THE HOLY BIBLE: THE BOOK OF GENESIS

   Chapter 1

God createth Heaven and Earth, and all things therein, in six
days.

  1  In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.
  2  And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon
      the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the
      waters.
  3  And God said: Be light made. And light was made.
  4  And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the
      light from the darkness.
  5  And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night; and
      there was evening and morning one day.
  6  And God said: Let there be a firmament made amidst the
      waters: and let it divide the waters from the waters.
  7  And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were
      under the firmament, from those that were above the
      firmament, and it was so.
  8  And God called the firmament, Heaven; and the evening and
      morning were the second day.
  9  God also said: Let the waters that are under the heaven,
      be gathered together into one place: and let the dry land
      appear. And it was so done.
10  And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering
      together of the waters, he called Seas. And God saw that
      it was good.
11  And he said: Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and
      such as may seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after
      its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth.
      And it was so done.
12  And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as
      yieldeth seed according to its kind, and the tree that
      beareth fruit, having seed each one according to its kind.
      And God saw that it was good.
13  And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14  And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of
      heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be
      for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:
15  To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light
      upon the earth. And it was so done.
16  And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the
      day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars.
17  And he set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon
      the earth.
18  And to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light
      and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19  And the evening and morning were the fourth day.
20  God also said: Let the waters bring forth the creeping
      creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the
      earth under the firmament of heaven.
21  And God created the great whales, and every living and
      moving creature, which the waters brought forth, according
      to their kinds, and every winged fowl according to its
      kind. And God saw that it was good.
22  And he blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and
      fill the waters of the sea: and let the birds be
      multiplied upon the earth.
23  And the evening and morning were the fifth day.
24  And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living
      creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and
      beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was
      so done.
25  And God made the beasts of the earth according to their
      kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creepeth on the
      earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26  And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness:
      and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and
      the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth,
      and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth.
27  And God created man to his own image: to the image of God
      he created him: male and female he created them.
28  And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and
      fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of
      the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living
      creatures that move upon the earth.
29  And God said: Behold I have given you every herb bearing
      seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in themselves
      seed of their own kind, to be your meat:
30  And to all the beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of
      the air, and to all that move upon the earth, and wherein
      there is life, that they may have to feed upon. And it was
      so done.
31  And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were
      very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day.

Chapter 2

God resteth on the seventh day and blesseth it. The earthly
paradise, in which God placeth man. He commandeth him not to
eat of the tree of knowledge. And formeth a woman of his rib.

  1  So the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the
      furniture of them.
  2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had
      made: and he rested on the seventh day from all his work
      which he had done.
  3  And he blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
      in it he had rested from all his work which God created
      and made.
  4  These are the generations of the heaven and the earth,
      when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made
      the heaven and the earth:
  5  And every plant of the field before it sprung up in the
      earth, and every herb of the ground before it grew: for
      the Lord God had not rained upon the earth; and there was
      not a man to till the earth.
  6  But a spring rose out of the earth, watering all the surface
      of the earth.
  7  And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and
      breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became
      a living soul.
  8  And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from
      the beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed.
  9  And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of
      trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of
      life also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of
      knowledge of good and evil.
10  And a river went out of the place of pleasure to water
      paradise, which from thence is divided into four heads.
11  The name of the one is Phison: that is it which compasseth
      all the land of Hevilath, where gold groweth.
12  And the gold of that land is very good: there is found
      bdellium, and the onyx stone.
13  And the name of the second river is Gehon: the same is it
      that compasseth all the land of Ethiopia
14  And the name of the third river is Tigris: the same
      passeth along by the Assyrians. And the fourth river is
      Euphrates.
15  And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise
      for pleasure, to dress it, and keep it.
16  And he commanded him, saying: Of every tree of paradise
      thou shalt eat:
17  But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
      not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou
      shalt die the death.
18  And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone:
      let us make him a help like unto himself.
19  And the Lord God having formed out of the ground all the
      beasts of the earth, and all the fowls of the air, brought
      them to Adam to see what he would call them: for
      whatsoever Adam called any living creature the same is its
      name.
20  And Adam called all the beasts by their names, and all the
      fowls of the air, and all the cattle of the field: but for
      Adam there was not found a helper like himself.
21  Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam: and when he
      was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up
      flesh for it.
22  And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam
      into a woman: and brought her to Adam.
23  And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of
      my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken
      out of man.
24  Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall
      cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh.
25  And they were both naked: to wit, Adam and his wife: and
      were not ashamed.

Chapter 3

The serpent's craft. The fall of our first parents. Their punishment.
The promise of a Redeemer.

  1  Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of
      the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the
      woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat
      of every tree of paradise?
  2  And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the
      trees that are in paradise we do eat:
  3  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of
      paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat;
      and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die.
  4  And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die
      the death.
  5  For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat
      thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as
      Gods, knowing good and evil.
  6  And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair
      to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the
      fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who
      did eat.
  7  And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they
      perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig
      leaves, and made themselves aprons.
  8  And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in
      paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid
      themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees
      of paradise.
  9  And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art
      thou?
10  And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was
      afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.
11  And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast
      naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I
      commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?
12  And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my
      companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13  And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done
      this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I
      did eat.
14  And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast
      done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and the
      beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and
      earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
15  I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy
      seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou
      shalt lie in wait for her heel.
16  To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows,
      and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth
      children, and thou shalt be under thy husband's power, and
      he shall have dominion over thee.
17  And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the
      voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I
      commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the
      earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat
      thereof all the days of thy life.
18  Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou
      eat the herbs of the earth.
19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou
      return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for
      dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.
20  And Adam called the name of his wife Eve: because she was
      the mother of all the living.
21  And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife, garments of
      skins, and clothed them.
22  And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing
      good and evil: now, therefore, lest perhaps he put forth
      his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and
      live for ever.
23  And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure,
      to till the earth from which he was taken.
24  And he cast out Adam; and placed before the paradise of
      pleasure Cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every
      way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Chapter 4

The history of Cain and Abel.

  1  And Adam knew Eve his wife: who conceived and brought
      forth Cain, saying: I have gotten a man through God.
  2  And again she brought forth his brother Abel. And Abel was
      a shepherd, and Cain a husbandman.
  3  And it came to pass after many days, that Cain offered, of
      the fruits of the earth, gifts to the Lord.
  4  Abel also offered of the firstlings of his flock, and of
      their fat: and the Lord had respect to Abel, and to his
      offerings.
  5  But to Cain and his offerings he had no respect: and Cain
      was exceedingly angry, and his countenance fell.
  6  And the Lord said to him: Why art thou angry? and why is
      thy countenance fallen?
  7  If thou do well, shalt thou not receive? but if ill, shall
      not sin forthwith be present at the door? but the lust
      thereof shall be under thee, and thou shalt have dominion
      over it.
  8  And Cain said to Abel his brother: Let us go forth abroad.
      And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his
      brother Abel, and slew him.
  9  And the Lord said to Cain: Where is thy brother Abel? And
      he answered, I know not: am I my brother's keeper?
10  And he said to him: What hast thou done? the voice of thy
      brother's blood crieth to me from the earth.
11  Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the earth, which
      hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy
      brother at thy hand,
12  When thou shalt till it, it shall not yield to thee its
      fruit: a fugitive and vagabond shalt thou be upon the
      earth.
13  And Cain said to the Lord: My iniquity is greater than
      that I may deserve pardon.
14  Behold thou dost cast me out this day from the face of the
      earth, and I shall be hidden from thy face, and I shall be
      a vagabond and a fugitive on the earth: everyone,
      therefore, that findeth me, shall kill me.
15  And the Lord said to him: No, it shall not be so: but
      whosoever shall kill Cain, shall be punished sevenfold.
      And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, that whosoever found
      him should not kill him.
16  And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelt as
      a fugitive on the earth, at the east side of Eden.
17  And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and brought
      forth Henoch: and he built a city, and called the name
      thereof by the name of his son Henoch.
18  And Henoch begot Irad, and Irad begot Maviael, and Maviael
      begot Mathusael, and Mathusael begot Lamech:
19  Who took two wives: the name of the one was Ada, and the
      name of the other was Sella.
20  And Ada brought forth Jabel: who was the father of such as
      dwell in tents, and of herdsmen.
21  And his brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of
      them that play upon the harp and the organs.
22  Sella also brought forth Tubalcain, who was a hammerer and
      artificer in every work of brass and iron. And the sister
      of Tubalcain was Noema.
23  And Lamech said to his wives Ada and Sella: Hear my voice,
      ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech: for I have slain
      a man to the wounding of myself, and a stripling to my own
      bruising.
24  Sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for Cain: but for
      Lamech seventy times sevenfold.
25  Adam also knew his wife again: and she brought forth a
      son, and called his name Seth, saying: God hath given me
      another seed, for Abel whom Cain slew.
26  But to Seth also was born a son, whom he called Enos; this
      man began to call upon the name of the Lord.

