,by ,george ,hodges           ,,the     
,,early ,,church3 ,from ,ignatius to    
,augustine4         ,,the ,,castle ,,of 
,,zion4 ,illustrated4         ,,the     
,,garden ,,of ,,eden4 ,illustrated4     
,,when ,,the ,,king ,,came4             
,,william ,,penn4 ,in ,riverside        
,biographical ,series4 ,with            
,photogravure       ,portrait4          
,,houghton ,,mifflin ,,company          
,,boston ,,and ,,new ,,york             
,illustration3 ,,lot ,,chooses ,,the    
,,pleasant ,,land4 7,page #ab47         
,,the ,,garden ,,of ,,eden              
,,stories ,,from ,,the ,,first ,,nine   
,,books                           ,,of  
,,the ,,old ,,testament                 
,,by                                    
,,george ,,hodges                       
,,illustrated ,,by                      
,,walter ,h4 ,,everett                  
,illustration3 colophon                 
,,boston ,,and ,,new ,,york             
,,houghton ,,mifflin ,,company          
,the ,riverside ,press ,cambridge       

,,copyright1 #aijh ,,and #aiji1 ,,by    
,,the ,,curtis ,,publishing ,,company   
,,copyright1 #aiji1 ,,by ,,george       
,,hodges                                
,,all ,,rights ,,reserved               
,published ,october #aiji               
,,to                                    
,john ,hodges                           
,,who ,,likes ,,these ,,stories         
,,contents      ,i4 ,,the ,,garden ,,of 
,,eden                                  
#a    ,,ii4 ,,noah',s ,,ark             
#f    ,,iii4 ,,the ,,adventures ,,of    
,,lot                                   
#aa    ,,iv4 ,,isaac ,,and ,,rebekah    
#ag    ,v4 ,,the ,,mess ,,of ,,pottage  
#bc    ,,vi4 ,,jacob',s ,,visit         
#bi    ,,vii4 ,,the ,,coat ,,of ,,many  
,,colors                                
#ce    ,,viii4 ,,the ,,seven ,,years    
,,of ,,famine                           
#da    ,,ix4 ,,the ,,burning ,,bush     
#dg    ,x4 ,,the ,,ten ,,plagues        
#eb    ,,xi4 ,,the ,,red ,,sea          
#eg    ,,xii4 ,,the ,,golden ,,calf     

#fb    ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,prophet ,,and    
,,the ,,king                            
#fg    ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,walls ,,of        
,,jericho                               
#gb    ,,xv4 ,,the ,,wedge ,,of ,,gold  
#gg    ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,relief ,,of       
,,gibeon                                
#hb    ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,the
 ,,great ,,plain                        
#hf    ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,altar ,,of      
,,baal                                  
#ia    ,,xix4 ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,the 
,,lamps ,,and ,,pitchers                
#if    ,,xx4 ,,the ,,migration ,,of     
,,dan                                   
#aja    ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,riddle ,,of ,,the
 ,,lion ,,and ,,the ,,bees              
#ajf    ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of     
,,strength                              
#aaa    ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,bramble ,,and  
,,the ,,fire                            
#aaf    ,,xxiv4 ,,jephthah',s ,,daughter
                                        
#aba    ,,xxv4 ,,the ,,king',s          
,,great-,,grandmother                   

#abf    ,,xxvi4 8,,samuel6 ,,samuel60   
#aca    ,,xxvii4 ,,the ,,battle ,,of    
,,the ,,ark ,,of ,,god                  
#acf    ,,xxviii4 ,,five ,,gold ,,mice  
#ada    ,,xxix4 ,,saul ,,and ,,the      
,,seer                                  
#ade    ,,xxx4 ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,the
 ,,right ,,eyes                         
#aej    ,,xxxi4 ,,the ,,adventure ,,of  
,,the ,,great ,,trembling               
#aed    ,,xxxii4 ,,the ,,bleating ,,of  
,,the ,,sheep                           
#aei    ,,xxxiii4 ,a ,,shepherd ,,of    
,,bethlehem                             
#afd    ,,xxxiv4 ,,david ,,fights ,,the 
,,giant                                 
#afi    ,,xxxv4 ,,under ,,the ,,king',s 
,,displeasure                           
#agd    ,,xxxvi4 ,,the ,,cave ,,of      
,,adullam                               
#agi    ,,xxxvii4 ,,the ,,outlaw ,,and  
,,the ,,sheepmaster                     
#ahd    ,,xxxviii4 ,,the ,,adventure    
,,of ,,the ,,king',s ,,spear            
#ahi    ,,xxxix4 ,,in ,,the ,,land ,,of 

,,the ,,enemy                           
#aid    ,,xl4 ,,the ,,witch ,,of ,,endor
                                        
#aii          ,,illustrations      ,lot 
chooses the ,pleasant ,land 7page #ab7  
,colored frontispiece    ,the ,ark rests
 on the ,top of a ,mountain             
#h    ,the ,blessing of the ,second ,son
                                        
#bf    ,there is the ,dreamer           
#ch    ,moses by the ,burning ,bush     
#ej    ,it sounds to ,me like ,singing  
#fd    ,the ,ass and the ,angel         
#gj    ,so ,they stoned ,achan          
#hj    ,jael takes the ,tent ,pin       
#hh    ,gideon hears the telling of a   
,dream                                  
#ih    ,samson kills the ,lion with his 
,hands                                  
#ajh    ,boaz notices ,ruth and asks    
about ,her                              
#abh    ,the ,lad shall belong to the   
,lord                                   
#acb    ,they put the ,ark upon a ,cart1
 and the ,mice beside ,it               

#adb    ,samuel and ,saul have a ,long  
,talk together                          
#adh    ,david escapes by the ,window   
#agd    ,david with the ,king's ,spear  
#aij          ,,the ,,garden ,,of ,,eden
          ,i    ,,the ,,garden ,,of     
,,eden      ,this is the oldest story in
 the world4 ,it began to be told when   
children  began to ask questions2 and   
that was very long ago4 ,the children   
said1  8,where did everything come from8
 ,who made the hills and the sea8 ,who  
made the sun and the stars80 ,and their 
fathers and mothers answered as  best   
they could4    ,in our time1 after long 
study of the earth1 there are wise men  
who know  more about these things than  
anybody knew when the world was young4  
,they  ask the earth itself1 and tell us
 what the earth says4 ,but the oldest   
story is still the best1 because it     
tells us that the world was made by     
,god4 ,and that is what we want to know4
    ,in the beginning of all beginnings1
 so the story goes1 the world was a     

wide sea without a shore4 ,up and down1 
and here and there1 and all  across1    
nothing could be seen but water4 ,and it
 was all dark1 like the  ocean at night 
when there is no moon4 ,and ,god said1  
8,let there be  light60 ,and day        
appeared4 ,and ,god made the sky2 and   
under the sky1 in  the new light of day1
 in the midst of the vast waters1 ,he   
made the land2  and grass began to grow 
upon it1 and then trees1 with leaves and
 fruit4    ,then in the sky1 the sun    
began to shine by day1 and the moon and 
stars  by night4 ,and in the sea1 first 
little fishes and then big ones1 began  
to swim2 and in the air1 the birds began
 to fly2 and on the land1 all  kinds of 
living things began to move about1 lions
 in the thick woods1  sheep in the      
fields1 cows in the pastures4 ,and at   
last1 as best of all1  ,god made man2   
and to the first man ,he said1 8,behold1
 the new earth and  all that is in it4  
,it is yours4 ,here you are to live1 and
 over all these  living things you are  

to rule40    ,thus the world and man    
came into being4 ,the story says that   
,god did all  this in six days1 but the 
earth says that every one of these six  
days  was millions of years long4 ,very1
 very slowly1 but no less wonderfully1  
was the great world made4    8,but10 the
 children said1 8if ,god1 our ,heavenly 
,father1 made the world1  how came there
 to be briers and brambles8 ,why is the 
ground so stony8  and why do men have to
 work so hard to make things grow8 and  
why have  pain and sickness and sin and 
death come in to spoil the world80      
,in the beginning of beginnings1 said   
their fathers and mothers1--and  this is
 the next oldest story1--the earth was a
 mighty plain1 on which  no rain had    
fallen since the first hour of time1 but
 a mist blew in from  the sea and       
watered the ground4 ,out of this damp   
earth1 ,god made a man1  body and legs  
and arms and head2 and when the man was 
made1 ,god breathed  upon him1 and1     
behold1 the man lived4 ,the body of     

earth was changed to  flesh and blood1  
and the man opened his eyes1 and rose up
 and began to  walk and speak4    ,and  
,god planted the ,garden of ,eden for   
the man to live in1 with great  shady   
trees1 and a river singing as it flowed 
between its flowery banks4  ,then ,god  
brought to the man all the beasts and   
birds1 and the man gave  each a name1   
and they played together in the sunny   
fields4    ,but still the man was very  
lonely4 ,then ,god put the man to sleep1
 and  while he slept ,god took out one  
of the man's ribs and of it made a      
woman4 ,and the man waked and saw the   
woman1 and he took her by the hand1  and
 was very glad4 ,the man's name was     
,adam1 and the woman's name was  ,eve4  
,now1 ,god had showed ,adam two trees of
 the ,garden4 ,one was a ,tree of       
,life3 whoever ate of the fruit of it   
would live forever4 ,the other was a    
,tree of ,knowledge3 whoever ate of the 
fruit of it would know both good  and   
evil4 ,and ,god had said that these     

trees must not be touched4 ,but one     
time1 as ,mother ,eve was walking in the
 pleasant shadow of the ,tree of        
,knowledge1 she saw a serpent4 ,this1   
you understand1 was long ago1 when      
strange things happened as they do in   
fairy stories4 ,all the animals  were   
friendly and knew how to talk4 ,so ,eve 
was not afraid1 nor was she  surprised  
to hear the serpent speak4    8,eve10 he
 said1 coiling his glittering tail about
 the tree1 8this is  good fruit2 why do 
you never taste it80    8,serpent10 said
 ,eve1 8this is forbidden fruit4 ,god   
has told us not to  touch it40    8,but 
see10 replied the serpent1 winking his  
bright eyes1 8see how it  shines among  
the leaves4 ,surely such fair fruit can 
do no harm4 ,indeed1  a little taste    
will make you the wisest woman in the   
world60    ,and foolish ,eve listened   
and was tempted4 ,she looked again at   
the bright  and luscious fruit1 and took
 of it and ate it1 and gave to ,adam and
 he  ate it4    ,then trouble came4     

,that is what always follows            
disobedience4 ,adam and  ,eve began to  
consider what they had done1 and they   
were sorry and  afraid4 ,now1 every day1
 in the ,garden of ,eden1 ,god used to  
come1 as the  evening shadows           
lengthened1 and walk among the trees in 
the cool of the  twilight2 but that day1
 ,adam and ,eve hid themselves4 ,so ,god
 called1  8,adam1 ,eve1 where are you8  
,why do you hide yourselves8 ,have you  
eaten of  the fruit of the forbidden    
tree80    ,and ,adam came and said1 8,it
 was ,eve's fault3 she gave it to me40  
,and ,eve  said1 8,it was the serpent's 
fault3 he tempted me40 ,as for the      
serpent1  there was nobody else upon    
whom he could cast the blame4    ,so    
,god said that the serpent and all      
serpents after him should crawl  upon   
the ground4 ,he sent ,adam and ,eve out 
of the garden1 and1 at the  gate1 to    
keep them from coming back1 he set      
angels with flaming swords4  ,thus the  
good world was spoiled4 ,outside the    

garden gate1 the earth was  thick with  
briers and brambles4          ,,ii      
,,noah',s ,,ark      ,and then1 what    
happened8 ,after ,adam and ,eve had     
disobeyed ,god1 and had  been driven out
 of the ,garden of ,eden into the world 
of briers and  brambles1 then what      
happened8 8,tell us10 cried the         
children1 8another  story of the        
beginning of the world40 ,and their     
fathers and mothers1 in  answer1 told   
what their grandfathers and grandmothers
 had told them4    ,the first           
disobedience was like the first little  
flame which is touched  to a heap of dry
 wood4 ,it grew and grew4 ,adam and ,eve
 had two sons1 ,cain  and ,abel4 ,cain  
became a farmer1 and ,abel became a     
shepherd4 ,one time  they brought each  
an offering to give to ,god4 ,cain      
brought fruit from  his farm1 and ,abel 
brought lambs from his flock4 ,but ,god 
looked at their  hearts1 and ,he was    
pleased with ,abel's offering1 but      
,cain's ,he would not  take4 ,and ,cain 

was very angry with ,god and with his   
brother4 ,then one  day when the two    
brothers were in the field together1    
,cain quarreled  with ,abel and struck  
him and killed him4    ,and ,god said1  
8,where is ,abel thy brother80    ,and  
,cain said1 8,am ,i my brother's        
keeper80    ,thus he sinned both in word
 and in deed2 and ,god had to send him  
away  into the wild deserts4 ,all this  
was very terrible for ,adam and ,eve4   
,thus  while briers and brambles grew in
 the ground1 evil and sorrow grew in    
the hearts of men4    ,now1 after many  
years1 the men and women and even the   
little children  were all so bad that   
there was no way to make them better4   
,the only  thing to do was to destroy   
them1 and begin the world all over      
again4 ,but  there was one good family4 
,noah and his wife1 and their three     
sons1  ,shem1 ,ham1 and ,japheth and    
their wives1 minded what ,god told them4
 ,so  ,god said to ,noah1 8,i will      
destroy all these wicked people1 but ,i 

will  save you and yours4 ,i will wash  
the whole earth clean with a great      
flood4 ,you must make a boat1 and you   
and your wife1 and your sons and  their 
wives must get into it4 ,and you must   
take all the animals with  you1 two of  
every kind1 with which to start the     
world again after the  flood is over40  
,noah began1 therefore1 to build a boat4
 ,in the middle of a wide field1  he and
 his sons brought beams and boards      
together and set to work4 ,the  boat was
 like a box1 and it was called the ,ark1
 because that means a  box4 ,it had a   
big door in the side1 and all around1   
near the top1 ran a  line of windows4   
,and inside all the cracks were filled  
with pitch1 to  keep the water out4     
,before long1 the neighbors came1 and   
said1 8,what are you doing1 ,noah80     
,and ,noah answered1 8,i am building a  
boat40    8,but10 said the neighbors1   
8this is no place for a boat4 ,a boat is
 of no  use without water4 ,who ever    
heard of a boat in the middle of a      

meadow80    ,but ,noah said1 8,here1    
where we stand1 in this dry field1 the  
water shall  be as deep as the highest  
hills are high40 ,then ,noah told them  
of the  coming flood1 and tried to get  
them to stop their bad ways1 that they  
might live1 and not be drowned4 ,but the
 neighbors only laughed at ,noah1  and  
said he must be crazy to build a boat on
 dry land1 and so they went  back to    
their wicked lives4 ,sometimes1 when it 
rained1 they thought of  ,noah1 but the 
rain cleared away1 and they laughed     
again1 and were worse  than ever4    ,at
 last1 the great day came1 with clouds  
and thunder4 ,early that  morning1 the  
animals began to come from near and far1
 lions and bears1  and sheep and oxen1  
camels and elephants1 and cats and dogs1
 two by two  they jumped and crawled and
 ran and flew into the ,ark4 ,when they 
were  all in1 ,noah and his wife1 and   
,shem1 ,ham1 and ,japheth and           
,illustration3 ,,the ,,ark ,,rests ,,on 
,,the ,,top ,,of ,a ,,mountain    their 

wives went in after them1 and the door  
was shut4 ,and when the door  was shut1 
the rain came4    ,first1 it rained as  
if a little brook were tumbling down out
 of the sky1  and then the brook changed
 into a river1 and the river into a     
pond1 and  the pond into a lake1 and the
 lake into an ocean1 and all the air was
  full of water as the sea is full of   
waves4 ,the water filled the streets  of
 towns1 and crept into the doors of     
houses1 and climbed step after  step    
upstairs1 till all the roofs were       
covered4 ,by and by1 nothing was  to be 
seen in all the earth but the ,ark      
floating on the flood4 ,and when  ,noah 
looked out of the window of the ,ark1   
the world appeared as it did  in the    
beginning of beginnings1 a wide waste of
 water4 ,and still it  rained1 and      
rained4    ,at last1 after days and     
days1 nobody knows how long1 the rain   
ceased1  and the sun came out1 and the  
flood began to go down4 ,and one day1   
there  was a grinding noise as if the   

,ark had touched the ground1 and ,noah  
looked1 and1 behold1 the ,ark had landed
 on the top of a mountain1 which  was   
like a little island in the deep sea4   
,by and by1 ,noah sent out a  dove1 and 
the dove flew here and there and found  
no rest for the sole of  her foot1 and  
so came back4 ,and again1 after a week1 
,noah sent the dove  a second time1 and 
now she brought back a leaf plucked from
 an olive  tree4 ,thus ,noah knew that  
the water had gone down below the       
treetops4  ,once more he sent the dove1 
and this time she found a place to make 
a  nest4    ,then ,noah opened the wide 
door of the ,ark1 and all the world was 
green  and fresh and shining in the sun4
 ,and there on the top of the mountain1 
which is called ,ararat1 ,noah and his  
family thanked ,god for their           
deliverance1 and all the beasts and     
birds1 each in his own way1 said  ,amen4
 ,and across the sky was a gleaming     
rainbow1 from one hill to  another over 
the glistening earth4 ,and ,god said to 

