THE BOOK OF EXODUS

THE BOOK OF EXODUS

• The Second Book of Moses is called EXODUS, from the Greek word EXODOS, which signifies going out: because it contains the history of the going out of the children of Israel out of Egypt. The Hebrews, from the words with which it begins, call it VEELLE SEMOTH: These are the names. It contains transactions for 145 years; that is, from the death of Joseph to the erecting of the tabernacle.

Exodus Chapter 1

• The Israelites are multiplied in Egypt. They are oppressed by a new king, who commandeth all their male children to be killed.

  1:1. These are the names of the children of Israel, that went into Egypt with Jacob: they went in every man with his household:

  1:2. Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Juda,

  1:3. Issachar, Zabulon, and Benjamin,

  1:4. Dan, and Nephthali, Gad and Aser.

  1:5. And all the souls that came out of Jacob’s thigh, were seventy: but Joseph was in Egypt.

  1:6. After he was dead, and all his brethren, and all that generation,

  1:7. The children of Israel increased, and sprung up into multitudes, and growing exceedingly strong they filled the land.

  1:8. In the mean time there arose a new king over Egypt, that knew not Joseph:

  1:9. And he said to his people: Behold the people of the children of Israel are numerous and stronger than we.

  1:10. Come let us wisely oppress them, lest they multiply: and if any war shall rise against us, join with our enemies, and having overcome us, depart out of the land.

  1:11. Therefore he set over them masters of the works, to afflict them with burdens: and they built for Pharao cities of tabernacles, Phithom, and Ramesses.

  Of tabernacles... Or, of storehouses.

  1:12. But the more they oppressed them, the more they were multiplied and increased.

  1:13. And the Egyptians hated the children of Israel, and afflicted them and mocked them:

  1:14. And they made their life bitter with hard works in clay and brick, and with all manner of service, wherewith they were overcharged in the works of the earth.

  1:15. And the king of Egypt spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews: of whom one was called Sephora, the other Phua,

  1:16. Commanding them: When you shall do the office of midwives to the Hebrew women, and the time of delivery is come: if it be a man child, kill it: if a woman, keep it alive.

  1:17. But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded, but saved the men children.

  1:18: And the king called for them and said: What is it that you meant to do, that you would save the men children?

  1:19. They answered: The Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women: for they themselves are skilful in the office of a midwife; and they are delivered before we come to them.

  1:20. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied and grew exceedingly strong.

  1:21. And because the midwives feared God, he built them houses.

  Because the midwives feared God, etc... The midwives were rewarded, not for their lie, which was a venial sin; but for their fear of God, and their humanity: but this reward was only temporal, in building them houses, that is, in establishing and enriching their families.

  1:22. Pharao therefore charged all his people, saying: Whatsoever shall be born of the male sex, ye shall cast into the river: whatsoever of the female, ye shall save alive.

Exodus Chapter 2

• Moses is born and exposed on the bank of the river; where he is taken up by the daughter of Pharao, and adopted for her son. He killeth an Egyptian, and fleeth into Madian; where he marrieth a wife.

  2:1. After this there went a man of the house of Levi; and took a wife of his own kindred.

  2:2. And she conceived, and bore a son: and seeing him a goodly child, hid him three months.

  2:3. And when she could hide him no longer, she took a basket made of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and pitch: and put the little babe therein, and laid him in the sedges by the river’s brink,

  2:4. His sister standing afar off, and taking notice what would be done.

  2:5. And behold the daughter of Pharao came down to wash herself in the river: and her maids walked by the river’s brink. And when she saw the basket in the sedges she sent one of her maids for it: and when it was brought,

  2:6. She opened it, and seeing within it an infant crying, having compassion on it, she said: This is one of the babes of the Hebrews.

  2:7. And the child’s sister said to her: Shall I go, and call to thee a Hebrew woman, to nurse the babe?

  2:8. She answered: Go. The maid went and called her mother.

  2:9. And Pharao’s daughter said to her: Take this child, and nurse him for me: I will give thee thy wages. The woman took and nursed the child: and when he was grown up, she delivered him to Pharao’s daughter.

  2:10. And she adopted him for a son, and called him Moses, saying: Because I took him out of the water.

  Moses... Or Moyses, in the Egyptian tongue, signifies one taken or saved out of the water.

  2:11. In those days, after Moses was grown up, he went out to his brethren: and saw their affliction, and an Egyptian striking one of the Hebrews, his brethren.

  2:12. And when he had looked about this way and that way, and saw no one there, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

  He slew the Egyptian... This he did by a particular inspiration of God; as a prelude to his delivering the people from their oppression and bondage. He thought, says St. Stephen, Acts 7.25, that his brethren understood that God by his hand would save them. But such particular and extraordinary examples are not to be imitated.

  2:13. And going out the next day, he saw two Hebrews quarrelling: and he said to him that did the wrong: Why strikest thou thy neighbour?

  2:14. But he answered: Who hath appointed thee prince and judge over us? wilt thou kill me, as thou didst yesterday kill the Egyptian? Moses feared, and said: How is this come to be known?

  2:15. And Pharao heard of this word, and sought to kill Moses: but he fled from his sight, and abode in the land of Madian, and he sat down by a well.

  Madian... A city and country of Arabia, which took its name from Madian the son of Abraham, by Cetura, and was peopled by his posterity.

  2:16. And the priest of Madian had seven daughters, who came to draw water: and when the troughs were filled, desired to water their father’s flocks.

  2:17. And the shepherds came and drove them away: and Moses arose, and defending the maids, watered their sheep.

  2:18: And when they returned to Raguel their father, he said to them: Why are ye come sooner than usual?

  Raguel... He had two names, being also called Jethro, as appears from the first verse of the following chapter.

  2:19. They answered: A man of Egypt delivered us from the hands of the shepherds: and he drew water also with us, and gave the sheep to drink.

  2:20. But he said: Where is he? why have you let the man go? call him that he may eat bread.

  2:21. And Moses swore that he would dwell with him. And he took Sephora his daughter to wife:

  2:22. And she bore him a son, whom he called Gersam, saying: I have been a stranger in a foreign country. And she bore another, whom he called Eliezer, saying: For the God of my father, my helper, hath delivered me out of the hand of Pharao.

  Gersam... Or Gershom. This name signifies a stranger there: as Eliezer signifies the help of God.

  2:23. Now after a long time the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel groaning, cried out because of the works: and their cry went up unto God from the works.

  2:24. And he heard their groaning, and remembered the covenant which he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

  2:25. And the Lord looked upon the children of Israel, and he knew them.

  Knew them... That is, he had respect to them, he cast a merciful eye upon them.

Exodus Chapter 3

• God appeareth to Moses in a bush, and sendeth him to deliver Israel.

  3:1. Now Moses fed the sheep of Jethro, his father in law, the priest of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

  3:2. And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire, and was not burnt.

  The Lord appeared... That is, an angel representing God, and speaking in his name.

  3:3. And Moses said: I will go, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

  3:4. And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, he called to him out of the midst of the bush. and said: Moses, Moses. And he answered: Here I am.

  3:5. And he said: Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from thy feet; for the place, whereon thou standest, is holy ground.

  3:6. And he said: I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face: for he durst not look at God.

  3:7. And the Lord said to him: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigour of them that are over the works;

  3:8. And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk and honey, to the places of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite.

  3:9. For the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have seen their affliction, wherewith they are oppressed by the Egyptians.

  3:10. But come, and I will send thee to Pharao, that thou mayst bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

  3:11. And Moses said to God: Who am I that I should go to Pharao, and should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

  3:12. And he said to him: I will be with thee; and this thou shalt have for a sign that I have sent thee: When thou shalt have brought my people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice to God upon this mountain.

  3:13. Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and say to them: The God of your fathers hath sent me to you. If they shall say to me: What is his name? What shall I say to them?

  3:14. God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: HE WHO IS, hath sent me to you.

  I am who am... That is, I am being itself, eternal, self-existent, independent, infinite; without beginning, end, or change; and the source of all other beings.

  3:15. And God said again to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me to you; this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

  3:16. Go and gather together the ancients of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying: Visiting I have visited you; and I have seen all that hath befallen you in Egypt.

  3:17. And I have said the word to bring you forth out of the affliction of Egypt, into the land of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite, to a land that floweth with milk and honey.

  3:18: And they shall hear thy voice; and thou shalt go in, thou and the ancients of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews hath called us; we will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the Lord our God.

  3:19. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, but by a mighty hand.

  3:20. For I will stretch forth my hand, and will strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst of them: after these he will let you go.

  3:21. And I will give favour to this people, in the sight of the Egyptians: and when you go forth, you shall not depart empty:

  3:22. But every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that is in her house, vessels of silver and of gold, and raiment: and you shall put them on your sons and daughters, and shall spoil Egypt.

  Shall spoil, etc... That is, you shall strip, and take away the goods of the Egyptians. This was not authorizing theft or injustice; but was a just disposal made by Him, who is the great lord and master of all things, in order to pay the children of Israel some part of what was due to them from the Egyptians for their labours.

Exodus Chapter 4

• Moses is empowered to confirm his mission with miracles: his brother Aaron is appointed to assist him.

  4:1. Moses answered, and said: They will not believe me, nor hear my voice, but they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to thee.

  4:2. Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand? He answered: A rod.

  4:3. And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast it down, and it was turned into a serpent, so that Moses fled from it.

  4:4. And the Lord said: Put out thy hand, and take it by the tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod.

  4:5. That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to thee.

  4:6. And the Lord said again: Put thy hand into thy bosom. And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow.

  4:7. And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bosom. He put it back, and brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh.

  4:8. If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign.

  4:9. But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice: take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land, and whatsoever thou drawest out of the river, shall be turned into blood.

  4:10. Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before; and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.

  4:11. The Lord said to him: Who made man’s mouth? or who made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? did not I?

  4:12. Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth; and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak.

  4:13. But he said: I beseech thee, Lord, send whom thou wilt send.

  4:14. The Lord being angry at Moses, said: Aaron the Levite is thy brother, I know that he is eloquent: behold he cometh forth to meet thee, and seeing thee, shall be glad at heart.

  4:15. Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be in thy mouth, and in his month, and will shew you what you must do.

  4:16. He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God.

  4:17. And take this rod in thy hand. wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

  4:18: Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said to him; I will go and return to my brethren into Egypt, that I may see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to him: Go in peace.

  4:19. And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into Egypt; for they are all dead that sought thy life.

  4:20. Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass; and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand.

  4:21. And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt: See that thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put in thy hand: I shall harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.

  I shall harden, etc... Not by being the efficient cause of his sin; but by withdrawing from him, for his just punishment, the dew of grace that might have softened his heart; and so suffering him to grow harder and harder.

  4:22. And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

  4:23. I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me, and thou wouldst not let him go: behold I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

  4:24. And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him.

  The Lord met him, and would have killed him... This was an angel representing the Lord, who treated Moses in this manner, for having neglected the circumcision of his younger son; which his wife understanding, circumcised her child upon the spot, upon which the angel let Moses go.

  4:25. Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and said: A bloody spouse art thou to me.

  4:26. And he let him go after she had said: A bloody spouse art thou to me, because of the circumcision.

  4:27. And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet Moses. And he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.

  4:28. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had sent him, and the signs that he had commanded.

  4:29. And they came together, and they assembled all the ancients of the children of Israel.

  4:30. And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses: and he wrought the signs before the people.

  4:31. And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction: and falling down they adored.

Exodus Chapter 5

• Pharao refuseth to let the people go. They are more oppressed.

  5:1. After these things, Moses and Aaron went in, and said to Pharao: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may sacrifice to me in the desert.

  5:2. But he answered: Who is the Lord, that I should hear his voice, and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

  5:3. And they said: The God of the Hebrews hath called us, to go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and to sacrifice to the Lord our God; lest a pestilence or the sword fall upon us.

  5:4. The king of Egypt said to them: Why do you Moses and Aaron draw off the people from their works? Get you gone to your burdens.

  5:5. And Pharao said: The people of the land are numerous; you see that the multitude is increased; how much more if you give them rest from their works?

  5:6. Therefore he commanded the same day the overseers of the works, and the task-masters of the people, saying:

  5:7. You shall give straw no more to the people to make brick, as before; but let them go and gather straw.

  5:8. And you shall lay upon them the task of bricks, which they did before; neither shall you diminish any thing thereof, for they are idle, and therefore they cry. saying: Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

  5:9. Let them be oppressed with works, and let them fulfil them; that they may not regard lying words.

  5:10. And the overseers of the works, and the taskmasters, went out and said to the people: Thus saith Pharao: I allow you no straw;

  5:11. Go, and gather it where you can find it; neither shall any thing of your work be diminished.

  5:12. And the people was scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather straw.

  5:13. And the overseers of the works pressed them, saying: Fulfil your work every day, as before ye were wont to do, when straw was given you.

  5:14. And they that were over the works of the children of Israel, were scourged by Pharao’s taskmasters, saying: Why have you not made up the task of bricks, both yesterday and to day, as before?

  5:15. And the officers of the children of Israel came, and cried out to Pharao, saying: Why dealest thou so with thy servants?

  5:16. Straw is not given us, and bricks are required of us as before; behold we, thy servants, are beaten with whips, and thy people is unjustly dealt withal.

  5:17. And he said: You are idle, and therefore you say: Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.

  5:18: Go therefore and work: straw shall not be given you, and you shall deliver the accustomed number of bricks.

  5:19. And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in evil case, because it was said to them: There shall not a whit be diminished of the bricks for every day.

  5:20. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood over against them as they came out from Pharao:

  5:21. And they said to them: The Lord see and judge, because you have, made our savour to stink before Pharao and his servants, and you have given him a sword, to kill us.

  5:22. And Moses returned to the Lord, and said: Lord, why hast thou afflicted this people? wherefore hast thou sent me?

  5:23. For since the time that I went in to Pharao to speak in thy name, he hath afflicted thy people: and thou hast not delivered them.

Exodus Chapter 6

• God reneweth his promise. The genealogies of Ruben, Simon and Levi, down to Moses and Aaron.

  6:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharao: for by a mighty hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he cast them out of his land.

  6:2. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord

  6:3. That appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty: and my name ADONAI I did not shew them.

  My name Adonai... The name, which is in the Hebrew text, is that most proper name of God, which signifieth his eternal, self-existent being, Ex. 3.14, which the Jews out of reverence never pronounce; but, instead of it, whenever it occurs in the Bible, they read Adonai, which signifies the Lord; and, therefore, they put the points or vowels, which belong to the name Adonai, to the four letters of that other ineffable name Jod, He, Vau, He. Hence some moderns have framed the name Jehovah, unknown to all the ancients, whether Jews or Christians; for the true pronunciation of the name, which is in the Hebrew text, by long disuse, is now quite lost.

  6:4. And I made a covenant with them, to give them the land of Chanaan, the land of their pilgrimage wherein they were strangers.

  6:5. I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, wherewith the Egyptians have oppressed them: and I have remembered my covenant.

  6:6. Therefore say to the children of lsrael: I am the Lord who will bring you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians, and will deliver you from bondage: and redeem you with a high arm, and great judgments.

  6:7. And I will take you to myself for my people, I will be your God: and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians:

  6:8. And brought you into the land, concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and I will give it you to possess: I am the Lord.

  6:9. And Moses told all this to the children of Israel: but they did not hearken to him, for anguish of spirit, and most painful work.

  6:10. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  6:11. Go in, and speak to Pharao king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

  6:12. Moses answered before the Lord: Behold the children of Israel do not hearken to me: and how will Pharao hear me, especially as I am of uncircumcised lips?

  Uncircumcised lips... So he calls the defect he had in his words, or utterance.

  6:13. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and he gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharao the king of Egypt, that they should bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

  6:14. These are the heads of their houses by their families. The sons of Ruben the firstborn of Israel: Henoch and Phallu, Hesron and Charmi.

  6:15. These are the kindreds of Ruben. The sons of Simeon, Jamuel and Jamin, and Ahod, and Jachin, and Soar, and Saul the son of a Chanaanitess: these are the families of Simeon.

  6:16. And these are the names of the sons of Levi by their kindreds: Gerson, and Caath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty- seven.

  6:17. The sons of Gerson: Lobni and Semei, by their kindreds.

  6:18: The sons of Caath: Amram, and Isaar, and Hebron and Oziel. And the years of Caath’s life, were a hundred and thirty-three.

  6:19. The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi. These are the kindreds of Levi by their families.

  6:20. And Amram took to wife Jochabed his aunt by the father’s side: and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of Amram’s life, were a hundred and thirty-seven.

