And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the ^aChaldees^•.

Abraham seeks the blessings of the patriarchal order—He is persecuted by false priests in Chaldea—Jehovah saves him—Origins and government of Egypt reviewed.

 And the beginning of his kingdom was ^aBabel^•, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of ^bShinar^•.

Jerusalem besieged and taken by Nebuchadnezzar—Many of Judah carried captive into Babylon—Zedekiah becomes king in Jerusalem—He rebels against Babylon.

 IN the beginning of the reign of ^aJehoiakim^• the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

 ¶ For thus saith the LORD, That after ^aseventy^• years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and ^bperform^• my good word toward you, in causing you to ^creturn^• to this place.

 NOW it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the ^acaptives^• by the river of ^bChebar^•, that the heavens were ^copened^•, and I saw ^dvisions^• of God.

Daniel and certain Hebrews are trained in the court of Nebuchadnezzar—They eat plain food and drink no wine—God gives them knowledge and wisdom beyond all others.

 It also spake a few words concerning his fathers. And his first parents came out from the ^atower^•, at the time the Lord ^bconfounded^• the language of the people; and the severity of the Lord fell upon them according to his judgments, which are just; and their ^cbones^• lay scattered in the land northward.

 Which ^aJared^• came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord ^bconfounded^• the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the ^cface^• of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered.

 And the ^abrother^• of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not ^bunderstand our words.

 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the ^alanguage^• of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.

 Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our ^afriends^•, that he confound not their language.

 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.

 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and ^ainquire^• of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is ^bchoice^• above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.

 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.

 And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and ^ahad^• compassion upon him, and said unto him:

 Go to and gather together thy ^aflocks^•, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the ^bseed^• of the earth of every kind; and ^cthy^{• d}families^•; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy ^efriends^• and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families.

 And when thou hast done this thou shalt ^ago^• at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee, and I will go ^bbefore^• thee into a land which is ^cchoice^• above all the lands of the earth.

 And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And ^athere^• shall be none ^bgreater^• than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me.

 THE words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month ^aChisleu^•, in the twentieth year, as I was in ^bShushan^• the palace,

 NOW it came to pass in the days of ^aAhasuerus^•, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty ^bprovinces^•:)

 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the ^ariver^• of Ulai.

Nebuchadnezzar creates a golden image and commands all men to worship it—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refuse and are cast into the fiery furnace—The Son of God preserves them, and they come forth unharmed.

Amaziah reigns well in Judah—Israel defeats Judah in battle—Jeroboam reigns in wickedness in Israel.

 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.

 For I will ^adefend^• this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

 ¶ And it came to pass that night, that the ^aangel^• of the LORD went out, and ^bsmote^• in the camp of the ^cAssyrians^• an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and ^acry against it; for their ^bwickedness^• is come up before me.

 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the ^aChaldees^•, to go into the land of ^bCanaan^•; and they came unto ^cHaran^•, and dwelt there.

 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

 Therefore I left the land of ^aUr^•, of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and I took Lot, my brother’s son, and his wife, and Sarai my wife; and also my ^bfather^• followed after me, unto the land which we denominated Haran.

 And the famine abated; and my father tarried in Haran and dwelt there, as there were many flocks in Haran; and my father turned again unto his ^aidolatry^•, therefore he continued in Haran.

 ¶ After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.

 Against him came up ^aNebuchadnezzar^• king of Babylon, and bound him in ^bfetters^•, to carry him to Babylon.

 ¶ And ^aCanaan^• begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,

 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the ^aCanaanites^• spread abroad.

 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to ^aGerar^•, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

 And ^aAhab^• the son of Omri did ^bevil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.

 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to ^awife^{• b}Jezebel^• the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served ^cBaal^•, and worshipped him.

 And he reared up an altar for ^aBaal^• in the ^bhouse^• of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

 And ^aAhab^• made a ^bgrove^•; and Ahab did more to ^cprovoke^• the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

 AND ^aHiram^• king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a ^blover^• of David.

 And Solomon sent to ^aHiram^•, saying,

 Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an ^ahouse unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the ^bLORD^• put them under the soles of his feet.

 But now the LORD my God hath given me ^arest^• on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

 And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an ^ahouse^• unto my name.