,noah1 8,behold the  bow6 ,it is the    
sign of my promise that ,i will never   
again destroy the  earth4 ,when the rain
 falls and men begin to be afraid1 then 
shall the  sun shine through the wet    
clouds1 and the bow shall be painted in 
the  sky40 ,thus1 with the prayers of   
,noah and with the promise of ,god1 the 
life of man began anew4          ,,iii  
,,the ,,adventures ,,of ,,lot      ,once
 upon a time1 when the world was still  
young1 there was a lad named  ,lot4 ,his
 father and mother were dead1 and he    
lived with his ,uncle  ,abraham and his 
,aunt ,sarah4    ,in the place where    
,lot lived1 the people believed that the
 moon was ,god4  ,they looked up into   
the sky at night1 and saw the shining   
moon1 and it  seemed to them the most   
beautiful and most wonderful sight in   
the world1  and they said their prayers 
to it4 ,but ,abraham knew better than   
that4 ,he  knew that ,god who made the  
earth made the moon also4 ,because      
,abraham  would not go to the           

moon-church1 his neighbors disliked him4
 ,so at last  he made up his mind to    
move away4 ,one night1 in a dream1 he   
heard the  voice of ,god1 and ,god told 
him to go4 ,and1 the next day1 he took  
,sarah  and ,lot1 and started out to    
find a better place to live in4 ,thus   
,lot got  his first look at the wide    
world4    ,abraham and ,sarah and ,lot  
rode on the backs of camels1 but they   
had to  go very slowly because they took
 with them all their sheep and cows4 ,so
  they journeyed and they journeyed till
 by and by they came to a great  river1 
called the ,euphrates4 ,and then they   
journeyed and they journeyed  till by   
and by they came to another river1      
called the ,jordan1 in a deep  valley4  
,and there1 between the ,jordan and the 
,mediterranean ,sea1--the  place is on  
the map1--they found a pleasant land    
which they liked much4  ,on account of  
their flocks and herds they could not   
settle down and stay  long in one place1
 so they wandered here and there over   

the green  country1 stopping to rest now
 under a spreading oak1 and now in the  
shadow of a great rock2 and they slept  
in tents4    ,but1 after a while1 they  
had so many sheep and lambs1 and cows   
and  calves1 that it was hard to find a 
pasture big enough to feed them all4    
,when they came to a spring of water1   
and all wanted to drink at the same     
time1 there was great confusion2 and    
sometimes the herdsmen fought about  it4
 ,so one day ,abraham said to ,lot1     
8,there are now so many cattle that  we 
had better divide them into two         
companies1 and pasture them in          
different places4 ,you take yours and go
 your way1 and ,i will take mine  and go
 my way4 ,here is a high hill1 from     
which we may see all the land4  ,let us 
climb up and look1 and you shall choose 
which part you will  take40 ,so they    
climbed up the hill1 and looked out over
 the land4 ,to  the north were rocky    
hills1 to the south were wild deserts1  
to the west  was the sea1 but to the    

east was a green plain4 ,in the plain   
were rich  pastures1 and groves of trees
 with the white houses of little towns  
among them1 and a river flowing by1 so  
that it looked like the ,garden of      
,eden4 ,this pleased ,lot4 ,he said to  
himself1 8,my ,uncle ,abraham has given 
me my choice1 and ,i will choose the    
best there is40 ,so he chose the  plain1
 leaving ,abraham the stony hills4      
,now1 people who think only of          
themselves1 and take the best without   
regard to others1 sometimes get the     
worst4 ,and this is very likely to be   
the case with those who choose that     
which is easy instead of that which  is 
hard4 ,so it was with ,lot4 ,the plain  
was not so pleasant as he  thought4 ,it 
had once been the bed of a salt sea1 and
 in some places the  salt lay upon the  
ground1 and there were salt springs4    
,and near by there  was a dreadful swamp
 where the mud was mixed with oil4      
,before ,lot had  been long at          
,sodom1--for this was the name of the   

town in which he  lived1--there came    
four kings with long names and fierce   
soldiers1 and  they drove the people out
 of their houses1 and back into the     
swamp1 and  they captured them and      
carried them away4 ,abraham1 when he    
heard of it1  took all his herdsmen1 and
 armed them with swords and clubs1 and  
they  attacked the four kings by night  
when they were asleep1 and rescued ,lot 
and his neighbors4 ,but it was all very 
unpleasant for ,lot4    ,the people of  
,sodom had never been good people1 but  
after this they were  worse than ever4  
,it troubled ,lot greatly4 ,sometimes he
 thought of moving  away1 but his wife  
liked the place1 and so did their two   
daughters3 so  he stayed4 ,he reproved  
his bad neighbors1 but that did no good2
 he only  made himself unpopular4    ,at
 last1 one hot day1 as ,abraham sat in  
the door of his tent under the  shade of
 the oaks1 he saw three men coming4 ,and
 he rose up and ran to  meet them1 for  
he was very kind to strangers4 8,come10 

he said1 8and rest  here in the cool    
shade1 and my wife shall get you        
something to eat40 ,so  the strangers   
stopped1 and ,sarah made a fire and     
baked some cakes and  broiled some meat1
 and brought out curds and whey1 and set
 the table4  ,and after supper1 the men 
looked towards ,sodom1 and one of them  
said1  8,what kind of a place is that8  
,we hear sad things about it40 ,and     
,abraham  said1 8,i have a nephew who   
lives there1 and he tells me that it is 
a  very wicked place indeed40 ,and the  
men said1 8,we are going to see with    
our own eyes and hear with our own      
ears40 ,so they went on down the road   
to ,sodom4    ,now1 when they came to   
the town1 there was ,lot sitting by the 
gate1 and  he was glad to see them1 and 
took them to his house and was very nice
 to  them4 ,but that night1 when ,lot's 
neighbors found that he had company1    
they came about the house1 a great crowd
 of them1 hooting and throwing  stones1 
and tried to break in the door to kill  

them4 ,so the strangers  saw with their 
own eyes and heard with their own ears4 
,then1 early in the morning before the  
sun was up1 the visitors wakened  ,lot4 
8,come10 they cried1 8get up and escape 
out of this place1 for this  very day it
 shall be destroyed40 ,and the visitors 
hurried them1 pointing  to the sky1 and 
crying that the storm was coming and the
 time was short4  8,quick60 they said2  
8run for your lives6 ,do not even look  
back4 ,go to  the mountain40 ,and as    
they came out of the house1 the sky was 
of the  color of copper and of iron1 and
 a fearful wind began to blow1 and the  
lightning flashed and the thunder       
roared4 ,and1 as they came out of the   
town1 the earth quaked1 and the springs 
of salt and of oil were broken1  and    
salt and oil and pitch burst up into the
 air in the great swamp1 and  the       
lightning set them on fire1 and the wind
 blew them on the town4    ,so ,lot ran 
and his daughters ran1 and at first his 
wife ran with them4  ,but ,lot's wife   

was very fond of ,sodom4 ,bad as it was1
 she liked it4 ,she  could not bear to  
leave it4 ,she stopped and looked back1 
only for a  moment1 but in that moment  
the storm of fire and brimstone overtook
 her4  ,there she fell1 and the drifting
 sand and whirling salt of the tempest  
buried her4    ,the next day1 as soon as
 it was light1 ,abraham arose and looked
 toward  ,sodom1 and all the sky was    
black with smoke4 ,as for ,lot's wife1  
nothing  was left of her but a pillar of
 salt4          ,,iv    ,,isaac ,,and   
,,rebekah      ,abraham had a son named 
,isaac4 ,one time1 when ,isaac was but a
 little  lad1 he had a strange adventure
 in which he very nearly lost his life4 
,the people of that land believed that  
,god wishes us to give ,him the very    
best we have4 ,and that is right1 if we 
give ,him our best by using it so  as to
 please ,him4 ,but they said that the   
thing to do with our best is to  burn   
it4 ,so they would make a heap of       
stones1 and put wood upon it1 and  place

 their best on the wood1 and set fire to
 it1 and the flame and  smoke would rise
 into the sky4 ,that was called a       
sacrifice4 ,when they  were very glad   
and wished to thank ,god1 and when they 
were in great  trouble and desired ,god 
to help them1 they offered a sacrifice4 
,now there was nothing in the world for 
which ,abraham and ,sarah cared so  much
 as they did for their little boy       
,isaac4 ,he was their very best4 ,and   
so it came into ,abraham's heart that   
there was no way by which he could  so  
plainly show ,god the greatness of his  
faith and love as to give ,him  ,isaac4 
,and early one morning ,abraham wakened 
,isaac1 and said1 8,we are  going on a  
long journey to-day1 my son40 ,and      
,isaac was glad1 because he  loved to go
 on journeys with his father4    ,so off
 they went1 along the green road1 and   
,isaac was very happy1 but  ,abraham was
 very sad1 and ,sarah in her tent was   
crying as if her heart  would break4 ,at
 last they came to a hill1 and ,abraham 

cut a bundle of  wood1 and let ,isaac   
carry it on his back2 but ,abraham      
carried a knife4  ,now ,isaac had often 
seen the sacrifice of lambs1 so as they 
climbed the  hill he said1 8,father1    
here is the fire and the wood1 but where
 is the  lamb80    ,and ,abraham        
answered1 8,god will provide himself a  
lamb40    ,but at the top of the hill1  
when the wood was piled upon the ground1
  ,abraham with tears in his eyes took  
,isaac and tied his hands and his  feet1
 and laid him on the wood4    ,then     
suddenly there came a quick voice in    
,abraham's heart1 and the voice  called1
 8,abraham6 ,abraham60 ,and ,abraham    
said1 8,here am ,i40 ,and the voice     
said1 8,do not touch the lad4 ,behind   
you in the thicket is a ram4 ,take      
that40 ,so ,abraham untied his little   
boy1 and kissed him1 and sacrificed  the
 ram4 ,thus he showed how much he was   
willing to do for ,god1 but ,isaac  was 
spared4 ,and ,god taught ,abraham that  
,he does not wish for such a  sacrifice 

as that4 ,the best thing to do with     
little boys is to love  them1 and teach 
them1 and bring them up to be obedient  
and useful4    ,so ,isaac grew to be a  
fine young man1 and his father thought  
that it was  high time for him to be    
getting married4 ,in their country the  
fathers  and mothers attended to all    
that1 but ,isaac's mother was now dead1 
so  ,abraham had to manage by himself4  
,one day he sent for his steward1       
,eliezer1 who attended to his most      
important business1 and said1           
8,eliezer1 ,i want you to go back to the
 old country1 and find a wife for       
,isaac4 ,go to the place where ,i was   
brought up1 and where my folks still    
live1 and find a girl who will make him 
a good wife40    ,so ,eliezer took ten  
camels and a bag of presents of gold and
 silver1 and  away he went1 across the  
,jordan and across the ,euphrates4 ,one 
day as the  sun was setting he came to a
 well of water beside a little town4    
,women  were coming out with pitchers on

 their shoulders to draw water4 ,the    
well  was a deep pool1 with a cold      
spring at the bottom of it4 ,there were 
stone steps leading down1 and at the top
 of the steps was a trough for  camels4 
,there ,eliezer made his camels kneel   
down1 as camels do1 and he  said to     
himself1 8,i will wait till ,i see a    
girl whose looks ,i like1 and  ,i will  
ask her for a drink1 and if she says1   
#8,yes1 and ,i will give your  camels   
drink also1' then ,i will tell her about
 ,isaac40 ,so he stood and  waited1 and 
one came and another came4 ,at last came
 a maiden named  ,rebekah1 who was very 
fair to look upon4 ,and ,eliezer said1  
8,will you let  me drink a little water 
from your pitcher80 8,yes10 she said1   
8and ,i will  give your camels drink    
also40 ,then ,eliezer was very glad1 and
 in his  heart he thanked ,god1 and out 
of his bag he took two bracelets of     
gold1  one for each of the girl's arms4 
,and he said1 8,whose daughter are you8 
,is there room in your father's house   

for us to lodge80    ,she answered1 8,my
 father's name is ,bethuel1 and my      
grandfather's name is  ,nahor40         
8,what10 said ,eliezer1 8,nahor the     
brother of ,abraham80    8,yes10 said   
,rebekah1 8and we have plenty of room   
for you and your men  and your ten      
camels40    ,so she ran home before him 
and showed her mother the bracelets1 and
 her  brother ,laban ran out to meet the
 man1 and brought him into the house2   
and supper was ready1 and they asked him
 to sit down4 ,but ,eliezer said1  8,i  
must not eat till ,i have told my       
errand40 ,so they listened as he  spoke 
of ,abraham and ,isaac and ,rebekah4    
8,now10 he said1 8what will you do8     
,will you give ,rebekah to be ,isaac's  
wife80    ,and ,rebekah's mother and her
 brother said1 8,this is the ,lord's    
doing4  ,take ,rebekah1 and let her be  
the wife of ,isaac40    ,then ,eliezer  
opened his treasures and took out jewels
 of gold and jewels  of silver1 and     
beautiful embroidered things to wear1   

and gave them to  ,rebekah and her      
mother4 ,after that he sat down at the  
table1 and they  all had supper1 and    
were very happy4    ,the next day1      
,eliezer said1 8,let me go back now1    
with ,rebekah1 to my  master40 ,but they
 urged him to stay4 8,oh1 let ,rebekah  
wait10 they said1  8a little while till 
we can get her ready4 ,in a week or ten 
days1 she  may go40 ,but he said1 8,we  
ought to go at once40    ,and they      
called ,rebekah and said1 8,how shall it
 be8 ,will you go with  this man        
to-day80 ,she said1 8,i will go40 ,so   
they bade her good-by1 with  many       
prayers and blessings1 and sent her     
maids along to wait upon her2  and her  
old nurse1 ,deborah1 went with her4     
,thus they rode away on camels1 and they
 journeyed and they journeyed1  till one
 day they saw in the distance a man     
walking in the fields1 and  he was      
coming to meet them4 ,and ,rebekah said1
 8,who is this man walking  across the  
fields to meet us80 ,and ,eliezer       

replied1 8,that is my young  master1    
,isaac40 ,so ,rebekah took a veil and   
covered herself1 for that  was the      
custom of the country4 ,and ,isaac      
brought her into his mother's  tent1 and
 she became his wife4 ,and he loved her2
 and ,isaac was comforted  after his    
mother's death4          ,v    ,,the    
,,mess ,,of ,,pottage      ,isaac and   
,rebekah had two sons4 ,the elder was a 
red-headed lad1 called  ,esau4 ,the     
younger was named ,jacob4 ,the two boys 
were quite different4  ,esau was very   
fond of hunting4 ,he loved to get away  
into the deep woods  and to climb the   
steep hills4 ,for days at a time he     
would roam about1  with his bow and     
arrows1 and when he came home he always 
had something  in his hand1 some bird or
 beast which he had shot4 ,sometimes he 
brought  back a deer1 and he knew how to
 cook the venison just as his father    
liked it4 ,and this pleased ,isaac4     
,jacob was a home boy1 who preferred to 
stay about the house4 ,he worked in the 

garden1 and took care of the  sheep and 
cows1 and helped his mother4 ,and that  
pleased ,rebekah4 ,so  ,isaac's favorite
 son was ,esau1 and ,rebekah's favorite 
son was ,jacob4 ,but  ,esau1 being the  
elder1 had the birthright4 ,that is1 he 
was the one to be  the head of the      
family after the death of his father4   
,but one day1 ,esau came home from      
hunting1 very tired and hungry4 ,and he 
found ,jacob cooking something over the 
fire4 ,the fire was blazing1 and  the   
kettle was boiling away at a great rate1
 and the most appetizing  odors were    
coming out of it1 and in the kettle was 
a mess of pottage1  which was made of   
lentils1 and was something like peas1   
and something  like beans1 and something
 like chicken broth1 and very nice to   
eat4    ,so ,esau said1 8,give me some  
of your pottage40    ,but ,jacob said1  
8,i will sell it to you4 ,give me your  
birthright1 and ,i  will give you my    
pottage40    ,then ,esau said to        
himself1 8,what is the good of my       

birthright when ,i am  hungry6 ,i can't 
eat it4 ,i can't even see it4 ,i will   
not have it for  years and years4 ,but  
here is the pottage now40 ,and he said1 
8,it is a  bargain4 ,give me the        
pottage40 ,then ,jacob emptied the      
kettle into the  dish1 and hungry ,esau1
 thinking no more of the birthright1 sat
 down and  ate the hot pottage with a   
big spoon4    ,then years passed and    
years passed1 and their father ,isaac   
became an old  man4 ,his eyes were dim1 
and he could not see1 and he felt that  
his life  was coming to an end4 ,so1 one
 morning1 he called ,esau and said1     
8,esau1 ,i  wish you would take your bow
 and arrows1 and go out and kill a deer4
 ,i  think that a taste of your venison 
will make me strong4 ,and ,i want to be 
strong to-day1 because ,i intend to give
 you my blessing40    ,so ,esau took his
 bow and arrows1 and away he went to    
find a deer4    ,but ,rebekah had heard 
what ,isaac said to ,esau1 and when     
,esau1 with his  red head1 had          

disappeared among the trees1 she called 
,jacob4 8,jacob10  she said1 8your      
father is not feeling so well to-day4   
,he thinks that he  is about to die1 and
 he means to give ,esau the blessing of 
the  birthright4 ,now you go out into   
the pasture and bring me two little     
goats1 and kill them1 and ,i will cook  
the meat of the goats so that your      
father will think it is the sweetest    
venison he ever ate1 and he will  give  
you the blessing which he has for       
,esau40    ,but ,jacob said1 8,father   
will know at once that ,i am not ,esau1 
for ,esau's  hands are covered with     
hair1 but mine are smooth4 ,he will find
 me out1  and be very angry with me40   
,and ,rebekah answered1 8,i will manage 
that1 my son40    ,then ,jacob went out 
into the pastures1 and killed two kids  
of the goats1  and his mother cooked the
 meat so that it tasted like the        
sweetest  venison4 ,and she dressed     
,jacob in ,esau's best clothes1 and on  
his neck  and arms and hands she put    

some of the skin of the goats1 and she  
gave  him the meat and bread1 and in he 
went to feed his father4    ,now ,isaac 
was so old and sick that he lay in bed4 
,so ,jacob came into  his room1 and     
said1 8,sit up1 father1 and taste the   
nice venison which ,i  have brought     
you40    ,and ,isaac said1 8,how have   
you come so soon1 my son80    ,and      
,jacob answered1 8,god showed me a deer 
in the first field1 and ,i  killed it   
with the first arrow40    ,but ,isaac   
was not satisfied4 ,he sat up in bed and
 said1 8,come near1 my  son1 and let me 
feel you1 that ,i may know whether you  
are truly my son  ,esau or not40 ,and   
,jacob went near and his father felt    
him1 and the  clothes were ,esau's      
clothes and his hands and neck were     
rough and hairy  like ,esau's4 ,and     
,isaac said1 8,the voice is ,jacob's    
voice1 but the hands  are the hands of  
,esau40    ,and he asked again1 8,are   
you my son ,esau80    ,and ,jacob lied  
again1 and said1 8,i am40    ,and ,isaac

 said1 8,bring me1 then1 the meat that  
,i may eat it40 ,and when  he had eaten 
he said1 8,come near now and kiss me1 my
 son40 ,and ,jacob  kissed him4 ,and    
,isaac gave ,jacob his best blessing1   
the blessing of the  birthright4 ,and   
,jacob went away4    ,now ,jacob had    
hardly gone out of the room1 when ,esau 
came4 8,here ,i am1  father10 he cried1 
8back from the hunting1 and here is the 
meat which ,i  have cooked just as you  
always like it4 ,come1 eat it1 and bless
 me40    ,and ,isaac said1 8,who are    
you80    ,illustration3 ,,the ,,blessing
 ,,of ,,the ,,second ,,son    ,and he   
answered1 8,i am your son1 your eldest  
son1 ,esau40    ,and ,isaac trembled    
very exceedingly1 and said1 8,who came1 
then1 in your  place8 ,who brought      
venison and ,i ate it1 and gave him your
 blessing80    ,then ,esau cried with a 
great and exceeding bitter cry1 8,bless 
me1 even  me also1 ,o my father60       
,and ,isaac said1 8,it was your brother1
 ,jacob4 ,he lied to me1 and stole  your

 blessing4 ,but ,i have blessed him1 and
 ,i cannot change it4 ,i have  made him 
the head of the family after my death40 
,and ,esau said to his father1 8,have   
you but one blessing1 my father8  bless 
me1 even me also1 ,o my father60 ,and   
,esau cried aloud4 ,then ,isaac  blessed
 ,esau also1 but he could not give him  
so good a blessing as he  had given     
,jacob4    ,now ,rebekah had been       
thinking for a good while that it would 
be well for  ,jacob to visit his        
cousins1 who lived in the old country1  
beyond the  rivers4 ,for there was a    
family in the neighborhood named ,heth1 
whom  ,isaac and ,rebekah did not like1 
and they had a number of daughters1 and 
,jacob used to go to see them4 ,it      
troubled ,rebekah greatly1 and more than
  once she had said to ,isaac1 8,those  
,heth girls worry me almost to death4   
,how dreadful it would be if ,jacob     
should marry one of them60 ,and ,isaac  
had said1 8,let him go and see his      
cousins4 ,a change will do him good40   

