¹ Then Job answered and said,² I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.³ Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?⁴ I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.⁵ But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.⁶ Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?⁷ But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.⁸ And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.⁹ He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.¹⁰ They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.¹¹ God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.¹² I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.¹³ His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.¹⁴ He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.¹⁵ I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.¹⁶ My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;¹⁷ Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.¹⁸ O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.¹⁹ Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.²⁰ My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.²¹ O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!²² When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

¹ My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.² Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation?³ Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me?⁴ For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.⁵ He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.⁶ He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret.⁷ Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.⁸ Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite.⁹ The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.¹⁰ But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.¹¹ My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.¹² They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.¹³ If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.¹⁴ I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.¹⁵ And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?¹⁶ They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.

¹ And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.² And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:³ And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.⁴ Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.⁵ And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.⁶ And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:⁷ And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?⁸ And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.⁹ And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.¹⁰ And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.¹¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,¹² I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.¹³ And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.¹⁴ And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.¹⁵ And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.¹⁶ This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.¹⁷ And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.¹⁸ And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.¹⁹ And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.²⁰ Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.²¹ And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.²² And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.²³ And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.²⁴ And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.²⁵ And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.²⁶ Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.²⁷ And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.²⁸ And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?²⁹ See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.³¹ And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.³² And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.³³ And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.³⁴ As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.³⁵ And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.³⁶ Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,² Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.³ And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.⁴ And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:⁵ Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.⁶ And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.⁷ Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.⁸ And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.⁹ For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.¹⁰ And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.¹¹ And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.¹² And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.¹³ If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.¹⁴ And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.¹⁵ And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.¹⁶ And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.¹⁷ And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.¹⁸ And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.¹⁹ And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.²⁰ And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.²¹ And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.²² Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.²³ And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.²⁴ But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.²⁵ Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.²⁶ And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.²⁷ A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

¹ Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;² The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,³ Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,⁴ Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:⁵ Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.⁶ And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?⁷ And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?⁸ Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.⁹ For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.¹⁰ And the LORD's anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,¹¹ Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:¹² Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.¹³ And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.¹⁴ And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.¹⁵ For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.¹⁶ And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:¹⁷ But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.¹⁸ We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.¹⁹ For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.²⁰ And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,²¹ And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,²² And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.²³ But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.²⁴ Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.²⁵ And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.²⁶ Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:²⁷ But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.²⁸ So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:²⁹ And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:³⁰ But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.³¹ And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.³² We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.³³ And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.³⁴ And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,³⁵ And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,³⁶ And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.³⁷ And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,³⁸ And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.³⁹ And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.⁴⁰ And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.⁴¹ And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.⁴² And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

¹ Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.² My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:³ Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.⁴ He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.⁵ They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.⁶ Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?⁷ Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.⁸ When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.⁹ For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.¹⁰ He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.¹¹ As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:¹² So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.¹³ He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;¹⁴ Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.¹⁵ But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.¹⁶ They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.¹⁷ They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.¹⁸ Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.¹⁹ And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.²⁰ And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.²¹ They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.²² For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.²³ I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.²⁴ They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.²⁵ The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.²⁶ I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:²⁷ Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.²⁸ For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.²⁹ O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!³⁰ How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?³¹ For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.³² For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:³³ Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.³⁴ Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?³⁵ To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.³⁶ For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.³⁷ And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,³⁸ Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.³⁹ See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.⁴⁰ For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.⁴¹ If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.⁴² I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.⁴³ Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.⁴⁴ And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.⁴⁵ And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:⁴⁶ And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.⁴⁷ For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.⁴⁸ And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,⁴⁹ Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:⁵⁰ And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:⁵¹ Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.⁵² Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

¹ And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.² And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.³ And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.⁴ Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.⁵ And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.⁶ In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.⁷ And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.⁸ And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.⁹ And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.¹⁰ And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.¹¹ And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.¹² And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.¹³ Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

¹ In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.² And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.³ When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?⁴ And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.⁵ And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.⁶ And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.⁷ Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.⁸ And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?⁹ And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.¹⁰ When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.¹¹ And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.¹² And they went up, and pitched in Kirjathjearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahanehdan unto this day: behold, it is behind Kirjathjearim.¹³ And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah.¹⁴ Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.¹⁵ And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.¹⁶ And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.¹⁷ And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.¹⁸ And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?¹⁹ And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?²⁰ And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.²¹ So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.²² And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.²³ And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?²⁴ And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?²⁵ And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.²⁶ And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.²⁷ And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.²⁸ And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.²⁹ And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.³⁰ And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.³¹ And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

¹ And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.² So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite.³ And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.⁴ And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabeshgilead were they that buried Saul.⁵ And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.⁶ And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.⁷ Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.⁸ But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;⁹ And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.¹⁰ Ishbosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.¹¹ And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.¹² And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.¹³ And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.¹⁴ And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.¹⁵ Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.¹⁶ And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon.¹⁷ And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.¹⁸ And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.¹⁹ And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.²⁰ Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am.²¹ And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.²² And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?²³ Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.²⁴ Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.²⁵ And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill.²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?²⁷ And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.²⁸ So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.²⁹ And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.³⁰ And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.³¹ But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that three hundred and threescore men died.³² And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

¹ At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.² And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.³ And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.⁴ And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.⁵ And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.⁶ And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,⁸ And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;⁹ But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:¹⁰ Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.¹¹ Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.¹² Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.¹³ And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.¹⁴ Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.¹⁵ For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.¹⁶ And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.¹⁷ And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;¹⁸ And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.¹⁹ And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.²⁰ And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.²¹ And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.²² And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.²³ For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.²⁴ And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.²⁵ And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:²⁶ And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.²⁷ And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house.²⁸ And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.²⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?³⁰ And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.³¹ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

¹ Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:² The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith:³ The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife.⁴ These six were born unto him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.⁵ And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel:⁶ Ibhar also, and Elishama, and Eliphelet,⁷ And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia,⁸ And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine.⁹ These were all the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister.¹⁰ And Solomon's son was Rehoboam, Abia his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,¹¹ Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son,¹² Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son,¹³ Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son,¹⁴ Amon his son, Josiah his son.¹⁵ And the sons of Josiah were, the firstborn Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum.¹⁶ And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son.¹⁷ And the sons of Jeconiah; Assir, Salathiel his son,¹⁸ Malchiram also, and Pedaiah, and Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.¹⁹ And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister:²⁰ And Hashubah, and Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, Jushabhesed, five.²¹ And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah.²² And the sons of Shechaniah; Shemaiah: and the sons of Shemaiah; Hattush, and Igeal, and Bariah, and Neariah, and Shaphat, six.²³ And the sons of Neariah; Elioenai, and Hezekiah, and Azrikam, three.²⁴ And the sons of Elioenai were, Hodaiah, and Eliashib, and Pelaiah, and Akkub, and Johanan, and Dalaiah, and Anani, seven.

¹ In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.² Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,³ There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.⁴ And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.⁵ And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease.⁶ Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.⁷ And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.⁸ Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.⁹ For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.¹⁰ Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.¹¹ And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.¹² And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.¹³ And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.¹⁴ And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him.

¹ And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.² And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.³ And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;⁴ But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.⁵ Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.⁶ And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.⁷ Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Benhail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.⁸ And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests.⁹ And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.¹⁰ And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.¹¹ Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats.¹² And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store.¹³ And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem.¹⁴ And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand.¹⁵ And next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand.¹⁶ And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour.¹⁷ And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand.¹⁸ And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war.¹⁹ These waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.