  6:21. The sons also of Isaar: Core, and Nepheg, and Zechri.

  6:22. The sons also of Oziel: Mizael, and Elizaphan, and Sethri.

  6:23. And Aaron took to wife Elizabeth the daughter of Aminadab, sister of Nahason, who bore him Nadab, and Abiu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.

  6:24. The sons also of Core: Aser, and Elcana, and Abiasaph. These are the kindreds of the Corites.

  6:25. But Eleazar the son of Aaron took a wife of the daughters of Phutiel: and she bore him Phinees. These are the heads of the Levitical families by their kindreds.

  6:26. These are Aaron and Moses, whom the Lord commanded to bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies.

  6:27. These are they that speak to Pharao, king of Egypt, in order to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron,

  6:28. In the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt.

  6:29. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord; speak thou to Pharao, king of Egypt, all that I say to thee.

  6:30. And Moses said before the Lord: Lo I am of uncircumcised lips, how will Pharao hear me?

Exodus Chapter 7

• Moses and Aaron go into Pharao: they turn the rod into a serpent; and the waters of Egypt into blood, which was the first plague. The magicians do the like, and Pharao’s heart is hardened.

  7:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, I have appointed thee the god of Pharao; and Aaron, thy brother, shall be thy prophet.

  The god of Pharao... Viz., to be his judge; and to exercise a divine power, as God’s instrument, over him and his people.

  7:2. Thou shalt speak to him all that I command thee; and he shall speak to Pharao, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

  7:3. But I shall harden his heart, and shall multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.

  I shall harden, etc... not by being the efficient cause of his hardness of heart, but by permitting it; and by withdrawing grace from him, in punishment of his malice; which alone was the proper cause of his being hardened.

  7:4. And he will not hear you: and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and will bring forth my army and my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt, by very great judgments.

  7:5. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, who have stretched forth my hand upon Egypt, and have brought forth the children of Israel out of the midst of them.

  7:6. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded; so did they.

  7:7. And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharao.

  7:8. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

  7:9. When Pharao shall say to you, Shew signs; thou shalt say to Aaron: Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharao, and it shall be turned into a serpent.

  7:10. So Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharao, and did as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron took the rod before Pharao and his servants, and it was turned into a serpent.

  7:11. And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians; and they also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets, did in like manner.

  Magicians... Jannes, and Mambres, or Jambres, 2 Tim. 3.8.

  7:12. And they every one cast down their rods, and they were turned into serpents: but Aaron’s rod devoured their rods.

  7:13. And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord had commanded.

  7:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Pharao’s heart is hardened, he will not let the people go.

  7:15. Go to him in the morning, behold he will go out to the waters: and thou shalt stand to meet him on the ‘ bank of the river: and thou shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned into a serpent.

  7:16. And thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to thee, saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in the desert: and hitherto thou wouldst not hear.

  7:17. Thus therefore saith the Lord: In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold I will strike with the rod, that is in my hand, the water of the river, and it shall be turned into blood.

  7:18: And the fishes that are in the river, shall die, and the waters shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted when they drink the water of the river.

  7:19. The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod; and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers, and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.

  7:20. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded: and lifting up the rod, he struck the water of the river before Pharao and his servants: and it was turned into blood.

  7:21. And the fishes that were in the river died; and the river corrupted, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river, and there was blood in all the land of Egypt.

  7:22. And the magicians of the Egyptians with their enchantments did in like manner; and Pharao’s heart was hardened, neither did he hear them, as the Lord had commanded. 7:23. And he turned himself away, and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to it this time also.

  7:24. And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

  7:25. And seven days were fully ended, after that the Lord struck the river.

Exodus Chapter 8

• The second plague is of frogs: Pharao promiseth to let the Israelites go, but breaketh his promise. The third plague is of sciniphs. The fourth is of flies. Pharao again promiseth to dismiss the people, but doth it not.

  8:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

  8:2. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will strike all thy coasts with frogs.

  8:3. And the river shall bring forth an abundance of frogs; which shall come up and enter into thy house, and thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the houses of thy servants, and to thy people, and into thy ovens, and into the remains of thy meats:

  8:4. And the frogs shall come in to thee, and to thy people, and to all thy servants.

  8:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch forth thy hand upon the streams, and upon the rivers and the pools, and bring forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.

  8:6. And Aaron stretched forth his hand upon the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

  8:7. And the magicians also, by their enchantments, did in like manner, and they brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.

  8:8. But Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Pray ye to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

  Pray ye to the Lord, etc... By this it appears, that though the magicians, by the help of the devil, could bring frogs, yet they could not take them away: God being pleased to abridge in this the power of Satan. So we see they could not afterwards produce the lesser insects; and in this restraint of the power of the devil, were forced to acknowledge the finger of God.

  8:9. And Moses said to Pharao: Set me a time when I shall pray for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs may be driven away from thee and from thy house, and from thy servants, and from thy people; and may remain only in the river.

  8:10. And he answered: To morrow. But he said: I will do according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like to the Lord our God.

  8:11. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy house, and from thy servants, and from thy people; and shall remain only in the river.

  8:12. And Moses and Aaron went forth from Pharao: and Moses cried to the Lord for the promise, which he had made to Pharao concerning the frogs.

  8:13. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses: and the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of the fields:

  8:14. And they gathered them together into immense heaps, and the land was corrupted.

  8:15. And Pharao seeing that rest was given, hardened his own heart, and did not hear them, as the Lord had commanded.

  Pharao hardened his own heart... By this we see that Pharao was himself the efficient cause of his heart being hardened, and not God.-See the same repeated in ver. 32. Pharao hardened his heart at this time also: likewise chap. 9.7, 35, and chap. 13.15.

  8:16. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch forth thy rod, and strike the dust of the earth; and may there be sciniphs in all the land of Egypt.

  Sciniphs... Or Cinifs, Hebrew Chinnim, small flying insects, very troublesome both to men and beast.

  8:17. And they did so. And Aaron stretched forth his hand, holding the rod; and he struck the dust of the earth, and there came sciniphs on men and on beasts: all the dust of the earth was turned into sciniphs through all the land of Egypt.

  8:18: And the magicians with their enchantments practised in like manner, to bring forth sciniphs, and they could not: and there were sciniphs as well on men as on beasts.

  8:19. And the magicians said to Pharao: This is the finger of God. And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had commanded.

  8:20. The Lord also said to Moses: Arise early, and stand before Pharao; for he will go forth to the waters: and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

  8:21. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will send in upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy houses, all kind of flies: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with flies of divers kinds, and the whole land wherein they shall be.

  8:22. And I will make the land of Gessen wonderful in that day, so that flies shall not be there: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

  8:23. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

  8:24. And the Lord did so. And there came a very grievous swarm of flies into the houses of Pharao and of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt: and the land was corrupted by this kind of flies.

  8:25. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go and sacrifice to your God in this land.

  8:26. And Moses said: It cannot be so: for we shall sacrifice the abominations of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: now if we kill those things which the Egyptians worship, in their presence, they will stone us.

  The abominations, etc... That is, the things they worship for Gods: oxen, rams, etc. It is the usual style of the scriptures to call all idols and false gods, abominations, to signify how much the people of God ought to detest and abhor them.

  8:27. We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness; and we will sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

  8:28. And Pharao said: I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but go no farther: pray for me.

  8:29. And Moses said: I will go out from thee, and will pray to the Lord: and the flies shall depart from Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people to morrow: but do not deceive any more, in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

  8:30. So Moses went out from Pharao, and prayed to the Lord.

  8:31. And he did according to his word: and he took away the flies from Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people: there was not left so much as one.

  8:32. And Pharao’s heart was hardened, so that neither this time would he let the people go.

Exodus Chapter 9

• The fifth plague is a murrain among the cattle. The sixth, of boils in men and beasts. The seventh, of hail. Pharao promiseth again to let the people go, and breaketh his word.

  9:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and speak to him: Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

  9:2. But if thou refuse, and withhold them still:

  9:3. Behold my hand shall be upon thy fields; and a very grievous murrain upon thy horses, and asses, and camels, and oxen, and sheep.

  9:4. And the Lord will make a wonderful difference between the possessions of Israel and the possessions of the Egyptians, that nothing at all shall die of those things that belong to the children of Israel.

  9:5. And the Lord appointed a time, saying: To morrow will the Lord do this thing in the land.

  9:6. The Lord therefore did this thing the next day: and all the beasts of the Egyptians died, but of the beasts of the children of Israel there died not one.

  All the beasts... That is, many of all kinds.

  9:7. And Pharao sent to see; and there was not any thing dead of that which Israel possessed. And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

  9:8. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Take to you handfuls of ashes out of the chimney, and let Moses sprinkle it in the air in the presence of Pharao.

  9:9. And be there dust upon all the land of Egypt: for there shall be boils and swelling blains both in men and beasts, in the whole land of Egypt.

  9:10. And they took ashes out of the chimney, and stood before Pharao, and Moses sprinkled it in the air; and there came boils with swelling blains in men and beasts.

  9:11. Neither could the magicians stand before Moses, for the boils that were upon them, and in all the land of Egypt.

  9:12. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

  Hardened, etc... See the annotations above, chap. 4.21, chap. 7.3, and chap. 8.15.

  9:13. And the Lord said to Moses: Arise in the morning, and stand before Pharao, and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

  9:14. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thy heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayst know that there is none like me in all the earth.

  9:15. For now I will stretch out my hand to strike thee, and thy people, with pestilence, and thou shalt perish from the earth.

  9:16. And therefore have I raised thee, that I may shew my power in thee, and my name may be spoken of throughout all the earth.

  9:17. Dost thou yet hold back my people; and wilt thou not let them go?

  9:18: Behold I will cause it to rain to morrow at this same hour, an exceeding great hail; such as hath not been in Egypt from the day that it was founded, until this present time.

  9:19. Send therefore now presently, and gather together thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for men and beasts, and all things that shall be found abroad, and not gathered together out of the fields which the hail shall fall upon, shall die.

  9:20. He that feared the word of the Lord among Pharao’s servants, made his servants and his cattle flee into houses:

  9:21. But he that regarded not the word of the Lord, left his servants, and his cattle in the fields.

  9:22. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand towards heaven, that there may be hail in the whole land of Egypt upon men, and upon beasts, and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt.

  9:23. And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightnings running along the ground: and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

  9:24. And the hail and fire mixt with it drove on together: and it was of so great bigness, as never before was seen in the whole land of Egypt since that nation was founded.

  9:25. And the hail destroyed through all the land of Egypt all things that were in the fields, both man and beast: and the hail smote every herb of the field, and it broke every tree of the country.

  9:26. Only in the land of Gessen, where the children of Israel were, the hail fell not.

  9:27. And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, saying to them: I have sinned this time also, the Lord is just: I and my people, are wicked.

  9:28. Pray ye to the Lord that the thunderings of God and the hail may cease: that I may let you go, and that ye may stay here no longer.

  9:29. Moses said: As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will stretch forth my hands to the Lord, and the thunders shall cease, and the hail shall be no more: that thou mayst know that the earth is the Lord’s:

  9:30. But I know that neither thou, nor thy servants do yet fear the Lord God.

  9:31. The flax therefore, and the barley were hurt, because the barley was green, and the flax was now bolled;

  9:32. But the wheat, and other winter corn were not hurt, because they were lateward.

  9:33. And when Moses was gone from Pharao out of the city, he stretched forth his hands to the Lord: and the thunders and the hail ceased, neither did there drop any more rain upon the earth.

  9:34. And Pharao seeing that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders were ceased, increased his sin:

  9:35. And his heart was hardened, and the heart of his servants, and it was made exceeding hard: neither did he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.

Exodus Chapter 10

• The eighth plague of the locusts. The ninth, of darkness: Pharao is still hardened.

  10:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants: that I may work these my signs in him,

  10:2. And thou mayst tell in the ears of thy sons, and of thy grandsons, how often I have plagued the Egyptians, and wrought my signs amongst them: and you may know that I am the Lord.

  10:3. Therefore Moses and Aaron went in to Pharao, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: How long refusest thou to submit to me? let my people go, to sacrifice to me.

  10:4. But if thou resist, and wilt not let them go, behold I will bring in to-morrow the locusts into thy coasts;

  10:5. To cover the face of the earth, that nothing thereof may appear, but that which the hail hath left may be eaten: for they shall feed upon all the trees that spring in the fields.

  10:6. And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of thy servants, and of all the Egyptians: such a number as thy fathers have not seen, nor thy grandfathers, from the time they were first upon the earth, until this present day. And he turned himself away, and went forth from Pharao.

  10:7. And Pharao’s servants said to him: How long shall we endure this scandal? Iet the men go to sacrifice to the Lord their God. Dost thou not see that Egypt is undone?

  10:8. And they called back Moses, and Aaron, to Pharao; and he said to them: Go, sacrifice to the Lord your God: who are they that shall go?

  10:9. Moses said: We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, with our sheep and herds: for it is the solemnity of the Lord our God.

  10:10. And Pharao answered: So be the Lord with you, as I shall let you and your children go: who can doubt but that you intend some great evil?

  10:11. It shall not be so. but go ye men only, and sacrifice to the Lord: for this yourselves also desired. And immediately they were cast out from Pharao’s presence.

  10:12. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand upon the land of Egypt unto the locust, that it come upon it, and devour every herb that is left after the hail.

  10:13. And Moses stretched forth his rod upon the land of Egypt: and the Lord brought a burning wind all that day, and night; and when it was morning, the burning wind raised the locusts.

  10:14. And they came up over the whole land of Egypt; and rested in all the coasts of the Egyptians, innumerable, the like as had not been before that time, nor shall be hereafter.

  10:15. And they covered the whole face of the earth, wasting all things. And the grass of the earth was devoured, and what fruits soever were on the trees, which the hail had left; and there remained not any thing that was green on the trees, or in the herbs of the earth, in all Egypt.

  10:16. Wherefore Pharao in haste called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.

  10:17. But now forgive me my sin this time also, and pray to the Lord your God, that he take away from me this death.

  10:18: And Moses going forth from the presence of Pharao, prayed to the Lord:

  10:19. And he made a very strong wind to blow from the west, and it took the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea: there remained not so much as one in all the coasts of Egypt.

  10:20. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, neither did he let the children of Israel go.

  10:21. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch out thy hand towards heaven: and may there be darkness upon the land of Egypt so thick that it may be felt.

  Darkness upon the land of Egypt, so thick that it may be felt... By means of the gross exhalations, which were to cause and accompany the darkness.

  10:22. And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven: and there came horrible darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.

  10:23. No man saw his brother, nor moved himself out of the place where he was: but wheresoever the children of Israel dwelt, there was light.

  10:24. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go, sacrifice to the Lord: let your sheep only, and herds remain, let your children go with you.

  10:25. Moses said: Thou shalt give us also sacrifices and burnt-offerings, to the Lord our God.

  10:26. All the flocks shall go with us; there shall not a hoof remain of them: for they are necessary for the service of the Lord our God: especially as we know not what must be offered, till we come to the very place.

  10:27. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, and he would not let them go.

  10:28. And Pharao said to Moses: Get thee from me, and beware thou see not my face any more: in what day soever thou shalt come in my sight, thou shalt die.

  10:29. Moses answered: So shall it be as thou hast spoken, I will not see thy face anymore.

Exodus Chapter 11

• Pharao and his people are threatened with the death of their firstborn.

  11:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharao and Egypt, and after that he shall let you go, and thrust you out.

  11:2. Therefore thou shalt tell all the people, that every man ask of his friend, and every woman of her neighbour, vessels of silver and of gold.

  11:3. And the Lord will give favour to his people in the sight of the Egyptians. And Moses was a very great man in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharao’s servants, and of all the people.

  11:4. And he said: Thus saith the Lord: At midnight I will enter into Egypt:

  11:5. And every firstborn in the land of the Egyptians shall die, from the firstborn of Pharao who sitteth on his throne, even to the firstborn of the handmaid that is at the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts.

  11:6. And there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as neither hath been before, nor shall be hereafter.

  11:7. But with all the children of Israel there shall not a dog make the least noise, from man even to beast; that you may know how wonderful a difference the Lord maketh between the Egyptians and Israel.

  11:8. And all these thy servants shall come down to me, and shall worship me, saying: Go forth thou, and all the people that is under thee: after that we will go out.

  11:9. And he went out from Pharao exceeding angry. But the Lord said to Moses: Pharao will not hear you, that many signs may be done in the land of Egypt.

  11:10. And Moses and Aaron did all the wonders that are written, before Pharao. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, neither did he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

  The Lord hardened, etc... See the annotations above, chap. 4.21, and chap. 7.3.