Chapter 5

The genealogy, age, and death of the Patriarchs,  from Adam to Noe. 
The translation of Henoch.

 1  This is the book of the generation of Adam. In the day
      that God created man, he made him to the likeness of God.
 2  He created them male and female; and blessed them: and
     called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
 3  And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son
      to his own image and likeness, and called his name Seth.
  4  And the days of Adam, after he begot Seth, were eight
      hundred years: and he begot sons and daughters.
  5  And all the time that Adam lived came to nine hundred and
      thirty years, and he died.
  6  Seth also lived a hundred and five years, and begot Enos.
  7  And Seth lived after he begot Enos, eight hundred and
      seven years, and begot sons and daughters.
  8  And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve
      years, and he died.
  9  And Enos lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.
10  After whose birth he lived eight hundred and fifteen
      years, and begot sons and daughters.
11  And the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and
      he died.
12  And Cainan lived after he begot Malaleel, eight hundred
      and forty years, and begot sons and daughters.
13  And Cainan lived after he begot Malaleel, eight hundred
      forty years, and begot sons and daughters.
14  And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten
      years, and he died.
15  And Malaleel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.
16  And Malaleel lived after he begot Jared, eight hundred and
      thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.
17  And all the days of Malaleel were eight hundred and
      ninety-five years, and he died.
18  And Jared lived a hundred and sixty-two years, and begot
      Henoch.
19  And Jared lived after he begot Henoch, eight hundred
      years, and begot sons and daughters.
20  And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two
      years, and he died.
21  And Henoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Mathusala.
22  And Henoch walked with God: and lived after he begot
      Mathusala, three hundred years, and begot sons and
      daughters.
23  And all the days of Henoch were three hundred and
      sixty-five years.
24  And he walked with God, and was seen no more: because God
      took him.
25  And Mathusala lived a hundred and eighty-seven years, and
      begot Lamech.
26  And Mathusala lived after he begot Lamech, seven hundred
      and eighty-two years, and begot sons and daughters.
27  And all the days of Mathusala were nine hundred and
      sixty-nine years, and he died.
28  And Lamech lived a hundred and eighty-two years, and begot
      a son.
29  And he called his name Noe, saying: This same shall
      comfort us from the works and labours of our hands on the
      earth which the Lord hath cursed.
30  And Lamech lived after he begot Noe, five hundred and
      ninety-five years, and he begot sons and daughters.
31  And all the days of Lamech came to seven hundred and
      seventy-seven years, and he died. And Noe, when he was
      five hundred years old, begot Sem, Cham, and Japheth.

Chapter 6

        Man's sin is the cause of deluge.  Noe is commanded to build the ark.

  1  And after that men began to be multiplied upon the earth,
      and daughters were born to them,
  2  The sons of God seeing the daughters of men, that they
      were fair, took to themselves wives of all which they chose.
  3  And God said: My Spirit shall not remain in man for ever,
      because he is flesh, and his days shall be a hundred and
      twenty years.
  4  Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after
      the sons of God went in to the daughters of men and they
      brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old,
      men of renown.
  5  And God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the
      earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent
      upon evil at all times,
  6  It repented him that he had made man on the earth. And
      being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart,
  7  He said: I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the
      face of the earth, from man even to beasts, from the
      creeping thing even to the fowls of the air, for it
      repenteth me that I have made them.
  8  But Noe found grace before the Lord.
  9  These are the generations of Noe: Noe was a just and
      perfect man in his generations, he walked with God.
10  And he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth.
11  And the earth was corrupted before God, and was filled
      with iniquity.
12  And when God had seen that the earth was corrupted (for
      all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth,)
13  He said to Noe: The end of all flesh is come before me,
      the earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will
      destroy them with the earth.
14  Make thee an ark of timber planks: thou shalt make little
      rooms in the ark, and thou shalt pitch it within and
      without.
15  And thus shalt thou make it: The length of the ark shall
      be three hundred cubits: the breadth of it fifty cubits,
      and the height of it thirty cubits.
16  Thou shalt make a window in the ark, and in a cubit shalt
      thou finish the top of it: and the door of the ark thou
      shalt set in the side: with lower, middle chambers, and
      third stories shalt thou make it.
17  Behold I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the
      earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of
      life, under heaven. All things that are in the earth shall
      be consumed.
18  And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt
      enter into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and
      the wives of thy sons with thee.
19  And of every living creature of all flesh, thou shalt
      bring two of each sort into the ark, that they may live
      with thee: of the male sex, and the female.
20  Of fowls according to their kind, and of beasts in their
      kind, and of every thing that creepeth on earth according
      to its kind; two of every sort shall go in with thee, that
      they may live.
21  Thou shalt take unto thee of all food that may be eaten,
      and thou shalt lay it up with thee: and it shall be food
      for thee and them.
22  And Noe did all things which God commanded him.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 7

        Noe with his family go into the ark.  The deluge overflows the earth.

  1  And the Lord said to him: Go in thou and all thy house
      into the ark: for thee I have seen just before me in this
      generation.
  2  Of all clean beasts take seven and seven, the male and
      female.
  3  But of the beasts that are unclean two and two, the male
      and female. Of the fowls also of the air seven and
      seven, the male and the female: that seed may be saved upon
      the face of the whole earth.
  4  For yet a while, and after seven days, I will rain upon
      the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy
      every substance that I have made, from the face of the
      earth.
  5  And Noe did all things which the Lord had commanded him.
  6  And he was six hundred years old, when the waters of the
      flood overflowed the earth.
  7  And Noe went in and his sons, his wife and the wives of
      his sons with him into the ark, because of the waters of
      the flood.
  8  And of the beasts clean and unclean, and of fowls, and of
      every thing that moveth upon the earth,
  9  Two and two went in to Noe into the ark, male and female,
      as the Lord had commanded Noe.
10  And after seven days were passed, the waters of the flood
      overflowed the earth.
11  In the six hundreth year of the life of Noe in the second
      month, in the seventeenth day of the month, all the
      fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the flood
      gates of heaven were open:
12  And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty
      nights.
13  In the selfsame day Noe, and Sem, and Cham, and Japheth
      his sons: his wife, and the three wives of his sons with
      them, went into the ark:
14  They and every beast according to its kind, and all the
      cattle in their kind, and every thing that moveth upon the
      earth according to its kind, and every fowl according to
      its kind, and every fowl according to its kind, all birds,
      and all that fly,
15  Went in to Noe into the ark, two and two of all flesh,
      wherein was the breath of life.
16  And they that went in, went in male and female of all
      flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in
      on the outside.
17  And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the
      waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from
      earth.
18  For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all on the
      face of the earth: and the ark was carried upon the
      waters.
19  And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the earth:
      and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were
      covered.
20  The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains
      which it covered.
21  And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth,
      both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beasts, and of all
      creeping things that creep upon the earth: and all men.
22  And all things wherein there is the breath of life on the
      earth, died.
23  And he destroyed all the substance that was upon the
      earth, from man even to beast, and the creeping things and
      fowls of the air: and they were destroyed from the earth:
      and Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the
      ark.
24  And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and
      fifty days.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 8

      The deluge ceaseth.  Noe goeth out of the ark, and offereth a sacrifice. 
       God's covenant to him.

