates, and the city was safe against enemies; and
then they began to restore the palaces of the city
and to renew it and make it fair as it had been in
the ancient days*

q 2

227

CHAPTER CLXXXIL

THE HEATHEN HOST.

SHE king of the heathen called for
Holofetnes the chief captain of his
army, and said to him, " Go forth
from my presence into the west
with an army, and bid the nations
of the west give me earth & water,
and become my subjects; and if they do not yield
themselves, put them to the slaughter, and spare
none/' So Holofernes and his army went over
Euphrates and destroyed all the high cities as far
as the sea, and pitched his camp near the town of
Bethulia, preparing to march into Judea* Then
the highpriestin Jerusalem wrote toChabris and
Charmis, the governors of Bethulia, to shut the
passes of the hill country and fortify their town
strongly against Holofernes, to keep him from en-*
tering the land* When Holofernes saw them pre
paringto resisthim,hemarched his army into the
valley below Bethulia & took the fountains from
which the town drew its water ; but the townsmen
kept him from coming further by slinging stones
from the top of the hill, and kindled fires on the city
towers and kept watch all night* Then the cap'
tains of the heathen army counselled Holofernes,
44 Do not assault the town, but keep the fountains
in the valley, from which they get all their water,
and wait until they are forced by thirst to sur*
228

' /

render; for so you will win the city without losing
any of your own men/' This advice was taken; and
the army besieged Bethulia for thirty days, till all
the cisterns in it were empty, and men & women
fainted and fell down in the streets for thirst, and
had no strength any longer; and at last the people,
cried to the governor to surrender before they were
all dead* He encouraged them to endure for five
days more; & then, if no help came, he promised
to give up the town.

CHAPTER CLXXXIIL

THE VALOUR OF JUDITH.

HERE was a young widow cal'
led Judith in Bethulia, whose hus'
I band had died three years before
of a sunstroke in the field at barley
harvest; she was very beautiful,
andher husband had left her great
wealth, and no one gave her an ill word. She sent
for the governors of the city, and said to them,
" What is this that you have done ? God has power
to save us or destroy us every day, and is not as a
man who threatens or who wavers, that we should
bind him down to five days; let us wait for his sal*
vation till it please him* They answered, "The
people compelled us to do this,& to take an oath to
it, which we may not break/'Then she said," H ear
me, and I will do a thing which shall be told of

229

throughout all ages* Let me go forth to-night with
my waitings woman, and within thefivedays God
shall deliver us by my hand/' They answered,
*' Go, in God's name/' Atthehour when the even**
ing incense was burned in the house of God at
Jerusalem she prayed, and put ofFher mourning
that she had worn ever since her husband died, &
washed and anointed herself, and braided her hair,
and put on her garments of gladness & her braces
lets and chains and rings & all her ornaments; and
she and her maid went to the city gate, where Cha^
bris and Charmis, the ancients of the city, stood on
guard* When they saw her, they wondered at her
beauty, and opened the gates for her; and she and
her maid went out, the men of the city looking
after her as she went down the hill till the dark"
ness hid her from sight*

CHAPTER CLXXXIV*

THE SUPPER IN THE TENT*

JUDITH went straight on till she

[met the sentinels of the enemy,

I and asked to be taken before their

general; so they took her through

I the camp to Holofernes' tent* He

came out of his tent with silver

lamps goin g before him, and when he saw Judith,

he was amazed at her beauty* She bowed down

to the ground before him, and said, " My lord, the

230

people of Bethulia fail of food and water, and
have determined to consume things that the
law of God forbids them to eat. Now you cannot
prevail against them until they sin and provoke
God; but when once they have sinned they will
have no more power to resist you, Knowingthis,
I have fled from among them; and I will watch
here in your camp and tell you as soon as they have
sinned, that you may fall on them and destroy
them/' Holofernes was so charmed that he be^
lieved all she said; & she stayed in the camp three
days; and each night the sentinels had orders to
let her pass out between midnight & morning that
she might pray by a fountain in the valley. On
the evening of the fourth day Holofernes made a
banquet in his tent, and sent for Judith, She put
on all her ornaments, & her maid laid soft cushions
for her on the ground in Holofernes' tent; then
they ate and drank together, and Holofernes took
great delight in her company, & drank more wine
than he ever had drunk in his life before. When
it grew late, the servants withdrew and went to
bed; for they were all weary, because the feast had
been long; and Judith was left alone with Holo^
femes, who by this time was heavy with wine, &
lay along on his bed under a canopy woven with
purple and gold and emeralds.