 Now therefore command thou that they hew me ^acedar^• trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that ^bcan^• skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.

 ¶ And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, ^aBlessed^• be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.

 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of ^afir^•.

 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.

 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.

      •  •  •
 And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the ^astonesquarers^•: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, ^ahe^• armed his trained servants, ^bborn^• in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the ^aleft^• hand of Damascus.

 And when the ^aSyrians^• of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.

 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.

 And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be ^aking^• over Syria:

 And I will ^agive unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the ^bland wherein thou art a ^cstranger, all the ^dland of ^eCanaan^•, for an everlasting ^fpossession^•; and I will be their ^gGod^•.

 NOW Moses kept the flock of ^aJethro^• his father in law, the ^bpriest^• of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the ^cmountain^• of God, even to ^dHoreb^•.

 And the ^aangel^• of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of ^bfire^• out of the midst of a ^cbush^•: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

The Lord covenants to make Israel a peculiar treasure, a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation—People sanctify themselves—The Lord appears on Sinai amid fire and smoke and earthquakes.

 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that ^ameat^{• b}forty days and forty nights unto ^cHoreb^• the ^dmount^• of God.

 ¶ And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they ^aseek my life, to take it away.

 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a ^astill^• small ^bvoice.

 ¶ And king Solomon made a navy of ships in ^aEzion^•-geber, which is beside ^bEloth^•, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.

 AND when the ^aqueen^• of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to ^bprove him with hard questions.

 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

 And Solomon told her all her ^aquestions^•: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.

 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built,

 And the ^ameat^• of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ^bascent^• by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.

 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.

 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.

 Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which ^astand^• continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

 ^aBlessed^• be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.

 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of ^agold^•, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

 And the ^anavy^• also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.

 And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

 And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

 NOW the Lord God caused the ^afamine^• to wax sore in the land of Ur, insomuch that ^bHaran^•, my brother, died; but ^cTerah^•, my father, yet lived in the land of Ur, of the Chaldees.

      •  •  •
 And I, Abraham, journeyed, going on still towards the south; and there was a continuation of a famine in the land; and I, Abraham, concluded to go down into Egypt, to sojourn there, for the famine became very grievous.

 And the Lord said unto me: Abraham, I ^ashow these things unto thee before ye go into Egypt, that ye may declare all these words.

 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the ^aIshmeelites^• for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Joseph, prospered by the Lord, becomes ruler of Potiphar’s house—He resists the advances of Potiphar’s wife, is falsely accused, and cast into prison—Keeper of the prison commits its affairs into Joseph’s hands.

 The land of ^aEgypt^• is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

 ¶ And the children of Israel were ^afruitful^•, and ^bincreased^• abundantly, and multiplied, and ^cwaxed^• exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

 Now there arose up a new ^aking^• over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are ^amore^• and ^bmightier^• than we:

 Come on, let us deal ^awisely^• with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there ^bfalleth^• out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

 Therefore they did set over them ^ataskmasters^• to afflict them with their ^bburdens^•. And they built for Pharaoh ^ctreasure^• cities, Pithom and ^dRaamses^•.

 But the more they afflicted them, the more they ^amultiplied^• and grew. And they were ^bgrieved^• because of the children of Israel.

 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:

 And they made their lives bitter with hard ^abondage^•, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

 ¶ And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you ^aforth^• from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.

 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

 And the Egyptians were ^aurgent^• upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.

 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.

 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they ^aborrowed^• of the Egyptians jewels of ^bsilver^•, and jewels of gold, and ^craiment^•:

 And the LORD gave the people ^afavour^• in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they ^blent^• unto them such things as they required. And they ^cspoiled^• the Egyptians.

 ¶ And the children of Israel ^ajourneyed^• from ^bRameses^• to Succoth, about ^csix^• hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.

 And ^aa^• mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

 And they baked ^aunleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were ^bthrust^• out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any ^cvictual^•.

 ¶ Now the ^asojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

 So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the ^acaptains^• of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah.

 But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;

 Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s ^adaughters^•, and every person that ^bNebuzar^•-adan the captain of the guard had left with ^cGedaliah^• the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.

 So they came into the land of ^aEgypt^•: for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to ^bTahpanhes^•.