  1  And God remembered Noe, and all the living creatures, and
      all the cattle which were with him in the ark, and brought
      a wind upon the earth, and the waters were abated.
  2  The fountains also of the deep, and the flood gates of
      heaven were shut up, and the rain from heaven was
      restrained.
  3  And the waters returned from off the earth going and
      coming: and they began to be abated after a hundred and
      fifty days.
  4  And the ark rested in the seventh month, the seven and
      twentieth day of the month, upon the mountains of Armenia.
  5  And the waters were going and decreasing until the tenth
      month: for in the tenth month, the first day of the month,
      the tops of the mountains appeared.
  6  And after that forty days were passed, Noe, opening the
      window of the ark which he had made, sent forth a raven:
  7  Which went forth and did not return, till the waters were
      dried up upon the earth.
  8  He sent forth also a dove after him, to see if the waters
      had now ceased upon the face of the earth.
  9  But she, not finding where her foot might rest, returned
      to him into the ark: for the waters were upon the whole
      earth: and he put forth his hand, and caught her, and
      brought her into the ark.
10  And having waited yet seven other days, he again sent
      forth the dove out of the ark.
11  And she came to him in the evening, carrying a bough of an
      olive tree, with green leaves, in her mouth. Noe therefore
      understood that the waters were ceased upon the earth.
12  And he stayed yet other seven days: and he sent forth the
      dove, which returned not any more unto him.
13  Therefore in the six hundreth and first year, the first
      month, the first day of the month, the waters were
      lessened upon the earth, and Noe opening the covering of
      the ark, looked, and saw that the face of the earth was
      dried.
14  In the second month, the seven and twentieth day of the
      month, the earth was dried.
15  And God spoke to Noe, saying:
16  Go out of the ark, thou and thy wife, thy sons, and the
      wives of thy sons with thee.
17  All livings things that are with thee of all flesh, as
      well in fowls as in beasts, and all creeping things that
      creep upon the earth, bring out with thee, and go ye upon
      the earth: increase and multiply upon it.
18  So Noe went out, he and his sons: his wife, and the wives
      of his sons with him.
19  And all living things, and cattle, and creeping things
      that creep upon the earth, according to their kinds, went
      out of the ark.
20  And Noe built an altar unto the Lord: and taking of all
      cattle and fowls that were clean, offered holocausts upon
      the altar.
21  And the Lord smelled a sweet savour, and said: I will no
      more curse the earth for the sake of man: for the
      imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil
      from his youth: therefore I will no more destroy every
      living soul as I have done.
22  All the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and
      heat, summer and winter, night and day, shall not cease.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 9

     God blesseth Noe:  forbiddeth blood, and promiseth never more to 
      destroy the world by water.  The blessing of Sem and Japheth.

 1  And God blessed Noe and his sons. And he said to them:
     Increase and multiply, and fill the earth.
 2  And let the fear and dread of you be upon all the beasts
     of the earth, and upon all the fowls of the air, and all
     that move upon the earth: all the fishes of the sea are
     delivered into your hand.
 3  And every thing that moveth and liveth shall be meat for
      you: even as the green herbs have I delivered them all to
      you:
  4  Saving that flesh with blood you shall not eat.
  5  For I will require the blood of your lives at the hand of
      every beast, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every
      man, and of his brother, will I require the life of man.
  6  Whosoever shall shed man's blood, his blood shall be shed:
      for man was made to the image of God.
  7  But increase you and multiply, and go upon the earth, and
      fill it.
  8  Thus also said God to Noe, and to his sons with him,
  9  Behold I will establish my covenant with you, and with
      your seed after you:
10  And with every living soul that is with you, as well in
      all birds as in cattle and beasts of the earth, that are
      come forth out of the ark, and in all the beasts of the
      earth.
11  I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh shall
      be no more destroyed with the waters of a flood, neither
      shall there be from henceforth a flood to waste the earth.
12  And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I
      will give between me and you, and to every living soul
      that is with you, for perpetual generations.
13  I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign
      of a covenant between me, and between the earth.
14  And when I shall cover the sky with clouds, my bow shall
      appear in the clouds:
15  And I will remember my covenant with you, and with every
      living soul that beareth flesh: and there shall no more be
      waters of a flood to destroy all flesh.
16  And the bow shall be in the clouds, and I shall see it,
      and shall remember the everlasting covenant, that was made
      between God and every living soul of all flesh which is
      upon the earth.
17  And God said to Noe: This shall be the sign of the
      covenant which I have established between me and all flesh
      upon the earth.
18  And the sons of Noe who came out of the ark, were Sem,
      Cham, and Japheth: and Cham is the father of Chanaan.
19  These three are the sons of Noe: and from these was all
      mankind spread over the whole earth.
20  And Noe, a husbandman, began to till the ground, and
      planted a vineyard.
21  And drinking of the wine was made drunk, and was uncovered
      in his tent.
22  Which when Cham the father of Chaanan had seen, to wit,
      that his father's nakedness was uncovered, he told it to
      his two brethren without.
23  But Sem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and
      going backward, covered the nakedness of their father: and
      their faces were turned away, and they saw not their
      father's nakedness.
24  And Noe awaking from the wine, when he had learned what
      his younger son had done to him,
25  He said: Cursed be Chaanan, a servant of servants, shall
      he be unto his brethren.
26  And he said: Blessed be the Lord God of Sem, be Chanaan
      his servant.
27  May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of
      Sem, and Chanaan be his servant.
28  And Noe lived after the flood three hundred and fifty
      years:
29  And all his days were in the whole nine hundred and fifty
      years: and he died.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 10

      The genealogy of the children of Noe, by whom the world was peopled  
       after the flood.

  1  These are the generations of the sons of Noe: Sem, Cham,
      and Japheth: and unto them sons were born after the flood.
  2  The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and
      Javan, and Thubal, and Mosoch, and Thiras.
  3  And the sons of Gomer: Ascenez and Riphath and Thogorma.
  4  And the sons of Javan: Elisa and Tharsis, Cetthim, and
      Dodanim.
  5  By these were divided the islands of the Gentiles in their
      lands, every one according to his tongue and their
      families in their nations.
  6  And the sons of Cham: Chus, and Mesram, and Phuth, and
      Chanaan.
  7  And the sons of Chus: Saba and Hevila, and Sabatha, and
      Regma, and Sabatacha. The sons of Regma: Saba and Dadan.
  8  Now Chus begot Nemrod: he began to be mighty on earth.
  9  And he was a stout hunter before the Lord. Hence came a
      proverb: Even as Nemrod the stout hunter before the Lord.
10  And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Arach,
      and Achad, and Chalanne in the land of Sennaar.
11  Out of that land came forth Assur, and built Ninive, and
      the streets of the city, and Chale.
12  Resen also between Ninive and Chale: this is the great
      city.
13  And Mesraim begot Ludim, and Anamim, and Laabim, Nepthuim,
14  And Phetrusim, and Chasluim; of whom came forth the
      Philistines, and the Capthorim.
15  And Chanaan begot Sidon, his firstborn, the Hethite,
16  And the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite, and the Gergesite,
17  The Hevite and the Aracite: the Sinite,
18  And the Aradian, the Samarite, and the Hamathite: and
      afterwards the families of the Chanaanites were spread
      abroad.
19  And the limits of Chanaan were from Sidon as one comes to
      Gerara even to Gaza, until thou enter Sodom and Gomorrha,
      and Adama, and Seboim even to Lesa.
20  These are the children of Cham in their kindreds, and
      tongues, and generations, and lands, and nations.
21  Of Sem also, the father of all children of Heber, the
      elder brother of Japheth, sons were born.
22  The sons of Sem: Elam and Assur, and Arphaxad, and Lud,
      and Aram.
23  The sons of Aram: Us and Hull, and Gether: and Mess.
24  But Arphaxad begot Sale, of whom was born Heber.
25  And to Heber were born two sons: the name of the one was
      Phaleg, because in his days the earth was divided: and his
      brother's name Jectan.
26  Which Jectan begot Elmodad, and Saleph, and Asarmoth,
      Jare,
27  And Anduram, and Uzal, and Decla,
28  And Ebal, and Abimael, Saba,
29  And Ophir, and Hevila, and Jobab.
      All these were the sons of Jectan.
30  And their dwelling was from Messa as we go on as far as
      Sephar, a mountain in the east.
31  These are the children of Sem according to their kindreds
      and tongues, and countries in their nations.
32  These are the families of Noe, according to their peoples
      and nations. By these were the nations divided on the
      earth after the flood.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 11

      The tower of Babel.  The confusion of tongues.  The genealogy of 
       Sem down to Abram.