Exodus Chapter 12

• The manner of preparing, and eating the paschal lamb: the firstborn of Egypt are all slain: the Israelites depart.

  12:1. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

  12:2. This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first in the months of the year.

  12:3. Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb by their families and houses.

  12:4. But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb, he shall take unto him his neighbour that joineth to his house, according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb.

  12:5. And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one year; according to which rite also you shall take a kid.

  A kid... The phase might be performed, either with a lamb or with a kid: and all the same rites and ceremonies were to be used with the one as with the other.

  12:6. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening.

  12:7. And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

  12:8. And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce.

  12:9. You shall not eat thereof any thing raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted at the fire; you shall eat the head with the feet and entrails thereof.

  12:10. Neither shall there remain any thing of it until morning. If there be any thing left, you shall burn it with fire.

  12:11. And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall eat in haste; for it is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord.

  12:12. And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments; I am the Lord.

  12:13. And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be; and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you; and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt.

  12:14. And this day shall be for a memorial to you; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord in your generations, with an everlasting observance.

  12:15. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread: in the first day there shall be no leaven in your houses; whosoever shall eat any thing leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall perish out of Israel.

  12:16. The first day shall be holy and solemn, and the seventh day shall be kept with the like solemnity: you shall do no work in them, except those things that belong to eating.

  12:17. And you shall observe the feast of the unleavened bread: for in this same day I will bring forth your army out of the land of Egypt, and you shall keep this day in your generations by a perpetual observance.

  12:18: The first month, the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the same month, in the evening.

  Unleavened bread... By this it appears, that our Saviour made use of unleavened bread, in the institution of the blessed sacrament, which was on the evening of the paschal solemnity, at which time there was no leavened bread to be found in Israel.

  12:19. Seven days there shall not be found any leaven in your houses: he that shall eat leavened bread, his soul shall perish out of the assembly of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land.

  12:20. You shall not eat any thing leavened: in all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.

  12:21. And Moses called all the ancients of the children of Israel, and said to them: Go take a lamb by your families, and sacrifice the Phase.

  12:22. And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the door, and sprinkle the transom of the door therewith, and both the door cheeks: let none of you go out of the door of his house till morning.

  Sprinkle, etc... This sprinkling the doors of the Israelites with the blood of the paschal lamb, in order to their being delivered from the sword of the destroying angel, was a lively figure of our redemption by the blood of Christ.

  12:23. For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians: and when he shall see the blood on the transom, and on both the posts, he will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses and to hurt you.

  12:24. Thou shalt keep this thing as a law for thee and thy children for ever.

  12:25. And when you have entered into the land which the Lord will give you, as he hath promised, you shall observe these ceremonies.

  12:26. And when your children shall say to you: What is the meaning of this service?

  12:27. You shall say to them: It is the victim of the passage of the Lord, when he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and saving our houses. And the people bowing themselves, adored.

  12:28. And the children of Israel going forth, did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

  12:29. And it came to pass at midnight, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharao, who sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive woman that was in the prison, and all the firstborn of cattle.

  12:30. And Pharao arose in the night, and all his servants, and all Egypt: and there arose a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house wherein there lay not one dead.

  12:31. And Pharao calling Moses and Aaron, in the night, said: Arise and go forth from among my people, you and the children of Israel: go, sacrifice to the Lord as you say.

  12:32. Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you demanded, and departing bless me.

  12:33. And the Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of the land speedily, saying: We shall all die.

  12:34. The people therefore took dough before it was leavened; and tying it in their cloaks, put it on their shoulders.

  12:35. And the children of Israel did as Moses had commanded: and they asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver and gold, and very much raiment.

  12:36. And the Lord gave favour to the people in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them: and they stripped the Egyptians.

  12:37. And the children of Israel set forward from Ramesse to Socoth, being about six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children.

  12:38. And a mixed multitude, without number, went up also with them, sheep and herds, and beasts of divers kinds, exceeding many.

  12:39. And they baked the meal, which a little before they had brought out of Egypt in dough: and they made hearth cakes unleavened: for it could not be leavened, the Egyptians pressing them to depart, and not suffering them to make any stay; neither did they think of preparing any meat.

  12:40. And the abode of the children of Israel that they made in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

  12:41. Which being expired, the same day all the army of the Lord went forth out of the land of Egypt.

  12:42. This is the observable night of the Lord, when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: this night all the children of Israel must observe in their generations.

  12:43. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the service of the Phase; no foreigner shall eat of it.

  12:44. But every bought servant shall be circumcised, and so shall eat.

  12:45. The stranger and the hireling shall not eat thereof.

  12:46. In one house shall it be eaten, neither shall you carry forth of the flesh thereof out of the house, neither shall you break a bone thereof.

  12:47. All the assembly of the children of Israel shall keep it.

  12:48. And if any stranger be willing to dwell among you, and to keep the Phase of the Lord, all his males shall first be circumcised, and then shall he celebrate it according to the manner: and he shall be as he that is born in the land: but if any man be uncircumcised, he shall not eat thereof.

  12:49. The same law shall be to him that is born in the land, and to the proselyte that sojourneth with you.

  12:50. And all the children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

  12:51. And the same day the Lord brought forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies.

Exodus Chapter 13

• The paschal solemnity is to be observed; and the firstborn are to be consecrated to God. The people are conducted through the desert by a pillar of fire in the night, and a cloud in the day.

  13:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  13:2. Sanctify unto me every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, as well of men as of beasts: for they are all mine.

  Sanctify unto me every firstborn... Sanctification in this place means that the firstborn males of the Hebrews should be deputed to the ministry in the divine worship; and the firstborn of beasts to be given for a sacrifice.

  13:3. And Moses said to the people: Remember this day in which you came forth out of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage, for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought you forth out of this place: that you eat no leavened bread.

  13:4. This day you go forth in the month of new corn.

  13:5. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to thy fathers that he would give thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey, thou shalt celebrate this manner of sacred rites in this month.

  13:6. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be the solemnity of the Lord.

  13:7. Unleavened bread shall you eat seven days: there shall not be seen any thing leavened with thee, nor in all thy coasts.

  13:8. And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: This is what the Lord did to me when I came forth out of Egypt.

  13:9. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a memorial before thy eyes; and that the law of the Lord be always in thy mouth, for with a strong hand the Lord hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

  13:10. Thou shalt keep this observance at the set time from days to days.

  13:11. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, as he swore to thee and thy fathers, and shall give it thee:

  13:12. Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for the Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle: whatsoever thou shalt have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate to the Lord.

  13:13. The firstborn of an ass thou shalt change for a sheep: and if thou do not redeem it, thou shalt kill it. And every firstborn of men thou shalt redeem with a price.

  13:14. And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What is this? thou shalt answer him: With a strong hand did the Lord bring us forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

  13:15. For when Pharao was hardened, and would not let us go, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of beasts: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb of the male sex, and all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.

  13:16. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a thing hung between thy eyes, for a remembrance: because the Lord hath brought us forth out of Egypt by a strong hand.

  13:17. And when Pharao had sent out the people, the Lord led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, which is near; thinking lest perhaps they would repent, if they should see wars arise against them, and would return into Egypt.

  13:18: But he led them about by the way of the desert, which is by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.

  13:19. And Moses took Joseph’s bones with him: because he had adjured the children of Israel, saying: God shall visit you, carry out my bones from hence with you.

  13:20. And marching from Socoth, they encamped in Etham, in the utmost coasts of the wilderness.

  13:21. And the Lord went before them to shew the way, by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire; that he might be the guide of their journey at both times.

  13:22. There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people.

Exodus Chapter 14

• Pharao pursueth the children of Israel. They murmur against Moses, but are encouraged by him, and pass through the Red Sea. Pharao and his army following them are drowned.

  14:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  14:2. Speak to the children of Israel: Let them turn and encamp over against Phihahiroth, which is between Magdal and the sea over against Beelsephon: you shall encamp before it upon the sea.

  14:3. And Pharao will say of the children of Israel: They are straitened in the land, the desert hath shut them in.

  14:4. And I shall harden his heart and he will pursue you: and I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in all his army: and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

  14:5. And it was told the king of the Egyptians that the people was fled: and the heart of Pharao and of his servants was changed with regard to the people, and they said: What meant we to do, that we let Israel go from serving us?

  14:6. So he made ready his chariot, and took all his people with him.

  14:7. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots that were in Egypt: and the captains of the whole army.

  14:8. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; but they were gone forth in a mighty hand.

  14:9. And when the Egyptians followed the steps of them who were gone before, they found them encamped at the sea side: all Pharao’s horse and chariots and the whole army were in Phihahiroth, before Beelsephon.

  14:10. And when Pharao drew near, the children of Israel lifting up their eyes, saw the Egyptians behind them: and they feared exceedingly, and cried to the Lord.

  14:11. And they said to Moses: Perhaps there were no graves in Egypt, therefore thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness: why wouldst thou do this, to lead us out of Egypt?

  14:12. Is not this the word that we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying: Depart from us, that we may serve the Egyptians? for it was much better to serve them, than to die in the wilderness.

  14:13. And Moses said to the people: Fear not: stand, and see the great wonders of the Lord, which he will do this day; for the Egyptians, whom you see now, you shall see no more for ever.

  14:14. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

  14:15. And the Lord said to Moses: Why criest thou to me? Speak to the children of Israel to go forward.

  14:16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it: that the children of Israel may go through the midst of the sea on dry ground.

  14:17. And I will harden the heart of the Egyptians to pursue you: and I will be glorified in Pharao, and in all his host, and in his chariots and in his horsemen.

  14:18: And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen.

  14:19. And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removing, went behind them: and together with him the pillar of the cloud, leaving the forepart,

  14:20. Stood behind, between the Egyptians’ camp and the camp of Israel: and it was a dark cloud, and enlightening the night, so that they could not come at one another all the night.

  A dark cloud, and enlightening the night... It was a dark cloud to the Egyptians; but enlightened the night to the Israelites by giving them a great light.

  14:21. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand over the sea, the Lord took it away by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night, and turned it into dry ground: and the water was divided.

  14:22. And the children of Israel went in through the midst of the sea dried up; for the water was as a wall on their right hand and on their left.

  14:23. And the Egyptians pursuing went in after them, and all Pharao’s horses, his chariots and horsemen, through the midst of the sea.

  14:24. And now the morning watch was come, and behold the Lord looking upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, slew their host.

  14:25. And overthrew the wheels of the chariots, and they were carried into the deep. And the Egyptians said: Let us flee from Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against us.

  14:26. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and horsemen.

  14:27. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the sea, it returned at the first break of day to the former place: and as the Egyptians were fleeing away, the waters came upon them, and the Lord shut them up in the middle of the waves.

  14:28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the army of Pharao, who had come into the sea after them, neither did there so much as one of them remain.

  14:29. But the children of Israel marched through the midst of the sea upon dry land, and the waters were to them as a wall on the right hand and on the left:

  14:30. And the Lord delivered Israel in that day out of the hands of the Egyptians.

  14:31. And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore, and the mighty hand that the Lord had used against them: and the people feared the Lord, and they believed the Lord, and Moses his servant.

Exodus Chapter 15

• The canticle of Moses. The bitter waters of Mara are made sweet.

  15:1. Then Moses and the children of Israel sung this canticle to the Lord, and said: Let us sing to the Lord: for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and the rider he hath thrown into the sea.

  15:2. The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he is become salvation to me: he is my God, and I will glorify him: the God of my father, and I will exalt him.

  15:3. The Lord is as a man of war, Almighty is his name.

  15:4. Pharao’s chariots and his army he hath cast into the sea: his chosen captains are drowned in the Red Sea.

  15:5. The depths have covered them, they are sunk to the bottom like a stone.

  15:6. Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength: thy right hand, O Lord, hath slain the enemy.

  15:7. And in the multitude of thy glory thou hast put down thy adversaries: thou hast sent thy wrath, which hath devoured them like stubble.

  15:8. And with the blast of thy anger the waters were gathered together: the flowing water stood, the depths were gathered together in the midst of the sea.

  15:9. The enemy said: I will pursue and overtake, I will divide the spoils, my soul shall have its fill: I will draw my sword, my hand shall slay them.

  15:10. Thy wind blew and the sea covered them: they sunk as lead in the mighty waters.

  15:11. Who is like to thee, among the strong, O Lord? who is like to thee, glorious in holiness, terrible and praise-worthy, doing wonders?

  15:12. Thou stretchedst forth thy hand, and the earth swallowed them.

  15:13. In thy mercy thou hast been a leader to the people which thou hast redeemed: and in thy strength thou hast carried them to thy holy habitation.

  15:14. Nations rose up, and were angry: sorrows took hold on the inhabitants of Philisthiim.

  15:15. Then were the princes of Edom troubled, trembling seized on the stout men of Moab: all the inhabitants of Chanaan became stiff.

  15:16. Let fear and dread fall upon them, in the greatness of thy arm: let them become immoveable as a stone, until thy people, O Lord, pass by: until this thy people pass by, which thou hast possessed.

  15:17. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thy inheritance, in thy most firm habitation, which thou hast made, O Lord; thy sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.

  15:18: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

  15:19. For Pharao went in on horseback with his chariots and horsemen into the sea: and the Lord brought back upon them the waters of the sea: but the children of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst thereof.

  15:20. So Mary the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand: and all the women went forth after her with timbrels and with dances.

  15:21. And she began the song to them, saying: Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and his rider he hath thrown into the sea.

  15:22. And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went forth into the wilderness of Sur: and they marched three days through the wilderness, and found no water.

  15:23. And they came into Mara, and they could not drink the waters of Mara because they were bitter: whereupon he gave a name also agreeable to the place, calling it Mara, that is, bitterness.

  15:24. And the people murmured against Moses, saying: What shall we drink?

  15:25. But he cried to the Lord, and he shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, they were turned into sweetness. There he appointed him ordinances, and judgments, and there he proved him,

  15:26. Saying: If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and do what is right before him, and obey his commandments, and keep all his precepts, none of the evils that I laid upon Egypt, will I bring upon thee: for I am the Lord thy healer.

  15:27. And the children of Israel came into Elim, where there were twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm trees: and they encamped by the waters.

Exodus Chapter 16

• The people murmur for want of meat: God giveth them quails and manna.

  16:1. And they set forward from Elim, and all the multitude of the children of Israel came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai: the fifteenth day of the second month, after they came out of the land of Egypt.

  16:2. And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

  16:3. And the children of Israel said to them: Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the fleshpots, and ate bread to the full:

  Why have you brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?

  16:4. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you; let the people go forth, and gather what is sufficient for every day: that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or not.

  16:5. But the sixth day let them provide for to bring in: and let it be double to that they were wont to gather every day.

  16:6. And Moses and Aaron said to the children of Israel In the evening you shall know that the Lord hath brought you forth out of the land of Egypt:

  16:7. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord: for he hath heard your murmuring against the Lord: but as for us, what are we, that you mutter against us?

  16:8. And Moses said: In the evening the Lord will give you flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full: for he hath heard your murmurings, with which you have murmured against him, for what are we? your murmuring is not against us, but against the Lord.

  16:9. Moses also said to Aaron: Say to the whole congregation of the children of Israel: Come before the Lord; for he hath heard your murmuring.

  16:10. And when Aaron spoke to all the assembly of the children of Israel, they looked towards the wilderness; and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

  16:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  16:12. I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel, say to them: In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.

  16:13. So it came to pass in the evening, that quails coming up, covered the camp: and in the morning a dew lay round about the camp.

  16:14. And when it had covered the face of the earth, it appeared in the wilderness small, and as it were beaten with a pestle, like unto the hoar frost on the ground.

  16:15. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another: Manhu! which signifieth: What is this! for they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them: This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.

  16:16. This is the word that the Lord hath commanded: Let every one gather of it as much as is enough to eat; a gomor for every man, according to the number of your souls that dwell in a tent, so shall you take of it.

  16:17. And the children of Israel did so: and they gathered, one more, another less.

  16:18: And they measured by the measure of a gomor: neither had he more that had gathered more; nor did he find less that had provided less: but every one had gathered, according to what they were able to eat.

  16:19. And Moses said to them: Let no man leave thereof till the morning.

  16:20. And they hearkened not to him, but some of them left until the morning, and it began to be full of worms, and it putrified, and Moses was angry with them.

  16:21. Now every one of them gathered in the morning, as much as might suffice to eat: and after the sun grew hot, it melted.

  16:22. But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, that is, two gomors every man: and all the rulers of the multitude came, and told Moses.