231

CHAPTER CLXXXV*

THE HEAD OF HOLOFERNES*

HEN Judith rose and took down
his sword where it hung on the pil*
larof his bed, and catching him by
the hair with her left hand, struck
him twice on the neck with all her
j strength and cut offhis head from
his body* She tumbled his body from the bed and
tore down the canopy over it, and came out of the
tent carrying his head* Her maid, who was wait'
ingforher outside, put it inabag, and they passed
out of the camp between midnight & morning as
they had done before* But when they reached the
fountain they went straight on, and took the way
up the hill to Bethulia; and Judith called from far
off to the watchmen at the gates, "Open, open!
God is with us*" They ran together and opened
the gate by torchlight, and Judith cried, "Praise,
Draise God, praise God, for he hath not taken away
! lis mercy from I srael !" Then she shewed them the
lead of Holofernes, and they were astonished*
! 3ut as soon as it was morning, they hung out the
headonthehighestplaceof the city wall, & sallied
forth against the enemy* The heathen captains
came to the tent of Holofernes to awake him, that
he might orderthearmy for battle; butwhenthey
knocked & had no answer, one went in, and found
the headless body lying on the floor* A cry and
232

confusion rose throughout the camp, & the whole
army broke up & fled ; and the people of Bethulia
chased them with great slaughter beyond Damas/
cus* Judith lived many years in great honour; &
many a man desired her to be his wife, yet she
never married again, but grew old in her own
house, and when she died she was buried in her
husband's grave in Bethulia; and no one made
the children of Israel afraid in her days, or for a
long time after her death ♦

CHAPTER CLXXXVL

THE ERRAND OF THE ARCH/

ANGEL.

SSMONGthechildrenoflsraelwho
were carried captive to Nineveh,
was one Tobit of Thisbe, with his
wife Anna and their son Tobias*
He was a good man, who fed the
hungry and clothed the naked, and
juried the innocent people who had been killed
by the heathen and their bodies thrown out be/
hind the walls of Nineveh* But because he did
these good deeds, all that he had was taken away
from him by the king of Nineveh; also he be/
came blind ; so that they were very poor, & had no/
thingtoliveuppnbutwhat Anna earned by spin/
tiing* At that same time there lived at Ecbatana
in Media one Raguel, who was TobiVs cousin; he

233

had a daughter called Sara, a fair maid, who had
been betrothed to seven husbands one after the
other, but they all had been strangled by the evil
spirit Asmodeus before they married her; so that
her father's maidservants mocked her, and she
was ready to killherself for grief and shame* Both
these unhappy families prayed to God to take pity
on them at the same time; and at the same time
the prayer of both was heard, and God sent Ra^
phael the archangel from his presence to help them
in their trouble*

CHAPTER CLXXXVIL

THE JOURNEYTO MEDIA*

I ANY years before this, Tobit had
1 left ten talents of silver withamer^
chant in the city of Rages in Media,
and now that he was poor he re^
membered it, & told his sonTobias
I that he must go to Rages and get it
back* So Tobias went out into the market-place to
seek a guide for the journey, and there he met the
archangel Raphael in the dress of a guide* He said
to him, "Can you go with me to Rages, & do you
knowthat country well ?" and Raphael answered,
"Yes/' So Tobias took him home to his father,
who asked him his name* He said, " My name is
Help^of'God,& I am one ofyour brethren/' Then
they agreed what wagesHelp'of"God should have
2 34