  1  And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.
  2  And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in
      the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it.
  3  And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make
      brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick
      instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar.
  4  And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the
      top whereof may reach to heaven: and let us make our name
      famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.
  5  And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower,
      which the children of Adam were building.
  6  And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one
      tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they
      leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in
      deed.
  7  Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound
      their tongue, that they may not understand one another's 
      speech.
  8  And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all
      lands, and they ceased to build the city.
  9  And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because
      there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and
      from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face
      of all countries.
10  These are the generations of Sem: Sem was a hundred years
      old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood.
11  And Sem lived after he begot Arphaxad, five hundred years,
      and begot sons and daughters.
12  And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale.
13  And Arphaxad lived after he begot Sale, three hundred and
      three years; and begot sons and daughters.
14  Sale also lived thirty years, and begot Heber.
15  And Sale lived after he begot Heber, four hundred and
      three years; and begot sons and daughters.
16  And Heber lived thirty-four years, and begot Phaleg.
17  And Heber lived after he begot Phaleg, four hundred and
      thirty years: and begot sons and daughters.
18  Phaleg also lived thirty years, and begot Reu.
19  And Phaleg lived after he begot Reu, two hundred and nine
      years, and begot sons and daughters.
20  And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Sarug.
21  And Reu lived after he begot Sarug, two hundred and seven
      years, and begot sons and daughters.
22  And Sarug lived thirty years, and begot Nachor.
23  And Sarug lived after he begot Nachor, two hundred years:
      and begot sons and daughters.
24  And Nachor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Thare.
25  And Nachor lived after he begot Thare, a hundred and
      nineteen years: and begot sons and daughters.
26  And Thare lived seventy years, and begot Abram, and
      Nachor, and Aran.
27  And these are the generations of Thare: Thare begot Abram,
      Nachor, and Aran. And Aran begot Lot.
28  And Aran died before Thare his father, in the land of his
      nativity in Ur of the Chaldees.
29  And Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram's
      wife was Sarai: and the name of Nachor's wife, Melcha, the
      daughter of Aran, father of Melcha, and father of Jescha.
30  And Sarai was barren, and had no children.
31  And Thare took Abram, his son, and Lot the son of Aran,
      his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, the wife of
      Abram his son, and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldees,
      to go into the land of Chanaan: and they came as far as
      Haran, and dwelt there.
32  And the days of Thare were two hundred and five years, and
      he died in Haran.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 12

      The call of Abram, and the promise made to him.  He sojourneth
       in Chanaan, and then by occasion of a famine, goeth down to Egypt.

  1  And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country,
      and from thy kindred, and out of they father's house, and
      come into the land which I shall shew thee.
  2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless
      thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed.
  3  I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that
      curse thee, and IN THEE shall all the kindred of the earth
      be blessed:
  4  So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot
      went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he
      went forth from Haran.
  5  And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and
      all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls
      which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go
      into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it,
  6  Abram passed through the country into the place of Sichem,
      as far as the noble vale: now the Chanaanite was at that
      time in the land.
  7  And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy
      seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to
      the Lord, who had appeared to him.
  8  And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the
      east side of Bethel, he there pitched his tent, having
      Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east; he built there
      also an altar to the Lord, and called upon his name.
  9  And Abram went forward, going, and proceeding on to the
      south.
10  And there came a famine in the country; and Abram went
      down into Egypt, to sojourn there: for the famine was very
      grievous in the land.
11  And when he was near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai
      his wife: I know that thou art a beautiful woman:
12  And that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say:
      She is his wife: and they will kill me, and keep thee.
13  Say, therefore, I pray thee, that thou art my sister: that
      I may be well used for thee, and that my soul may live for
      thy sake.
14  And when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the
      woman that she was very beautiful.
15  And the princes told Pharao, and praised her before him:
      and the woman was taken into the house of Pharao.
16  And they used Abram well for her sake. And he had sheep
      and oxen, and he asses, and menservants and maidservants,
      and she asses, and camels.
17  But the Lord scourged Pharao and his house with most
      grievous stripes for Sarai, Abram's wife.
18  And Pharao called Abram, and said to him: What is this
      that thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell me that
      she was thy wife.
19  For what cause didst thou say, she was thy sister, that I
      might take her to my wife? Now therefore, there is thy
      wife, take her, and go thy way.
20  And Pharao gave his men orders concerning Abram: and they
      led him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 13

      Abram and Lot part from each other.  God's promise to Abram.

  1  And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all
      that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
  2  And he was very rich in possession of gold and silver.
  3  And he returned by the way that he came, from the south to
      Bethel, to the place where before he had pitched his tent
      between Bethel and Hai:
  4  In the place of the altar which he had made before; and
      there he called upon the name of the Lord.
  5  But Lot also, who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and
      herds of beasts, and tents.
  6  Neither was the land able to bear them, that they might
      dwell together: for their substance was great, and they
      could not dwell together.
  7  Whereupon also there arose a strife between the herdsmen
      of Abram and of Lot. And at that time the Chanaanite and
      the Pherezite dwelled in that country.
  8  Abram therefore said to Lot: Let there be no quarrel, I
      beseech thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen
      and thy herdsmen: for we are brethren.
  9  Behold the whole land is before thee: depart from me I
      pray thee: if thou wilt go to the left hand, I will take
      the right: if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to
      the left.
10  And Lot, lifting up his eyes, saw all the country about
      the Jordan, which was watered throughout, before the Lord
      destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha, as the paradise of the Lord,
      and like Egypt as one comes to Segor.
11  And Lot chose to himself the country about the Jordan, and
      he departed from the east: and they were separated one
      brother from the other.
12  Abram dwelt in the land of Chanaan; and Lot abode in the
      towns that were about the Jordan, and dwelt in Sodom.
13  And the men of Sodom were very wicked, and sinners before
      the face of the Lord, beyond measure.
14  And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from
      him: Lift up thy eyes, and look from the place wherein
      thou now art, to the north and to the south, to the east
      and to the west.
15  All the land which thou seest, I will give to thee, and to
      thy seed for ever.
16  And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: if any
      man be able to number the dust of the earth, he shall be
      able to number thy seed also.
17  Arise and walk through the land in the length, and in the
      breadth thereof: for I will give it to thee.
18  So Abram removing his tent came and dwelt by the vale of
      Mambre, which is in Hebron: and he built there an altar to
      the Lord.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 14

      The expedition of the four kings; the victory of Abram; he is
       blessed by Melchisedech.

  1  And it came to pass at that time, that Amraphel king of
      Sennaar, and Arioch king of Pontus, and Chodorlahomor king
      of the Elamites, and Thadal king of nations,
  2  Made war against Bara king of Sodom, and against Bersa
      king of Gomorrha, and against Sennaab king of Adama, and
      against Semeber king of Seboim, and against the king of
      Bala, which is Segor.
  3  All these came together into the woodland vale, which now
      is the salt sea.
  4  For they had served Chodorlahomor twelve years, and in the
      thirteenth year they revolted from him.
  5  And in the fourteenth year came Chodorlahomor, and the
      kings that were with him: and they smote the Raphaim in
      Astarothcarnaim, and the Zuzim with them, and the Emim in
      Save of Cariathaim.
  6  And the Chorreans in the mountains of Seir, even to the
      plains of Pharan, which is in the wilderness.
  7  And they returned, and came to the fountain of Misphat,
      the same is Cades: and they smote all the country of the
      Amalecites, and the Amorrhean that dwelt in Asasonthamar.
  8  And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha, and the
      king of Adama, and the king of Seboim, and the king of
      Bala, which is Segor, went out: and they set themselves
      against them in battle array in the woodland vale:
  9  To wit, against Chodorlahomor king of the Elamites, and
      Thadal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Sennaar, and
      Arioch king of Pontus: four kings against five.
10  Now the woodland vale had many pits of slime. And the king
      of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha turned their backs and
      were overthrown there: and they that remained fled to the
      mountain.
11  And they took all the substance of the Sodomites, and
      Gomorrhites, and all their victuals, and went their way:
12  And Lot also, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in
      Sodom, and his substance.
13  And behold one that had escaped told Abram the Hebrew, who
      dwelt in the vale of Mambre the Amorrhite, the brother of
      Escol, and the brother of Aner: for these had made league
      with Abram.
14  Which when Abram had heard, to wit, that his brother Lot
      was taken, he numbered of the servants born in his house,
      three hundred and eighteen well appointed: and pursued
      them to Dan.
15  And dividing his company, he rushed upon them in the
      night: and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hoba,
      which is on the left hand of Damascus.
16  And he brought back all the substance, and Lot his
      brother, with his substance, the women also and the people.
17  And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he
      returned from the slaughter of Chodorlahomor, and of the
      kings that were with him in the vale of Save, which is the
      king's vale.
18  But Melchisedech the king of Salem, bringing forth bread
      and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God,
19  Blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram by the most high
      God, who created heaven and earth.
20  And blessed be the most high God, by whose protection the
      enemies are in thy hands. And he gave him the tithes of
      all.
21  And the king of Sodom said to Abram: Give me the persons,
      and the rest take to thyself.
22  And he answered him: I lift up my hand to the Lord God the
      most high, the possessor of heaven and earth,
23  That from the very woof thread unto the shoe latchet, I
      will not take of any things that are thine, lest thou say
      I have enriched Abram:
24  Except such things as the young men have eaten, and the
      shares of the men that came with me, Aner, Escol, and
      Mambre: these shall take their shares.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 15

       God promiseth seed to Abram.  His faith, sacrifice and vision.