,so now1 when ,jacob's behavior had     
displeased his father and made his      
brother so angry with him that he       
threatened to kill him1 ,rebekah felt   
that the time had come4 ,she packed up  
,jacob's things1 and sent him off  for a
 long visit at his ,uncle ,laban's4     
,,vi    ,,jacob',s ,,visit      ,so     
,jacob mounted a camel1 and away he     
went4 ,and when the sun began to  set1  
he looked about him1 and he was in a    
wild country where nobody  lived1 and   
where the only roof in sight was the    
round roof of the sky4  ,so he lay down 
on the hard ground and put a smooth     
stone under his head  for a pillow1 and 
went to sleep1 for he was tired4 ,and in
 the night he  dreamed a dream4    ,he  
thought that the night sky was all      
bright above him1 and that there  was a 
ladder of light reaching from earth to  
heaven1 and that there were  angels     
climbing up and climbing down1 and that 
at the top of the ladder  was ,god      
himself1 who said1 8,jacob1 this land on

 which you sleep shall  some time belong
 to you and to your children1 and your  
family shall grow  into a great nation  
and be a blessing to the world40 ,then  
all was dark  again1 till the morning   
sun shone upon the sleeper4    ,that    
morning1 after ,jacob had said his      
prayers1 he took the stone which  he had
 used for a pillow1 and a lot of other  
stones1 and piled them up  to mark the  
place4 ,and he asked ,god to protect him
 from all the dangers  of the way and to
 bring him home again in peace2 and he  
promised that he  would try to please   
,god4 ,for1 in spite of the mean things 
that he had  done1 there was a great    
deal of good in ,jacob4    ,so he       
journeyed and he journeyed1 and by and  
by he came to the river  ,jordan1 and   
his camel carried him over1 wading      
across a shallow place4  ,and then he   
journeyed1 and he journeyed1 and he     
journeyed1 till by and  by he came to   
the river ,euphrates1 and even over this
 wide river did his  camel carry him1   

finding a shallow place and wading      
across4 ,and one day  about noon he came
 to a well in a field1 and three flocks 
of sheep were  lying by it1 but the     
mouth of the well was covered with a    
great stone4    ,and ,jacob spoke to the
 shepherds and said1 8,brothers1 where  
do you  live80    ,and they said1 8,we  
live in ,haran40 ,and that was the very 
place for which  ,jacob was looking4    
,and ,jacob said1 8,do you know anybody 
there named ,laban80    8,yes10 they    
said1 8we know him40    8,is he well80  
8,yes1 he is very well1 and there at    
this moment comes his daughter  ,rachel 
with the sheep40    ,and ,jacob looked1 
and across the field1 leading a flock of
 sheep1 came  his ,cousin ,rachel4 ,and 
,jacob rolled away the stone from the   
well's  mouth1 and drew water for       
,rachel's sheep4 ,and he said1 8,i am   
your ,cousin  ,jacob1 the son of your   
,uncle ,isaac and your ,aunt ,rebekah1  
and ,i have  come to make you a long    
visit40 ,and there were tears in his    

eyes1  because he was so glad to be at  
the end of his journey4 ,and he kissed  
,rachel4 ,and ,rachel left the sheep1   
and ran and told her father that  ,jacob
 had come4 ,and when ,laban heard that1 
he ran out to meet ,jacob and  he       
embraced him and kissed him1 and brought
 him to his house4    ,the next day1    
,jacob began to help in the work of the 
farm4 ,he milked the  cows and watered  
the cattle1 and made himself generally  
useful2 but the  work which he liked    
best was the tending of the sheep4      
,every day1  whether there was rain or  
shine1 he went out into the pastures and
  helped ,rachel keep the sheep4 ,and   
this he did partly because he liked     
sheep1 but still more because he liked  
,rachel4 ,so a month passed1 and  one   
day his ,uncle ,laban said1 8,jacob1 ,i 
don't think that you ought to  work     
without any pay just because you are my 
nephew4 ,stay with me and  let me give  
you wages1 like the other men4 ,what    
shall ,i give you80    ,and ,jacob said1

 8,uncle ,laban1 ,i would like very much
 to have your  daughter ,rachel40       
,and ,laban said1 8,jacob1 ,i would     
rather have her marry you than any other
  man ,i know40 ,and ,rachel felt just  
the same way4 ,so it was settled that   
,jacob should work for ,laban seven     
years1 and then should marry ,rachel4   
,so ,jacob served seven years for       
,rachel1 and they seemed to him but a   
few  days for the love he had to her4   
,now this1 you understand1 was a long   
time ago1 and far away in ,asia1  beyond
 the ,euphrates4 ,and they had a strange
 custom of marrying two  wives1 or      
three1 and sometimes more4 ,so when the 
seven years were over1  ,laban told     
,jacob that if he wished to marry       
,rachel1 he must first marry  her older 
sister ,leah4 8,in our country10 he     
said1 8we must not give the  younger    
before the older40 ,so ,jacob had to    
marry ,leah1 who was a good  girl but   
very near-sighted1 and serve seven more 
years for ,rachel4 ,this  was pretty    

hard for both ,rachel and ,jacob1 but he
 did it1 and when the  seven added years
 were passed they were married with     
great joy4    ,then ,jacob felt that it 
was time for him to go home1 for he had 
gone to  his ,uncle ,laban's to spend a 
month and had stayed fourteen years4    
,all  this time his flocks and herds had
 grown in number4 ,for ,laban gave him  
sheep and goats1 in payment for his     
work4 ,but when ,laban said1 8,this     
year you shall have for your wages all  
the brown sheep and all the  speckled   
goats10 behold1 that year almost all of 
the goats were speckled  and almost all 
of the sheep were brown4 ,so ,jacob got 
to be very rich4 ,he  had sheep and     
goats1 and cows and camels1 and         
men-servants and  maid-servants4 ,but   
,jacob was so useful to ,laban that     
,laban was not  willing to let him go4  
,finally1 one day1 when ,laban was away 
off shearing sheep1 ,jacob and  ,rachel 
and ,leah gathered all their belongings 
together1 and all their  cattle1 and    

started for ,jacob's home without saying
 good-by4 ,off they  went1 over the     
river4 ,and though ,laban followed and  
begged them to come  back1 they would   
not go4 ,then they journeyed and they   
journeyed1 till at  last ,jacob saw in  
the distance the hills of his own land4 
,then ,jacob began to remember ,esau and
 how he had threatened to kill him4     
,and he sent messengers to ,esau to tell
 him that he was coming back1 and  to   
find how ,esau felt4 ,and the messengers
 returned and said1 8,esau is  coming to
 meet you with four hundred men40 ,and  
,jacob was greatly afraid  and          
distressed4    ,and that night he had a 
dream4 ,he dreamed that he was wrestling
 with a  man2 he was trying to throw the
 man1 and the man was trying to throw   
him2 and neither could master the other4
 ,at last1 as the sun rose1 ,jacob      
found that the man was an angel1 and the
 angel said1 8,let me go1 for the  day  
is breaking40 ,and ,jacob said1 8,i will
 not let you go until you bless  me40   

,so the angel blessed ,jacob1 and he    
awoke4 ,and there across the wide  field
 was his brother ,esau4 ,and ,jacob     
stood up and bowed down before his      
brother seven times1 because he did not 
know whether ,esau was a friend  or an  
enemy4 ,but ,esau ran to meet him1 and  
threw his arms about his neck  and      
kissed him4    ,and ,esau said1 8,who   
are these with you80    ,and ,jacob     
said1 8,esau1 this is my wife ,rachel1  
and this is my wife ,leah4  ,and ,i have
 brought you a present1 all this drove  
of cattle40    ,but ,esau said1 8,thank 
you1 ,jacob2 keep the cattle4 ,i have   
enough of my  own40 ,thus ,esau forgave 
,jacob for the mean things that he had  
done4          ,,vii    ,,the ,,coat    
,,of ,,many ,,colors      ,of all his   
twelve sons1 ,jacob loved ,joseph best4 
,most of the others were  grown men1 who
 were away all day at work in the       
fields2 ,benjamin was a  baby4 ,but     
,joseph was a bright lad who was a great
 companion for his  father4 ,and he was 

a good lad1 who could always be trusted 
to do what  was right1 while some of the
 others gave ,jacob a great deal of     
trouble4    ,joseph's older brothers    
were stout farmers who spent most of    
their time  attending to their cattle4  
,they expected to milk the cows and feed
 the  sheep and ride the camels all the 
rest of their days1 and wished for      
nothing better4 ,but ,joseph1 even as a 
boy1 had made up his mind to be a  great
 person1 a prince1 or perhaps a king4   
,he thought that he would like  to sit  
on a throne1 and wear a crown1 and be a 
mighty ruler4 ,and this  his father     
liked2 for ,jacob1 too1 in his own      
boyhood1 had made long  plans4 ,so his  
father gave him a coat such as princes  
wore1 a coat of  many colors2 and he    
wore it every day1 even when he went to 
tend the  sheep1--a shining coat1       
reaching to his heels4 ,but his older   
brothers  teased him1 and called him    
names1 and disliked him4    ,one time1  
when they came home from the pasture in 

their rough clothes1  and found ,joseph 
wearing his fine coat1 they said1       
8,well1 ,prince ,joseph1  what have you 
been dreaming about to-day80    ,and    
,joseph said1 8,i dreamed that we were  
all binding sheaves in the  field1 and  
my sheaf arose and stood upright1 and   
your sheaves came round  about1 and     
bowed down to my sheaf40    ,and that   
made his brothers very angry4 8,what10  
they said1 8shall you be  ruler over    
us80    ,another time1 after the cows   
were milked and the older brothers came 
in  to wash their hands for supper1 and 
found ,joseph with his bright coat      
flapping about his ankles1 they said1   
8,well1 ,king ,joseph1 what foolish     
dream have you had to-day80    ,and     
,joseph answered1 8,to-day ,i dreamed   
that the sun and the moon and  eleven   
stars bowed down to me40    ,even his   
father did not quite like that4 8,what10
 he said1 8shall your  mother and ,i and
 your brothers bow down to you80    ,but
 his brothers hated him4 ,and once1 when

 four of them so misbehaved  themselves 
that ,joseph told his father what they  
had done1 they hated  him yet the more4 
,now1 when ,joseph was seventeen years  
old1 his brothers took the sheep  one   
day and led them so far in search of    
green pastures that their  father did   
not know where they had gone4 ,so he    
called ,joseph4 8,joseph10  he said1    
8you know which way your brothers went2 
go after them and see  if all is well   
with them and with the flocks1 and bring
 me word again40  ,so ,joseph started   
out to find his brothers1 and here he   
searched and  there he searched1 till at
 last he found a man who knew where they
 had  gone1 and there they were4 ,so his
 brothers looked up1 and in the         
distance1 shining in the sun1 they saw  
the coat of many colors1 like a  walking
 rainbow4 ,and they said1 8,there is the
 dreamer60 ,and some said1  8,come1 now1
 let us kill him and we shall see what  
will become of his  dreams40 ,and others
 said1 8,no1 let us not kill him4 ,that 

will do us no  good4 ,let us sell him2  
we will get some money40 ,so when       
,joseph came  near1 they laid hold of   
him1 and pulled off his colored coat1   
and put  him down in a deep pit till    
they should make up their minds what to 
do  with him1 whether to kill him or to 
sell him4    ,there1 then1 was ,joseph1 
in the pit1 calling and crying2 and his 
brothers sat down to eat their supper4  
,and as they ate1 they saw in the       
distance a caravan of merchants on their
 camels1 riding down from ,gilead  with 
bags of spices and balm and myrrh1 to   
,egypt4 ,and as they passed1  the       
brothers hailed them and said1 8,we have
 a boy to sell4 ,what will you  give for
 him80 ,and they pulled up ,joseph out  
of the pit1 and the  merchants looked at
 him1 and said1 8,we will give twenty   
pieces of  silver40 ,so ,joseph's       
brothers sold him for twenty pieces of  
silver4 ,and  the merchants put him on  
the back of a camel1 and away they went4
    ,then said the brothers one to      

another1 8,what shall we say to father80
    ,and some said1 8,let us kill a     
goat1 and take the coat of many colors  
and  dip it in the blood1 and tell      
father that we found it in a field40    
,and  that they did4 ,they carried the  
bloody coat to ,jacob1 and said1 8,see  
what we found4 ,is it not ,joseph's     
coat80    ,and ,jacob cried out at the  
sight of it4 8,yes10 he said1 8it is my 
son's  coat4 ,some wild beast has       
devoured him4 ,joseph is no doubt torn  
to  pieces40 ,and he mourned for him1   
day after day1 and nobody could comfort 
him4    ,but the men of the caravan     
carried ,joseph down to ,egypt1 and     
there sold  him to a man named          
,potiphar1 who    ,illustration3 ,,there
 ,,is ,,the ,,dreamer    was the captain
 of the guard and the keeper of the     
king's prison1 and he  put ,joseph into 
the prison to wait upon the prisoners4  
,the king of ,egypt was called ,pharaoh4
 ,and in ,pharaoh's prison at that  time
 were the king's chief butler and chief 

baker4 ,one morning1 when  ,joseph took 
them their breakfast1 he saw that they  
both looked very sad4    ,so he said1   
8,what is the matter8 ,why do you look  
so sad80    ,they said1 8,we have each  
had a strange dream1 and nobody can tell
 us  what it means40    ,joseph said1   
8,tell me what it was40    ,then the    
butler answered1 8,in my dream ,i saw a 
vine with three branches1  and ripe     
grapes grew upon them1 and ,i pressed   
the juice into ,pharaoh's  cup40    ,and
 ,joseph said1 8,i will tell you the    
meaning of that3 in three days1         
,pharaoh will take you out of prison1   
and you will again be his chief  butler4
 ,when that comes true1 remember me and 
bring me out of this  prison40    ,then 
the baker said1 8,in my dream1 ,i had on
 my head three baskets full  of bread   
for ,pharaoh1 and the birds came and ate
 the bread of the top  basket40    ,and 
,joseph said1 8,in three days1 ,pharaoh 
will take you out of prison and  cut off
 your head40    ,and all this came to   

pass1 for the third day was ,pharaoh's  
birthday1 and  he pardoned the chief    
butler1 and beheaded the chief baker4   
,the butler1  however1 did not remember 
,joseph4          ,,viii    ,,the       
,,seven ,,years ,,of ,,famine      ,two 
years passed by1 and ,joseph was still  
in the prison4 ,then1 one  night1       
,pharaoh dreamed4 ,and in his dream he  
stood by the river1 and  seven fat cows 
were feeding on the bank1 and seven lean
 cows came and  ate them up4 ,and he    
dreamed again1 and seven full ears of   
corn grew upon  one stalk1 and seven    
thin ears ate them up4 ,the next        
morning1 when  ,pharaoh told his dreams1
 nobody could explain them4 ,then1 at   
last1 the  chief butler remembered      
,joseph4 ,and he said to ,pharaoh1      
8,there is a  slave in the prison who   
can tell the meaning of dreams4 ,one    
time1 when  the chief baker and ,i were 
there1 he told us what our dreams meant 
and  it came true40 ,so ,pharaoh sent   
for ,joseph4 ,and ,joseph shaved himself

 and  put on his best clothes1 and went 
out of the prison into the palace4      
,and ,pharaoh told his dreams4 ,and     
,joseph said1 8,behold1 there come seven
  years of great plenty throughout all  
the land of ,egypt1 and they shall  be  
followed by seven years of famine40 ,and
 ,joseph said1 8,the thing to do  is    
this3 ,let food be laid up in           
storehouses during the good years to    
feed the people during the bad years40  
,pharaoh said1 8,you are the man to do  
it4 ,you shall be in charge of this     
business40 ,and he took off his signet  
ring and put it on ,joseph's hand1  and 
dressed him in royal robes1 and put a   
gold chain about his neck1 and  set him 
over the land of ,egypt4 ,and ,joseph   
rode through the streets in  the king's 
chariot1 and everybody bowed down before
 him4    ,then came the seven years of  
plenty1 and everything grew by handfuls4
  ,joseph made great storehouses1 and   
put into them so much grain that it     
could no more be measured than the sand 

of the sea4 ,then followed the  seven   
years of famine1 and nothing grew at    
all1 and the people were very  hungry1  
and they came to ,joseph1 and he opened 
the storehouses and sold  them food to  
eat4    ,even in ,joseph's old home1 the
 famine was upon the land1 and ,joseph's
  brothers came down to ,egypt to buy   
grain4 ,but ,benjamin1 the youngest     
brother1 they left with their father4   
,so they appeared before ,joseph1  and  
he knew them1 but they did not know him4
 ,he sat upon a throne1  ruling the land
 of ,egypt1 and the poor farmers never  
thought of their  brother ,joseph4 ,and 
,joseph punished them for their         
wickedness4    8,you men10 he said1 8are
 spies40 ,and he had them put in prison4
    ,they said1 8,we are no spies4 ,we  
are twelve sons of our father ,jacob2   
one  is with our father1 and one is     
dead2 and we have come to buy grain40   
,and ,joseph said1 8,now ,i will prove  
you4 ,let me see your other brother4 ,i 
will keep one of you in prison4 ,the    

rest of you go and carry back your      
corn1 and bring me down your other      
brother40    ,so they left ,simeon      
behind1 and returned home very sad4 ,and
 when they  opened their sacks of grain1
 there was a bag of money in the mouth  
of  each sack1 just what they had paid4 
,and they knew not what to think4 ,but  
when they told their father what had    
happened and how the governor of  the   
land wanted to see ,benjamin1 ,jacob    
would not let him go4 8,i have  lost    
,joseph10 he said1 8and now ,simeon is  
gone4 ,i will keep ,benjamin40    ,but  
by and by the grain was almost all      
eaten1 and they began to be very        
hungry1 and there was nothing to do but 
to go again to ,egypt1 and they  dared  
not go without ,benjamin4 ,so one day   
his father kissed the boy1  with tears  
in his eyes1 and let him go1 and with   
him he sent a present  in a basket for  
the governor1 balm and honey1 spice and 
myrrh1 pistachio  nuts and almonds4     
,so they came again to ,joseph's palace1