and got everything ready for the journey* When
all was ready, Anna wept atparting with her son;
butTobit chid her, and said to Tobias, " Go now,
and may God who dwells in heaven prosper your
journey,andtheangel of Godkeep you company/'
Then they started on their journey, and Tobias
took his dog with him* At evening they came to
an inn by a river, where they lodged for the night*
Next morning, Tobias went down to bathe in the
river, when a fish leaped out of the water at him*
Raphael called from the bank to him, -'Take the
fish V He caught itand pulled it to land, and Ra^
phael told him to open it and take out the heart
and liver and gall and put them up safely; then
they roasted the fish and ate it, and went on their
way, until they came to the city of Ecbatana* As
they went, Tobias asked his companion, " Help'
of'God, of what use are the heart and liver and
gall of this fish?" and he answered, "If anyone is
troubled by a devil or an evil spirit, the smoke of
the heart and liver will drive it away; and the gall
rubbed on a blind man's eyes will make him see/'

^35

CHAPTER CLXXXVIIL

THE FLIGHTOFTHE EVIL
SPIRIT.

HE Y went to Raguefs house in Eo
batana, who gave them welcome,
and wept when he heard how his
cousin Tobit was poor and blind*
Now the angel had told Tobias on
their journey of the fair maid Sara
his cousin, & said, " I will speak to her fatherthat
you may marry her/' "O brother Help^of'God,"
said Tobias, " I have heard that my cousin has
been betrothed to seven men who all died in the
marriage chamber, and I am afraid to marry her/'
The angel answered, " Have no fear, brother, for
she was appointed to you from the beginning/'
So as they sat at supper, Tobias said, " Help'ok
God, speak now about what you talked of on the
way/' Then Raphael opened the matter; butRa^
guel said, " It is fit that he should be her husband,
tor he is next of kin ; but I will tell you the truth;
seven men have died who wished to marry her/' "I
will eat nothing," said Tobias, " till you consent/'
So Raguel called Sara & took her by the hand and
gaveher to Tobias for his wife* At nightwhen they
were alone in the marriage chamber, Tobias took
hot embers of spice, and laid some of the heart &
liver of the fish upon them; and as soon as the evil
spirit smelled the smoke, he fled away to prison
236

in the furthest part of Egypt* Then they slept in
peace; but Raguel had gone out alone in the dark
and was digging a grave, that if Tobias were found
dead in the morning they might bury him and no
one know of it*

CHAPTER CLXXXIX*

THE RETURN FROM ECBATANA*

the morning when Tobias came
out of his room alive & well* there
I was great joy in the house, and they
filled up the grave, and held the
1 wedding feast* Meanwhile Tobias
sent Raphael with a servant & two
camels to the city of Rages, where he received the
bags of silver sealed up as Tobit had left them, and
brought them back to Ecbatana* Then they set
out on their journey home; and Raguel gave Sara
half his wealth for her dowry ; for she was his only
child* When they were near Nineveh, the angel
said to Tobias," Let us hasten on before your wife
and prepare thehouse;& take the gall of thefish in
your hand*"So they went on in front,&thedogran
after them* Tobit was sitting in his house, and his
wife Anna sat by the door looking along the street
for her son, when she sawthem coming, and cried
to Tobit, ft Here he is, and the man who went with
liim*" Anna ran out and fell upon her son's neck,
and Tobit rose too, and was groping his way to

2 37

the door, when Tobias ran to him, crying, " Be
of good hope, my father;" and he rubbed the fish's
gall on his father's eyes, and his sight came back
to him* Then Tobias told him of all that had hap^
pened, and he went out to meet his daughter/in^
law at the city gate, rejoicing and praising God*

CHAPTER CXC

THE WAGES OF RAPHAEL*

SBHENTobit said to his son, " My

: 5^ son > see thattheman who went with

you have his wages, and you must

give him more than was agreed/'