  1  Now when these things were done, the word of the Lord came
      to Abram by a vision, saying: Fear not, Abram, I am thy
      protector, and thy reward exceeding great.
  2  And Abram said: Lord God, what wilt thou give me? I shall
      go without children: and the son of the steward of my
      house is this Damascus Eliezer.
  3  And Abram added: But to me thou hast not given seed: and
      lo my servant, born in my house, shall be my heir.
  4  And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying:
      He shall not be thy heir: but he that shall come out of
      thy bowels, him shalt thou have for thy heir.
  5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said to him: Look up
      to heaven and number the stars, if thou canst. And he said
      to him: So shall thy seed be.
  6  Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto
      justice.
  7  And he said to him: I am the Lord who brought thee out
      from Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land, and that
      thou mightest possess it.
  8  But he said: Lord God, whereby may I know that I shall
      possess it?
  9  And the Lord answered, and said: Take me a cow of three
      years old, and a she goat of three years, and a ram of
      three years, a turtle also, and a pigeon.
10  And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and
      laid the two pieces of each one against the other; but the
      birds he divided not.
11  And the fowls came down upon carcasses, and Abram drove
      them away.
12  And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon
      Abram, and a great and darksome horror seized upon him.
13  And it was said unto him: Know thou beforehand that thy
      seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they
      shall bring them under bondage, and afflict them four
      hundred years.
14  But I will judge the nation which they shall serve, and
      after this they shall come out with great substance.
15  And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried
      in a good old age.
16  But in the fourth generation they shall return hither: for
      as yet the iniquities of the Amorrhites are not at the
      full until this present time.
17  And when the sun was set, there arose a dark mist, and
      there appeared a smoking furnace and a lamp of fire
      passing between those divisions.
18  That day God made a covenant with Abram, saying: To thy
      seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt even
      to the great river Euphrates.
19  The Cineans and Cenezites, the Cedmonites,
20  And the Hethites, and the Pherezites, the Raphaim also,
21  And the Amorrhites, and the Chanaanits, and the
      Gergesites, and the Jebusites.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 16

        Abram marrieth Agar, who bringeth forth Ismael.

  1  Now Sarai the wife of Abram, had brought forth no
      children; having a handmaid, an Egyptian, named Agar,
  2  She said to her husband: Behold, the Lord hath restrained
      me from bearing: go in unto my handmaid, it may be I may
      have children of her at least. And when he agreed to her
      request,
  3  She took Agar the Egyptian her handmaid, ten years after
      they first dwelt in the land of Chanaan, and gave her to
      her husband to wife.
  4  And he went in to her. But she, perceiving that she was
      with child, despised her mistress.
  5  And Sarai said to Abram: Thou dost unjustly with me: I
      gave my handmaid into thy bosom, and she perceiving her-
      self to be with child, despiseth me. The Lord judge
      between me and thee.
  6  And Abram made answer, and said to her: Behold thy
      handmaid is in thy own hand, use her as it pleaseth thee.
      And when Sarai afflicted her, she ran away.
  7  And the angel of the Lord having found her, by a fountain
      of water in the wilderness, which is in the way to Sur in
      the desert,
  8  He said to her: Agar, handmaid of Sarai, whence comest
      thou? and whither goest thou? And she answered: I flee
      from the face of Sarai, my mistress.
  9  And the angel of the Lord said to her: Return to thy
      mistress, and humble thyself under her hand.
10  And again he said: I will multiply thy seed exceedingly,
      and it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11  And again: Behold, said he, thou art with child, and thou
      shalt bring forth son: and thou shalt call his name
      Ismael, because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.
12  He shall be a wild man: his hand will be against all men,
      and all men's hands against him: and he shall pitch his
      tents over against all his brethren.
13  And she called the name of the Lord that spoke unto her:
      Thou the God who hast seen me. For she said: Verily here
      have I seen the hinder parts of him that seeth me.
14  Therefore she called that well, The well of him that
      liveth and seeth me. The same is between Cades and Bared.
15  And Agar brought forth a son to Abram: who called his name
      Ismael.
16  Abram was fourscore and six years old when Agar brought
      him forth Ismael.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 17

        The Covenant of circumcision.

  1  And after he began to be ninety and nine years old, the
      Lord appeared to him: and said unto him: I am the Almighty
      God: walk before me, and be perfect.
  2  And I will make my covenant between me and thee: and I
      will multiply thee exceedingly.
  3  Abram fell flat on his face.
  4  And God said to him: I AM, and my covenant is with thee,
      and thou shalt be a father. of many nations.
  5  Neither shall thy name be called any more Abram: but thou
      shalt be called Abraham: because I have made thee a father
      of many nations.
  6  And I will make thee increase, exceedingly, and I will
      make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
  7  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and
      between thy seed after thee in their generations, by a
      perpetual covenant: to be a God to thee, and to thy seed
      after thee.
  8  And I will give to thee, and to thy seed, the land of thy
      sojournment, all the land of Chanaan for a perpetual
      possession, and I will be their God.
  9  Again God said to Abraham: And thou therefore shalt keep
      my covenant, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10  This is my covenant which you shall observe, between me
      and you, and thy seed after thee: All the male kind of you
      shall be circumcised:
11  And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, that
      it may be for a  sign of the covenant between me and you.
12  An infant of eight days old shall be circumcised among
      you, every man child in your generations: he that is born
      in the house, as well as the bought servant shall be
      circumcised, and whosoever is not of your stock:
13  And my covenant shall be in your flesh for a perpetual
      covenant.
14  The male, whose flesh of his foreskin shall not be
      circumcised, that soul shall be destroyed out of his
      people: because he hath broken my covenant.
15  God said also to Abraham: Sarai thy wife thou shalt not
      call Sarai, but Sara.
16  And I will bless her, and of her I will give thee a son,
      whom I will bless, and he shell become nations, and kings
      of people shall spring from him.
17  Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, saying in his
      heart: Shall a son, thinkest thou, be born to him that is
      a hundred years old? and shall Sara that is ninety years
      old bring forth?
18  And he said to God: O that Ismael may live before thee.
19  And God said to Abraham: Sara thy wife shall bear thee a
      son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I will
      establish my covenant with him for a perpetual covenant,
      and with his seed after him.
20  And as for Ismael I have also heard thee. Behold, I will
      bless him, and increase, and multiply him exceedingly: he
      shall beget twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great
      nation.
21  But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sara
      shall bring forth to thee at this time in the next year.
22  And when he had left off speaking with him, God went up
      from Abraham.
23  And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all that were born in
      his house: and all whom he had bought, every male among
      the men of his house: and he circumcised the flesh of
      their foreskin forthwith the very same day, as God had
      commanded him.
24  Abraham was ninety and nine years old, when he circumcised
      the flesh of his foreskin.
25  And Ismael his son was full thirteen years old at the time
      of his circumcision.
28  The selfsame day was Abraham circumcised and Ismael his
      son.
27  And all the men of his house, as well they that were born
      in his house, as the bought servants and strangers were
      circumcised with him.

                 Chapter 18

    Angels are entertained by Abraham.  The foretell the birth of Isaac.
     Abraham's prayer for the men of Sodom.