  16:23. And he said to them: This is what the Lord hath spoken: To morrow is the rest of the sabbath sanctified to the Lord. Whatsoever work is to be done, do it; and the meats that are to be dressed, dress them; and whatsoever shall remain, lay it up until the morning.

  16:24. And they did so as Moses had commanded, and it did not putrify, neither was there worm found in it.

  16:25. And Moses said: Eat it to day, because it is the sabbath of the Lord: to day it shall not be found in the field.

  16:26. Gather it six days; but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord, therefore it shall not be found.

  16:27. And the seventh day came; and some of the people going forth to gather, found none.

  16:28. And the Lord said to Moses: How long will you refuse to keep my commandments, and my law?

  16:29. See that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, and for this reason on the sixth day he giveth you a double provision: let each man stay at home, and let none go forth out of his place the seventh day.

  16:30. And the people kept the sabbath on the seventh day.

  16:31. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste thereof like to flour with honey.

  16:32. And Moses said: This is the word which the Lord hath commanded: Fill a gomor of it, and let it be kept unto generations to come hereafter; that they may know the bread, wherewith I fed you in the wilderness when you were brought forth out of the land of Egypt.

  16:33. And Moses said to Aaron: Take a vessel, and put manna into it, as much as a gomor can hold; and lay it up before the Lord, to keep unto your generations,

  16:34. As the Lord commanded Moses. And Aaron put it in the tabernacle to be kept.

  16:35. And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land: with this meat were they fed, until they reached the borders of the land of Chanaan.

  16:36. Now a gomor is the tenth part of an ephi.

Exodus Chapter 17

• The people murmur again for want of drink; the Lord giveth them water out of a rock. Moses lifting up his hand in prayer, Amalec is overcome.

  17:1. Then all the multitude of the children of Israel setting forward from the desert of Sin, by their mansions, according to the word of the Lord, encamped in Raphidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

  17:2. And they chode with Moses, and said: Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses answered them: Why chide you with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?

  17:3. So the people were thirsty there for want of water, and murmured against Moses, saying: Why didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt, to kill us and our children, and our beasts with thirst?

  17:4. And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: What shall I do to this people? Yet a little more and they will stone me.

  17:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Go before the people, and take with thee of the ancients of Israel: and take in thy hand the rod wherewith thou didst strike the river, and go.

  17:6. Behold I will stand there before thee, upon the rock Horeb, and thou shalt strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink. Moses did so before the ancients of Israel:

  17:7. And he called the name of that place Temptation, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and for that they tempted the Lord, saying: Is the Lord amongst us or not?

  17:8. And Amalec came, and fought against Israel in Raphidim.

  17:9. And Moses said to Josue: Choose out men; and go out and fight against Amalec: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, having the rod of God in my hand.

  17:10. Josue did as Moses had spoken, and he fought against Amalec; but Moses, and Aaron, and Hur, went up upon the top of the hill.

  17:11. And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame; but if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame.

  17:12. And Moses’s hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides. And it came to pass, that his hands were not weary until sunset.

  17:13. And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight, by the edge of the sword.

  17:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Write this for a memorial in a book, and deliver it to the ears of Josue; for I will destroy the memory of Amalec from under heaven.

  17:15. And Moses built an altar; and called the name thereof, The Lord, my exaltation, saying:

  17:16. Because the hand of the throne of the Lord, and the war of the Lord shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation.

Exodus Chapter 18

• Jethro bringeth to Moses his wife and children. His counsel.

  18:1. And when Jethro the priest of Madian, the kinsman of Moses, had heard all the things that God had done to Moses, and to Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought forth Israel out of Egypt:

  18:2. He took Sephora, the wife of Moses, whom he had sent back:

  18:3. And her two sons, of whom one was called Gersam: his father saying, I have been a stranger in a foreign country.

  18:4. And the other Eliezer: For the God of my father, said he, is my helper, and hath delivered me from the sword of Pharao.

  18:5. And Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, came with his sons, and his wife to Moses into the desert, where he was camped by the mountain of God.

  18:6. And he sent word to Moses, saying: I Jethro, thy kinsman, come to thee, and thy wife, and thy two sons with her.

  18:7. And he went out to meet his kinsman, and worshipped and kissed him: and they saluted one another with words of peace. And when he was come into the tent,

  18:8. Moses told his kinsman all that the Lord had done to Pharao, and the Egyptians in favour of Israel: and all the labour which had befallen them in the journey, and that the Lord had delivered them.

  18:9. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good things that the Lord had done to Israel, because he had delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians.

  18:10. And he said: Blessed is the Lord, who hath delivered his people out of the hand of Egypt.

  18:11. Now I know, that the Lord is great above all gods; because they dealt proudly against them.

  18:12. So Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, offered holocausts and sacrifices to God: and Aaron and all the ancients of Israel came, to eat bread with him before God.

  18:13. And the next day Moses sat to judge the people, who stood by Moses from morning until night.

  18:14. And when his kinsman had seen all things that he did among the people, he said: What is it that thou dost among the people? Why sittest thou alone, and all the people wait from morning till night?

  18:15. And Moses answered him: The people come to me to seek the judgment of God?

  18:16. And when any controversy falleth out among them, they come to me to judge between them, and to shew the precepts of God, and his laws.

  18:17. But he said: The thing thou dost is not good.

  18:18: Thou art spent with foolish labour, both thou, and this people that is with thee; the business is above thy strength, thou alone canst not bear it.

  18:19. But hear my words and counsels, and God shall be with thee. Be thou to the people in those things that pertain to God, to bring their words to him:

  18:20. And to shew the people the ceremonies, and the manner of worshipping; and the way wherein they ought to walk, and the work that they ought to do.

  18:21. And provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, in whom there is truth, and that hate avarice, and appoint of them rulers of thousands, and of hundreds, and of fifties, and of tens,

  18:22. Who may judge the people at all times: and when any great matter soever shall fall out, let them refer it to thee, and let them judge the lesser matters only: that so it may be lighter for thee, the burden being shared out unto others.

  18:23. If thou dost this, thou shalt fulfil the commandment of God, and shalt be able to bear his precepts: and all this people shall return to their places with peace.

  18:24. And when Moses heard this, he did all things that he had suggested unto him.

  18:25. And choosing able men out of all Israel, he appointed them rulers of the people, rulers over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.

  18:26. And they judged the people at all times: and whatsoever was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged the easier cases only.

  18:27. And he let his kinsman depart: and he returned and went into his own country.

Exodus Chapter 19

• They come to Sinai: the people are commanded to be sanctified. The Lord, coming in thunder and lightning, speaketh with Moses.

  19:1. In the third month of the departure of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of Sinai:

  19:2. For departing out of Raphidim, and coming to the desert of Sinai, they camped in the same place, and there Israel pitched their tents over against the mountain.

  19:3. And Moses went up to God; and the Lord called unto him from the mountain, and said: Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: And Moses went up to God... Moses went up to mount Sinai, where God spoke to him.

  19:4. You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself.

  19:5. If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all the earth is mine.

  19:6. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation. These are the words thou shalt speak to the children of Israel.

  19:7. Moses came; and calling together the elders of the people, he declared all the words which the Lord had commanded.

  19:8. And all the people answered together: All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do. And when Moses had related the people’s words to the Lord,

  19:9. The Lord said to him: Lo, now will I come to thee in the darkness of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to thee, and may believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

  19:10. And he said to him: Go to the people, and sanctify them to day, and to morrow, and let them wash their garments.

  19:11. And let them be ready against the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people, upon Mount Sinai.

  19:12. And thou shalt appoint certain limits to the people round about, and thou shalt say to them: Take heed ye go not up into the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one that toucheth the mount, dying he shall die.

  19:13. No hands shall touch him, but he shall be stoned to death, or he shall be shot through with arrows: whether it be beast, or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet shall begin to sound, then let them go up into the mount.

  19:14. And Moses came down from the mount to the people, and sanctified them. And when they had washed thelr garments,

  19:15. He said to them: Be ready against the third day, and come not near your wives.

  19:16. And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared: and behold thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud; and the people that was in the camp, feared.

  19:17. And when Moses had brought them forth to meet God, from the place of the camp, they stood at the bottom of the mount.

  19:18. And all Mount Sinai was on a smoke: because the Lord was come down upon it in fire, and the smoke arose from it as out of a furnace: and all the mount was terrible.

  19:19. And the sound of the trumpet grew by degrees louder and louder, and was drawn out to a greater length: Moses spoke, and God answered him.

  19:20. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, in the very top of the mount, and he called Moses unto the top thereof. And when he was gone up thither,

  19:21. He said unto him: Go down, and charge the people; lest they should have a mind to pass the limits to see the Lord, and a very great multitude of them should perish.

  19:22. The priests also that come to the Lord, let them be sanctified, lest he strike them.

  19:23. And Moses said to the Lord: The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai: for thou didst charge, and command, saying: Set limits about the mount, and sanctify it.

  19:24. And the Lord said to him: Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people pass the limits, nor come up to the Lord, lest he kill them.

  19:25. And Moses went down to the people and told them all.

Exodus Chapter 20

• The ten commandments.

  20:1. And the Lord spoke all these words:

  20:2. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

  20:3. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.

  20:4. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.

  A graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing, etc... All such images, or likenesses, are forbidden by this commandment, as are made to be adored and served; according to that which immediately follows, thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them. That is, all such as are designed for idols or image-gods, or are worshipped with divine honour. But otherwise images, pictures, or representations, even in the house of God, and in the very sanctuary so far from being forbidden, are expressly authorized by the word of God. See Ex. 25.15, and etc.; chap. 38.7; Num. 21.8, 9; 1 Chron. or Paralip. 28.18, 19; 2 Chron. or Paralip. 3.10.

  20:5. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:

  20:6. And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.

  20:7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.

  20:8. Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.

  20:9. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works.

  20:10. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.

  20:11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.

  20:12. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayst be longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.

  20:13. Thou shalt not kill.

  20:14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

  20:15. Thou shalt not steal.

  20:16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

  20:17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house; neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.

  20:18. And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off,

  20:19. Saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die.

  20:20. And Moses said to the people: Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin.

  20:21. And the people stood afar off. But Moses went to the dark cloud wherein God was.

  20:22. And the Lord said to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.

  20:23. You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make to yourselves gods of gold.

  20:24. You shall make an altar of earth unto me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be: I will come to thee, and will bless thee.

  20:25. And if thou make an altar of stone unto me, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up a tool upon it, it shall be defiled.

  20:26. Thou shalt not go up by steps unto my altar, lest thy nakedness be discovered.

Exodus Chapter 21

• Laws relating to Justice.

  21:1. These are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

  21:2. If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee; in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

  21:3. With what raiment he came in, with the like let him go out: if having a wife, his wife also shall go out with him.

  21:4. But if his master gave him a wife, and she hath borne sons and daughters; the woman and her children shall be her master’s: but he himself shall go out with his raiment.

  21:5. And if the servant shall say: I love my master and my wife and children, I will not go out free:

  21:6. His master shall bring him to the gods, and he shall be set to the door and the posts, and he shall bore his ear through with an awl: and he shall be his servant for ever.

  To the gods... Elohim. That is, to the judges, or magistrates, authorized by God.

  21:7. If any man sell his daughter to be a servant, she shall not go out as bondwomen are wont to go out.

  21:8. If she displease the eyes of her master to whom she was delivered, he shall let her go: but he shall have no power to sell her to a foreign nation, if he despise her.

  21:9. But if he have betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

  21:10. And if he take another wife for him, he shall provide her a marriage, and raiment, neither shall he refuse the price of her chastity.

  21:11. If he do not these three things, she shall go out free without money.

  21:12. He that striketh a man with a will to kill him, shall be put to death.

  21:13. But he that did not lie in wait for him, but God delivered him into his hands: I will appoint thee a place to which he must flee.

  21:14. If a man kill his neighbour on set purpose, and by lying in wait for him: thou shalt take him away from my altar that he may die.

  21:15. He that striketh his father or mother, shall be put to death.

  21:16. He that shall steal a man, and sell him, being convicted of the guilt, shall be put to death.

  21:17. He that curseth his father or mother, shall die the death.

  21:18. If men quarrel, and the one strike his neighbour with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:

  21:19. If he rise again and walk abroad upon his staff, he that struck him shall be quit, yet so that he make restitution for his work, and for his expenses upon the physicians.

  21:20. He that striketh his bondman, or bondwoman, with a rod, and they die under his hands, shall be guilty of the crime.

  21:21. But if the party remain alive a day or two, he shall not be subject to the punishment, because it is his money.

  21:22. If men quarrel, and one strike a woman with child and she miscarry indeed, but live herself: he shall be answerable for so much damage as the woman’s husband shall require, and as arbiters shall award.

  21:23. But if her death ensue thereupon, he shall render life for life,

  21:24. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

  21:25. Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

  21:26. If any man strike the eye of his manservant or maidservant, and leave them but one eye, he shall let them go free for the eye which he put out.

  21:27. Also if he strike out a tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he shall in like manner make them free.

  21:28. If an ox gore a man or a woman, and they die, he shall be stoned: and his flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

  21:29. But if the ox was wont to push with his horn yesterday, and the day before, and they warned his master, and he did not shut him up, and he shall kill a man or a woman: then the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.

  21:30. And if they set a price upon him, he shall give for his life whatsoever is laid upon him.

  21:31. If he have gored a son, or a daughter, he shall fall under the like sentence.

  21:32. If he assault a bondman or bondwoman, he shall give thirty sicles of silver to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.

  21:33. If a man open a pit, and dig one, and cover it not, and an ox or an ass fall into it,

  21:34. The owner of the pit shall pay the price of the beasts: and that which is dead shall be his own.

  21:35. If one man’s ox gore another man’s ox, and he die: they shall sell the live ox, and shall divide the price, and the carcass of that which died they shall part between them:

  21:36. But if he knew that his ox was wont to push yesterday, and the day before, and his master did not keep him in; he shall pay ox for ox, and shall take the whole carcass.

Exodus Chapter 22

• The punishment of theft, and other trespasses. The law of lending without usury, of taking pledges of reverences to superiors, and of paying tithes.

  22:1. If any man steal an ox or a sheep, and kill or sell it: he shall restore five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep.

  22:2. If a thief be found breaking open a house or undermining it, and be wounded so as to die: he that slew him shall not be guilty of blood.

  22:3. But if he did this when the sun is risen, he hath committed murder, and he shall die. If he have not wherewith to make restitution for the theft, he shall be sold.

  22:4. If that which he stole be found with him, alive, either ox, or ass, or sheep: he shall restore double.

  22:5. If any man hurt a field or a vineyard, and put in his beast to feed upon that which is other men’s: he shall restore the best of whatsoever he hath in his own field, or in his vineyard, according to the estimation of the damage.

  22:6. If a fire breaking out light upon thorns, and catch stacks of corn, or corn standing in the fields, he that kindled the fire shall make good the loss.

  22:7. If a man deliver money, or any vessel unto his friend to keep, and they be stolen away from him that received them: if the thief be found, he shall restore double:

  22:8. If the thief be not known, the master of the house shall be brought to the gods, and shall swear that he did not lay his hand upon his neighbour’s goods,

  22:9. To do any fraud, either in ox, or in ass, or sheep, or raiment, or any thing that may bring damage: the cause of both parties shall come to the gods: and if they give judgment, he shall restore double to his neighbour.

  22:10. If a man deliver ass, ox, sheep, or any beast, to his neighbour’s custody, and it die, or be hurt, or be taken by enemies, and no man saw it:

  22:11. There shall be an oath between them, that he did not put forth his hand to his neighbour’s goods: and the owner shall accept of the oath, and he shall not be compelled to make restitution.

  22:12. But if it were taken away by stealth, he shall make the loss good to the owner.

  22:13. If it were eaten by a beast, let him bring to him that which was slain, and he shall not make restitution.

  22:14. If a man borrow of his neighbour any of these things, and it be hurt or die, the owner not being present, he shall be obliged to make restitution.

  22:15. But if the owner be present, he shall not make restitution, especially if it were hired, and came for the hire of his work.

  22:16. If a man seduce a virgin not yet espoused, and lie with her: he shall endow her, and have her to wife.

  22:17. If the maid’s father will not give her to him, he shall give money according to the dowry, which virgins are wont to receive.

  22:18. Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live.

  22:19. Whosoever copulateth with a beast; shall be put to death.

  22:20. He that sacrificeth to gods, shall be put to death, save only to the Lord.

  22:21. Thou shalt not molest a stranger, nor afflict him: for yourselves also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

  22:22. You shall not hurt a widow or an orphan.