 and ,joseph's steward brought  ,simeon 
out of prison1 and told them that they  
were all to come to dinner  that day at 
noon4 ,so at noon they came1 and ,joseph
 met them1 dressed in  his splendid     
garments1 and he said1 8,is your father 
well1 the old man of  whom you spoke80  
,and they said1 8,he is well40    8,and 
is this your youngest brother80 and he  
said1 8,god be gracious unto  thee1 my  
son40    ,and suddenly he turned about  
and went into another room to hide his  
tears4 ,then he washed his face and came
 out1 and they had dinner4 ,but he  gave
 ,benjamin five times as much to eat as 
any of the others4 ,so they  had a very 
pleasant time4    ,now ,joseph had told 
his steward that when he filled the     
sacks1 he should  put into ,benjamin's  
sack a silver cup4 ,and nobody knew it  
but the  steward4 ,so early the next    
morning1 with ,simeon and ,benjamin1 off
 they  started very happily for home1   
singing as they went4 ,and by and by1   
they  heard a sound of voices following1

 and there was ,joseph's steward and    
some other men4    ,and the steward     
said1 8,stop1 you thieves1 and give me  
my master's silver  cup which you have  
stolen40    ,and the brothers stopped1  
and said1 8,we are no thieves4 ,we have 
taken  neither gold nor silver from your
 master's palace4 ,search us1 and the   
man with whom you find the cup shall    
die40    8,very well10 he said1 8the man
 with whom the cup is found shall be my 
slave40 ,so he searched the sacks1      
beginning with the oldest brother and   
ending with the youngest1 and in        
,benjamin's sack1 there was the cup6    
,and they all cried out in great grief1 
and tore their clothes1 for that  was   
the custom1 and back they went to       
,joseph's palace4 ,and ,judah1 one of   
the brothers1 spoke to ,joseph4 8,my    
lord10 he said1 8you asked to see our   
little brother1 and we brought him down4
 ,and our father said as we came  away1 
#8,if mischief befall him1 you shall    
bring down my gray hairs with  sorrow to

 the grave1' and now if we go back      
without our brother1 our  father will   
die4 ,let me take his place4 ,i will be 
your slave2 and let  him go40    ,and   
,joseph sent everybody out of the room1 
except his brothers4 ,and he  said1 8,i 
am ,joseph4 ,come near to me1 ,i pray   
you4 ,i am ,joseph your  brother1 whom  
you sold into ,egypt4 ,and ,god has made
 me ruler of all  ,egypt40 ,and as they 
were amazed1 he said1 8,do you not see  
that ,i am  indeed your brother8 ,go    
back now and bring my father1 and all   
your  flocks and herds1 and your wives  
and children1 and come and live with    
me40 ,and he kissed his brothers4 ,and  
the next day he gave them wagons  for   
his father and their wives and children1
 and sent them away4    ,so ,jacob saw  
his son ,joseph1 for whom he had mourned
 as dead4 ,and all  the family moved    
down to ,egypt1 and ,pharaoh gave them  
pastures for their  sheep4          ,,ix
    ,,the ,,burning ,,bush      ,joseph 
and his brothers had many sons and      

daughters1 and they in their  turn had  
many sons and daughters2 and even after 
they were grown up they  were all called
 the ,children of ,israel2 for ,israel1 
you remember1 was  the new name of their
 father ,jacob4    ,and years passed1   
and years passed1 and ,pharaoh died1 and
 another  ,pharaoh reigned in his stead4
 ,and the ,egyptians forgot how ,joseph 
had  saved their fathers from starving  
in the seven years of famine4 ,and they 
made the ,children of ,israel their     
slaves1 and sent them into their  fields
 to work1 and set taskmasters over them 
with whips4 ,and the new  ,pharaoh said 
to his princes1 8,the ,children of      
,israel are more and  mightier than we4 
,we must keep them from increasing40 ,so
 they made a law  that all the boy      
babies of the ,children of ,israel      
should be put to death  as soon as they 
were born4    ,now there was a man and  
his wife who had two children1 a girl of
 eight  or ten1 named ,miriam1 and a boy
 of three1 named ,aaron4 ,and just at   

the  time of this law1 there came a     
little new boy baby4 ,and his mother hid
  him1 so that the ,egyptians should not
 take him away and kill him4 ,but it  is
 very hard to hide a baby4 ,so after    
three months his mother made a  basket  
of bulrushes1 and put pitch on the      
inside to keep the water out1  and laid 
the baby in the basket1 and set the     
basket in the river1 near  the bank     
among the reeds4 ,and she told little   
,miriam to stay near1 and  see what     
would happen4 ,so ,miriam hid herself in
 the bushes and watched  and waited1 and
 by and by who should come down to the  
water but the  princess herself1 the    
daughter of ,pharaoh4 ,and the princess 
saw the  basket and sent her maid to    
fetch it4 ,and when she opened it1 there
 was  the baby4 ,and the baby began to  
cry4    ,and the princess said1 8,this  
is one of the babies of the ,children of
  ,israel40 ,and she was very sorry4    
,then ,miriam came and said1 8,princess1
 if you want a good nurse to take  care 

of the baby for you1 ,i think ,i can    
find one40    ,and the princess said1   
8,go1 find her1 and bring her to me40   
,so ,miriam went and brought the baby's 
mother4 ,and the princess said1  8,take 
this child and nurse it for me1 and ,i  
will pay you40    ,so the mother nursed 
her baby in peace1 and when he became a 
big boy1  she took him to the king's    
palace1 and he lived there with the     
princess  as if he had been a prince    
himself4 ,and his name was ,moses4      
,so years passed1 and the boy became a  
man4 ,the princess had sent him to      
school1 and he had learned all that the 
best teachers could tell him4 ,he  was  
very wise4 ,but he never forgot that he 
was one of the ,children of  ,israel4   
,when he saw his people working in the  
fields1 and the  task-masters urging    
them with whips1 he was sad and         
troubled4 ,one day1  as he passed by1   
and saw an ,egyptian beating one of the 
,children of  ,israel1 he could restrain
 himself no longer4 ,he saved the man   

and killed  the ,egyptian4 ,then he     
found that the thing was known1 and that
 ,pharaoh  had discovered that he was   
really on the side of the ,children of  
,israel4  ,and he had to run away to    
save his life4    ,now the land which   
was next to ,egypt was called ,arabia1  
and to ,arabia  went ,moses1 and there  
he found a well4 ,and flocks of sheep   
were feeding  by it1 some of them tended
 by men and some by women4 ,but the men 
were  very unkind to the women and kept 
them from drawing water for their       
sheep4 ,and as ,moses sat by the well1  
there came seven sisters with a  flock  
of sheep1 and the shepherds would not   
let them get any water4 ,but  ,moses    
stood up and drove away the shepherds1  
and drew water for the  seven sisters1  
and watered their flocks himself4    ,so
 the sisters went home to their father1 
and he said1 8,how is it that  you are  
come so soon to-day80 ,they said1 8,an  
,egyptian beat the  shepherds1 and      
watered our sheep40    ,their father    

said1 8,where is the man8 ,why did you  
not bring him home to  dinner80    ,so  
they found ,moses1 and brought him home1
 and when they knew that he  had no     
place in which to stay1 they asked him  
to live with them4 ,and  pretty soon he 
married one of the seven sisters4       
,one day1 as ,moses kept the flock of   
his father-in-law1 and led them here    
and there for pasture1 he came to a high
 mountain1 and at the foot of  the      
mountain he saw a fire4 ,there was a    
bush burning1 and yet1 as he  watched   
it1 the bush was not burnt4 ,and he said
 to himself1 8,i will turn  aside and   
see this great sight1 why the bush is   
not burnt40 ,and as he  came near1 he   
heard a voice2 and the voice said1      
8,moses1 ,moses60    ,and he answered1  
8,here ,i am40    ,and the voice said1  
8,i am the ,god of ,abraham and of      
,isaac and of ,jacob4  ,i have seen the 
sorrows of my people1 the ,children of  
,israel1 how the  ,egyptians make them  
work1 and whip them4 ,come now1 return  

to ,egypt1 and  tell    ,illustration3  
,,moses ,,by ,,the ,,burning ,,bush     
,pharaoh to let my people go that they  
may meet me here at this  mountain40    
,but ,moses said1 8,pharaoh will not    
hear me40    ,and ,god said1 8,i will   
make ,pharaoh hear you40    ,then ,moses
 said1 8,i am no speaker40    ,and ,god 
answered1 8,look1 who is that coming80  
,and ,moses looked1 and  there was his  
brother ,aaron4 ,and he ran to meet him 
and kissed him4 ,and  ,god said1 8,aaron
 shall go with you and speak for you40  
,so ,moses went back to his             
father-in-law and told him what had     
happened  at the burning bush4 ,and the 
next day1 ,moses and ,aaron started for 
,egypt4 ,there they found the ,children 
of ,israel working very hard1 and  the  
taskmasters beating them with whips to  
make them work harder4 ,and  ,moses and 
,aaron said to the people1 8,god spoke  
to us in ,arabia1 and sent  us to tell  
you to meet him there beside a mountain4
 ,he has seen your  affliction and has  

promised to help you40 ,and the people  
were very  glad4          ,x    ,,the   
,,ten ,,plagues      ,one day1 as       
,pharaoh the king was sitting in his    
palace1 in came one who  said1 8,two of 
the ,children of ,israel are at the     
door1 and would like to  speak with     
you40    ,and ,pharaoh said1 8,let them 
come in40    ,and in came ,moses and    
,aaron4 8,pharaoh10 they said1 8we have 
a message  for you from our ,god4 ,he   
wishes you to give the ,children of     
,israel a  holiday1 that they may go out
 into the country1 and meet ,him at a   
mountain in ,arabia40    ,then ,pharaoh 
was very angry4 8,who is your ,god10 he 
said1 8that ,i should  obey ,him8 ,there
 is work to be done3 there are cities to
 be built2 this  is our busy season2    
this is no time for a holiday40 ,and    
,pharaoh sent  away ,moses and ,aaron1  
and called for the taskmasters who had  
charge of  the ,children of ,israel1 and
 said1 8,these people have asked for a  
holiday4 ,they are idle4 ,give them more

 work40    ,now the ,children of ,israel
 were making brick and building the     
walls of  houses and towers2 and the way
 to make brick was to take clay and mix 
it  with straw and bake it2 and the     
taskmasters provided the straw4 ,but the
  taskmasters heard what ,pharaoh said1 
and they stopped the supply of  straw4  
8,you must get straw for yourselves     
wherever you can find it3 but  you must 
make just as many bricks as you made    
before40 ,and when the  ,children of    
,israel could not do it1 they were      
beaten with whips4 ,so they  cried out  
against ,moses1 saying1 8,you have done 
us harm instead of  good40    ,then     
,moses and ,aaron went again to         
,pharaoh1 and ,aaron had a rod in his   
hand1 and he threw it on the floor at   
the king's feet1 and the rod  became a  
serpent4 ,but ,egypt was a great place  
for tricks of magic4  ,pharaoh had      
magicians at his court1 who performed   
before him every day4  ,so he called for
 two magicians1 and in came ,jannes and 

,jambres1 each  with a rod1 and they    
cast their rods on the floor1 and in a  
moment there  were two more wriggling   
serpents fighting with ,aaron's serpent4
 ,and  although ,aaron's serpent chased 
these two and ate them up1 ,pharaoh only
  laughed1 and would not let the people 
go4    ,but the next morning1 when the  
king went down to the river1 there was  
,moses waiting for him4 ,and ,moses     
said1 8,pharaoh1 if you will not let the
  people go1 ,god will make this river  
red like blood1 so that nobody may      
drink out of it40    ,and so it was4    
,that great river1 the ,nile1 which     
flows through the midst  of ,egypt1 was 
red like blood1 for a whole week4 ,but  
when it cleared  again1 ,pharaoh said1  
8,i have seen it like that many a time1 
after the  spring rains40 ,and he would 
not let the people go4    ,then ,moses  
called again upon the king1 and said1   
8,pharaoh1 if you still  refuse1 ,god   
will bring frogs out of the river till  
they cover all the  land40 ,and so it   

was4 ,the frogs came3 first1 along the  
bank2 then1  across the road so that    
nobody could go that way2 then in crowds
 and  crowds1 crawling and hopping and  
skipping1 up the streets and up the     
lanes and up the steps of houses4 ,and  
at night1 there were frogs in the  bed2 
and in the morning1 at breakfast1 there 
were frogs on the table4  ,and ,pharaoh 
said1 8,this is more than ,i can bear4  
,take away the frogs1  and ,i will do   
whatever you wish40    ,but after the   
frogs had gone back into the river1     
,pharaoh said1 8,that  was not so very  
bad4 ,almost every year1 we have a      
plague of frogs40 ,and  he would not let
 the people go4    ,then1 week after    
week1 all kinds of dreadful things came 
one upon  another4 ,once there were     
lice1 like the dust of the ground2 then 
there  were such swarms of flies that   
nobody could eat or sleep2 after that1  
the horses and cattle were all sick4    
,then people had boils2 and there  was a
 very grievous hail1 and thunder and    

lightning so that fire ran  along upon  
the ground4 ,the locusts came1 blown by 
the east wind1 and ate  all the leaves  
and the grass4 ,and after the locusts   
there was a storm of  sand1 and for     
three days it was so dark1 that people  
could feel it with  their hands4 ,and   
every time1 when the trouble was worst1 
,pharaoh said to  ,moses1 8,take it     
away1 and ,i will let the people go40   
,but when the plague was over1 ,pharaoh 
said1 8,i don't believe that ,god  did  
it4 ,it was only the weather or the     
wind40 ,and he broke his promise4       
,thus there were nine plagues4 ,then    
,moses said to the ,children of ,israel1
  8,the tenth plague is at hand4 ,this  
very night1 ,pharaoh will beg you to    
go4 ,get yourselves ready4 ,there is a  
long journey before you4 ,let every     
family prepare supper4 ,kill a lamb and 
roast it1 and bake bread4 ,but the  time
 is short2 you cannot wait for the bread
 to rise2 make it without  leaven0 7or1 
as we say1 without yeast74 8,do not even

 sit down at the  table3 stand up1 with 
your coats and hats on1 and eat in      
haste4 ,for  to-night1 ,god will send a 
sudden sickness upon the ,egyptians1 and
 in  every house there will be one dead4
 ,you must mark your houses4 ,take of   
the blood of the lamb and strike it on  
the upper post and on the two  side     
posts of your doors4 ,then ,god will    
pass over you when ,he comes to  punish 
the ,egyptians40    ,and at midnight so 
it was4 ,and there was a great cry      
through all the  land of ,egypt4 ,and   
,pharaoh called for ,moses and ,aaron4  
8,this is the  end10 he said2 8get you  
gone out of the land1 you and all your  
people40    ,and the ,egyptians hurried 
them4 8,quick60 they said1 8go out of   
,egypt  before we all die40    ,but the 
,children of ,israel said1 8,shall we go
 with empty hands after all  the work   
which we have done for you8 ,what will  
you give us80    ,and the ,egyptians    
gave them jewels of gold and jewels of  
silver4 ,so they  departed4 ,there was a

 full moon that night1 and in the light 
of it they  made their way out of all   
the cities where they lived1 and they   
turned  their faces toward ,arabia4 ,but
 now they went not only to meet ,god at 
the  mountain1 but to be a new nation1  
and never again to live as slaves in    
,egypt4          ,,xi    ,,the ,,red    
,,sea      ,in the middle of the night1 
under the round moon1 the ,children of  
,israel  started on their journey4 ,the 
fathers and mothers carried the babies1 
the boys and girls ran and danced beside
 them1 and they drove their  flocks and 
herds before them4 ,and as they went1   
they talked about the  ten plagues1 and 
especially about the last and worst of  
all1 when the  firstborn died in every  
house in ,egypt4 8,except our houses10  
they said4  8,god passed over our       
houses1 and saved our lives1 and brought
 us out40  ,and they said1 8,we must    
keep the memory of this night forever4  
,when we  have a land of our own1 and   
are settled there1 then every year when 

the  spring is green and the moon is    
shining full1 we will have a supper of  
roast lamb and bread unleavened1 such as
 we had to-night1 and when the  children
 say1 #8,why do we have this supper and 
eat unleavened bread8' we  will reply1  
#8,children1 this is the feast of the   
,lord's ,passover1 when ,he  passed over
 our houses1 and saved us from our      
slavery in ,egypt4'0    ,so they        
journeyed all that night and all the    
next day4 ,but in the  meantime1 the    
,egyptians had begun to recover from    
their fear4 8,yes10  they said1 8we have
 indeed been stricken by a fearful      
pestilence4 ,there  is hardly a house in
 which there is not one dead4 ,and      
,moses says that  this is a punishment  
upon us because we would not let the    
,children of  ,israel go4 ,but we are   
not so sure of that4 ,how do we know    
that the  ,children of ,israel or their 
,god had anything to do with it8 ,we    
were  foolish to be frightened and let  
them go4 ,now there is nobody left to do

  our work4 ,all our carpenters and     
masons1 all our brick-makers and        
bricklayers1 all our hired men1 have    
gone away3 and all our cooks and        
washerwomen have gone with them4 ,what  
shall we do8 ,come1 let us go after     
them1 and bring them back40 ,and        
,pharaoh sent for his chariot in which  
he  rode when he went to war1 and       
ordered his captains to bring up six    
hundred other chariots1 the best that   
there were in ,egypt4 ,and there was  a 
great clattering of horses' hoofs1 and a
 great clashing of swords and           
battle-axes1 in the street before the   
king's palace4 ,and ,pharaoh came  out1 
and away they went1 as fast as they     
could go1 after the ,children of        
,israel4    ,now the ,children of       
,israel1 after a long day's march1 were 
very tired1  and they stopped to rest by
 the ,red ,sea4 ,on the other side of   
the sea  was the land of ,arabia1 where 
they were going to meet ,god beside a   
mountain4 ,and on the morrow1 they      

expected to walk around the head of  the
 sea1 and so reach the other side4 ,but 
suddenly1 in the far distance1  as the  
sun was setting1 there was a gleam of   
light1 and they knew that  it was the   
shining armor of the ,egyptian soldiers4
 ,and there they were1  the poor        
,children of ,israel1 with the soldiers 
behind them and the sea  before them1   
and no way of escape to either right or 
left4 ,and they  cried out against      
,moses1 and said1 8,why did you bring us
 here to die8  ,were there not graves in
 ,egypt8 ,did we not tell you that we   
did not want  to come8 ,oh1 that we had 
stayed in our slavery6 ,that was bad    
enough1 but  this is worse40    ,but    
,moses said1 8,do not be afraid4 ,stand 
still1 and see what ,god will  show you4
 ,god is on your side1 and not an       
,egyptian shall be able to hurt  you40  
,so the sun went down1 and night came   
on4 ,and with the night came  the fog1  
and the moon1 and the wind4 ,and the fog
 settled down on the  ,egyptians so that

 they could not see the ,children of    
,israel4 ,and upon  the sea the strong  
wind from the east blew and blew1 so    
that it drove  away the fog from the    
,children of ,israel1 and the clear moon
 shone upon  them4 ,so it was like a    
pillar of cloud behind them1 and a      
pillar of fire  before them4 ,and harder
 and harder blew the strong wind upon   
the shallow  sea1 till clear across from
 shore to shore there was a place where 
they  could see the bottom1 like a      
narrow path of land across the sea4 ,and
  ,moses cried1 8,go forward60 ,and into
 the sea marched the ,children of       
,israel1 along the path of land1 in the 
great gale of wind1 with water on  the  
left and water on the right1 and the    
spray dashing upon them4    ,and when   
the ,egyptian army got out of the fog1  
and came in sight of the  sea1 there    
were the ,children of ,israel more than 
half across4 ,and the  captains         
commanded the drivers of the chariots1  
and in they went1 as  fast as the horses

 could carry them1 chasing the ,children
 of ,israel4 ,but  it was a bad road for
 chariots4 ,deeper and deeper1 the      
wheels sank in  the mud4 ,and then1 as  
day began to dawn1 the wind changed4    
,instead of  blowing from the east1 it  
blew from the west1 and the water came  
back  with it1 and the path was covered1
 and the sea returned to its strength4  
,and when the sun arose1 there were the 
,children of ,israel safe on the  shore 
of ,arabia1 but the ,egyptians were     
nowhere to be seen4 ,the sea had        
covered them4 ,they had sunk like lead  
in the mighty waters4    ,and on the    
shore the ,children of ,israel sang a   
song of praise and  thanksgiving4 ,moses
 led the voices of the men1 and ,miriam 
and all the  women1 with timbrels in    
their hands1 joined in the chorus4      
8,sing ye to  the ,lord10 they sang1    
8for ,he hath triumphed gloriously3 the 
horse and  his rider hath ,he thrown    
into the sea40 ,thus ,god overthrew the 
,egyptians  in the midst of the sea1 and

 the ,children of ,israel were saved    
from  their enemies4          ,,xii     
,,the ,,golden ,,calf      ,after the   
great adventure of the ,red ,sea1 the   
,children of ,israel started  on their  
way to the ,mountain of the ,burning    
,bush4 ,they had never been  away from  
home before1 and they did not know how  
to behave4 ,so when they  were          
uncomfortable1 as people are likely to  
be on a long journey1  instead of taking
 it cheerfully1 they complained and     
cried4    ,one time1 they were very     
thirsty1 and there was no water4 ,and   
they all  said1 8,oh1 that we had stayed
 in ,egypt1 where there was plenty of   
water60 ,and they said to ,moses1 8,why 
did you not let us alone8 ,you have     
brought us into this desert to kill us  
with thirst40 ,but ,moses found a       
spring of water coming out of a great   
rock1 and gave them to drink4           
,another time1 they were very hungry1   
and there was nothing to eat4 ,and  they
 cried out against ,moses1 and said1    