1  And the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he
      was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of
      the day.
  2  And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him
      three men standing near him: and as soon as he saw them he
      ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored
      down to the ground.
  3  And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight,
      pass not away from thy servant:
  4  But I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet,
      and rest ye under the tree.
  5  And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your
      heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you
      come aside to your servant. And they said: Do as thou hast
      spoken.
  6  Abraham made haste into the tent to Sara, and said to her:
      Make haste, temper together three measures of flour, and
      make cakes upon the hearth.
  7  And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a
      calf very tender and very good, and gave it to a young
      man: who made haste and boiled it.
  8  He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had
      boiled, and set before them: but he stood by them under
      the tree.
  9  And when they had eaten, they said to him: Where is Sara
      thy wife? He answered: Lo, she is in the tent.
10  And he said to him: I will return and come to thee at this
      time, life accompanying and Sara thy wife shall have a
      son. Which when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of
      the tent.
11  Now they were both old, and far advanced in years, and it
      had ceased to be with Sara after the manner of women.
12  And she laughed secretly, saying: After I am grown old
      and my lord is an old man, shall I give myself to
      pleasure?
13  And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sara laugh, saying:
      Shall I who am an old woman bear a child indeed ?
14  Is there any thing hard to God? according to appointment
      I will return to thee at this same time, life
      accompanying, and Sara shall have a son.
15  Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: for she was afraid.
      But the Lord said, Nay: but thou didst laugh:
16  And when the men rose up from thence, they turned their
      eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing
      them on the way.
17  And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about
      to do:
18  Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in
      him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed?
19  For I know that he will command his children, and his
      household after him to keep the way of the Lord, and do
      judgment and justice: that for Abraham's sake the Lord may
      bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him.
20  And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is
      multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous.
21  I will go down and see whether they have done according to
      the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so, that
      I may know.
22  And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way
      to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord.
23  And drawing nigh he said: Wilt thou destroy the just with
      the wicked?
24  If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish
      withal? and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of
      the fifty just, if they be therein?
25  Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just
      with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as
      the wicked, this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest
      all the earth, wilt not make this judgment.
26  And the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just
      within the city, I will spare the whole place for their
      sake.
27  And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun,
      I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.
28  What if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt
      thou for five and forty destroy the whole city? And he
      said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty.
29  And again he said to him: But if forty be found there,
      what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the
      sake of forty.
30  Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak:
      What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will
      not do it, if I find thirty there.
31  Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my
      Lord. What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not
      destroy it for the sake of twenty.
32  I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak
      yet once more: What if ten should be found there ? And he
      said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.
33  And the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to
      Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 19

     Lot, entertaining Angels in his house, is delivered from Sodom,
      which is destroyed:  his wife for looking back is turned into 
      a statue of salt.

  1  And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and
      Lot was sitting in the gate of the city. And seeing them,
      he rose up and went to meet them: and worshipped prostrate
      to the ground,
  2  And said: I beseech you, my lords, turn in to the house of
      your servant, and lodge there: wash your feet, and in the
      morning you shall go on your way. And they said: No, but
      we will abide in the street.
  3  He pressed them very much to turn in unto him: and when
      they were come in to his house, he made them a feast, and
      baked unleavened bread and they ate:
  4  But before they went to bed, the men of the city beset the
      house both young and old, all the people together.
  5  And they called Lot, and said to him: Where are the men
      that came in to thee at night? bring them out hither that
      we may know them:
  6  Lot went out to them, and shut the door after him, and
      said:
  7  Do not so, I beseech you, my brethren, do not commit this
      evil.
  8  I have two daughters who as yet have not known man : I
      will bring them out to you, and abuse you them as it shall
      please you, so that you do no evil to these men, because
      they are come in under the shadow of my roof.
  9  But they said: Get thee back thither. And again: Thou
      camest in, said they, as a stranger, was it to be a
      judge? therefore we will afflict thee more than them. 
      And they pressed very violently upon Lot: and they were
      even at the point of breaking open the doors.
10  And behold the men put out their hand, and drew in Lot
      unto them, and shut the door:
11  And them that were without,  they struck with blindness
      from the least to the greatest, so that they could not
      find the door.
12  And they said to Lot: Hast thou here any of thine? son in
      law, or sons, or daughters, all that are thine bring them
      out of this city:
13  For we will destroy this place, because their cry is grown
      loud before the Lord, who hath sent us to destroy them.
14  So Lot went out, and spoke to his sons in law that were to
      have his daughters, and said : Arise : get you out of this
      place, because the Lord will destroy this city. And he
      seemed to them to speak as it were in jest.
15  And when it was morning, the angels pressed him, saying:
      Arise, take thy wife, and the two daughters which thou
      hast: lest thou also perish in the wickedness of the city.
16  And as he lingered, they took his hand, and the hand of
      his wife, and of his two daughters, because the Lord
      spared him.
17  And they brought him forth, and set him without the city:
      and there they spoke to him, saying : Save thy life : look
      not back, neither stay thou in all the country about: but
      save thyself in the mountain, lest thou be also consumed.
18  And Lot said to them: I beseech thee my Lord,
19  Because thy servant hath found grace before thee, and thou
      hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewn to me, in
      saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest
      some evil seize me, and I die :
20  There is this city here at hand, to which I may flee, it
      is a little one, and I shall be saved in it: is it not a
      little one, and my soul shall live?
21  And he said to him: Behold also in this, I have heard thy
      prayers, not to destroy the city for which thou hast
      spoken.
22  Make haste and be saved there, because I cannot do any
      thing till thou go in thither. Therefore the name of that
      city was called Segor.
23  The sun was risen upon the earth, and Lot entered into
      Segor.
24  And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and
      fire from the Lord out of heaven.
25  And he destroyed these cities, and all the country about,
      all the inhabitants of the cities, and all things that
      spring from the earth.
26  And his wife looking behind her, was turned into a statue
      of salt.
27  And Abraham got up early in the morning and in the place
      where he had stood before with the Lord, 
28  He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha, and the whole land
      of that country: and he saw the ashes rise up from the
      earth as the smoke of a furnace.
29  Now when God destroyed the cities of that country,
      remembering Abraham, he delivered Lot out of the
      destruction of the cities wherein he had dwelt.
30  And Lot went up out of Segor, and abode in the mountain,
      and his two daughters with him, (for he was afraid to stay
      in Segor,) and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two
      daughters with him.
31  And the elder said to the younger Our father is old, and
      there is no man left on the earth, to come in unto us
      after the manner of the whole earth.
32  Come, let us make him drunk with wine, and let us lie with
      him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33  And they made their father drink wine that night: and the
      elder went in and lay with her father : but he perceived
      not neither when his daughter lay down, nor when she rose
      up.
34  And the next day the elder said to the younger : Behold I
      lay last night with my father, let us make him drink wine
      also to night, and thou shalt lie with him, that we may
      save seed of our father.
35  They made their father drink wine that night also, and the
      younger daughter went in, and lay with him: and neither
      then did he perceive when she lay down, nor when she rose
      up.
36  So the two daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
37  And the elder bore a son, and called his name Moab: he is
      the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38  The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ammon,
      that is, the son of my people: he is the father of the
      Ammonites unto this day.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 20

    Abraham sojourned in Gerara:  Sara is taken into king Abimelech's
     house, but by God's commandment is restored untouched.

  1  Abraham removed from thence to the south country, and
      dwelt between Cedes and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.
  2  And he said of Sara his wife: She is my sister. So
      Abimelech the king of Gerara sent, and took her.
  3  And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said
      to him: Lo thou shalt die for the woman thou hast taken:
      for she hath a husband.
  4  Now Abimelech had not touched her, and he said : Lord,
      wilt thou slay a nation, that is ignorant and just?
  5  Did not he say to me : She is my sister: and she say, He
      is my brother? in the simplicity of my heart, and
      cleanness of my hands have I done this.
  6  And God said to him: And I know that thou didst it with a
      sincere heart: and therefore I withheld thee from sinning
      against me, and I suffered thee not to touch her.
  7  Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a
      prophet: and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live:
      but if thou wilt not restore her, know that thou shalt
      surely die, thou and all that are thine.
  8  And Abimelech forthwith rising up in the night, called all
      his servants: and spoke all these words in their hearing,
      and all the men were exceedingly afraid.
  9  And Abimelech called also for Abraham, and said to him:
      What hast thou done to us? what have we offended thee in,
      that thou hast brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great
      sin? thou hast done to us what thou oughtest not to do.
10  And again he expostulated with him, and said, What sawest
      thou, that thou hast done this?
11  Abraham answered: I thought with myself, saying: Perhaps
      there is not the fear of God in this place: and they will
      kill me for the sake of my wife:
12  Howbeit, otherwise also she is truly my sister, the
      daughter of my father, and not the daughter of my mother,
      and I took her to wife.
13  And after God brought me out of my father's house, I said
      to her:  Thou shalt do me this kindness: In every place,
      to which we shall come, thou shalt say that I am thy
      brother.
14  And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and servants and
      handmaids, and gave to Abraham: and restored to him Sara,
      his wife.
16  And said: The land is before you, dwell wheresoever it
      shall please thee.
17  And to Sara he said: Behold I have given thy brother a
      thousand pieces of silver: this shall serve thee for a
      covering of thy eyes to all that are with thee, and
      whithersoever thou shalt go: and remember thou wast taken.
18  And when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech and his
      wife, and his handmaids, and they bore children:
19  For the Lord had closed up every womb of the house of
      Abimelech on account of Sara, Abraham's wife.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 21

        Isaac is born.  Agar and Ismael are cast forth.