  22:23. If you hurt them, they will cry out to me, and I will hear their cry:

  22:24. And my rage shall be enkindled, and I will strike you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

  22:25. If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor, that dwelleth with thee, thou shalt not be hard upon them as an extortioner, nor oppress them with usuries.

  22:26. If thou take of thy neighbour a garment in pledge, thou shalt give it him again before sunset.

  22:27. For that same is the only thing, wherewith he is covered, the clothing of his body, neither hath he any other to sleep in: if he cry to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate.

  22:28. Thou shalt not speak ill of the gods, and the prince of thy people thou shalt not curse.

  22:29. Thou shalt not delay to pay thy tithes and thy firstfruits: thou shalt give the firstborn of thy sons to me.

  22:30. Thou shalt do the same with the firstborn of thy oxen also and sheep: seven days let it be with its dam: the eighth day thou shalt give it to me.

  22:31. You shall be holy men to me: the flesh that beasts have tasted of before, you shall not eat, but shall cast it to the dogs.

Exodus Chapter 23

• Laws for judges; the rest of the seventh year, and day: three principal feasts to be solemnized every year; the promise of an angel, to conduct and protect them: idols are to be destroyed.

  23:1. Thou shalt not receive the voice of a lie: neither shalt thou join thy hand to bear false witness for a wicked person.

  23:2. Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil: neither shalt thou yield in judgment, to the opinion of the most part, to stray from the truth.

  23:3. Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in judgment.

  23:4. If thou meet thy enemy’s ox or ass going astray, bring it back to him.

  23:5. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lie underneath his burden, thou shalt not pass by, but shalt lift him up with him.

  23:6. Thou shalt not go aside in the poor man’s judgment.

  23:7. Thou shalt fly Iying. The innocent and just person thou shalt not put to death: because I abhor the wicked.

  23:8. Neither shalt thou take bribes, which even blind the wise, and pervert the words of the just.

  23:9. Thou shalt not molest a stranger, for you know the hearts of strangers: for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

  23:10. Six years thou shalt sow thy ground, and shalt gather the corn thereof.

  23:11. But the seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer it to rest, that the poor of thy people may eat, and whatsoever shall be left, let the beasts of the field eat it: so shalt thou do with thy vineyard and thy oliveyard.

  23:12. Six days thou shalt work: the seventh day thou shalt cease, that thy ox and thy ass may rest: and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed.

  23:13. Keep all things that I have said to you. And by the name of strange gods you shall not swear, neither shall it be heard out of your mouth.

  23:14. Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me.

  23:15. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month of new corn, when thou didst come forth out of Egypt: thou shalt not appear empty before me.

  23:16. And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of thy work, whatsoever thou hast sown in the field. The feast also in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in all thy corn out of the field.

  23:17. Thrice a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God.

  23:18. Thou shalt not sacrifice the blood of my victim upon leaven, neither shall the fat of my solemnity remain until the morning.

  23:19. Thou shalt carry the first-fruits of the corn of thy ground to the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.

  23:20. Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared.

  23:21. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned: for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him.

  23:22. But if thou wilt hear hi voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee.

  23:23. And my angel shall go before thee, and shall bring thee in unto the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherexite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hevite, and the Jebuzite, whom I will destroy.

  23:24. Thou shalt not adore their gods, nor serve them. Thou shalt not do their works, but shalt destroy them, and break their statues.

  23:25. And you shall serve the Lord your God, that I may bless your bread and your waters, and may take away sickness from the midst of thee.

  23:26. There shall not be one fruitless nor barren in thy land: I will fill the number of thy days.

  23:27. I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come: and will turn the backs of all thy enemies before thee:

  23:28. Sending out hornets before, that shall drive away the Hevite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, before thou come in.

  23:29. I will not cast them out from thy face in one year; lest the land be brought into a wilderness, and the beasts multiply against thee.

  23:30. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, till thou be increased, and dost possess the land.

  23:31. And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea to the sea of the Palestines, and from the desert to the river: I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and will drive them out from before you.

  23:32. Thou shalt not enter into league with them, nor with their gods.

  23:33. Let them not dwell in thy land, lest perhaps they make thee sin against me, if thou serve their gods; which, undoubtedly, will be a scandal to thee.

Exodus Chapter 24

• Moses writeth his law; and after offering sacrifices, sprinkleth the blood of the testament upon the people: then goeth up the mountain which God covereth with a fiery cloud.

  24:1. And he said to Moses: Come up to the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel, and you shall adore afar off.

  24:2. And Moses alone shall come up to the Lord, but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people come up with him.

  24:3. So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice: We will do all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken.

  24:4. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord: and rising in the morning, he built an altar at the foot of the mount, and twelve titles according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

  Titles... That is, pillars.

  24:5. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, and they offered holocausts, and sacrificed pacific victims of calves to the Lord.

  Holocausts... Whole burnt offerings, in which the whole sacrifice was consumed with fire upon the altar.

  24:6. Then Moses took half of the blood, and put it into bowls; and the rest he poured upon the altar.

  24:7. And taking the book of the covenant, he read it in the hearing of the people: and they said: All things that the Lord hath spoken, we will do, we will be obedient.

  24:8. And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said: This is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.

  24:9. Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel went up:

  24:10. And they saw the God of Israel: and under his feet as it were a work of sapphire stone, and as the heaven, when clear.

  24:11. Neither did he lay his hand upon those of the children of Israel, that retired afar off, and they saw God, and they did eat and drink.

  24:12. And the Lord said to Moses: Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and the commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

  24:13. Moses rose up, and his minister Josue: and Moses going up into the mount of God,

  24:14. Said to the ancients: Wait ye here till we return to you. You have Aaron and Hur with you: if any question shall arise, you shall refer it to them.

  24:15. And when Moses was gone up, a cloud covered the mount.

  24:16. And the glory of the Lord dwelt upon Sinai, covering it with a cloud six days: and the seventh day he called him out of the midst of the cloud.

  24:17. And the sight of the glory of the Lord, was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel.

  24:18. And Moses entering into the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain: And he was there forty days and forty nights.

Exodus Chapter 25

• Offerings prescribed for making the tabernacle, the ark, the candlestick, etc.

  25:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  25:2. Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring firstfruits to me: of every man that offereth of his own accord, you shall take them. Firstfruits... Offerings of some of the best and choicest of their goods.

  25:3. And these are the things you must take: Gold, and silver, and brass,

  25:4. Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,

  25:5. And rams’ skins dyed red, and violet skins, and setim wood:

  Setim wood... The wood of a tree that grows in the wilderness, which is said to be incorruptible.

  25:6. Oil to make lights: spices for ointment, and for sweetsmelling incense:

  25:7. Onyx stones, and precious stones to adorn the ephod and the rational.

  The ephod and the rational... The ephod was the high priest’s upper vestment; and the rational his vestplate, in which were twelve gems, etc.

  25:8. And they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them:

  25:9. According to all the likeness of the tabernacle which I will shew thee, and of all the vessels for the service thereof: and thus you shall make it:

  25:10. Frame an ark of setim wood, the length whereof shall be of two cubits and a half; the breadth, a cubit and a half; the height, likewise, a cubit and a half.

  25:11. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, within and without; and over it thou shalt make a golden crown round about:

  25:12. And four golden rings, which thou shalt put at the four corners of the ark: let two rings be on the one side, and two on the other.

  25:13. Thou shalt make bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold.

  25:14. And thou shalt put them in through the rings that are in the sides of the ark, that it may be carried on them:

  25:15. And they shall be always in the rings, neither shall they at any time be drawn out of them.

  25:16. And thou shalt put in the ark the testimony which I will give thee.

  25:17. Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold: the length thereof shall be two cubits and a half, and the breadth a cubit and a half.

  A propitiatory... a covering for the ark: called a propitiatory, or mercy seat, because the Lord, who was supposed to sit there upon the wings of the cherubims, with the ark for his footstool, from thence shewed mercy. It is also called the oracle, ver. 18 and 20; because from thence God gave his orders and his answers.

  25:18. Thou shalt make also two cherubims of beaten gold, on the two sides of the oracle.

  25:19. Let one cherub be on the one side, and the other on the other.

  25:20. Let them cover both sides of the propitiatory, spreading their wings, and covering the oracle, and let them look one towards the other, their faces being turned towards the propitiatory wherewith the ark is to to be covered.

  25:21. In which thou shalt put the testimony that I will give thee.

  25:22. Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee over the propitiatory, and from the midst of the two cherubims, which shall be upon the ark of the testimony, all things which I will command the children of Israel by thee.

  25:23. Thou shalt make a table also of setim wood, of two cubits in length, and a cubit in breadth, and a cubit and a half in height.

  A table... On which were to be placed the twelve loaves of proposition: or, as they are called in the Hebrew, the face bread, because they were always to stand before the face of the Lord in his temple: as a figure of the eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament, in the church of Christ.

  25:24. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold: and thou shalt make to it a golden ledge round about.

  25:25. And to the ledge itself a polished crown, four inches high; and over the same another little golden crown.

  25:26. Thou shalt prepare also four golden rings, and shalt put them in the four corners of the same table, over each foot.

  25:27. Under the crown shall the golden rings be, that the bars may be put through them, and the table may be carried.

  25:28. The bars also themselves thou shalt make of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold, to bear up the table.

  25:29. Thou shalt prepare also dishes, and bowls, censers, and cups, wherein the libations are to be offered, of the purest gold.

  Libations... That is, drink offerings.

  25:30. And thou shalt set upon the table loaves of proposition in my sight always.

  25:31. Thou shalt make also a candlestick of beaten work, of the finest gold, the shaft thereof, and the branches, the cups, and the bowls, and the lilies going forth from it.

  A candlestick... This candlestick, with its seven lamps, which was always to give light in the house of God, was a figure of the light of the Holy Ghost, and his sevenfold grace, in the sanctuary of the church of Christ.

  25:32. Six branches shall come out of the sides, three out of one side, and three out of the other.

  25:33. Three cups as it were nuts to every branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily: and three cups likewise of the fashion of nuts in the other branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily. Such shall be the work of the six branches, that are to come out from the shaft:

  25:34. And in the candlestick itself shall be four cups in the manner of a nut, and at every one bowls and lilies.

  25:35. Bowls under two branches in three places, which together make six, coming forth out of one shaft.

  25:36. And both the bowls and the branches shall be of the same beaten work of the purest gold.

  25:37. Thou shalt make also seven lamps, and shalt set them upon the candlestick, to give light over against.

  25:38. The snuffers also, and where the snuffings shall be put out, shall be made of the purest gold.

  25:39. The whole weight of the candlestick, with all the furniture thereof, shall be a talent of the purest gold.

  25:40. Look, and make it according to the pattern that was shewn thee in the mount.

Exodus Chapter 26

• The form of the tabernacle with its appurtenances.

  26:1. And thou shalt make the tabernacle in this manner: Thou shalt make ten curtains of fine twisted linen, and violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, diversified with embroidery.

  26:2. The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits; the breadth shall be four cubits. All the curtains shall be of one measure.

  26:3. Five curtains shall be joined one to another, and the other five shall be coupled together in like manner.

  26:4. Thou shalt make loops of violet in the sides and tops of the curtains, that they may be joined one to another.

  26:5. Every curtain shall have fifty loops on both sides, so set on, that one loop may be against another loop, and one may be fitted to the other.

  26:6. Thou shalt make also fifty rings of gold, wherewith the veils of the curtains are to be joined, that it may be made one tabernacle.

  26:7. Thou shalt make also eleven curtains of goats’ hair, to cover the top of the tabernacle.

  26:8. The length of one hair-curtain shall be thirty cubits; and the breadth, four: the measure of all the curtains shall be equal.

  26:9. Five of which thou shalt couple by themselves, and the six others thou shalt couple one to another, so as to double the sixth curtain in the front of the roof.

  26:10. Thou shalt make also fifty loops in the edge of one curtain, that it may be joined with the other: and fifty loops in the edge of the other curtain, that it may be coupled with its fellow.

  26:11. Thou shalt make also fifty buckles of brass, wherewith the loops may be joined, that of all there may be made one covering.

  26:12. And that which shall remain of the curtains, that are prepared for the roof, to wit, one curtain that is over and above, with the half thereof thou shalt cover the back parts of the tabernacle.

  26:13. And there shall hang down a cubit on the one side, and another on the other side, which is over and above in the length of the curtains, fencing both sides of the tabernacle.

  26:14. Thou shalt make also another cover to the roof of rams’ skins dyed red: and over that again another cover of violet coloured skins.

  26:15. Thou shalt make also the boards of the tabernacle standing upright of setim wood.

  26:16. Let every one of them be ten cubits in length, and in breadth one cubit and a half.

  26:17. In the sides of the boards shall be made two mortises, whereby one board may be joined to another board: and after this manner shall all the boards be prepared.

  26:18. Of which twenty shall be in the south side southward.

  26:19. For which thou shalt cast forty sockets of silver, that under every board may be put two sockets at the two corners.

  26:20. In the second side also of the tabernacle that looketh to the north, there shall be twenty boards,

  26:21. Having forty sockets of silver, two sockets shall be put under each board.

  26:22. But on the west side of the tabernacle thou shalt make six boards.

  26:23. And again other two which shall be erected in the corners at the back of the tabernacle.

  26:24. And they shall be joined together from beneath unto the top, and one joint shall hold them all. The like joining shall be observed for the two boards also that are to be put in the corners.

  26:25. And they shall be in all eight boards, and their silver sockets sixteen, reckoning two sockets for each board.

  26:26. Thou shalt make also five bars of setim wood, to hold together the boards on one side of the tabernacle.

  26:27. And five others on the other side, and as many at the west side:

  26:28. And they shall be put along by the midst of the boards, from one end to the other.

  26:29. The boards also themselves thou shalt overlay with gold, and shalt cast rings of gold to be set upon them, for places for the bars to hold together the boardwork: which bars thou shalt cover with plates of gold.

  26:30. And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the pattern that was shewn thee in the mount.

  26:31. Thou shalt make also a veil of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, wrought with embroidered work and goodly variety:

  26:32. And thou shalt hang it up before four pillars of setim wood, which themselves also shall be overlaid with gold, and shall have heads of gold, but sockets of silver.

  26:33. And the veil shall be hanged on with rings, and within it thou shalt put the ark of the testimony, and the sanctuary and the holy of the holies shall be divided with it.

  The sanctuary, etc... That part of the tabernacle, which was without the veil, into which the priests daily entered, is here called the sanctuary, or holy place; that part which was within the veil, into which no one but the high priest ever went, and he but once a year, is called the holy of holies, (literally, the sanctuary of the sanctuaries,) as being the most holy of all holy places.

  26:34. And thou shalt set the propitiatory upon the ark of the testimony, in the holy of holies.

  26:35. And the table without the veil, and over against the table the candlestick in the south side of the tabernacle: for the table shall stand in the north side.

  26:36. Thou shalt make also a hanging in the entrance of the tabernacle of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen with embroidered work.

  26:37. And thou shalt overlay with gold five pillars of setim wood, before which the hanging shall be drawn: their heads shall be of gold, and the sockets of brass.

Exodus Chapter 27

• The altar; and the court of the tabernacle with its hangings and pillars. Provision of oil for lamps.

  27:1. Thou shalt make also an altar of setim wood, which shall be five cubits long, and as many broad, that is four square, and three cubits high.

  27:2. And there shall be horns at the four corners of the same: and thou shalt cover it with brass.

  27:3. And thou shalt make for the uses thereof pans to receive the ashes, and tongs and fleshhooks, and firepans: all its vessels thou shalt make of brass.

  27:4. And a grate of brass in manner of a net; at the four corners of which, shall be four rings of brass,

  27:5. Which thou shalt put under the hearth of the altar: and the grate shall be even to the midst of the altar.

  27:6. Thou shalt make also two bars for the altar, of setim wood, which thou shalt cover with plates of brass:

  27:7. And thou shalt draw them through rings, and they shall be on both sides of the altar to carry it.

  27:8. Thou shalt not make it solid, but empty and hollow in the inside, as it was shewn thee in the mount.

  27:9. Thou shalt make also the court of the tabernacle, in the south side whereof southward there shall be hangings of fine twisted linen of a hundred cubits long for one side.

  27:10. And twenty pillars with as many sockets of brass, the heads of which, with their engraving, shall be of silver.

  27:11. In like manner also on the north side there shall be hangings of a hundred cubits long, twenty pillars, and as many sockets of brass, and their heads with their engraving of silver.

  27:12. But in the breadth of the court, that looketh to the west, there shall be hangings of fifty cubits, and ten pillars, and as many sockets.