8,oh1 that we had stayed in  ,egypt1 by 
the fleshpots6 ,you have brought us into
 this desert to kill us  with hunger60  
,but ,moses said1 8,be patient4 ,god is 
taking care of you4  ,he will feed you40
 ,and when they waked up the next       
morning1 the ground  was covered with   
something which looked like frost4 ,and 
they gathered  it1 and ground it1 and   
baked it1 and it was very nice to eat4  
,and the  name of it was manna4    ,so  
they ate the manna1 and they liked it so
 much that they said it was  good enough
 even for angels4 ,but as day after day 
passed and there was  manna for         
breakfast1 and manna for dinner1 and    
manna for supper1 and  nothing else1    
they came to hate the sight of it4      
,again they wished that  they were back 
in ,egypt4 8,when we were in ,egypt10   
they said1 8we had  fish to eat1 and    
cucumbers to eat with it1 and melons and
 leeks and  onions and garlic4 ,now we  
have nothing but manna40 ,so they went  
on their  way complaining1 and ,moses   

had a very hard time with them4    ,but 
at last they came to the mountain where 
they were to meet ,god4 ,and  there they
 pitched their tents1 and put out their 
flocks and herds to  pasture4 ,and on   
the morning of the third day1 there was 
a great storm of  thunder and lightning1
 and the mountain1 which was called     
,sinai1 was  covered with black clouds1 
and smoked like a volcano1 and out of   
the  smoke and cloud came a sound like  
the blowing of a mighty wind1 and like  
the rolling of thunder1 and like the    
voice of a loud trumpet4 ,and the       
,children of ,israel were exceedingly   
afraid4 ,but ,moses said1 8,i am going  
to climb the mountain4 ,i am going up   
into the cloud and smoke and  thunder4  
,god told me that ,he would speak to us 
in this place4 ,i am going  up to meet  
,him40 ,and he took with him a young man
 named ,joshua4    8,you wait10 he said 
to the people1 8till ,i come back and   
tell you what  ,god says40    ,so ,moses
 and ,joshua climbed up the steep side  

of the mountain1 and the  black cloud   
hid them from the people's sight4 ,and  
the storm increased in  fury4 ,the      
lightning flashed its fires of red and  
green1 the rain came  down in torrents1 
and louder and louder pealed the voice  
of the wind and  the thunder and the    
trumpet4 ,and as the people stood       
watching and  waiting1 they trembled so 
that their knees knocked together4 ,but 
night  came1 and ,moses did not return4 
,all the next day they waited1 but he   
did  not appear4 ,and the days grew into
 weeks1 and the weeks into a month1     
till the people said1 8,moses is dead4  
,he lost his way1 or he fell over a     
cliff1 or he was struck by lightning4   
,what shall we do8 ,what shall we  do80 
,and they made ,aaron their leader4     
,now the people of ,egypt1 among whom   
the ,children of ,israel had lived so   
long1 had strange ideas about ,god4     
,they thought that ,god lived in        
certain animals4 ,and they              
,illustration3 ,,it ,,sounds ,,to ,,me  

,,like ,,singing    said their prayers  
to these animals1 and made images of    
them to put in  their churches4 ,and as 
years passed and years passed1 till the 
time of  ,joseph was as far away from   
them as the time of ,columbus is from   
us1 a  good many of the ,children of    
,israel1 being slaves in ,egypt1 forgot 
the  religion of ,abraham and ,isaac and
 ,jacob1 and became like the ,egyptians4
  ,so now they said to ,aaron1 8,make us
 an image of ,god40 ,and ,aaron said1   
8,give me your earrings40 ,now all the  
men and women wore gold earrings1  and  
they gave them to ,aaron1 and he melted 
them together and made a  golden calf4  
,and the people said1 8,this is our     
,god40 ,and they began to  pray to it1  
and to dance and sing around it4    ,but
 all this time1 ,moses was speaking with
 ,god4 ,god told ,moses what ,he  wished
 the people to do4 ,and these things    
were put in the ,ten  ,commandments1 and
 were written on two smooth tables--or1 
as we say1  tablets--of stone4 ,and     

,moses took the ,ten ,commandments1 and 
started down  the mountain4    ,and on  
the way he heard a noise2 and he said to
 ,joshua1 8,what is that  noise80       
,and ,joshua said1 8,it sounds like     
shouting4 ,there must be a battle40     
,but ,moses said1 8,it sounds to me like
 singing40    ,so they came in sight of 
the camp4 ,and there was the ,golden    
,calf1 and  all the people singing and  
dancing around it4 ,and ,moses was so   
angry  that he took the tables of stone 
and threw them down the mountain1 and   
they broke in pieces4 ,and the people   
were ashamed and afraid4 ,and he  told  
them what a foolish and wicked thing    
they had done4 8,god10 he said1  8has   
just been telling me that we must not   
worship images40 ,and he  destroyed the 
,golden ,calf4    ,then he went again   
upon the mountain1 and asked ,god to    
forgive his  people4 ,and ,god gave him 
the ,ten ,commandments over again4 ,thus
 the  ,children of ,israel met ,god at  
the mountain1 and were told what they   

must  do1 and were ready at last to     
start upon their journey to the         
,promised  ,land4          ,,xiii       
,,the ,,prophet ,,and ,,the ,,king      
,once upon a time1 when the world was   
younger than it is at present1 and      
people believed that all the animals    
could speak ,hebrew if they only  would1
 a man was riding on an ass along a     
country road4    ,sometimes the way went
 between wide farms which stretched out 
over the  flat land4 ,sometimes it lay  
between vineyards1 and had a stone wall 
on  the right and on the left4          
,sometimes the man hastened the ass1    
striking  her with a stick2 because he  
had been sent for by the king and was in
 a  hurry4 ,sometimes he let the ass    
take her own time1 and she strayed now  
on this side of the road and now on     
that1 cropping the thistles2  because1  
although the man had been sent for by   
the king1 he was not  quite sure whether
 he ought to go or not4    ,the man's   
name was ,balaam and the king's name was

 ,balak4 ,they were both  of them       
heathen2 that is1 they did not know so  
much about ,god as the  ,children of    
,israel knew4 ,but ,god knew them1 and  
to ,balaam ,god sometimes  spoke1 and   
told him what was right and what was    
wrong2 so that people  came to ,balaam1 
even from distant lands1 that he might  
tell them the  will of ,god4 ,thus      
before a battle1 a general or even a    
king might come  and say1 8,tell me1    
,balaam1 is ,god for me or against me8  
,shall ,i lose or  win80 ,and ,balaam   
would go away by himself and ask ,god1  
and ,god would  speak in ,balaam's soul 
and teach him what to say1 and ,balaam  
would come  back and say it4 ,many      
people thought that ,balaam could do    
quite as he  liked1 and bless or curse  
as he pleased1 and they said1 8,see1    
,balaam1  here is gold and silver3 come 
now1 bless me and curse my enemy40 ,but 
,balaam would speak only that which the 
,lord ,god taught him to speak4         
,balak was the king of ,moab4 ,after the

 ,children of ,israel had come across   
the ,red ,sea out of ,egypt1 they       
wandered in the wilderness and lived in 
tents till they grew strong enough to go
 to war4 ,they had no country of  their 
own1 but they meant to take the country 
which ,god had promised to  ,abraham and
 ,isaac and ,jacob4 ,there were already 
people living in that  country1 having  
walled cities and brave soldiers1 and   
the ,children of  ,israel had to grow   
very strong indeed before they could    
hope to take it  away from them4 ,but   
now the time had come4 ,the ,children of
 ,israel were  on the march4 ,only one  
country remained to be crossed before   
they came  to the ,promised ,land3 and  
that was ,moab4    ,so ,balak1 king of  
,moab1 was filled with fear1 and he sent
 for ,balaam4    8,behold10 he said1    
8there is a people come out from ,egypt3
 behold1 they  cover the face of the    
earth1 and they abide over against me4  
,come now1  therefore1 ,i pray thee1    
curse me this people1 else shall they   

lick us up  as an ox licks up the grass 
of the field40 ,and the princes of      
,balak came  to ,balaam with these      
words4    ,and ,balaam said1 8,stay here
 this night1 and ,i will ask the ,lord1 
and in  the morning ,i will tell you40  
,so the princes stayed at ,balaam's     
house1  and in the night ,god spoke in  
,balaam's soul1 and ,god said1 8,do not 
go to  ,balak4 ,thou shalt not curse the
 people1 for they are blessed40    ,and 
when the morning was come1 ,balaam told 
the princes that he could not  go4      
,but ,balak was not satisfied4 ,he sent 
more princes1 and they came to  ,balaam 
with splendid promises4 ,and ,balaam    
answered1 8,i must do as the  ,lord     
says4 ,if ,balak would give me his house
 full of silver and gold1 ,i  cannot go 
beyond the word of the ,lord my ,god to 
do less or more4 ,but  wait another     
night1 and ,i will see if the ,lord will
 speak again40    ,and that night ,god  
did speak again1 and ,god said1 8,go    
with the men1 but  yet the word which ,i

 shall say unto thee1 that shalt thou   
do40 ,so in the  morning he saddled his 
ass1 and away he went with ,balak's     
princes4 ,and  thus he rode1 sometimes  
in haste and sometimes in doubt1 between
 the  farms and vineyards4    ,now      
,balak had gone out to meet ,balaam that
 he might take him to the top  of a high
 hill whence he should curse the        
,children of ,israel4 ,and they  two    
went together4 ,and ,balaam said1 8,i am
 come in vain4 ,the ,lord ,god is       
against you4 ,even as ,i came1 the ass  
on which ,i rode refused to go and      
crushed my foot against the vineyard    
wall1 and the ass said1 #8,behold1      
there is an angel in the way1' and lo1  
there was an angel with a drawn  sword  
to keep me back6 ,i cannot do you any   
good4 ,i cannot curse the  ,children of 
,israel40    ,but ,balak urged him1 and 
on they went4 ,and as they climbed the  
hill1 at  last the army of ,israel came 
in sight1 all in their goodly tents     
along  the valley1 as gardens by the    

river's side1 and as cedar trees beside 
the waters4 ,and ,balak built seven     
altars and offered on every altar a     
bullock and a ram2 and ,balaam prayed   
amidst the altars1 and ,god told him    
what to say1 and ,balaam cried aloud and
 blessed the ,children of ,israel4      
,then ,balak took ,balaam               
,illustration3 ,,the ,,ass ,,and ,,the  
,,angel    to another mountain1 to the  
top of ,pisgah1 and there built seven   
altars  and offered on every altar a    
bullock and a ram2 and ,balaam prayed in
 the  midst of the altars1 and again he 
cried aloud and blessed the ,children   
of ,israel4 ,and so a third time1 on a  
third mountain1 from the top of  ,peor4 
,then ,balak's anger was kindled against
 ,balaam1 and he smote his hands        
together4 ,and ,balak said1 8,i called  
thee to curse my enemies1 and thou  hast
 blessed them these three times60 ,and  
,balaam answered1 8,that is what  ,i    
told you before ,i came1 what the ,lord 
saith that will ,i speak40 ,and he      

blessed them a fourth time4 ,and ,balaam
 rose up and went and returned to  his  
place3 and ,balak also went his way4    
,,xiv    ,,the ,,walls ,,of ,,jericho   
,the ,promised ,land1 toward which the  
,children of ,israel were marching      
through ,king ,balak's country1 was     
bordered on that side by the river      
,jordan4 ,the ,jordan flows through a   
very deep valley from a large lake in   
the north to a large lake in the south3 
the northern lake is called the  ,sea of
 ,galilee1 and the southern is called   
the ,dead ,sea4 ,king ,balak's  land was
 beside the ,dead ,sea2 so when they had
 passed through that  country they came 
to the river1 and thus to the first     
place where they  could cross over into 
the ,promised ,land4 ,and on the other  
side of the  river was a city1 called   
,jericho4 ,the first thing to do was to 
attack  ,jericho4    ,moses was now     
dead1 and in his place ,joshua was the  
leader and general  of ,israel4 ,moses  
had climbed one day to the top of ,mount

 ,pisgah1 to the  high place where      
,balaam had stood with ,balak1 and there
 had looked over  into the ,promised    
,land4 ,it lay before him1 full of hills
 and valleys1 a  good land and a large1 
with vineyards and olive trees1 and     
streams of  water1 and walled cities4   
,there ,abraham and ,isaac and ,jacob   
had fed  their flocks4 ,moses had done  
his great work2 he had brought his      
people  out of ,egypt1 and had given    
them the laws of ,god1 and had made them
 a  nation and an army1 and had led them
 to the very entrance of the  ,promised 
,land4 ,below were the people waiting   
and waiting2 as they had  waited at the 
foot of ,mount ,sinai for ,moses to come
 down4 ,but this time  he did not come4 
,on the mountain top1 in sight of the   
,promised ,land1 he  died4 ,and ,joshua 
took his place4    ,so ,general ,joshua 
sent two men to go as spies to ,jericho4
 ,they were to  enter very quietly into 
the city1 without letting anybody know  
who they  were1 and1 having found out   

all they could1 they were to come back  
and  report4 ,so they went to ,jericho  
and found a lodging place1 and began to 
look about4 ,they saw that the town had 
a wall around it1 and that the  gate was
 shut every evening as the sun went     
down4 ,and they could see at  a glance  
that the people were rich4 ,but the men 
of ,jericho discovered  the spies and   
told the king1 and the king sent to     
their lodging place to  take them4      
,but the woman of the house1 whose name 
was ,rahab1 was very good to the  spies4
 ,her house was by the city wall1 and on
 the flat roof there were  stalks of    
flax drying in the sun4 ,so when the    
pursuers came knocking at  the door1    
,rahab hid the spies under the flax1 and
 sent off the pursuers  on a vain       
search4 ,and when they were gone she    
took a stout rope and let  down the     
spies out of her window down the wall1  
and while the pursuers  ran one way     
toward the river1 the spies ran another 
way toward the  hills1 and so escaped4  

,and ,rahab said1 8,we have all heard   
about you here4 ,we know how you came   
over the ,red ,sea1 and how the ,lord is
 with you2 and we are all afraid4  ,when
 you take the town1 have pity on me and 
on my father and mother and  on my      
brothers and sisters1 and save us       
alive40    ,and the spies said1 8,bind a
 scarlet line in this window by which we
  escape1 and when we come back with the
 army of ,israel we will spare all  who 
are in this house40    ,then they       
climbed down the rope1 and away they    
went to the hills1 where  they stayed   
three days till the pursuit was over4   
,and they returned to  ,joshua1 and     
said1 8,the ,lord has delivered the city
 into our hands4 ,they  are all afraid  
of us40    ,then ,joshua sent his       
captains among the people to tell them  
what to do4  8,the priests10 he said1   
8shall go down first into the river1 and
 the  people shall follow40 ,so the     
priests went1 carrying the ,ark of the  
,covenant2 that is1 the great chest in  

which were the ,ten ,commandments  cut  
in stone1 as ,moses brought them down   
from ,sinai4 ,and as they went1  it was 
like the ,red ,sea over again4 ,they    
marched across as if the river  had been
 a sandy road4 ,and in the middle of the
 river stood the priests  with the ,ark 
till all the people were gone over4 ,and
 they took twelve  stones out of the    
river where the priests had stood1 and  
built an altar  with them on the other  
side1 and thanked ,god that ,he had     
brought them at  last into the good land
 which ,he had promised to their        
fathers4    ,the next thing to do was to
 take ,jericho4 ,at first1 the men of   
,jericho  came out to fight1 but they   
soon ran back and hid behind their walls
 and  locked their gate4 ,and the       
,children of ,israel made a camp around 
the  city so that nobody went out or    
came in4    ,and ,joshua said1 8,form a 
procession3 first the armed men1 then   
seven  priests with trumpets1 then the  
,ark1 and then the people4 ,and march   

around the city4 ,let the priests blow  
their trumpets1 but let all the  rest of
 you keep silence4 ,let nobody speak a  
word1 until ,i tell you to  shout4 ,then
 shall ye shout60 ,so they marched      
around the city1 and the  people of     
,jericho looked on from the walls in    
great amazement4 ,and the  next day1    
they did it a second time2 and the third
 day a third time1 and  so on for six   
days4    ,at last1 on the seventh day1  
the ,children of ,israel rose up very   
early1  just as the sun came up over    
,mount ,pisgah4 ,and that day they went 
around  and around the city seven times4
 ,and it came to pass at the seventh    
time1 when the priests blew with the    
trumpets a longer and louder blast  than
 ever1 ,joshua cried to the people1     
8,shout6 for the ,lord hath given  you  
the city40 ,and all the people shouted  
with a great shout4 ,and the  walls fell
 flat1 and the armed men marched        
straight in and took the  city4         
,indeed1 the walls were already falling 

that day when the spies climbed  down   
over them hand under hand on ,rahab's   
rope4 ,for the true walls of a  city are
 the stout hearts of its citizens1 and  
these had failed for  fear4 ,thus the   
,children of ,israel began the conquest 
of the ,promised  ,land4 ,but they      
spared the people who were in the house 
which had a line  of scarlet bound in   
the window on the broken wall4          
,,xv    ,,the ,,wedge ,,of ,,gold       
,there was a soldier in the army of     
,joshua whose name was ,achan4 ,he had  
taken part in the siege of ,jericho4 ,he
 had marched before the ,ark around  the
 city2 he had joined in with all his    
might when the army shouted with  a     
great shout2 and he had rushed with the 
others into the streets when  the walls 
fell flat4    ,now ,joshua had given    
strict orders that no man should take   
anything for  himself4 ,all the gold and
 silver and whatever else was of value  
was to  be saved for the ,lord3 it was  
to be put into the common treasury4 ,but