  1  And the Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and
      fulfilled what he had spoken.
  2  And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the
      time that God had foretold her.
  3  And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sara bore
      him, Isaac.
  4  And he circumcised him the eighth day, as God had
      commanded him,
  5  When he was a hundred years old: for at this age of his
      father was Isaac born.
  6  And Sara said: God hath made a laughter for me: whosoever
      shall hear of it will laugh with me.
  7  And again she said: Who would believe that Abraham should
      hear that Sara gave suck to a son, whom she bore to him in
      his old age.
  8  And the child grew and was weaned: and Abraham made a
      great feast on the day of his weaning.
  9  And when Sara had seen the son of Agar the Egyptian
      playing with Isaac her son, she said to Abraham:
10  Cast out this bondwoman, and her son: for the son of the
      bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.
11  Abraham took this grievously for his son.
12  And God said to him: Let it not seem grievous to thee for
      the boy, and for thy bondwoman: in all that Sara hath said
      to thee, hearken to her voice: for in Isaac shall thy seed
      be called.
13  But I will make the son also of the bondwoman a great
      nation, because he is thy seed.
14  So Abraham rose up in the morning, and taking bread and a
      bottle of water, put it upon her shoulder, and delivered
      the boy, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered
      in the wilderness of Bersabee.
15  And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the
      boy under one of the trees that were there.
16  And she went her way, and sat over against him a great way
      off as far as a bow can carry, for she said: I will not
      see the boy die: and sitting over against, she lifted up
      her voice and wept.
17  And God heard the voice of the boy: and an angel of God
      called to Agar from heaven, saying: What art thou doing,
      Agar? fear not: for God hath heard the voice of the boy,
      from the place wherein he is.
18  Arise, take up the boy, and hold him by the hand: for I
      will make him a great nation.
19  And God opened her eyes: and she saw a well of water, and
      went and filled the bottle, and gave the boy to drink.
20  And God was with him: and he grew, and dwelt in the
      wilderness, and became a young man, an archer.
21  And he dwelt in the wilderness of Pharan, and his mother
      took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.
22  At the same time Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his
      army said to Abraham: God is with thee in all that thou
      dost.
23  Swear therefore by God, that thou wilt not hurt me, nor my
      posterity, nor my stock: but according to the kindness
      that I have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and to the
      land wherein thou hast lived a stranger.
24  And Abraham said: I will swear.
25  And he reproved Abimelech for a well of water, which his
      servants had taken away by force.
26  And Abimelech answered: I knew not who did this thing: and
      thou didst not tell me, and I heard not of it till today.
27  And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to
      Abimelech: and both of them made a league.
28  And Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock.
29  And Abimelech said to him: What mean these seven ewe lambs
      which thou hast set apart?
30  But he said: Thou shalt take seven ewe lambs at my hand:
      that they may be a testimony for me, that I dug this well.
31  Therefore that place was called Bersabee: because both of
      them did swear.
32  And they made a league for the well of oath.
33  And Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army arose
      and returned to the land of the Palestines. But Abraham
      planted a grove in Bersabee, and there called upon the
      name of the Lord God eternal.
34  And he was a sojourner in the land of the Palestines many
      days.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 22

      The faith and obedience of Abraham is proved in his readiness to
       sacrifice his son Isaac.  He is stayed from the act by an angel.
       Former promises are renewed to him.  His brother Nachor's issue.

  1  After these things, God tempted Abraham, and said to him:
      Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.
  2  He said to him: Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom
      thou lovest, and go into the land of vision: and there
      thou shalt offer him for a holocaust upon one of the
      mountains which I will show thee.
  3  So Abraham rising up in the night, saddled his ass: and
      took with him two young men, and Isaac his son: and when
      he had cut wood for the holocaust he went his way to the
      place which God had commanded him.
  4  And on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the
      place afar off.
  5  And he said to his young men: Stay you here with the ass:
      I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and
      after we have worshipped, will return to you.
  6  And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon
      Isaac his son: and he himself carried in his hands fire
      and a sword. And as they two went on together,
  7  Isaac said to his father: My father. And he answered: What
      wilt thou, son? Behold, saith he, fire and wood: where is
      the victim for the holocaust?
  8  And Abraham said: God will provide himself a victim for an
      holocaust, my son. So they went on together.
  9  And they came to the place which God had shown him, where
      he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it: and
      when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar
      upon the pile of wood.
10  And he put forth his hand and took the sword, to sacrifice
      his son.
11  And behold an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him,
      saying: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.
12  And he said to him: Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither
      do thou any thing to him: now I know that thou fearest
      God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my
      sake.
13  Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram
      amongst the briers sticking fast by the horns, which he
      took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son.
14  And he called the name of that place, The Lord seeth.
      Whereupon even to this day it is said: In the mountain the
      Lord will see.
15  And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time
      from heaven, saying:
16  By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: because thou
      hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only
      begotten son for my sake:
17  I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the
      stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the seashore:
      thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies.
18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
      blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice.
19  Abraham returned to his young men, and they went to
      Bersabee together, and he dwelt there.
20  After these things, it was told Abraham that Melcha also
      had borne children to Nachor his brother.
21  Hus the firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Camuel the
      father of the Syrians,
22  And Cased, and Azau, and Pheldas, and Jedlaph,
23  And Bathuel, of whom was born Rebecca: These eight did
      Melcha bear to Nachor Abraham's brother.
24  And his concubine, named Roma, bore Tabee, and Gaham, and
      Tahas, and Maacha.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 23

      Sara's death and burial in the field bought of Ephron.

  1  And Sara lived a hundred and twenty-seven years.
  2  And she died in the city of Arbee which is Hebron, in the
      land of Chanaan: and Abraham came to mourn and weep for
      her.
  3  And after he rose up from the funeral obsequies, he spoke
      to the children of Heth, saying:
  4  I am a stranger and sojourner among you: give me the right
      of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead.
  5  The children of Heth answered, saying:
  6  My Lord, hear us, thou art a prince of God among us: bury
      thy dead in our principle sepulchers: and no man shall
      have power to hinder thee from burying thy dead in his
      sepulcher.
  7  Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land,
      to wit the children of Heth:
  8  And said to them: If it please your soul that I should
      bury my dead, hear me, and intercede for me to Ephron the
      son of Seor.
  9  That he may give me the double cave, which he hath in the
      end of his field: for as much money as it is worth he
      shall give it me before you, for a possession of a
      buryingplace.
10  Now Ephron dwelt in the midst of the children of Heth. And
      Ephron made answer to Abraham in the hearing of all that
      went in at the gate of the city, saying:
11  Let it not be so, my lord, but do thou rather hearken to
      what I say: The field I deliver to thee, and the cave that
      is therein, in the presence of the children of my people,
      bury thy dead.
12  Abraham bowed down before the people of the land,
13  And he spoke to Ephron, in the presence of the people: I
      beseech thee to hear me: I will give money for the field:
      take it, and so I will bury my dead in it.
14  And Ephron answered:
15  My lord, hear me. The ground which thou desirest, is worth
      four hundred sicles of silver: this is the price between
      me and thee: but what is this? bury thy dead.
16  And when Abraham had heard this, he weighed out the money
      that Ephron had asked, in the hearing of the children of
      Heth, four hundred sicles of silver of common current
      money.
17  And the field that before was Ephron's, wherein was the
      double cave, looking towards Mambre, both it and the cave,
      and all the trees thereof in all its limits round about,
18  Was made sure to Abraham for a possession, in the sight of
      the children of Heth, and of all that went in at the gate
      of his city.
19  And so Abraham buried Sara his wife, in a double cave of
      the field, that looked towards Mambre, this is Hebron in
      the land of Chanaan.
20  And the field was made sure to Abraham, and the cave that
      was in it, for a possession to bury in, by the children of
      Heth.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 24

      Abraham's servant, sent by him into Mesopotamia, bringeth from
       thence Rebecca, who is married to Isaac.