  27:13. In that breadth also of the court, which looketh to the east, there shall be fifty cubits.

  27:14. In which there shall be for one side, hangings of fifteen cubits, and three pillars, and as many sockets.

  27:15. And in the other side, there shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with three pillars, and as many sockets.

  27:16. And in the entrance of the court there shall be made a hanging of twenty cubits of violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, with embroidered work: it shall have four pillars, with as many sockets.

  27:17. All the pillars of the court round about shall be garnished with plates of silver, silver heads, and sockets of brass.

  27:18. In length the court shall take up a hundred cubits, in breadth fifty, the height shall be of five cubits, and it shall be made of fine twisted linen, and shall have sockets of brass.

  27:19. All the vessels of the tabernacle for all uses and ceremonies, and the pins both of it and of the court, thou shalt make of brass.

  27:20. Command the children of Israel that they bring thee the purest oil of the olives, and beaten with a pestle: that a lamp may burn always,

  27:21. In the tabernacle of the testimony, without the veil that hangs before the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall order it, that it may give light before the Lord until the morning. It shall be a perpetual observance throughout their successions among the children of Israel.

Exodus Chapter 28

• The holy vestments for Aaron and his sons.

  28:1. Take unto thee also Aaron thy brother with his sons, from among the children of Israel, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

  28:2. And thou shalt make a holy vesture for Aaron, thy brother, for glory and for beauty.

  28:3. And thou shalt speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s vestments, in which he being consecrated, may minister to me.

  28:4. And these shall be the vestments that they shall make: A rational and an ephod, a tunic and a strait linen garment, a mitre and a girdle. They shall make the holy vestments for thy brother Aaron and his sons, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

  28:5. And they shall take gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen.

  28:6. And they shall make the ephod of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, embroidered with divers colours.

  28:7. It shall have the two edges joined in the top on both sides, that they may be closed together.

  28:8. The very workmanship also, and all the variety of the work, shall be of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen.

  28:9. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and shalt grave on them the names of the children of Israel:

  28:10. Six names on one stone, and the other six on the other, according to the order of their birth.

  28:11. With the work of an engraver, and the graving of a jeweller, thou shalt engrave them with the names of the children of Israel, set in gold and compassed about:

  28:12. And thou shalt put them in both sides of the ephod, a memorial for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon both shoulders, for a remembrance.

  28:13. Thou shalt make also hooks of gold.

  28:14. And two little chains of the purest gold, linked one to another, which thou shalt put into the hooks.

  28:15. And thou shalt make the rational of judgment with embroidered work of divers colours, according to the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen.

  The rational of judgment... This part of the priest’s attire, which he wore at his breast, was called the rational of judgment; partly because it admonished both priest and people of their duty to God, by carrying the names of all their tribes in his presence; and by the Urim and the Thummim, that is, doctrine and truth, which were written upon it; and partly because it gave divine answers and oracles, as if it were rational and endowed with judgment.

  28:16. It shall be four square and doubled: it shall be the measure of a span both in length and in breadth.

  28:17. And thou shalt set in it four rows of stones . In the first row shall be a sardius stone, and a topaz, and an emerald:

  28:18. In the second a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper:

  28:19. In the third a ligurius, an agate, and an amethyst:

  28:20. In the fourth a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl. They shall be set in gold by their rows.

  28:21. And they shall have the names of the children of Israel: with twelve names shall they be engraved, each stone with the name of one according to the twelve tribes.

  28:22. And thou shalt make on the rational chains, linked one to another, of the purest gold:

  28:23. And two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the two ends at the top of the rational.

  28:24. And the golden chains thou shalt join to the rings, that are in the ends thereof.

  28:25. And the ends of the chains themselves, thou shalt join together with two hooks, on both sides of the ephod, which is towards the rational.

  28:26. Thou shalt make also two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the top parts of the rational, in the borders that are over against the ephod, and look towards the back parts thereof.

  28:27. Moreover also other two rings of gold, which are to be set on each side of the ephod beneath, that looketh towards the nether joining, that the rational may be fittedwith the ephod,

  28:28. And may be fastened by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a violet fillet, that the joining artificially wrought may continue, and the rational and the ephod may not be loosed one from the other.

  28:29. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the rational of judgment upon his breast, when he shall enter into the sanctuary, a memorial before the Lord for ever.

  28:30. And thou shalt put in the rational of judgment doctrine and truth, which shall be on Aaron’s breast, when he shall go in before the Lord: and he shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his breast, in the sight of the Lord always.

  Doctrine and Truth... Hebrew, Urim and Thummim:

  illuminations and perfections. These words, written on the rational, seem to signify the light of doctrine and the integrity of life, with which the priests of God ought to approach him.

  28:31. And thou shalt make the tunic of the ephod all of violet,

  28:32. In the midst whereof above shall be a hole for the head, and a border round about it woven, as is wont to be made in the outmost parts of garments, that it may not easily be broken.

  28:33. And beneath at the feet of the same tunic, round about, thou shalt make as it were pomegranates, of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with little bells set between:

  28:34. So that there shall be a golden bell and a pomegranate, and again another golden bell and a pomegranate.

  28:35. And Aaron shall be vested with it in the office of his ministry, that the sound may be heard, when he goeth in and cometh out of the sanctuary, in the sight of the Lord, and that he may not die.

  28:36. Thou shalt make also a plate of the purest gold: wherein thou shalt grave with engraver’s work, Holy to the Lord.

  28:37. And thou shalt tie it with a violet fillet, and it shall be upon the mitre,

  28:38. Hanging over the forehead of the high priest. And Aaron shall bear the iniquities of those things, which the children of Israel have offered and sanctified, in all their gifts and offerings. And the plate shall be always on his forehead, that the Lord may be well pleased with them.

  28:39. And thou shalt gird the tunic with fine linen, and thou shalt make a fine linen mitre, and a girdle of embroidered work.

  28:40. Moreover, for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen tunics, and girdles and mitres for glory and beauty:

  28:41. And with all these things thou shalt vest Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him. And thou shalt consecrate the hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

  28:42. Thou shalt make also linen breeches, to cover the flesh of their nakedness, from the reins to the thighs:

  28:43. And Aaron and his sons shall use them when they shall go into the tabernacle of the testimony, or when they approach to the altar to minister in the sanctuary. lest being guilty of iniquity they die. It shall be a law for ever to Aaron, and to his seed after him.

Exodus Chapter 29

• The manner of consecrating Aaron and other priests; the institution of the daily sacrifice of two lambs, one in the morning, the other at evening.

  29:1. And thou shalt also do this, that they may be consecrated to me in priesthood. Take a calf from the herd, and two rams without blemish,

  29:2. And unleavened bread, and a cake without leaven, tempered with oil, wafers also unleavened, anointed with oil: thou shalt make them all of wheaten flour.

  29:3. And thou shalt put them in a basket, and offer them: and the calf and the two rams.

  29:4. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. And when thou hast washed the father and his sons with water,

  29:5. Thou shalt clothe Aaron with his vestments, that is, with the linen garment and the tunic, and the ephod and the rational, which thou shalt gird with the girdle.

  29:6. And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and the holy plate upon the mitre,

  29:7. And thou shalt pour the oil of unction upon his head: and by this rite shall he be consecrated.

  29:8. Thou shalt bring his sons also, and shalt put on them the linen tunics, and gird them with a girdle:

  29:9. To wit, Aaron and his children, and thou shalt put mitres upon them; and they shall be priests to me by a perpetual ordinance. After thou shalt have consecrated their hands,

  29:10. Thou shalt present also the calf before the tabernacle of the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon his head,

  29:11. And thou shalt kill him in the sight of the Lord, beside the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

  29:12. And taking some of the blood of the calf, thou shalt put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and the rest of the blood thou shalt pour at the bottom thereof.

  29:13. Thou shalt take also all the fat that covereth the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and shalt offer a burn offering upon the altar:

  29:14. But the flesh of the calf, and the hide and the dung, thou shalt burn abroad, without the camp, because it is for sin.

  29:15. Thou shalt take also one ram, upon the head whereof Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands.

  29:16. And when thou hast killed him, thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and pour round about the altar.

  29:17. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and having washed his entrails and feet, thou shalt put them upon the flesh that is cut in pieces, and upon his head.

  29:18. And thou shalt offer the whole ram for a burnt offering upon the altar: it is an oblation to the Lord, a most sweet savour of the victim of the Lord.

  29:19. Thou shalt take also the other ram, upon whose head Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands.

  29:20. And when thou hast sacrificed him, thou shalt take of his blood, and put upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and of his sons, and upon the thumbs and great toes of their right hand and foot, and thou shalt pour the blood upon the altar round about.

  29:21. And when thou hast taken of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the oil of unction, thou shalt sprinkle Aaron and his vesture, his sons and their vestments. And after they and their vestments are consecrated,

  29:22. Thou shalt take the fat of the ram, and the rump, and the fat that covereth the lungs, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder, because it is the ram of consecration:

  29:23. And one roll of bread, a cake tempered with oil, a wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread, which is set in the sight of the Lord:

  29:24. And thou shalt put all upon the hands of Aaron and of his sons, and shalt sanctify them elevating before the Lord.

  29:25. And thou shalt take all from their hands; and shalt burn them upon the altar for a holocaust, a most sweet savour in the sight of the Lord, because it is his oblation.

  29:26. Thou shalt take also the breast of the ram, wherewith Aaron was consecrated, and elevating it thou shalt sanctify it before the Lord, and it shall fall to thy share.

  29:27. And thou shalt sanctify both the consecrated breast, and the shoulder that thou didst separate of the ram,

  29:28. Wherewith Aaron was consecrated and his sons, and they shall fall to Aaron’s share, and his sons’, by a perpetual right from the children of Israel: because they are the choicest and the beginnings of their peace victims which they offer to the Lord.

  29:29. And the holy vesture, which Aaron shall use, his sons shall have after him, that they may be anointed, and their hands consecrated in it.

  29:30. He of his sons that shall be appointed high priest in his stead, and that shall enter into the tabernacle of the testimony to minister in the sanctuary, shall wear it seven days.

  29:31. And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and shalt boil the flesh thereof in the holy place:

  29:32. And Aaron and his sons shall eat it. The loaves also, that are in the basket, they shall eat in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony,

  29:33. That it may be an atoning sacrifice, and the hands of the offerers may be sanctified. A stranger shall not eat of them, because they are holy.

  29:34. And if there remain of the consecrated flesh, or of the bread, till the morning, thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: they shall not be eaten, because they are sanctified.

  29:35. All that I have commanded thee, thou shalt do unto Aaron and his sons. Seven days shalt thou consecrate their hands:

  29:36. And thou shalt offer a calf for sin every day for expiation. And thou shalt cleanse the altar when thou hast offered the victim of expiation, and shalt anoint it to sanctify it.

  29:37. Seven days shalt thou expiate the altar and sanctify it, and it shall be most holy. Every one, that shall touch it, shall be holy.

  29:38. This is what thou shalt sacrifice upon the altar: Two lambs of a year old every day continually,

  29:39. One lamb in the morning, and another in the evening.

  29:40. With one lamb a tenth part of flour tempered with beaten oil, of the fourth part of a hin, and wine for libation of the same measure.

  29:41. And the other lamb thou shalt offer in the evening, according to the rite of the morning oblation, and according to what we have said, for a savour of sweetness:

  29:42. It is a sacrifice to the Lord, by perpetual oblation unto your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony before the Lord, where I will appoint to speak unto thee.

  29:43. And there will I command the children of Israel, and the altar shall be sanctified by my glory.

  29:44. I will sanctify also the tabernacle of the testimony with the altar, and Aaron with his sons, to do the office of priesthood unto me.

  29:45. And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will be their God:

  29:46. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who have brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might abide among them, I the Lord their God.

Exodus Chapter 30

• The altar of incense: money to be gathered for the use of the tabernacle: the brazen laver: the holy oil of unction, and the composition of the perfume.

  30:1. Thou shalt make also an altar to burn incense, of setim wood.

  An altar to burn incense... This burning of incense was an emblem of prayer, ascending to God from an inflamed heart. See Ps. 140.2; Apoc. 5.8, and 8.4.

  30:2. It shall be a cubit in length, and another in breadth, that is, four square, and two in height. Horns shall go out of the same.

  30:3. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, as well the grate thereof, as the walls round about, and the horns. And thou shalt make to it a crown of gold round about,

  30:4. And two golden rings under the crown on either side, that the bars may be put into them, and the altar be carried.

  30:5. And thou shalt make the bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold.

  30:6. And thou shalt set the altar over against the veil, that hangeth before the ark of the testimony before the propitiatory wherewith the testimony is covered, where I will speak to thee.

  30:7. And Aaron shall burn sweet smelling incense upon it in the morning. When he shall dress the lamps, he shall burn it:

  30:8. And when he shall place them in the evening, he shall burn an everlasting incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

  30:9. You shall not offer upon it incense of another composition, nor oblation, and victim, neither shall you offer libations.

  30:10. And Aaron shall pray upon the horns thereof once a year, with the blood of that which was offered for sin; and shall make atonement upon it in your generations. It shall be most holy to the Lord.

  30:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  30:12. When thou shalt take the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, every one of them shall give a price for their souls to the Lord, and there shall be no scourge among them, when they shall be reckoned.

  30:13. And this shall every one give that passeth at the naming, half a sicle according to the standard of the temple. A sicle hath twenty obols. Half a sicle shall be offered to the Lord.

  Half a sicle... A sicle or shekel of silver, (which was also called a stater,) according to the standard or weight of the sanctuary, which was the most just and exact, was half an ounce of silver, that is, about half a crown of English money. The obol, or gerah, was about three halfpence.

  30:14. He that is counted in the number from twenty years and upwards, shall give the price.

  30:15. The rich man shall not add to half a sicle, and the poor man shall diminish nothing.

  30:16. And the money received, which was contributed by the children of Israel, thou shalt deliver unto the uses of the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be a memorial of them before the Lord, and he may be merciful to their souls.

  30:17. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  30:18. Thou shalt make also a brazen laver with its foot to wash in: and thou shalt set it between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar. And water being put into it:

  30:19. Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet in it:

  30:20. When they are going into the tabernacle of the testimony, and when they are to come to the altar, to offer on it incense to the Lord,

  30:21. Lest perhaps they die. It shall be an everlasting law to him, and to his seed by successions.

  30:22. And the Lord spoke to Moses,

  30:23. Saying: Take spices, of principal and chosen myrrh five hundred sicles, and of cinnamon half so much; that is, two hundred and fifty sicles, of calamus in like manner two hundred and fifty,

  30:24. And of cassia five hundred sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, of oil of olives the measure hin:

  30:25. And thou shalt make the holy oil of unction, an ointment compounded after the art of the perfumer,

  30:26. And therewith thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the testimony, and the ark of the testament,

  30:27. And the table with the vessels thereof, the candlestick and furniture thereof, the altars of incense,

  30:28. And of holocaust, and all the furniture that belongeth to the service of them.

  30:29. And thou shalt sanctify all, and they shall be most holy: he that shall touch them shall be sanctified.

  30:30. Thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

  30:31. And thou shalt say to the children of Israel: This oil of unction shall be holy unto me throughout your generations.

  30:32. The flesh of man shall not be anointed therewith, and you shall make none other of the same composition, because it is sanctified, and shall be holy unto you.

  30:33. What man soever shall compound such, and shall give thereof to a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.

  30:34. And the Lord said to Moses: Take unto thee spices, stacte, and onycha, galbanum of sweet savour, and the clearest frankincense, all shall be of equal weight.

  30:35. And thou shalt make incense compounded by the work of the perfumer, well tempered together, and pure, and most worthy of sanctification.

  30:36. And when thou hast beaten all into very small powder, thou shalt set of it before the tabernacle of the testimony, in the place where I will appear to thee. Most holy shall this incense be unto you.

  30:37. You shall not make such a composition for your own uses, because it is holy to the Lord.

  30:38. What man soever shall make the like, to enjoy the smell thereof, he shall perish out of his people.

Exodus Chapter 31

• Beseleel and Ooliab are appointed by the Lord to make the tabernacle, and the things belonging thereto. The observation of the sabbath day is again commanded. And the Lord delivereth to Moses two tables written with the finger of God.

  31:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  31:2. Behold, I have called by name Beseleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Juda,

  31:3. And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge in all manner of work,

  31:4. To devise whatsoever may be artificially made of gold, and silver, and brass,

  31:5. Of marble, and precious stones, and variety of wood.