I Tobias answered, "O my father,
he deserves the half of all I have;
for not only did he bring me safe home, but he
drove away the evil spirit from my wife, & fetched
me the money from Rages, and gave you back
your sight/' The old man said, " It is his due;" &
he called the angel and said to him, " Take half of
all that you and my son have brought, and go in
peace*" Then Rapnael said to him, " It is good to
keep close the secret ofaking, butit is honourable
to reveal the acts of God* when you prayed, and
when Sara your daughter-in-law prayed in Me/
dia, I brought your prayers before the Holy One,
and God sent me to help you ; I am Raphael, one
of the seven holy angels that go in and out before
the glory of the Holiest* Now give God thanks,
238

for I go up to him/' Then he vanished out of their
sight,& they worshipped God* Afterwards Tobit
lived to a good old age; and he and his wife Anna
died and were buried together; then Tobias with
his wife & children went to live at Ecbatana with
Raguel, and there before he died he heard of the
destruction of Nineveh*

CHAPTER CXCL

TH E ANGEL OF ACCUSING.

HERE was a man in the land of
Uz whose name was Job; he had
seven thousand sheep and three
3 thousand camels and five hundred
yoke of oxen & five hundred she-*
! asses, and a very great household,
so that he was the greatest man in all the East; &
he had seven sons and three daughters* Onaday,
the angels all came to present themselves before
God, & the Accusing Angel came among them*
God said to him, " From whence come you?" and
he answered, " From going to and fro in the earth,
and from walking up and down in it/' God said,
" Have you consideredmy servant Job, that there
is none like him in the earth to fear God and do
no evil ?" The Accusing Angel answered, & said,
"Does Job fear God for nothing? hast thou not
made a hedge about him and about his house, and
blessed the work of his hands, and increased his

239

substance ? but put forth thine hand no^& touch
all that he has, and he will curse thee to thy face/'
God answered him, " Make trial; all that he has
is in your power, but his own body/' So the Angel
of Accusing went forth from the presence of the
Lord*

CHAPTER CXCIL

THE FOUR MESSENGERS.

IN a day, Job's sons and daughters
I were all together eating and drink'
ing in their eldest brother's house,
and Job sat alone at home, when a
messenger came to him and said,
I "The oxen were ploughing & the
asses feeding beside them, when the Sabeans fell
upon them and tookthem away, and killed all the
servants; I only have escaped to tell you/' While
he was speaking, another messenger came, and
said, " Fire has fallen from heaven and burned up
the sheep, and the shepherds with them; and I
only have escaped to tell you/' While the second
messenger was speaking, yet another messenger
came, and said, " Three bands of robbers fell upon
the camels and have taken them away, and slain
the servants with swords ; and I only have escaped
alonetotell you/' Whilethethird messengerwas
speaking, yet again another messenger came, and
said, " Your sons and daughters were eating and
240

drinking in their eldest brother's -house, when a
great wind from the wilderness came and smote
the four corners of the house, so that it fell upon
them, and they are dead; and I only have escaped
alone to tell you/' Then Job said, "The Lord
gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be
the name of the Lord,"

CHAPTER CXCIIL

THE PATIENCE OF JOB.

HERE was a day again when the
angels came to present themselves
before God, & the Accusing Angel
came among them; & God said to
him, "From whence come you?"
He answered, " From going to &
r ro in the earth, and from walking up and down in
it/' God said, " Have you considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him in the earth to fear
God & do no evil ? and still he holds fast his good'
ness, though you have moved me to swallow him
up without cause/'The Accusing Angelanswered
&said," All that amanhashewillgiveforhis life;
but put forth thine hand now and touch his bone
and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face/'
God answered him, " He is in your hand; all ex^
cept his life/' So the Angel of Accusing went out
from the presence of God, and smote Job with sore
boils from the sole of his foot to his crown* Then
r 241

Job's wife said to him, " Do you still keep to your
goodness ? curse God, & die/' But he said, " You
speakasone of the foolish women speaks ♦What,
shall we receive good at the handof God, and shall
we not receive evil 1*

CHAPTER CXCIV*

JOB'S COMFORTERS.