  1  Now Abraham was old; and advanced in age: and the Lord had
      blessed him in all things.
  2  And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was
      ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh,
  3  That I may make thee swear by the Lord the God of heaven
      and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son, of the
      daughters of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell:
  4  But that thou go to my own country and kindred, and take
      a wife from thence for my son Isaac.
  5  The servant answered: If the woman will not come with me
      into this land, must I bring thy son back again to the
      place, from whence thou camest out?
  6  And Abraham said: Beware thou never bring my son back
      again thither.
  7  The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father's
      house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and
      swore to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land: he
      will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from
      thence a wife for my son.
  8  But if the woman will not follow thee, thou shalt not be
      bound by the oath; only bring not my son back thither
      again.
  9  The servant therefore put his hand under the thigh of
      Abraham his lord, and swore to him upon this word.
10  And he took ten camels of his master's herd, and departed,
      carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set
      forth and went on to Mesopotamia to the city of Nachor.
11  And when he had made the camels lie down without the town
      near a well of water in evening, at the time when women
      were wont to come out to draw water, he said:
12  O Lord the God of my master Abraham, meet me today, I
      beseech thee, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
13  Behold I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters
      of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw
      water.
14  Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down thy
      pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, Drink, and
      I will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom
      thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this I
      shall understand, that thou hast shown kindness to my
      master.
15  He had not yet ended these words within himself, and
      behold Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of
      Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a
      pitcher on her shoulder:
16  An exceedingly comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin,
      and not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and
      filled her pitcher and was coming back.
17  And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a
      little water to drink of thy pitcher.
18  And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down
      the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink.
19  And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy
      camels also, till they all drink.
20  And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back
      to the well to draw water: and having drawn she gave to
      all the camels.
21  But he musing beheld her with silence, desirous to know
      whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22  And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out
      golden earrings, weighing two sicles: and as many
      bracelets of ten sicles weight.
23  And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me: is
      there any place in thy father's house to lodge?
24  And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of
      Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.
25  And she said moreover to him: We have good store of both
      straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in.
26  The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord,
27  Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who
      hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master,
      and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my
      master's brother.
28  Then the maid ran, and told in her mother's house, all
      that she had heard.
29  And Rebecca had a brother named Laban, who went out in
      haste to the man, to the well.
30  And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his
      sister's hands, and had heard all that she related,
      saying: Thus and thus the man spoke to me: he came to the
      man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of
      water,
31  And said to him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord: why
      standest thou without? I have prepared the house, and a
      place for the camels.
32  And he brought him in into his lodging: and he unharnessed
      the camels and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his
      feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him.
33  And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not eat,
      till I tell my message. He answered him: Speak.
34  And he said: I am the servant of Abraham:
35  And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, and he is
      become great: and he hath given him sheep and oxen, silver
      and gold, menservants and womenservants, camels and asses.
36  And Sara my master's wife hath borne my master a son in
      her old age, and he hath given him all that he had.
37  And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take
      a wife for my son of the Chanaanites, in whose land I
      dwell:
38  But thou shalt go to my father's house, and shalt take a
      wife of my own kindred for my son:
39  But I answered my master: What if the woman will not come
      with me?
40  The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his
      angel with thee, and will direct thy way: and thou shalt
      take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my
      father's house.
41  But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt
      come to my kindred, if they will not give thee one.
42  And I came today to the well of water, and said: O Lord
      God of my master Abraham, if thou hast prospered my way,
      wherein I now walk,
43  Behold I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that
      shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give
      me a little water to drink of thy pitcher:
44  And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw
      for thy camels: let the same be the woman, whom the Lord
      hath prepared for my master's son.
45  And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself,
      Rebecca appeared coming with a pitcher, which she carried
      on her shoulder: and she went down to the well and drew
      water. And I said to her: Give me a little to drink.
46  And she speedily let down the pitcher from her shoulder,
      and said to me: Both drink thou, and to thy camels I will
      give drink. I drank, and she watered the camels.
47  And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And
      she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of
      Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him. So I put earrings on her
      to adorn her face, and I put bracelets on her hands.
48  And falling down I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God
      of my master Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way
      to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
49  Wherefore if you do according to mercy and truth with my
      master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me
      that also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the
      left.
50  And Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded
      from the Lord, we cannot speak any other thing to thee but
      his pleasure.
51  Behold Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way,
      and let her be the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord
      hath spoken.
52  Which when Abraham's servant heard, falling down to the
      ground he adored the Lord.
53  And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, and
      garments, he gave them to Rebecca for a present. He
      offered gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother.
54  And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together,
      and lodged there. And in the morning, the servant arose,
      and said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master.
55  And her brother and mother answered: Let the maid stay at
      least ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart.
56  Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my
      way: send me away, that I may go to my master.
57  And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will.
58  And they called her, and when she was come, they asked:
      Wilt thou go with this man? She said: I will go.
59  So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham's
      servant, and his company,
60  Wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying: Thou art
      our sister, mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands,
      and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies.
61  So Rebecca and her maids, being set upon camels, followed
      the man: who with speed returned to his master.
62  At the same time Isaac was walking along the way to the
      well which is called Of the living and the seeing: for he
      dwelt in the south country.
63  And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day
      being now well spent: and when he had lifted up his eyes,
      he saw camels coming afar off.
64  Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted off the camel,
65  And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh
      towards us along the field? And he said to her: That man
      is my master. But she quickly took her cloak, and covered
      herself.
66  And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.
67  Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took
      her to wife: and he loved her so much, that it moderated
      the sorrow which was occasioned by his mother's death.

                The Book of Genesis, Chapter 25

      Abraham's children by Cetura; his death and that of Ismael.
       Isaac hath Esau and Jacob twins.  Esau selleth his first birthright
       to Jacob.

  1  And Abraham married another wife, named Cetura:
  2  Who bore to him Zamran, and Jecsan, and Madan, and Madian,
      and Jesboc, and Sue.
  3  Jecsan also begot Saba and Dadan. The children of Dadan
      were Assurim, and Latusim, and Loomin.
  4  But of Madian was born Epha, and Opher, and Henoch, and
      Abida, and Eldaa: all these were the children of Cetura.
  5  And Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac.
  6  And to the children of the concubines he gave gifts, and
      separated them from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, to
      the east country.
  7  And the days of Abraham's life were a hundred and
      seventy-five years.
  8  And decaying he died in a good old age, and having lived
      a long time, and being full of days: and was gathered to
      his people.
  9  And Isaac and Ismael his sons buried him in the double
      cave, which was situated in the field of Ephron the son of
      Seor the Hethite, over against Mambre;
10  Which he had bought of the children of Heth: there was he
      buried, and Sara his wife.
11  And after his death, God blessed Isaac his son, who dwelt
      by the well named Of the living and seeing.
12  These are the generations of Ismael the son of Abraham,
      whom Agar the Egyptian, Sara's servant, bore unto him:
13  And these are the names of his children according to their
      calling and generations. The firstborn of Ismael was
      Nabajoth, then Cedar, and Adbeel, and Mabsam.
14  And Masma, and Duma, and Massa,
15  Hadar, and Thema, and Jethur, and Naphis, and Cedma.
16  These are the sons of Ismael: and these are their names by
      their castles and towns, twelve princes of their tribes.
17  And the years of Ismael's life were a hundred and
      thirty-seven, and decaying he died, and was gathered unto
      his people.
18  And he dwelt from Hevila as far as Sur, which looketh
      towards Egypt, to them that go towards the Assyrians. He
      died in the presence of all his brethren.
19  These also are the generations of Isaac the son of
      Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac:
20  Who when he was forty years old, took to wife Rebecca the
      daughter of Bathuel the Syrian of Mesopotamia, sister to
      Laban.
21  And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, because she was
      barren; and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive.
22  But the children struggled in her womb: and she said: If
      it were to be so with me, what need was there to conceive?
      And she went to consult the Lord.
23  And he answering said: Two nations are in thy womb, and
      two peoples shall be divided out of thy womb, and one
      people shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve
      the younger.
24  And when her time was come to be delivered, behold twins
      were found in her womb.
25  He that came forth first was red, and hairy like a skin:
      and his name was called Esau. Immediately the other coming
      forth, held his brother's foot in his hand, and therefore
      he was called Jacob.
26  Isaac was threescore years old when the children were born
      unto him.
27  And when they were grown up, Esau became a skillful
      hunter, and a husbandman, but Jacob a plain man dwelt in
      tents.
28  Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his hunting: and
      Rebecca loved Jacob.
29  And Jacob boiled pottage: to whom Esau, coming faint out
      of the field,
30  Said: Give me of this red pottage, for I am exceeding
      faint. For which reason his name was called Edom.
31  And Jacob said to him: Sell me thy first birthright.
32  He answered: Lo I die, what will the first birthright
      avail me.
33  Jacob said: Swear therefore to me. Esau swore to him, and
      sold his first birthright.
34  And so taking bread and the pottage of lentils, he ate,
      and drank, and went his way; making little account of
      having sold his first birthright.

GO TO CHAPTER 26