  31:6. And I have given him for his companion Ooliab, the son of Achisamech, of the tribe of Dan. And I have put wisdom in the heart of every skilful man, that they may make all things which I have commanded thee,

  31:7. The tabernacle of the covenant, and the ark of the testimony, and the propitiatory, that is over it, and all the vessels of the tabernacle,

  31:8. And the table and the vessels thereof, the most pure candlestick with the vessels thereof, and the altars of incense,

  31:9. And of holocaust, and all their vessels, the laver with its foot,

  31:10. The holy vestments in the ministry for Aaron the priest, and for his sons, that they may execute their office, about the sacred things:

  31:11. The oil of unction, and the incense of spices in the sanctuary, all things which I have commanded thee, shall they make.

  31:12. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  31:13. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: See that you keep my sabbath; because it is a sign between me and you in your generations that you may know that I am the Lord, who sanctify you.

  31:14. keep you my sabbath: for it is holy unto you: he that shall profane it, shall be put to death: he that shall do any work in it, his soul shall perish out of the midst of his people.

  31:15. Six days shall you do work: in the seventh day is the sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord. Every one that shall do any work on this day, shall die.

  31:16. Let the children of Israel keep the sabbath, and celebrate it in their generations. It is an everlasting covenant

  31:17. Between me and the children of Israel, and a perpetual sign. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and in the seventh he ceased from work.

  31:18. And the Lord, when he had ended these words in Mount Sinai, gave to Moses two stone tables of testimony, written with the finger of God.

Exodus Chapter 32

• The people fall into idolatry. Moses prayeth for them. He breaketh the tables: destroyeth the idol: blameth Aaron, and causeth many of the idolaters to be slain.

  32:1. And the people seeing that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, gathering together against Aaron, said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us: For as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him.

  32:2. And Aaron said to them: Take the golden earrings from the ears of your wives, and your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.

  32:3. And the people did what he had commanded, bringing the earrings to Aaron.

  32:4. And when he had received them, he fashioned them by founders’ work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

  32:5. And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier’s voice, saying To morrow is the solemnity of the Lord.

  32:6. And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace victims, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.

  32:7. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned.

  32:8. They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

  32:9. And again the Lord said to Moses: I see that this people is stiffnecked:

  32:10. Let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great nation.

  32:11. But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: Why, O Lord, is thy indignation enkindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand?

  32:12. Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth: let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people.

  32:13. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own self, saying: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land that I have spoken of, I will give to your seed, and you shall possess it for ever:

  32:14. And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.

  32:15. And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides,

  32:16. And made by the work of God; the writing also of God was graven in the tables.

  32:17. And Josue hearing the noise of the people shout. ing, said to Moses: The noise of battle is heard in the camp.

  32:18. But he answered: It is not the cry of men encouraging to fight, nor the shout of men compelling to flee: but I hear the voice of singers.

  32:19. And when he came nigh to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dances: and being very angry, he threw the tables out of his hand, and broke them at the foot of the mount:

  32:20. And laying hold of the calf which they had made, he burnt it, and beat it to powder, which he strewed into water, and gave thereof to the children of Israel to drink.

  32:21. And he said to Aaron: What has this people done to thee, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin?

  32:22. And he answered him: Let not my lord be offended; for thou knowest this people, that they are prone to evil.

  32:23. They said to me: make us gods, that may go before us; for as to this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is befallen him.

  32:24. And I said to them: Which of you hath any gold? and they took and brought it to me; and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.

  32:25. And when Moses saw that the people were naked, (for Aaron had stripped them by occasion of the shame of the filth, and had set them naked among their enemies)

  Naked... Having lost not only their gold, and their honour, but what was worst of all, being stripped also of the grace of God, and having lost him.-The shame of the filth... That is, of the idol, which they had taken for their god. It is the usual phrase of the scripture to call idols filth and abominations.

  32:26. Then standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be on the Lord’s side, let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him:

  32:27. And he said to them: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his thigh: go, and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp, and let every man kill his brother, and friend, and neighbour.

  32:28. And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses, and there were slain that day about three and twenty thousand men.

  32:29. And Moses said: You have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord, every man in his son and in his brother, that a blessing may be given to you.

  32:30. And when the next day was come, Moses spoke to the people: You have sinned a very great sin: I will go up to the Lord, if by any means I may be able to entreat him for your crime.

  32:31. And returning to the Lord, he said: I beseech thee: this people hath sinned a heinous sin, and they have made to themselves gods of gold: either forgive them this trespass,

  32:32. Or if thou do not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written.

  32:33. And the Lord answered him: He that hath sinned against me, him will I strike out of my book:

  32:34. But go thou, and lead this people whither I have told thee: my angel shall go before thee. And I in the day of revenge will visit this sin also of theirs.

  32:35. The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt, on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made.

Exodus Chapter 33

• The people mourn for their sin. Moses pitcheth the tabernacle without the camp. He converseth familiarly with God. Desireth to see his glory.

  33:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee up from this place, thou and thy people which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, into the land concerning which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: To thy seed I will give it:

  33:2. And I will send an angel before thee, that I may cast out the Chanaanite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite,

  33:3. That thou mayst enter into the land that floweth with milk and honey. For I will not go up with thee, because thou art a stiffnecked people; lest I destroy thee in the way.

  33:4. And the people hearing these very bad tidings, mourned: and no man put on his ornaments according to custom.

  33:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to the children of Israel: Thou art a stiffnecked people, once I shall come up in the midst of thee, and shall destroy thee. Now presently lay aside thy ornaments, that I may know what to do to thee.

  33:6. So the children of Israel laid aside their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

  33:7. Moses also taking the tabernacle, pitched it without the camp afar off, and called the name thereof, The tabernacle of the covenant. And all the people, that had any question, went forth to the tabernacle of the covenant, without the camp.

  33:8. And when Moses went forth to the tabernacle, all the people rose up, and every one stood in the door of his pavilion, and they beheld the back of Moses, till he went into the tabernacle.

  33:9. And when he was gone into the tabernacle of the covenant, the pillar of the cloud came down, and stood at the door, and he spoke with Moses.

  33:10. And all saw that the pillar of the cloud stood at the door of the tabernacle. And they stood and worshipped at the doors of their tent.

  33:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man is wont to speak to his friend. And when he returned into the camp, his servant Josue, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not from the tabernacle.

  Face to face... That is, in a most familiar manner. Though as we learn from this very chapter, Moses could not see the face of the Lord.

  33:12. And Moses said to the Lord: Thou commandest me to lead forth this people; and thou dost not let me know whom thou wilt send with me, especially whereas thou hast said: I know thee by name, and thou hast found favour in my sight.

  I know thee by name... In the language of the scriptures, God is said to know such as he approves and loves: and to know by name, those whom he favours in a most singular manner, as he did his servant Moses.

  33:13. If therefore I have found favour in thy sight, shew me thy face, that I may know thee, and may find grace before thy eyes: look upon thy people this nation.

  33:14. And the Lord said: My face shall go before thee, and I will give thee rest.

  33:15. And Moses said: If thou thyself dost not go before, bring us not out of this place.

  33:16. For how shall we be able to know, I and thy people, that we have found grace in thy sight, unless thou walk with us, that we may be glorified by all people that dwell upon the earth?

  33:17. And the Lord said to Moses: This word also, which thou hast spoken, will I do; for thou hast found grace before me, and thee I have known by name.

  33:18. And he said: Shew me thy glory.

  33:19. He answered: I will shew thee all good, and I will proclaim in the name of the Lord before thee: and I will have mercy on whom I will, and I will be merciful to whom it shall please me.

  33:20. And again he said: Thou canst not see my face: for man shall not see me, and live.

  33:21. And again he said: Behold there is a place with me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock.

  33:22. And when my glory shall pass, I will set thee in a hole of the rock, and protect thee with my righthand till I pass:

  33:23. And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face thou canst not see.

  See my back parts... The Lord by his angel, usually spoke to Moses in the pillar of the cloud; so that he could not see the glory of him that spoke familiarly with him. In the vision here mentioned he was allowed to see something of him, in an assumed corporeal form: not in the face, the rays of which were too bright for mortal eye to bear, but to view him as it were behind, when his face was turned from him.

Exodus Chapter 34

• The tables are renewed: all society with the Chanaanites is forbid: some precepts concerning the firstborn, the sabbath, and other feasts: after forty days’ fast, Moses returneth to the people with the commandments, and his face appearing horned with rays of light, he covereth it, whensoever he speaketh to the people.

  34:1. And after this he said: Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the former, and I will write upon them the words, which were in the tables, which thou brokest.

  34:2. Be ready in the morning, that thou mayst forthwith go up into Mount Sinai, and thou shalt stand with me upon the top of the mount.

  34:3. Let no man go up with thee, and let not any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the oxen nor the sheep feed over against it.

  34:4. Then he cut out two tables of stone, such as had been before; and rising very early he went up into the Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, carrying with him the tables.

  34:5. And when the Lord was come down in a cloud, Moses stood with him, calling upon the name of the Lord.

  34:6. And when he passed before him, he said: O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true,

  34:7. Who keepest mercy unto thousands: who takest away iniquity, and wickedness, and sin, and no man of himself is innocent before thee. Who renderest the iniquity of the fathers to the children, and to the grandchildren unto the third and fourth generation.

  34:8. And Moses making haste, bowed down prostrate unto the earth, and adoring,

  34:9. Said: If I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, I beseech thee that thou wilt go with us, (for it is a stiffnecked people) and take away our iniquities and sin, and possess us.

  34:10. The Lord answered: I will make a covenant in the sight of all, I will do signs such as were never seen upon the earth, nor in any nations; that this people, in the midst of whom thou art, may see the terrible work of the Lord which I will do.

  34:11. Observe all things which this day I command thee: I myself will drive out before thy face the Amorrhite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite.

  34:12. Beware thou never join in friendship with the inhabitants of that land, which may be thy ruin:

  34:13. But destroy their altars, break their statues and cut down their groves:

  34:14. Adore not any strange god. The Lord his name is jealous, he is a jealous God.

  34:15. Make no covenant with the men of those countries; lest, when they have committed fornication with their gods, and have adored their idols, some one call thee to eat of the things sacrificed.

  34:16. Neither shalt thou take of their daughters a wife for thy son, lest after they themselves have committed fornication, they make thy sons also to commit fornication with their gods.

  34:17. Thou shalt not make to thyself any molten gods.

  34:18: Thou shalt keep the feast of the unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee in the time of the month of the new corn: for in the month of the spring time thou camest out from Egypt.

  34:19. All of the male kind that openeth the womb, shall be mine. Of all beasts; both of oxen and of sheep, it shall be mine.

  34:20. The firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a sheep: but if thou wilt not give a price for it, it shall be slain. The firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem: neither shalt thou appear before me empty.

  34:21. Six days shalt thou work, the seventh day thou shalt cease to plough and to reap.

  34:22. Thou shalt keep the feast of weeks with the firstfruits of the corn of thy wheat harvest, and the feast when the time of the year returneth that all things are laid in.

  34:23. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear in the sight of the almighty Lord the God of Israel.

  34:24. For when I shall have taken away the nations from thy face, and shall have enlarged thy borders, no man shall lie in wait against thy land when thou shalt go up, and appear in the sight of the Lord thy God thrice in a year.

  34:25. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice upon leaven; neither shall there remain in the morning any thing of the victim of the solemnity of the Phase.

  34:26. The first of the fruits of thy ground thou shalt offer in the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.

  34:27. And the Lord said to Moses: Write thee these words, by which I have made a covenant both with thee and with Israel.

  34:28. And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights: he neither ate bread nor drank water, and he wrote upon the tables the ten words of the covenant.

  34:29. And when Moses came down from the Mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord.

  Horned... That is, shining, and sending forth rays of light like horns.

  34:30. And Aaron and the children of Israel seeing the face of Moses horned, were afraid to come near.

  34:31. And being called by him, they returned, both Aaron and the rulers of the congregation. And after that he spoke to them,

  34:32. And all the children of Israel came to him: and he gave them in commandment all that he had heard of the Lord on Mount Sinai.

  34:33. And having done speaking, he put a veil upon his face.

  34:34. But when he went in to the Lord, and spoke with him, he took it away until he came forth, and then he spoke to the children of Israel all things that had been commanded him.

  34:35. And they saw that the face of Moses when he came out was horned, but he covered his face again, if at any time he spoke to them.

Exodus Chapter 35

• The sabbath. Offerings for making the tabernacle. Beseleel and Ooliab are called to the work.

  35:1. And all the multitude of the children of Israel being gathered together, he said to them: These are the things which the Lord hath commanded to be done:

  35:2. Six days you shall do work; the seventh day shall be holy unto you, the sabbath and the rest of the Lord: he that shall do any work on it, shall be put to death.

  35:3. You shall kindle no fire in any of your habitations on the sabbath day.

  35:4. And Moses said to all the assembly of the children of Israel: This is the word the Lord hath commanded, saying:

  35:5. Set aside with you firstfruits to the Lord. Let every one that is willing and hath a ready heart, offer them to the Lord: gold, and silver, and brass,

  35:6. Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, goats’ hair,

  35:7. And rams’ skins dyed red, and violet coloured skins, setim wood,

  35:8. And oil to maintain lights, and to make ointment, and most sweet incense,

  35:9. Onyx stones, and precious stones, for the adorning of the ephod and the rational.

  35:10. Whosoever of you is wise, let him come, and make that which the Lord hath commanded:

  35:11. To wit, the tabernacle, and the roof thereof, and the cover, the rings, and the board-work with the bars, the pillars and the sockets:

  35:12. The ark and the staves, the propitiatory, and the veil that is drawn before it:

  35:13. The table with the bars and the vessels, and the loaves of proposition:

  35:14. The candlestick to bear up the lights, the vessels thereof and the lamps, and the oil for the nourishing of fires:

  35:15. The altar of incense, and the bars, and the oil of unction, and the incense of spices: the hanging at the door of the tabernacle:

  35:16. The altar of holocaust, and its grate of brass, with the bars and vessels thereof: the laver and its foot:

  35:17. The curtains of the court, with the pillars and the sockets, the hanging in the doors of the entry.

  35:18. The pins of the tabernacle, and of the court, with their little cords:

  35:19. The vestments that are to be used in the ministry of the sanctuary, the vesture of Aaron the high priest, and of his sons, to do the office of priesthood to me.

  35:20. And all the multitude of the children of Israel going out from the presence of Moses,

  35:21. Offered firstfruits to the Lord with a most ready and devout mind, to make the work of the tabernacle of the testimony. Whatever was necessary to the service and to the holy vestments,

  35:22. Both men and women gave bracelets and earrings, rings and tablets: every vessel of gold was set aside to be offered to the Lord.

  35:23. If any man had violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, fine linen and goats’ hair, ramskins dyed red, and violet coloured skins,

  35:24. Metal of silver and brass, they offered it to the Lord, and setim wood for divers uses.

  35:25. The skilful women also gave such things as they had spun, violet, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen,

  35:26. And goats’ hair, giving all of their own accord.

  35:27. But the princes offered onyx stones, and precious stones, for the ephod and the rational,

  35:28. And spices and oil for the lights, and for the preparing of ointment, and to make the incense of most sweet savour.

  35:29. All, both men and women, with devout mind offered gifts, that the works might be done which the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. All the children of Israel dedicated voluntary offerings to the Lord.

  35:30. And Moses said to the children of Israel: Behold, the Lord hath called by name Beseleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Juda,

  35:31. And hath filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge, and all learning,

  35:32. To devise and to work in gold and silver and brass,

  35:33. And in engraving stones, and in carpenters’ work. Whatsoever can be devised artificially,

  35:34. He hath given in his heart: Ooliab also, the son of Achisamech, of the tribe of Dan:

  35:35. Both of them hath he instructed with wisdom, to do carpenters’ work, and tapestry, and embroidery in blue and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and to weave all things, and to invent all new things.

Exodus Chapter 36

• The offerings are delivered to the workmen, the curtains, coverings, boards, bars, veil, pillars, and hanging are made.

  36:1. Beseleel therefore, and Ooliab, and every wise man, to whom the Lord gave wisdom and understanding, to know how to work artificially, made the things that are necessary for the uses of the sanctuary, and which the Lord commanded.

  36:2. And when Moses had called them, and every skilful man, to whom the Lord had given wisdom, and such as of their own accord had offered themselves to the making of the work,

  36:3. He delivered all the offerings of the children of Israel unto them. And while they were earnest about the work, the people daily in the morning offered their vows.

  36:4. Whereupon the workmen being constrained to come,

  36:5. Said to Moses: The people offereth more than is necessary.