HEN Job's three friends, Eliphaz
of the south, Bildad of the plain,
and Zophar of the pleasant land,
heard of all this evil that was come
upon him, they made an appoint,
ment to go and see him, and com.
fort him* But when they came, he was so changed
with his grief that they did not know him; and
they lifted up their voice and wept, and rent their
clothes and sprinkled dust upon their heads, and
sat by him on the ground for seven days & seven
nights without speaking to him* After this, Job
opened his mouth and said, " Let the day perish
whereon I was born* Wherefore is life given to him
that is in misery, who longs for death, but it cometh
not?" Eliphaz answered Job, & said, " Who ever
perished,beinginnocent?Despisenotthe chasten^
ing of the Almighty* We have searched this out,
and so it is; hear it, & know it for your good/' But
Jpb answered, "Teach me wherein I have erred,
and I will hold my tongue; for my grief is heavier
242.

than the sand of the sea/' Then Bildad said/' If
you were pure and upright, surely you would be
prosperous; God will not east away the rights
eous/' But Job answered, "It is all one; he de'
stroyeth the perfect and thewicked;and he is not
a man as I am, that we should come together in
judgment/' Then Zophar said, " If iniquity be in
your hand, put it away, and you shall shine forth
as the morning* Be sure that God exacts of you
less than you deserve/' But Job answered, "No
doubt but you are the people, and wisdom shall
die with you! Will you flatter God, and speak de^
ceitfully for him ? Let me alone, and let come on
me what will; but though he slay me, yet will I
trust in him, and declare the truth before him/'

CHAPTER CXCV,

THE PROSPERITY OF JOB.

T last Job's comforters ceased to
answer him ; and the Lord himself
answered Job out of the whirlwind,
saying," who is this that darkens
counsel by words without know
I ledge ? Will you condemn me, that
you may be righteous ?" Job answered the Lord,
and said, " I knowthatthou canst do anything, &
that no thought of thine can be hindered* I have
uttered that which I understood not, and things
too wonderful forme/'Then the Lord said tojob's
tz 243

three friends, H My anger is kindled against you,
because you have not spoken the truth of me, as
my servant Job has ; therefore make offerings to
me and let my servant Job pray for you, lest I deal
with you after your folly/' So the Lord restored
the prosperity of Job, and made him better off at
the end than at the beginning; for he had fourteen
thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a
thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she^asses;
he also had seven sons and three daughters, the
fairest in all the land; and he saw his children's
children, and died full of days*

CHAPTER CXCVL

THE MAN IN GOLDEN
ARMOUR.

FTER Alexander son of Philip
the Macedonian had reigned over
all nations and kings for twelve
years, he died, and his kingdoms
were divided among his captains*
At that time the holy city dwelt
in peace, & kings honoured it and gave gifts to the
temple* But when king Seleucus of Syria heard
that the treasury at Jerusalem was full of infinite
riches, he ordered his treasurer Heliodorus to
plunder it, and bring him all the silver and gold
that he found there* Heliodorus came to Jerusa^
lem, and after being courteously received by the
244

high priest, he told him his errand* There was
great sorrow and commotion in the city; however,
H eliodorus went into the temple to obey the king's
orders* But as he and his guards were busy in the
treasury, the apparition of a horse, with a very
beautiful housing and a rider upon him in com/
plete armour of gold, ran at him and struck him
down with its forefeet; & he lay speechless, as if he
were dead,tillhis guards carried him out on a litter*
Then the high priest, fearing that the king might
think some treachery had been done, prayed to
God for him ; and as he did so, two very beautiful
young men dressed in splendid clothing stood by
Heliodorus, and saying, "Give the high priest
great thanks, since for his sake God has granted
you your life," they disappeared out of sight* So
Heliodorus returned to the king, and said to him,
u If you have an enemy, or a traitor, send him on
this business; for God defends that place with es^
pecial power, & destroys those who come to hurt

it*"

CHAPTER CXCVII*

THE KING'S ELEPHANTS.