  ,achan had stolen something4    ,the  
citizens of ,jericho were neither strong
 nor brave to fight1 but they  were     
rich4 ,the sun beat down upon the town1 
and the mist came drifting  in from the 
river1 and it was very hot there1 and   
the heat made the  people weak2 but they
 lived in handsome houses1 and wore fine
 clothes  every day1 and had money to   
spend4 ,to ,achan1 who had been born in 
the  wilderness1 and had never known any
 other roof than the top of a tent1  and
 had never seen a city in all his life1 
the houses of ,jericho seemed  like the 
magic treasure houses of the fairy      
stories4    ,so when ,achan came with   
the other soldiers1 running though the  
,jericho  streets1 and breaking into the
 houses1 he looked about him with great 
surprise4 ,and when1 at last1 in one    
house he found a wedge of gold1 it      
blazed in his eyes like the sun shining 
in the clear sky at noon4 ,beside  the  
gold was a glittering pile of two       
hundred pieces of silver1 and a         

splendid cloak made in ,babylon1 stiff  
with embroidery and colored like a      
jewel4 ,and ,achan was so dazzled by    
these riches that he did not see the    
difference between right and wrong4 ,he 
took them for his own4 ,under his  gown 
he hid them1 and back he hurried to his 
tent1 and then he dug a  hole in the    
earth in the middle of the tent and     
buried them4    ,the next day1 ,joshua  
sent two spies to visit the next city1  
which was  called ,ai4 ,and they came   
back and reported that ,ai was only a   
small  town1 and that there was no need 
to send the whole army to take it4      
,three thousand men1 they said1 would be
 enough4 ,now ,ai was built upon a      
hill4 ,so up the soldiers climbed1      
expecting a quick and easy victory1  but
 the men of ,ai came out to meet them   
like a pack of bears and tigers1  and   
the men of ,israel turned their backs   
like scared sheep1 and ran away  down   
the hill as fast as they could go1 and  
the men of ,ai after them4  ,so it was a

 great defeat4    ,and ,joshua was      
troubled exceedingly1 and he and all his
 captains tore  their clothes and threw 
dust upon their heads1 and lay down on  
the  ground before the ,ark all day2 for
 that was the custom when men were in   
great distress of mind4    ,and as the  
night came on1 ,joshua cried1 8,o ,lord 
,god1 why hast thou  brought us into    
this land to give us into the hands of  
our enemies to  destroy us8 ,o ,lord1   
what shall ,i say when the men of       
,israel turn their  backs before their  
enemies80    ,and ,god said1 8,get up1  
,joshua4 ,why do you lie upon the       
ground8 ,there is  a thief in the camp4 
,one of your soldiers has disobeyed your
 orders4  ,find him1 and punish him2    
then shall you have victory instead of  
defeat40    ,so the first thing the next
 morning1 ,joshua made the army pass    
before  him in a long procession1 tribe 
after tribe1 and he chose the tribe of  
,judah4 ,then he made the tribe of      
,judah pass before him1 family by       

family1 and he chose the family of      
,zerah4 ,then he made the family of     
,zerah pass before him1 household by    
household1 and he chose the  household  
of ,carmi4 ,then he made the household  
of ,carmi pass before him1  man by man1 
and he chose ,achan4 ,and there was     
,achan discovered before  all the       
people4    ,and ,joshua said1 8,my son1 
tell me what you have done4 ,do not hide
  anything from me40    ,and ,achan     
answered1 8,i have sinned against the   
,lord ,god of ,israel4 ,when  we took   
,jericho1 ,i saw a shining wedge of     
gold1 and a goodly garment1  and a pile 
of silver pieces1 and ,i coveted them   
and carried them away  and hid them in  
my tent4 ,there they are1 buried in the 
earth40    ,so ,joshua sent messengers1 
and they ran to ,achan's tent1 and there
 they  found even as ,achan had said4   
,and they took the gold and silver and  
the  garment and brought them to        
,joshua4 ,and ,joshua led ,achan apart  
into a  valley1 and said1 8,why hast    

thou troubled ,israel8 ,the ,lord shall 
trouble  thee this day40 ,and ,joshua   
commanded1 and the soldiers stoned      
,achan with  stones until he died1 and a
 great heap of stones was piled upon his
  body4    ,then ,joshua attacked ,ai   
again4 ,but this time he was more       
careful4 ,he  sent a great company of   
soldiers by night into an ambush behind 
the  town4 ,and in the morning he       
marched up the hill1 and when the men of
 ,ai  came out again1 very bold and     
fierce1 he pretended to be frightened   
and  made his soldiers run away1 so that
 the men of ,ai ran after them4 ,all    
the men of ,ai ran out of the town      
,illustration3 ,,so ,,they ,,stoned     
,,achan    after the men of ,israel4    
,then suddenly ,joshua stopped and      
lifted up his  spear1 and the soldiers  
in the ambush saw it and they ran into  
,ai and  began to burn the town4 ,and   
the men of ,ai looked back1 and there   
was the  whole town on fire4 ,so they   
were between two armies4 ,the army of   

the  ambush was at the top of the hill1 
and the army which had pretended to  run
 away was at the bottom4 ,thus the men  
of ,ai were defeated with a  great      
defeat4          ,,xvi    ,,the ,,relief
 ,,of ,,gibeon      ,high among the     
hills of the ,promised ,land lay a town 
called ,gibeon4 ,men  who ran away from 
the defeat at ,ai came straggling into  
,gibeon1 and told  the news4 8,the      
,children of ,israel10 they said1 8are  
coming with a great  army4 ,they have   
destroyed ,jericho and ,ai1 and are on  
the march for  ,gibeon40 ,then the      
,gibeonites held a council and          
considered what to do4  ,and they took  
men and dressed them in the oldest      
clothes which they  could find1 all rags
 and tatters1 and put upon their feet   
the oldest  shoes1 all holes and        
patches1 and gave them baskets in which 
were loaves  of dry and mouldy bread4   
,and they said1 8,go down now to the    
camp of  ,israel and find ,joshua and   
tell him thus and so40    ,so down they 

went1 and came into the camp1 walking   
very slowly1 as if  their feet were sore
 after a long journey1 and as if they   
were too tired  to go another step4     
,and they said1 8,we come from a far    
country to ask you to make a league  of 
peace with us40    ,and the men of      
,israel said1 8,how do we know that you 
are telling us the  truth8 ,it may be   
that you are our neighbors40 ,and they  
brought them to  ,joshua1 and ,joshua   
said1 8,who are you1 and from whence do 
you come80    ,and the men of ,gibeon   
answered1 8,from a very far country4    
,why1 these  shoes we put on new the day
 we came away2 and see them now4 ,these 
clothes we had made for this journey1   
and we have worn them out on the  way4  
,this bread was fresh baked2 it was     
taken hot out of the oven as we         
started2 and now it is all dry and      
mouldy4 ,the land where we live is  over
 the hills and far away1 but even there 
we have heard about you1 and  we have   
come to ask you to give us a promise of 

peace40    ,then ,joshua believed that  
what they said was true1 and he made    
them a  solemn promise that there should
 be peace between the men of ,israel and
  the men of ,gibeon4 ,so they journeyed
 on together and after three days  they 
came to a town among the hills1 and     
,joshua said1 8,what town is  this80    
,and the men of ,gibeon answered1 8,this
 is ,gibeon1 where we live4  ,but you   
have promised that you will be at peace 
with us4 ,you must not  destroy ,gibeon 
as you destroyed ,jericho and ,ai40 ,and
 the ,children of  ,israel were very    
angry1 and they said1 8,come1 let us    
kill them1 and let  us burn their city1 
for they lied to us40 ,but ,joshua      
answered1 8,no1 we  have given them our 
promise1 and we must do as we said40 ,so
 they let  them live2 but they made them
 their servants1 to cut wood and draw   
water4    ,now the kings of five        
neighboring cities1 when they heard that
 the men  of ,gibeon had made peace with
 the men of ,israel1 were much          

displeased4  ,and they gathered their   
armies together and came up against     
,gibeon4 ,and  the ,gibeonites sent     
messengers to ,joshua1 saying1 8,come up
 to us quickly  and save us and help us1
 for now that we have become your       
friends all of  our neighbors have      
become our enemies40 ,so ,joshua        
gathered together all  the people of war
 and all the mighty men of valor to     
fight with the  kings who were encamped 
about the walls of ,gibeon4 ,all night  
they  climbed the hills1 and came upon  
the kings suddenly in the early         
morning1 while all the camp was         
sleeping4 ,and the kings and all their  
men waked up in a great fright when they
 heard the trumpets blowing and  the men
 of ,israel shouting1 and they ran away1
 and the men of ,israel ran  after them4
 ,and there was a great storm that day  
of rain and hail1 and  the hailstones   
beat in the faces of the kings' men4 ,as
 for the five  kings1 they hid          
themselves in a cave4    ,so ,joshua and

 his soldiers chased the enemy down the 
long valley4 ,and  somebody told ,joshua
 where the kings had gone1 and he had   
his men block  up the mouth of the cave 
and leave a guard there1 while the rest 
of the  army fought the battle4 ,now in 
the afternoon1 as the sun began to go   
down and the moon began to shine with a 
faint light1 like a dim ball of  gray   
silver1 ,joshua wished that the day     
might last all night4 ,for he  knew that
 as soon as it became dark the battle   
would be over and the  enemy would      
escape4 ,so he cried aloud and said4    
8,sun1 stand thou still  upon ,gibeon2  
and thou1 ,moon1 in the valley of       
,ajalon40 ,and it seemed as  if the sun 
and moon stood still1 that day was so   
long and the victory  was so great4 ,and
 long after1 the soldiers sang about it 
in their war  songs3 how the stars in   
the sky fought on the side of ,israel1  
and the  sun and moon stood still to see
 the battle4    ,but at last the        
soldiers came back from following the   

enemy4 ,and ,joshua  said1 8,open the   
mouth of the cave1 and bring those five 
kings unto me  out of the cave40 ,so    
they took away the great stones and     
brought the  five kings4 ,and ,joshua   
made the five kings lie upon the ground 
before  all the army1 and he called his 
captains and said1 8,come near1 and put 
your feet upon the necks of these       
kings40 ,and they came near and put     
their feet upon the necks of them4 ,and 
,joshua said1 8,fear not1 be strong  and
 of good courage2 for thus shall the    
,lord do unto all your enemies  against 
whom ye fight40          ,,xvii    ,,the
 ,,battle ,,of ,,the ,,great ,,plain    
,right across the ,promised ,land1      
between the river and the sea1 lay a    
great plain4 ,mountains stood about it  
on every side1 and through the  midst of
 it ran a winding river1 called the     
,kishon4 ,some of the tribes  of ,israel
 had settled among the hills on the     
north2 others had settled  among the    
hills on the south4 ,but the plain      

itself was held by the  enemy4 ,they had
 a king named ,jabin1 and a general     
named ,sisera1 and nine  hundred        
chariots of iron4 ,and for twenty years1
 they mightily oppressed  the ,children 
of ,israel4 ,they were so strong and    
cruel that the ,children  of ,israel did
 not dare to show themselves1 but went  
along the by-paths1  or through the     
woods1 keeping out of sight4 ,and none  
of them had either  shield or spear4    
,now there was a woman in the land who  
was braver than any of the men1  and her
 name was ,deborah4 ,she was not only   
brave1 but wise1 so that  people used to
 come to her from all directions to ask 
her questions1 and  she told them what  
to do4 ,thus she sat every day under a  
palm tree1  listening to the people and 
answering them4 ,many who came told     
,deborah  how poor and miserable they   
were1 and how ,king ,jabin's men1 the   
,canaanites1 troubled them1 and stole   
all that they had1 and were very  bad to
 them4 ,so ,deborah knew how the land   

was filled with suffering4    ,at last1 
one day1 she sent for a man named       
,barak4 8,barak10 she said1 as  he came 
under the palm tree1 8you know how the  
,canaanites are treating  our people1   
day by day1 and year by year1 and how   
since ,joshua died we  have no leader4  
,we must stop it4 ,you must take the    
lead4 ,god has spoken  in my soul1 and  
has told me that you are the man1 and   
that this is the  time4 ,go now1 and get
 an army40    ,but ,barak said1         
8,deborah1 we are all afraid1 and we    
have no shields or  spears1 nothing but 
sticks out of the woods1 and ,sisera has
 nine hundred  chariots of iron4 ,am ,i 
to do this thing alone1 or will you go  
with me8  ,if you will go with me1 ,i   
will go3 but if you will not go with me1
 ,i  will not go40    ,and ,deborah     
answered1 8,i will surely go with you1  
but it will be a woman  and not a man   
who shall have the honor of the         
victory40    ,so ,barak sent messengers 
to all the tribes who lived among the   

hills by  the ,great ,plain4 ,some of   
the tribes said that they would not     
come1 some  said that they would think  
about it2 but ,issachar and ,zebulun and
  ,naphtali sent soldiers1 until ,barak 
and ,deborah had ten thousand men4 ,in  
the meantime1 ,sisera gathered his great
 army1 thousands upon thousands  of     
footmen1 and thousands upon thousands of
 prancing horses1 and nine  hundred     
chariots of iron4 ,and ,barak and his   
soldiers were on the side of  ,mount    
,tabor1 and ,sisera and his soldiers    
were in the ,great ,plain4 ,and  there  
came a storm out of the north1 as if the
 clouds were an army in  the sky pouring
 water out of great buckets4 ,and       
,deborah cried1 8,up1  ,barak2 for this 
is the day in which the ,lord hath      
delivered ,sisera into  thine hand40    
,and ,barak rose up and his men with    
him1 and down they  charged over the    
side of the mountain4 ,and the ,great   
,plain was filled  with mud by the      
beating of the rain1 so that the wheels 

of the chariots  sank like the wheels of
 ,pharaoh's chariots in the ,red ,sea4  
,and the  ,kishon overflowed its banks4 
,and the army of ,sisera fled east and  
west1  and the army of ,barak followed  
them4    ,now ,sisera1 when he saw that 
he was defeated and that his chariot was
  stuck fast in the mud1 leaped down in 
great haste and ran for his life4  ,and 
as he ran he came to a tent away off    
among the hills1 where a man  lived     
whose name was ,heber and his wife's    
name was ,jael4 ,heber had no           
,illustration3 ,,jael ,,takes ,,the     
,,tent ,,pin    part in the battle of   
the day4 ,he lived by himself1 and was  
neither on  the side of ,barak nor on   
the side of ,sisera4 ,while the others  
were  fighting he was in the distant    
pastures tending his sheep1 and his wife
  was at home alone4 ,so ,sisera came   
breathless and weary with running1 and  
,barak was following him far behind4    
,and ,jael came out to meet ,sisera1    
and she asked him to come in and hide4  