  36:6. Moses therefore commanded proclamation to be made by the crier’s voice: Let neither man nor woman offer any more

  for the work of the sanctuary. And so they ceased from offering gifts,

  36:7. Because the things that were offered did suffice, and were too much.

  36:8. And all the men that were wise of heart, to accomplish the work of the tabernacle, made ten curtains of twisted fine linen, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with varied work, and the art of embroidering:

  36:9. The length of one curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth four: all the curtains were of the same size.

  36:10. And he joined five curtains, one to another, and the other five he coupled one to another.

  36:11. He made also loops of violet in the edge of one curtain on both sides, and in the edge of the other curtain in like manner,

  36:12. That the loops might meet one against another, and might be joined each with the other.

  36:13. Whereupon also he cast fifty rings of gold, that might catch the loops of the curtains, and they might be made one tabernacle.

  36:14. He made also eleven curtains of goats’ hair, to cover the roof of the tabernacle:

  36:15. One curtain was thirty cubits long, and four cubits broad: all the curtains were of one measure.

  36:16. Five of which he joined apart, and the other six apart.

  36:17. And he made fifty loops in the edge of one curtain, and fifty in the edge of another curtain, that they might be joined one to another.

  36:18. And fifty buckles of brass wherewith the roof might be knit together, that of all the curtains there might be made one covering.

  36:19. He made also a cover for the tabernacle of rams’ skins dyed red; and another cover over that of violet skins.

  36:20. He made also the boards of the tabernacle of setim wood standing.

  36:21. The length of one board was ten cubits; and the breadth was one cubit and a half.

  36:22. There were two mortises throughout every board, that one might be joined to the other. And in this manner he made for all the boards of the tabernacle.

  36:23. Of which twenty were at the south side southward,

  36:24. With forty sockets of silver, two sockets were put under one board on the two sides of the corners, where the mortises of the sides end in the corners.

  36:25. At that side also of the tabernacle, that looketh towards the north, he made twenty boards,

  36:26. With forty sockets of silver, two sockets for every board.

  36:27. But against the west, to wit, at that side of the tabernacle, which looketh to the sea, he made six boards,

  36:28. And two others at each corner of the tabernacle behind:

  36:29. Which were also joined from beneath unto the top, and went together into one joint. Thus he did on both sides at the corners:

  36:30. So there were in all eight boards, and they had sixteen sockets of silver, to wit, two sockets under every board.

  36:31. He made also bars of setim wood, five to hold together the boards of one side of the tabernacle,

  36:32. And five others to join together the boards of the other side; and besides these, five other bars at the west side of the tabernacle towards the sea.

  36:33. He made also another bar, that might come by the midst of the boards from corner to corner.

  36:34. And the boards themselves he overlaid with gold casting for them sockets of silver. And their rings he made of gold, through which the bars might be drawn: and he covered the bars themselves with plates of gold.

  36:35. He made also a veil of violet, and purple, scarlet and fine twisted linen, varied and distinguished with embroidery:

  36:36. And four pillars of setim wood, which with their heads he overlaid with gold, casting for them sockets of silver.

  36:37. He made also a hanging in the entry of the tabernacle of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, with the work of an embroiderer.

  36:38. And five pillars with their heads, which he covered with gold, and their sockets he cast of brass.

Exodus Chapter 37

• Beseleel maketh the ark: the propitiatory, and cherubims, the table, the candlestick, the lamps, and the altar of incense, and compoundeth the incense.

  37:1. And Beseleel made also, the ark of setim wood: it was two cubits and a half in length, and a cubit and a half in breadth, and the height was of one cubit and a half: and he overlaid it with the purest gold within and without.

  37:2. And he made to it a crown of gold round about,

  37:3. Casting four rings of gold at the four corners thereof: two rings in one side, and two in the other.

  37:4. And he made bars of setim wood, which he overlaid with gold,

  37:5. And he put them into the rings that were at the sides of the ark to carry it.

  37:6. He made also the propitiatory, that is, the oracle, of the purest gold, two cubits and a half in length, and a cubit and a half in breadth.

  37:7. Two cherubims also of beaten gold, which he set on the two sides of the propitiatory:

  37:8. One cherub in the top of one side, and the other cherub in the top of the other side: two cherubims at the two ends of the propitiatory,

  37:9. Spreading their wings, and covering the propitiatory, and looking one towards the other, and towards it.

  37:10. He made also the table of setim wood, in length two cubits, and in breadth one cubit, and in height it was a cubit and a half.

  37:11. And he overlaid it with the finest gold, and he made to it a golden ledge round about,

  37:12. And to the ledge itself he made a polished crown of gold, of four fingers breadth, and upon the same another golden crown.

  37:13. And he cast four rings of gold, which he put in the four corners at each foot of the table,

  37:14. Over against the crown: and he put the bars into them, that the table might be carried.

  37:15. The bars also themselves he made of setim wood, and overlaid them with gold.

  37:16. And the vessels for the divers uses of the table, dishes, bowls, and cups, and censers of pure gold, wherein the libations are to be offered.

  37:17. He made also the candlestick of beaten work of the finest gold. from the shaft whereof its branches, its cups, and bowls, and lilies came out:

  37:18: Six on the two sides: three branches on one side, and three on the other.

  37:19. Three cups in manner of a nut on each branch, and bowls withal and lilies: and three cups of the fashion of a nut in another branch, and bowls withal and lilies. The work of the six branches, that went out from the shaft of the candlestick was equal.

  37:20. And in the shaft itself were four cups after the manner of a nut, and bowls withal at every one, and lilies:

  37:21. And bowls under two branches in three places, which together made six branches going out from one shaft.

  37:22. So both the bowls, and the branches were of the same, all beaten work of the purest gold.

  37:23. He made also the seven lamps with their snuffers, and the vessels where the snuffings were to be put out, of the purest gold.

  37:24. The candlestick with all the vessels thereof weighed a talent of gold.

  37:25. He made also the alter of incense of setim wood, being a cubit on every side foursquare, and in height two cubits: from the corners of which went out horns.

  37:26. And he overlaid it with the purest gold, with its grate, and the sides, and the horns.

  37:27. And he made to it a crown of gold round about, and two golden rings under the crown at each side, that the bars might be put into them, and the altar be carried.

  37:28. And the bars themselves he made also of setim wood, and overlaid them with plates of gold.

  37:29. He compounded also the oil for the ointment of sanctification, and incense of the purest spices, according to the work of a perfumer.

Exodus Chapter 38

• He maketh the altar of holocaust. The brazen laver. The court with its pillars and hangings. The sum of what the people offered.

  38:1. He made also the altar of holocaust of setim wood, five cubits square, and three in height:

  38:2. The horns whereof went out from the corners, and he overlaid it with plates of brass.

  38:3. And for the uses thereof, he prepared divers vessels of brass, cauldrons, tongs, fleshhooks, pothooks and firepans.

  38:4. And he made the grate thereof of brass, in manner of a net, and under it in the midst of the altar a hearth,

  38:5. Casting four rings at the four ends of the net at the top, to put in bars to carry it:

  38:6. And he made the bars of setim wood, and overlaid them with plates of brass:

  38:7. And he drew them through the rines that stood out in the sides of the altar. And the altar itself was not solid, but hollow, of boards, and empty within.

  38:8. He made also the laver of brass, with the foot thereof, of the mirrors of the women that watched at the door of the tabernacle.

  38:9. He made also the court, in the south side whereof were hangings of fine twisted linen of a hundred cubits.

  38:10. Twenty pillars of brass with their sockets, the beads of the pillars, and the whole graving of the work, of silver.

  38:11. In like manner at the north side the hangings, the pillars, and the sockets and heads of the pillars were of the same measure, and work and metal.

  38:12. But on that side that looketh to the west, there were hangings of fifty cubits, ten pillars of brass with their sockets, and the heads of the pillars, and all the graving of the work, of silver.

  38:13. Moreover, towards the east he prepared hangings of fifty cubits:

  38:14. Fifteen cubits of which, were on one side with three pillars, and their sockets:

  38:15. And on the other side (for between the two he made the entry of the tabernacle) there were hangings equally of fifteen cubits, and three pillars, and as many sockets.

  38:16. All the hangings of the court were woven with twisted linen.

  38:17. The sockets of the pillars were of brass, and their heads with all their gravings of silver: and he overlaid the pillars of the court also with silver.

  38:18. And he made in the entry thereof an embroidered hanging of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, that was twenty cubits long, and five cubits high, according to the measnre of all the hangings of the court.

  38:19. And the pillars in the entry were four, with sockets of brass, and their heads and gravings of silver.

  38:20. The pins also of the tabernacle and of the court round about he made of brass.

  38:21. These are the instruments of the tabernacle of the testimony, which were counted according to the commandment of Moses, in the ceremonies of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest:

  38:22. Which Beseleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Juda, had made, as the Lord commanded by Moses.

  38:23. Having for his companion Ooliab, the son of Achisamech, of the tribe of Dan: who also was an ex-cellent artificer in wood, and worker in tapestry and embroidery in violet, purple, scarlet, and fine linen.

  38:24. All the gold that was spent in the work of the sanctuary, and that was offered in gifts, was nine and twenty talents, and seven hundred and thirty sicles according to the standard of the sanctuary.

  38:25. And it was offered by them that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upwards, of six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty men able to bear arms.

  38:26. There were moreover a hundred talents of silver, whereof were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and of the entry where the veil hangeth.

  38:27. A hundred sockets were made of a hundred talents, one talent being reckoned for every socket.

  38:28. And of the thousand seven hundred and seventy- five he made the heads of the pillars, which also he overlaid with silver.

  38:29. And there were offered of brass also seventy-two thousand talents, and four hundred sicles besides,

  38:30. Of which were cast the sockets in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony, and the altar of brass with the grate thereof, and also the vessels that belong to the use thereof.

  38:31. And the sockets of the court as well round about as in the entry thereof, and the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about.

Exodus Chapter 39

• All the ornaments of Aaron and his sons are made. And the whole work of the tabernacle is finished.

  39:1. And he made, of violet and purple, scarlet and fine linen, the vestments for Aaron to wear when he ministered in the holy places, as the Lord commanded Moses.

  39:2. So he made an ephod of gold, violet, and purple, and

  scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen,

  39:3. With embroidered work, and he cut thin plates of gold, and drew them small into threads, that they might be twisted with the woof of the foresaid colours,

  39:4. And two borders coupled one to the other in the top on either side,

  39:5. And a girdle of the same colours, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  39:6. He prepared also two onyx stones, fast set and closed in gold, and graven, by the art of a lapidary, with the names of the children of Israel:

  39:7. And he set them in the sides of the ephod, for a memorial of the children of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  39:8. He made also a rational with embroidered work, according to the work of the ephod, of gold, violet, purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen:

  39:9. Foursquare, double, of the measure of a span.

  39:10. And he set four rows of precious stones in it. In the first row was a sardius, a topaz, an emerald.

  39:11. In the second, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper.

  39:12. In the third, a ligurius, an agate, and an amethyst.

  39:13. In the fourth, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl, set and enclosed in gold by their rows.

  39:14. And the twelve stones, were engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, each one with its several name.

  39:15. They made also in the rational little chains, linked one to another, of the purest gold,

  39:16. And two hooks, and as many rings of gold. And they set the rings on either side of the rational,

  39:17. On which rings the two golden chains should hang, which they put into the hooks that stood out in the corners of the ephod.

  39:18. These both before and behind so answered one another, that the ephod and the rational were bound together,

  39:19. Being fastened to the girdle, and strongly coupled with rings, which a violet fillet joined, lest they should flag loose, and be moved one from the other, as the Lord commanded Moses.

  39:20. They made also the tunic of the ephod all of violet,

  39:21. And a hole for the head in the upper part at the middle, and a woven border round about the hole:

  39:22. And beneath at the feet pomegranates of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen:

  39:23. And little bells of the purest gold, which they put between the pomegranates at the bottom of the tunic round about:

  39:24. To wit, a bell of gold, and a pomegranate, wherewith the high priest went adorned, when he discharged his ministry, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  39:25. They made also fine linen tunics with woven work for Aaron and his sons:

  39:26. And mitres with their little crowns of fine linen:

  39:27. And linen breeches of fine linen:

  39:28. And a girdle of fine twisted linen, violet, purple, and scarlet twice dyed, of embroidery work, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  39:29. They made also the plate of sacred veneration of the purest gold, and they wrote on it with the engraving of a lapidary: The Holy of the Lord:

  39:30. And they fastened it to the mitre with a violet fillet, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  39:31. So all the work of the tabernacle and of the roof of the testimony was finished: and the children of Israel did all things which the Lord had commanded Moses.

  39:32. And they offered the tabernacle, and the roof, and the whole furniture, the rings, the boards, the bars, the pillars and their sockets,

  39:33. The cover of rams’ skins dyed red, and the other cover of violet skins,

  39:34. The veil, the ark, the bars, the propitiatory,

  39:35. The table, with the vessels thereof, and the loaves of proposition:

  39:36. The candlestick, the lamps, and the furniture of them, with the oil:

  39:37. The altar of gold, and the ointment, and the incense of spices:

  39:38. And the hanging in the entry of the tabernacle:

  39:39. The altar of brass, the grate, the bars, and all the vessels thereof: the laver, with the foot thereof: the hangings of the court, and the pillars, with their sockets:

  39:40. The hanging in the entry of the court, and the little cords, and the pins thereof. Nothing was wanting of the vessels, that were commanded to be made for the ministry of the tabernacle, and for the roof of the covenant.

  39:41. The vestments also, which the priests, to wit, Aaron and his sons, use in the sanctuary,

  39:42. The children of Israel offered, as the Lord had commanded.

  39:43. And when Moses saw all things finished, he blessed them.

Exodus Chapter 40

• The tabernacle is commanded to be set up and anointed. God filleth it with his majesty.

  40:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

  40:2. The first month, the first day of the month, thou

  shalt set up the tabernacle of the testimony,

  40:3. And shalt put the ark in it, and shalt let down the veil before it:

  40:4. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set upon it the things that are commanded according to the rite. The candlestick shall stand with its lamps,

  40:5. And the altar of gold, whereon the incense is burnt before the ark of the testimony. Thou shalt put the hanging in the entry of the tabernacle,

  40:6. And before it the altar of holocaust.

  40:7. The laver between the altar and the tabernacle, and thou shalt fill it with water.

  40:8. And thou shalt encompass the court with hangings, and the entry thereof.

  40:9. And thou shalt take the oil of unction and anoint the tabernacle with its vessels, that they may be sanctified:

  40:10. The altar of holocaust and all its vessels:

  40:11. The laver with its foot: thou shalt consecrate all with the oil of unction, that they may be most holy.

  40:12. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and having washed them with water,

  40:13. Thou shalt put on them the holy vestments, that they may minister to me, and that the unction of them may prosper to an everlasting priesthood.

  40:14. And Moses did all that the Lord had commanded.

  40:15. So in the first month of the second year, the first day of the month, the tabernacle was set up.

  40:16. And Moses reared it up, and placed the boards and the sockets and the bars, and set up the pillars,

  40:17. And spread the roof over the tabernacle, putting over it a cover, as the Lord had commanded.

  40:18. And he put the testimony in the ark, thrusting bars underneath, and the oracle above.

  40:19. And when he had brought the ark into the tabernacle, he drew the veil before it to fulfil the command ment of the Lord.

  40:20. And he set the table in the tabernacle of the testimony, at the north side, without the veil,

  40:21. Setting there in order the loaves of proposition, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  40:22. He set the candlestick also in the tabernacle of the testimony, over against the table on the south side,

  40:23. Placing the lamps in order, according to the precept of the Lord.

  40:24. He set also the altar of gold under the roof of the testimony, over against the veil,

  40:25. And burnt upon it the incense of spices, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  40:26. And he put also the hanging in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony,

  40:27. And the altar of holocaust in the entry of the testimony, offering the holocaust, and the sacrifices upon it, as the Lord had commanded.

  40:28. And he set the laver between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, filling it with water.

  40:29. And Moses and Aaron, and his sons, washed their hands and feet,

  40:30. When they went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and went to the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  40:31. He set up also the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, drawing the hanging in the entry thereof. After all things were perfected,

  40:32. The cloud covered the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it.

  40:33. Neither could Moses go into the tabernacle of the covenant, the cloud covering all things, and the majesty of the Lord shining, for the cloud had covered all.

  40:34. If at any time the cloud removed from the tabernacle, the children of Israel went forward by their troops:

  40:35. If it hung over, they remained in the same place.

  40:36. For the cloud of the Lord hung over the tabernacle by day, and a fire by night, in the sight of all the children of Israel throughout all their mansions.

 

 

 

 

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