FTER king Seleucus was dead,
his brother Antiochus reigned, &
made war against the people of
God* He entered forcibly into the
temple, and took away the golden
ornaments and the treasures, and

245

set up the Abomination of Desolation upon the
highaltar*ThenMattathiasthepriestgatheredan
army & fought for Israel in the wilderness, till the
time came for him to die, when he made his son Ju^
das Maccabeus captain in his place. Judas fought
' against the heathen and won great victories and
renown; also he restored the desolate sanctuary,
where the gates were burned, and the cloisters
pulled down, and shrubs grew in the courts as in a
forest ;& he built up the castle of Zion with high
walls & towers round about* Then the king sent a
great army against him of a hundred and twenty
thousand men, and thirtytwo elephants trained
to battle* Each elephant had a guard of five hun^
dred horsemen, and carried on his back a strong
tower with golden shields hung round it, and in the
tower were thirty /two men who fought, besides
the Indian who sat on the elephant's neck and
guided him; and when the sun shone upon the

f olden shields they glittered like lamps of fire*
*ut Judas Maccabeus gave thembattle with three
thousand men, and routed their army and cut it
to pieces*

246

CHAPTER CXCVIIL

THE WISDOM OF THE ROMANS.

JUDAS MACCABEUS heard
of the fame and valour of the Ro^
mans, and how they had subdued
the Gauls, & what they had done
in Spain to win the gold and silver
| mines; & how they had conquered
by their policy and patience many lands that were
veryfar off; andhowtheyhadoverthrown AntHV
chus the Great, the king of Asia, when he fought
against them with a great army and a hundred and
twenty elephants, & howallmenthatheard their
name were afraid of them; & how for all this none
of them wore a crown or was clothed in purple,
but they had made themselves a senates-house, in
which threehundred and twenty men satin couns
cil daily, consulting always for the good of the peo^
pie* Therefore he sent ambassadors to Rome, and
made alliance with the Senate and People of the
Romans*

2 47

CHAPTER CXCIX*

THE PEACE OFTHE EMPIRE.

O Judas Maccabeus fought against
the heathen and won many great
victories, until at last he was killed
in battle; and all Israel made great
lamentation for him, and because of
> g< l r^t his noble acts and his valour he was
counted among the Nine Worthies, with Joshua
who led the people out of the wilderness into the
promised land, & with David the King* But after
his days the Romans took the country into their
government; and it was a province of their empire
when Octavianus Cassar Augustus the Emperor
brought their civil wars to an end, and closed the
gates ofjanus in the City as a sign that the Peace
of Rome was established over all the world* Then
there was peace on earth while it waited for the
Lord Jesus Christ to be born*

CHAPTER CC

THE VISION OFTHE KINGDOM OF
THE SAINTS.

HE prophet saw in his vision by
nighthow the four winds of heaven
strove upon the great sea, and four
greatbeastscameup out of the sea,
diverse one from another* The first
beast was like a lion, & had eagle's

wings; the second beast was like a bear, and had
three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, which
said to it, " Arise, devour much flesh/' The third
beast was like a leopard, and had four wings on
its back* The fourth beast was terrible and exceed^
ingly strong, with great iron teeth; it devoured &
broke in pieces and stamped with its feet; & it had
ten horns. Then he saw the Ancient of Days sit
on his throne in a garment as white as snow, like
a flame of burning fire* The judgment was set,
andthebookswereopened;andthere came before
the Ancient of Days one like a son of man, and
dominion was given him over all nations for ever*
"When the prophet sawthese visions he wastrou^
bled, and asked one of the Holy Ones who stood
by, what was themeaningofthesethings.He said,
"These great beasts are four kingdoms; and after
them the kingdom and dominion shall be given
to the saints of the Most High for ever/' Then two
angels stood one on each side of the river of Para^
dise, shining like fire and girdled with fine gold;
and one cried, "How long shall it be?" and the
other answered, "BLESSED IS HE WHO
HAS PATIENCE UNTIL THE END*"

249

HERE ends this book called Biblia Innocent
tium, written by J* W* Mackail, and printed by
William Morris at the Kelmscott Press, 14, Up'
per Mall, Hammersmith, in the County of Mid'
dlesex; finished on the 22nd day of October, of
the year 1892..

Mv&m?£4l!o?m&

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