8,turn in1 my lord10 she said1  8turn in
 to me3 fear not40 ,so he went in4 ,and 
he said1 8,give me1 ,i pray  thee1 a    
little water to drink2 for ,i am        
thirsty40 ,and she opened a  bottle and 
gave him milk to drink4 ,and he lay down
 in the tent1 and she  covered him with 
a mantle1 so that he was hid4 ,and he   
said1 8,if anybody  comes to the tent1  
and asks1 #8,is there any man here8' you
 must say1  #8,no4'0 ,then he went to   
sleep1 for he was very tired4    ,then  
,jael took one of the big wooden pins   
which held the ropes of the  tent1 and  
in her other hand a workman's mallet1   
and when ,sisera was  sound asleep she  
went to him softly1 and drove the pin   
straight through  his head4 ,and ,barak 
and his men came running by in pursuit  
of ,sisera3  and ,jael came to the tent 
door1 and said1 8,come here1 and ,i will
 show  you the man whom you are         
seeking40 ,and ,barak came in1 and there
 was  ,sisera dead4 ,this1 you          
understand1 was a long1 long time ago1  

when  people did not know so much as we 
know now about the difference between   
right and wrong3 and it was in the midst
 of war1 when very dreadful  things are 
done4 ,anyhow1 ,sisera was dead1 and the
 ,children of ,israel  were delivered   
from the ,canaanites4          ,,xviii  
,,the ,,altar ,,of ,,baal               
,sometimes the ,children of ,israel     
fought with the people who lived in the 
,promised ,land1 as ,barak fought with  
,sisera in the ,great ,plain4 ,sometimes
  they made friends with them and       
learned their ways2 and that was worse  
than war1 because their ways were very  
bad4 ,they called ,god ,baal1 and  they 
thought that there were many ,baals1 one
 for each place4 ,they  believed that   
,baal sent the sun and the rain and made
 things grow in the  fields1 and they   
told the ,children of ,israel that if   
they wished the sun  to shine and the   
rain to fall they must build altars to  
,baal and say  their prayers to him4    
,and some of the ,children of ,israel   

did so4 ,they  forgot ,god and served   
,baal4 ,but the men who served ,baal    
thought that  ,baal did not care whether
 they were good or bad1 and so they did 
not  care either4    ,now1 after the    
battle of the ,great ,plain there was   
peace for many years4  ,and the         
,children of ,israel had farms and      
pastures in the plain4 ,there  were wide
 fields of wheat and barley1 and droves 
of sheep and oxen4  ,then the           
,midianites came4    ,the ,midianites   
were wild people who lived in the       
deserts beyond the  ,jordan4 ,they had  
no cities to dwell in1 but wandered     
about from place to  place1 riding on   
swift camels1 sleeping in tents1 and    
stealing cattle4  ,and some of them came
 over and saw the ,great ,plain1 how it 
lay shining  in the sun1 with the river 
winding in and out between the pleasant 
farms4 ,and they went back and told the 
others1 and pretty soon1 when the       
harvest was ripe1 there came a great    
army of ,midianites4 ,they had two      

kings1 named ,zebah and ,zalmunna1 and  
two princes1 named ,oreb1 8the  ,raven10
 and ,zeeb1 8the ,wolf40 ,the kings and 
the princes wore red cloaks1  and had   
gold chains around their camels' necks2 
and all the dark-faced  men who rode    
behind them had great rings of gold hung
 in their ears4    ,over the ,jordan    
they came1 like swarms of locusts1 and  
settled down upon  the ,great ,plain4   
,they trampled upon the farms1 and stole
 the wheat1 and  drove away the sheep   
and oxen4 ,before they came the land    
looked like the  ,garden of ,eden1 but  
after they went away it was like a      
desolate  wilderness4 ,and the ,children
 of ,israel were poor and hungry and    
miserable4 ,and the next year1 when they
 planted the fields again and the       
barley and the wheat were ripe and ready
 for the harvest1 over came the         
,midianites and destroyed the farms as  
they had done before4 ,and so on1  year 
after year1 until the ,children of      
,israel hid themselves in dens  among   

the mountains and in caves among the    
rocks4 ,and it seemed as if  ,god had   
forgotten them4    ,but in a village    
beside the ,great ,plain there was an   
altar of ,baal4 ,it  was made of large  
stones piled together1 and was on the   
top of a cliff1  and a grove of trees   
stood around it4 ,and one morning the   
people of the  village waked as usual   
and looked up towards the altar of      
,baal1 and1  behold1 it was broken down4
 ,not one stone lay upon another4 ,and  
all the  trees of the grove were cut    
down4 ,and in the place of the old altar
 was  a new one1 made like an altar of  
,god1 and on it burned a great fire made
  of the wood of the sacred trees4 ,so  
they asked who had done this thing1  and
 they found that a young man named      
,gideon had done it4 ,and they laid     
hold upon ,gideon1 intending to put him 
to death because he had destroyed  the  
altar of ,baal4    ,but ,gideon said1   
8,i have had a message from the ,lord4  
,yesterday ,i was  threshing wheat1 in a

 secret place among the rocks to hide it
 from the  ,midianites4 ,and behold1    
there was a man1 like an angel1 sitting 
under an  oak1 who said to me1 #8,the   
,lord is with thee1 thou mighty man of  
valor4'    8,and ,i said1 #8,how can the
 ,lord be with me when ,he has forgotten
 us all8  ,oh1 my ,lord1 if the ,lord be
 with us1 why then is all this befallen 
us8  ,the ,lord has cast us off and has 
delivered us into the hands of the      
,midianites4'    8,and the man said to  
me1 #8,go in this thy might1 and save   
,israel from the  ,midianites4'    8,and
 ,i answered1 #8,o ,lord1 how shall ,i  
save ,israel8 ,my family is the  poorest
 in my tribe1 and ,i am the least in my 
family4'    8,but he said again1 #8,go  
and save ,israel4 ,i will be with thee4'
    8,and even then ,i could not believe
 that the ,lord had chosen me4 ,i hardly
  knew whether ,i was awake or dreaming4
 ,and ,i said1 #8,wait here1' and ,i ran
  and fetched meat and bread in a basket
 and broth in a pot1 and gave them  to  

the man to eat1 and he told me to put   
them on the rock4 ,and so ,i did1  and  
he put forth the end of the staff which 
he had in his hand and  touched them1   
and1 behold1 the rock blazed with fire  
and the bread and  the meat and the     
broth were consumed1 and in the smoke   
the angel  disappeared4    8,then ,i    
knew that ,i had seen a vision from the 
,lord4 ,this is why ,i went  last night 
and pulled down ,baal's altar1 and built
 the ,lord's altar in  the place of it40
 ,and ,gideon's father said1 8,let ,baal
 look out for  himself40    ,so the     
people of the village1 and of the       
country round about1 knew that  the     
,lord had called ,gideon1 and that he   
would save them from the  ,midianites4  
,and they turned away from serving ,baal
 and served ,god1 and  waited to see    
what would happen next4          ,,xix  
,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,the ,,lamps ,,and 
,,pitchers      ,one day the word was   
brought to ,gideon that the ,midianites 
were coming4  ,king ,zebah and ,king    

,zalmunna1 and ,oreb the ,raven and     
,zeeb the ,wolf1 with  thousands of     
fierce men on camels1 were on the march4
 ,on they came  across the ,jordan1 and 
like locusts they began to spread over  
the ,great  ,plain4    ,and ,gideon said
 to himself1 8,did ,i dream about the   
angel1 or was it  true8 ,did he sit     
beneath the oak1 and tell me that ,god  
wished me to  fight the ,midianites8 did
 he strike fire out of the rock and go  
up in  the smoke80 ,and ,gideon said1   
8,i will make sure4 ,to-night ,i will   
spread  out a fleece of wool and ask    
,god for a sign4 ,if in the morning the 
fleece is wet with dew while the earth  
around it is dry1 then ,i will  know    
that the ,lord has sent me40 ,so he     
spread the fleece upon the  ground1 and 
when he rose up early the next morning1 
the ground was dry  and the fleece was  
so wet that he wrung the dew out of the 
fleece1 a  bowlful of water4    ,but    
still he was not satisfied4 8,perhaps10 
he said1 8it only happened  so40 ,and he

 asked for another sign4 8,to-night let 
the fleece be dry and  all the ground be
 wet40 ,and in the morning so it was4   
,the ground was wet  with dew1 but not a
 drop had fallen on the fleece4    ,then
 ,gideon blew a trumpet and called the  
people together1 and sent  messengers   
all about the country to call the       
fighting men1 and there was  a great    
army4 ,but when ,gideon came to see the 
army he did not like the  soldiers'     
looks3 it seemed to him that they were  
frightened4 ,he was  afraid that when   
they saw the ,midianites they would run 
away4 ,and he  made a speech4           
8,to-morrow10 he said1 8there will be a 
hard battle4 ,the  ,midianites are many 
in number and very fierce4 ,perhaps you 
would like to  go home4 ,if you are     
afraid1 if your knees are trembling1    
that is the  best thing to do4 ,go      
straight home to-day40 ,and twenty-two  
thousand men1  with trembling knees and 
pale faces1 drew a long breath of relief
 and  went home as fast as their legs   

could carry them4 ,and there were left  
ten thousand4    ,but ,gideon did not   
like the looks of the ten thousand4 ,now
 there was a  spring in that place4 ,the
 water came clear and cold out of ,mount
 ,gilboa  and became a river4 ,and      
across the river were the ,midianites in
 their  tents as far as the eye could   
see4 ,and very early in the morning     
,gideon  brought the ten thousand to the
 river and the spring and bade them     
drink2 and as they drank he watched     
them4 ,most of them threw themselves    
upon the ground beside the water and put
 their lips to the stream and  drank2   
and if there had been any ,midianites   
hidden in the bushes they  could have   
shot the drinkers with arrows1 for they 
were off their guard4  ,but three       
hundred took up water in their hands and
 drank1 with their  other hands holding 
their weapons and their eyes wide open4 
,these three  hundred ,gideon chose1 and
 sent the others home4    ,so the three 
hundred waited with ,gideon for the     

going down of the sun4  ,and when it was
 dark1 and the lights were out in the   
camp of the  ,midianites1 ,gideon took  
his armor-bearer1 and they two went     
alone1 very  softly1 and crept about    
among the tents of ,midian4 ,the        
,midianites lay in  the valley like     
grasshoppers for multitude1 and their   
camels were  without number1 like the   
sand by the seaside4 ,and as ,gideon and
 his  armor-bearer passed a tent1 they  
heard men talking4    ,one man said1 8,i
 dreamed a dream1 and1 lo1 a cake of    
barley bread  tumbled into the army of  
,midian1 and came into a tent and struck
 it so  that it fell and was overturned 
and lay upon the ground40               
,illustration3 ,,gideon ,,hears ,,the   
,,telling ,,of ,a ,,dream    ,and the   
other man said1 8,that means the sword  
of ,gideon1 for into his  hands has ,god
 delivered all of us this night40       
,then ,gideon knew that the soldiers    
were afraid1 and he went back to his    
own camp and called his three hundred   

men together4    ,and ,gideon divided   
the three hundred into three companies1 
a hundred in  each company2 and to every
 man he gave a trumpet and an empty     
pitcher  and a lamp2 but the lamp was   
what we call a torch1 a burning stick4  
,and  ,gideon said1 8,watch me1 and do  
as you see me do4 ,when ,i blow my      
trumpet1  you all blow yours1 and shout 
with all your might1 #8,the sword of the
  ,lord and of ,gideon6 ,the sword of   
the ,lord and of ,gideon6'0    ,so they 
all crept softly toward the enemy1 every
 man with his lamp and  pitcher in his  
left hand and his trumpet in his right4 
,and the  ,midianites were fast asleep1 
for it was almost midnight4 ,and        
suddenly  ,gideon gave the signal2 he   
blew a great blast upon his trumpet1    
then  with the trumpet he broke the     
pitcher1 and the torch he waved about   
his  head1 shouting1 8,the sword of the 
,lord and of ,gideon60 ,and all the     
others did the same1 and there was a    
great blowing of trumpets and a  great  

crashing of pitchers and a great shining
 of flaring torches1 and a  great sound 
of shouting4 ,and the ,midianites waked 
up in terrible alarm1  and nobody knew  
what was the matter2 and they looked    
this way and that1  and in every        
direction there were shouting men and   
flames of fire4 ,and  they ran like     
frightened sheep1 some on foot and some 
on camels1 down  the valley and over the
 ,jordan1 and out of the country2 and   
they never  came back again4    ,that   
was the end of ,zebah and ,zalmunna1 and
 of ,oreb the ,raven and ,zeeb  the     
,wolf1 and their fierce soldiers with   
them4          ,,xx    ,,the ,,migration
 ,,of ,,dan      ,the ,children of      
,israel were divided into thirteen      
tribes1 as the  ,american people before 
the ,revolution were divided into       
thirteen  colonies4 ,for each of the    
twelve sons of ,jacob became the founder
 of a  tribe1 except ,joseph1 who became
 the founder of two tribes1 ,ephraim and
  ,manasseh4 ,the ,promised ,land was   

divided among these thirteen tribes or  
colonies4 ,but the tribe of ,dan was not
 satisfied4 ,they thought that the  land
 which was given them was not large     
enough4    ,so the tribe of ,dan sent   
five men to find another place for them 
to live  in1 and away they went into the
 north to find it2 as if1 in the early  
days1 the colony of ,rhode ,island had  
sent men to find them a new country  in 
the woods of ,maine4 ,and on the way1   
they came to the house of a man  named  
,micah4    ,now ,micah had stolen some  
money which belonged to his mother4 ,he 
had  taken eleven hundred pieces of     
silver4 ,but afterwards he was very     
sorry  for the wrong thing which he had 
done1 and he brought back the silver4   
,and his mother took some of the silver 
and had it made into two images1  to    
look like ,god3 though nobody knows how 
,god looks4 ,and they built a  little   
church1 which they called the ,house of 
,god1 and in the church  they put the   
images so that they might look at them  

while they said  their prayers4 ,and the
 neighbors used to come to ,micah's     
church2 and  ,micah's son conducted the 
service till they could get a regular   
minister4    ,one day1 there came       
walking along the road by ,micah's house
 a young man  named ,jonathan1 who was  
out in the world in search of his       
fortune4 ,and  he stopped to speak to   
,micah4 ,he told ,micah that his name   
was ,jonathan1  and that he was a       
grandson of ,moses1 and that he was a   
regular minister4    ,and ,micah said1  
8,where are you going1 ,jonathan80      
,and ,jonathan said1 8,oh1 ,i am just   
wandering around looking for a good     
place in which to stay40    ,and ,micah 
said1 8,stay here with me1 and take the 
service in my little  church1 and be a  
father and a priest to me and my family1
 and ,i will  give you a salary4 ,every 
year you shall have ten pieces of silver
 and  your board and clothes40 ,that    
satisfied ,jonathan1 and he became the  
minister of ,micah's church4    ,now    

,jonathan1 in his wanderings1 had become
 acquainted with the tribe  of ,dan1 so 
that the five men who were looking for a
 new country knew him  well4 ,and they  
came to the house of ,micah just at     
church time1 and heard  the priest      
saying the service4 ,and they said one  
to another1 8,that is a  familiar voice4
 ,it sounds like the voice of           
,jonathan40 ,so they went in  and found 
,jonathan4 ,and they said1 8,jonathan1  
who brought you here8 ,what  are you    
doing in this place8 ,how much wages do 
you get80 ,and ,jonathan  answered all  
their questions4 ,and the spies said1   
8,pray for us1 that we  may have a      
prosperous journey40    ,then on they   
went1 and presently they came to a      
little town called  ,laish4 ,it stood   
beside the sources of the ,jordan1 and  
all around was a  fair and fertile      
country4 ,moreover1 the people were so  
far away from any  neighbors that they  
had no walls1 but lived quiet and       
secure1 and never  thought of danger4   

,the five spies agreed that this was the
 very spot for  which they were looking4
 ,so they went back to the tribe of ,dan
 and said1  8,we have found the very    
place4 ,it is a wide and beautiful land1
 with  woods and water1 and the people  
know nothing about war4 ,come1 let us   
go1  and take the place away from them40
 ,for this1 you remember1 was so long   
ago that people thought that some things
 were right which we now know to  be    
wrong4    ,so six hundred bold men of   
the tribe of ,dan took weapons of war in
 their  hands and started on the march  
for ,laish4 ,and as they went1 they     
passed  the house of ,micah4 ,and the   
five spies said1 8,do you know what is  
here8  ,this man has images of gods1    
made of gold and silver4 ,might they not
 be  useful for us80 ,so the six hundred
 stood at ,micah's gate1 and the five   
went quietly into ,micah's church1 and  
brought the images4    ,but ,jonathan   
saw them1 and he cried out and said1    
8,what are you doing80    ,and they     

said1 8,hold your peace1 lay your hand  
upon your mouth1 and go  with us1 and be
 to us a father and a priest4 ,is it not
 better to be the  minister of a tribe  
than the minister of one man80    ,and  
,jonathan1 when he heard that1 was very 
glad4 ,he let the spies steal  ,micah's 
images1 and he himself went with them4  
,so they all went upon the  way to      
,laish4    ,now when they had gone a    
good way1 they heard a noise of         
shouting2 and  they looked back1 and who
 should come running along the road but 
,micah  and his neighbors4 ,and they    
turned and said to ,micah1 8,what is the
  matter with you8 ,why do you follow us
 and make all this noise80    ,and      
,micah cried1 8,you have stolen both my 
priest and my gods1 and away  you go4   
,and you say1 #8,what is the matter with
 you8'0    ,and the men of ,dan said1   
8,micah1 take our advice3 don't talk so 
loud4  ,some of us might possibly get   
mad and hurt you60 ,so they went their  
way4  ,and when ,micah saw that they    

were too many for him1 he turned and    
went  back to his house4 ,then the men  
of ,dan took ,laish and settled in that 
country2 and they built a church for    
,micah's images1 and ,jonathan became   
their priest4          ,,xxi    ,,the   
,,riddle ,,of ,,the ,,lion ,,and ,,the  
,,bees      ,on the side of a green     
hill1 in the midst of the ,promised     
,land1 lived a  man named ,manoah and   
his wife4 ,they belonged to the tribe of
 ,dan1 but  had stayed behind when the  
six hundred went out to settle in the   
land of  ,laish4 ,in the distance1 along
 the edge of the sky1 lay the sea2 and  
between the hill and the sea were miles 
and miles of yellow cornfields1  with   
vineyards here and there1 and groves of 
olive trees4 ,but all of  this fair     
country belonged to the ,philistines4   
,and the ,philistines and  the ,children
 of ,israel were enemies2 and after the 
six hundred boldest  men of ,dan had    
gone1 the ,philistines were very bad to 
those who were  left4 ,indeed1 all of   

the ,children of ,israel were afraid of 
them4    ,now as ,manoah and his wife   
looked out from their hillside over the 
,philistine country1 they said often one
 to another1 8,oh1 that we had a  good  
stout son to defend us against our      
enemies in our old age60 ,and one  day  
when ,manoah came home from work1 his   
wife said1 8,what do you  suppose       
happened to-day8 ,a strange man stopped 
and spoke to me1 and said  that we would
 have a son4 ,i was so frightened that  
,i forgot to ask him  whence he came1   
and he did not tell his name4 ,indeed1  
,i didn't know  whether he was a man or 
an angel4 ,but he said that our prayer  
would be  answered and that ,god would  
send us a son40    ,the next day1 the   
strange man came by again1 and ,manoah's
 wife was in  the field1 and she saw him
 and called her husband4    ,and ,manoah
 said1 8,are you the man who spoke to my
 wife yesterday80 ,and  he said1 8,i    
am40    ,and ,manoah said1 8,let thy    
words come to pass4 ,only tell us how to

 bring  up the child that he may be     
strong and sturdy40    ,and the angel   
answered1 8,let neither the mother nor  
the child taste  either grapes or wine1 
and never let his hair be cut40    ,then
 ,manoah brought out bread and meat and 
laid them on a rock1 and  there was a   
fire burning by the rock1 and           
somehow1--whether the flame  dazzled    
their eyes or the smoke was blown in    
their faces so that they  could not     
see1--when they looked1 the man had     
disappeared4    ,then days passed and   
days passed1 and ,god sent the child1 as
 the man had  said1 and his hair was so 
yellow and his face was so bright that  
they  named him ,samson2 that is1 8,the 
,little ,sun40 ,he grew up a stout lad1 
the  strongest in the neighborhood4 ,he 
never tasted either grapes or wine1  and
 every year his hair grew longer and    
longer1 till they braided it in  seven  
big braids hanging down his back4 ,but  
if the boys with whom he  played ever   
said anything about the length of       

,samson's hair1 they said  it when      
,samson could not hear them2 for they   
were very careful not to  make him      
angry4 ,nobody could throw so high1 or  
jump so far1 or run so  fast as ,samson4
    ,at last1 it became time for ,samson
 to be married1 and he fell in love     
with a ,philistine girl who lived in a  
place called ,timnath4 ,and ,samson     
went down one day1 with his father and  
mother1 to call upon the father  and    
mother of the girl1 and there came out a
 young lion from a vineyard  and roared 
against ,samson4 ,and ,samson caught the
 lion and killed him  with his hands4   
,then1 after a while1 as the wedding day
 drew near1  ,samson and his father and 
mother went again to ,timnath to the    
marriage4  ,and as they went1 they      
passed the place where ,samson had      
killed the  lion1 and behold1 among the 
dry bones of the lion there was a swarm 
of  bees2 and ,samson took some of the  
,illustration3 ,,samson ,,kills ,,the   
,,lion ,,with ,,his ,,hands    honey and

 gave it to his father and mother1 and  
they went along the way  eating it4     
,now it was the custom in those days1 at
 weddings1 to tell riddles4 ,and        
,samson told a riddle4 ,and his riddle  
was this3 8,out of the eater came  forth
 meat1 and out of the strong came forth 
sweetness40 ,and the wedding  guests    
tried to guess the riddle3 one said     
this1 and another said that1  but none  
was right4 ,the game was that if any of 
the thirty guests could  find out the   
riddle within seven days1 ,samson was to
 give every man a  shirt and a suit of  
clothes2 but if they could not guess it1
 they were  to give him thirty shirts   
and thirty suits of clothes4 ,so the    
seventh  day came1 and nobody had       
guessed the riddle4 ,now the guests had 
gone to  ,samson's wife and said1 8,if  
you don't make your husband tell you the
  answer to the riddle and then tell us1
 we will burn down your house40 ,so     
,samson's wife came to him every day1   
and cried and cried1 and said1 8,you    

don't love me4 ,if you loved me you     
would tell me the answer to the         
riddle40 ,but he said1 8,i have not told
 even my father or my mother40 ,at      
last1 however1 on the seventh day1 she  
begged so hard that ,samson told  her3  
and straight she went and told the      
wedding guests4 ,so just as the  sun was
 going down on the evening of the       
seventh day1 they came to  ,samson1     
boasting and laughing1 and they said1   
8,what is sweeter than  honey8 and what 
is stronger than a lion80 ,thus they    
guessed the riddle1  and ,samson paid   
the forfeit of thirty shirts and thirty 
suits of  clothes4          ,,xxii      
,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,strength          
,samson was not the captain of an army1 
like ,joshua and ,barak and ,gideon4    
,he fought the ,philistines alone4 ,he  
used to go out by himself1 when they    
were not looking for him1 and surprise  
them4 ,the favorite stories of the      
,israelites were the adventures of      
,samson1 as the favorite stories of the 

,greeks were the adventures of          
,hercules4    ,one time1 they said1 he  
caught three hundred foxes and tied     
their tails  together1 and in each knot 
he put a lighted torch1 and away went   
the  foxes with the firebrands into the 
standing corn1 and burned it down4      
,another time1 the ,philistines were    
after him1 and he let his neighbors  tie
 him with ropes and leave him on a rock4
 ,and three thousand  ,philistines were 
in pursuit1 and when they saw him they  
gave a great  shout and rushed upon him2
 and he burst the ropes1 and picked up a
 dry  bone1 the jawbone of an ass1 and  
fought the ,philistines with it so that 
they fled like frightened sheep4        
,once he was in the town of ,gaza1 which
 had stout walls around it4 ,and  they  
thought that they had him fast4 ,but in 
the night1 he took the great  gates of  
the city1 and picked them up1 and the   
posts with them1 and  carried them off4 
,and when the ,philistines awoke in the 
morning1 ,samson  was gone1 and there   

were the gates away up on the side of a 
hill4    ,but at last1 after ,samson's  
wife was dead1 he fell in love with     
another  ,philistine woman1 whose name  
was ,delilah4 ,and she was a false      
friend4  ,for the ,philistines said to  
,delilah1 8,come now1 get ,samson to    
tell you  the secret of his strength1   
that we may have the mastery of him1 and
 we  will give you eleven hundred pieces
 of silver40 ,and she promised to do    
it4    ,so ,delilah said1 8,tell me1    
,samson1 what is the secret of your     
strength8  ,what is the way to bind you 
so that you cannot get loose80    ,and  
,samson answered1 8,if ,i were bound    
with seven new bowstrings ,i should  be 
as weak as any other man40    ,and      
,delilah said1 8,oh1 ,samson1 let me    
try2 let me see if ,i can tie you  so   
that you cannot get free40    ,and      
,samson held out his arms1 and she tied 
seven new bowstrings tight  about him   
with hard knots4 ,and the lords of the  
,philistines were in the  next room1    

waiting4    ,and ,delilah cried1 8,the  
,philistines be upon thee1 ,samson60    
,and he  started up1 and broke the      
bowstrings as if they were strings which
 had  been scorched in the fire4 ,so the
 secret of his strength was not known4  
,but the next day1 ,delilah teased      
,samson again to tell the secret4 8,you 
mocked me1 yesterday10 she said1 8and   
told me lies4 ,now1 truly1 ,samson1  how
 may you be bound so that you must stay 
bound80    ,and ,samson said1 8,if ,i   
were to be tied with new ropes which    
have never  been used1 then ,i should be
 as weak as any other man40    ,so      
,delilah took new ropes and tied him    
fast4 ,and the lords of the             
,philistines were in the next room1     
waiting4    ,and ,delilah cried1 8,the  
,philistines be upon thee1 ,samson60    
,and he broke  the ropes as if they had 
been thread4    ,again1 the next day1   
she asked him the same question4 ,and   
,samson said1  8,if the seven locks of  
my hair were woven into a web1 ,i could 

not get  away40 ,and ,delilah was       
weaving cloth upon a loom1 and while    
,samson was  asleep she wove his long   
hair into the web and cried again1 8,the
  ,philistines be upon thee1 ,samson60  
,and straight he waked1 and stood up1   
and pulled away the web and the loom    
together4    ,then ,delilah said1 8,how 
can you say1 #8,i love you1' when every 
day you  mock me and lie to me6 ,tell me
 true1 what is the secret of your mighty
  strength80    ,and ,samson told her   
true4 8,if they cut off my hair10 he    
said1 8then ,i  shall have no strength  
at all40    ,and ,delilah knew that this
 time he had told the truth1 and she    
called  for the lords of the            
,philistines4 8,come only this once10   
she said1 8and  you shall have him40    
,and they came1 and brought the silver  
pieces with  them4    ,and ,samson      
slept1 in the heat of the day1 with his 
head upon ,delilah's  knees4 ,and the   
men came in softly and cut off the seven
 locks of his  hair4 ,then ,delilah     

cried1 8,the ,philistines be upon thee1 
,samson60 ,and he  awoke1 and saw the   
,philistines coming1 and he stretched   
forth his great  arms1 and they were    
like the arms of any other man4 ,and the
 ,philistines  laid hold upon him1 and  
put out both his eyes4    ,so the       
,philistines brought ,samson down to    
,gaza1 and bound him with brass         
fetters1 and put him in prison1 and made
 him grind their corn4 ,but his  hair   
began to grow again4 ,and at last1 one  
day1 the ,philistines made a  great     
feast in the temple of ,dagon1 their    
god4 ,and there were crowds and  crowds 
of people1 and all the lords of the     
,philistines2 there were  people even on
 the roof4 ,and they brought ,samson    
from the prison that  they might look at
 him1 and laugh at him4 ,and a lad led  
him by the  hand4 ,and by and by ,samson
 said to the lad1 8,lead me to a        
pillar40 ,now  the temple roof rested on
 two huge pillars1 quite near together4 
,and  ,samson cried to ,god and said1   

8,o ,lord ,god1 remember me1 ,i pray    
thee1 and  strengthen me1 only this     
once1 ,o ,god1 that ,i may be avenged   
upon the  ,philistines for one of my two
 eyes40 ,and he thrust out his great    
arms  where he stood between the        
pillars1 and pushed them hard with all  
his  might1 and they fell1 and the roof 
fell with them upon the ,philistines1   
and upon their lords1 and upon ,samson4 
,so the dead which he slew at his  death
 were more than they which he slew in   
his life4          ,,xxiii    ,,the     
,,bramble ,,and ,,the ,,fire            
,abimelech was a king's son4 ,his father
 was the brave ,gideon who fought  the  
battle of the ,lamps and ,pitchers4 ,but
 he had seventy brothers4 ,so  when     
,gideon died the question at once arose1
 8,which of all the princes  shall be   
the king80 ,this question was promptly  
answered by ,abimelech4 ,he  went to the
 men of a town called ,shechem1 and     
said1 8,no nation can have  seventy     
kings4 ,the right number is one4 ,now   

make me king1 and ,i will be  your      
friend40 ,and that pleased the men of   
,shechem4 ,they gave ,abimelech  seventy
 pieces of silver1 and he hired seventy 
bad men1 and one black  night they set  
out from ,shechem1 every man with a     
piece of silver in one  pocket and a    
sharp knife in the other1 and when they 
came back in the  early morning all of  
,abimelech's seventy brothers had been  
killed but  one4 ,one brother1 ,jotham1 
the youngest of them all1 escaped4      
,now the town of ,shechem lay amidst the
 mountains4 ,on one side was a  mountain
 called ,ebal1 and on the other side was
 a mountain called  ,gerizim4 ,and that 
day1 the men of ,shechem heard the voice
 of some one  calling1 and here they    
looked and there they looked to find    
where the  voice came from1 and at last 
on ,mount ,gerizim they saw a boy4 ,and 
there  was ,abimelech's youngest        
brother1 ,jotham4 ,and ,jotham lifted up
 his voice  and cried to the men of     
,shechem1 and they came out of their    

houses and  stood in the street to hear 
him4    8,hearken unto me10 he said1 8ye
 men of ,shechem1 that ,god may hearken 
unto you4 ,one time the trees resolved  
to choose a king1 and they said to  the 
olive tree1 #8,come thou and reign over 
us4' ,but the olive tree said  unto     
them1 #8,shall ,i leave my oil which    
honors ,god and man1 and go to be  king 
over the trees8' ,then they said to the 
fig tree1 #8,come thou and  reign over  
us1' ,but the fig tree said1 #8,shall ,i
 leave my sweetness and  my good fruit  
and go to be king over the trees8' ,then
 they said to the  vine1 #8,come thou   
and reign over us1' ,but the vine said1 
#8,shall ,i leave  my wine which        
gladdens ,god and man and go to be king 
over the trees8'  ,thus the olive and   
the fig and the vine refused4 ,then said
 all the trees  unto the bramble1       
#8,come thou and reign over us1' ,and   
the bramble  consented4 #8,come1' said  
the bramble1 #8and get under my shadow4 
,but if  you play me false1 out of me   

shall fire come till even the cedars of 
,lebanon are burned4'0    ,thus did     
,jotham speak1 and lest anybody should  
fail to understand his  fable1 he told  
the men of ,shechem what it meant4      
8,my brother ,abimelech10 he said1 8is  
good for nothing4 ,he is like a  bramble
 in the field4 ,and you have made him   
your king4 ,now look out for  fire40 ,so
 saying1 he climbed down from the rock  
on which he stood1 and  disappeared in  
the woods and ran away4    ,and by and  
by the fire came4 ,for after three years
 there was a quarrel  between ,abimelech
 and the men of ,shechem4 ,the men of   
,shechem began to  rob the caravans as  
they went to and fro over the great     
roads through  ,abimelech's land4 ,and  
in the autumn1 when the grapes were     
ripe1 and the  men of ,shechem were all 
in the vineyards making wine and        
drinking it1  they defied ,abimelech4   
,they said that they were not afraid of 
him4 ,and  they had for leader a man    
named ,gaal1 who wished to be king in   

,abimelech's place4 8,who is            
,abimelech80 he said2 8why should we    
serve  him8 ,make me your captain1 and  
,i will look after ,abimelech40 ,and    
this  they agreed to do4 ,but ,zebul1   
the mayor of the city1 sent word and    
told  ,abimelech4    ,and ,abimelech    
rose up1 and all the people that were   
with him1 by night1  and marched toward 
,shechem4 ,now early in the morning     
,gaal the rebel and  ,zebul the mayor   
stood together in the gate of the city  
and looked out4    ,and ,gaal said1     
8,see1 there are people coming down from
 the top of the  mountains40    ,but    
,zebul laughed and said1 8,oh1 you see  
the shadows of the passing  clouds40    
,and ,gaal spoke again and said1 8,see6 
see6 there are people coming over       
,midland ,hill1 and there are others    
gathering under the ,magician's ,tree40 
,and ,zebul said1 8,where is your mouth 
with which you said1 #8,who is          
,abimelech8' ,these are the people whom 
you have despised4 ,go out now and      

fight40    ,so ,gaal went out and       
fought1 and ,abimelech beat him and     
chased him and  all his followers into  
the town4 ,and the men of ,shechem fled 
into their  strong tower4 ,and          
,abimelech and his men took axes in     
their hands and  went off into the      
woods2 and ,abimelech said1 8,watch me1 
and do as you  see me do1 quickly40 ,and
 he cut off a big branch of a tree and  
put it  over his shoulder1 and all the  
soldiers did the same4 ,and down they   
came  against the tower of ,shechem1    
like a marching forest1 like ,birnam    
,wood  on its famous march to           
,dunsinane4 ,the boughs they piled about
 the tower  and set them on fire1 and   
burned the tower and the men of ,shechem
 with  it4    ,but the next day1 when   
,abimelech tried in the same way to burn
 the tower  of ,thebez1 suddenly the end
 came4 ,for a woman on the top of the   
tower  had a piece of a millstone in her
 hand1 and as ,abimelech came near she  
threw the stone with all her might1 and 

it hit him in the head4 ,and that  he   
might die a soldier's death1 he called  
his armor-bearer to come and  kill him  
with his sword4 ,thus he died4 ,and thus
 the evil both of the men  of ,shechem  
and of ,abimelech was punished4         
,,xxiv    ,,jephthah',s ,,daughter      
,her father was an outlaw1 like ,robin  
,hood4 ,for no fault of his he had  been
 driven from his home1 and had gone to  
live in the wild forest4  ,there he had 
been joined by other men1 some bad and  
some good1 who had  been driven out like
 himself or had run away in fear of     
being punished4  ,and they went on      
forays1 stealing sheep and oxen4 ,and   
people who had  money in their purses   
were afraid to go by that way1 lest     
,jephthah and  his merry men should fall
 upon them and send them back with empty
  pockets1 and sore heads into the      
bargain4 ,though ,i hope that ,jephthah1
  like ,robin ,hood1 troubled only those
 who cheated their neighbors or were    
cruel to the poor4 ,anyhow1 his fame    

spread through all the land of  ,gilead1
 in which he lived1 and everybody knew  
that ,jephthah was a bold  outlaw1 and  
that he had with him a band of stout    
companions4 ,in the  greenwood1 with    
these wild men1 lived a little girl2 and
 she was  ,jephthah's only child4       
,the land of ,gilead was bounded by     
three rivers and a desert4 ,in the      
north a river ran into the ,jordan1 and 
in the south a river ran into the       
,jordan1 and the desert lay along the   
east4 ,and in the desert was a wild     
tribe called the men of ,ammon4 ,and the
 men of ,ammon sent word to the men  of 
,gilead and said1 8,the country in which
 you live belongs to us4 ,that  was     
where our fathers lived4 ,come now1 move
 out and let us in40 ,and when  the men 
of ,gilead heard that1 they were sore   
distressed1 for the men of  ,ammon were 
mighty men4 8,where is a man10 they     
said1 8who can be the  captain of our   
army8 ,if he can lead us into battle and
 gain the victory1  he shall be the king

 of ,gilead40 ,and they sent to         
,jephthah and asked  him4    8,come10   
they said1 8and be our captain1 that we 
may fight with the men  of ,ammon40     
,but ,jephthah said1 8,did you not hate 
me1 and expel me out of my father's     
house8 ,why are you come to me now when 
you are in distress80    ,and the men of
 ,gilead said1 8,if you will be our     
captain so that we may  defeat our      
enemies1 you shall be our king40    ,so 
,jephthah and his merry men and his     
little daughter came out of the  woods  
with the messengers of ,gilead4 ,and    
they all stopped at a church  beside the
 road and said their prayers4 ,and there
 they told ,god what  they had promised4
 ,and ,jephthah stood up and made a vow4
 8,o ,lord10 he  said1 8if thou shalt   
without fail deliver the men of ,ammon  
into my  hands1 then it shall be that   
whosoever comes first out of my doors to
  meet me when ,i return in peace1 ,i   
will sacrifice to thee40 ,for ,jephthah 
thought that if he made a vow like that1

 the ,lord would be more likely  to give
 him victory4 ,this1 you understand1 was
 a long time ago1 when  people were very
 ignorant about ,god4 ,of this vow1     
,jephthah's daughter  knew nothing4     
,thus ,jephthah became the captain4 ,and
 he sent messengers to the king of      
,ammon and said1 8,why are you come to  
fight me in my own land80 ,and the  king
 of ,ammon answered1 8,your land is my  
land4 ,your fathers took it from  my    
fathers4 ,come now1 give it up again    
peaceably40 ,but ,jephthah said1  8,when
 our fathers came into these parts out  
of ,egypt1 your fathers were  not living
 here4 ,they had been driven out by     
,sihon1 king of the  ,amorites4 ,and our
 fathers fought with ,sihon and beat him
 in battle and  took his land1 from one 
river to the other4 ,it was not your    
land4 ,and  anyhow1 all this happened   
three hundred years ago4 ,the ,lord be  
judge  this day between the men of      
,gilead and the men of ,ammon40 ,so they
 fell  to fighting4 ,and the men of     

,gilead gained a great victory4    ,and 
,jephthah came home in triumph to his   
house1 and all the women came  out to   
meet him1 who had stayed behind while   
the men went to battle4 ,out  they came1
 singing and dancing and playing on     
tambourines4 ,and who  should be at the 
head of the procession but ,jephthah's  
little daughter6  ,so she was the first 
person who came out to meet him when he 
returned in  peace4 ,she was his only   
child2 beside her he had neither son nor
  daughter4 ,and when her father saw her
 he cried with a great cry1 and  said1  
8,alas1 my daughter6 you have dealt me a
 worse blow than any that  was struck   
this day in battle3 you have brought me 
down to the ground4  ,for ,i have vowed 
a vow to ,god1 and ,i must keep it1 and 
here you come to  meet me40    ,then    
,jephthah's daughter understood what the
 vow was1 and that it meant  her death4 
,and she said1 8,my father1 you have    
gained the victory3 that  is the great  
thing4 ,do to me according to what you  

have promised to the  ,lord40 ,it was   
all terribly wrong1 though ,jephthah did
 not know it4 ,but  his daughter1 like  
,iphigenia in another story1 showed     
herself a martyr  and a heroine4 ,for   
the sake of her country1 as she         
believed1 she gave  her life4    ,so    
they made ,jephthah their king1 but his 
happiness was gone4 ,he fought  a battle
 with the men of ,ephraim and drove them
 back over the river1 and  stationed his
 soldiers on the bank where they must   
cross4 ,and when  anybody came running1 
the soldiers said1 8,are you a man of   
,ephraim80 and  if he said 8,no10 they  
said1 8,say #8,shibboleth4'0 ,and if he 
said  8,sibboleth0 they knew that he    
belonged to ,ephraim1 for the men of    
,ephraim were not able to say sh4 ,but  
every year the women of ,israel  spent  
four days in the mountain weeping and   
lamenting in remembrance of  the        
sacrifice of ,jephthah's daughter4      
,,xxv    ,,the ,,king',s                
,,great-,,grandmother      ,all the     

great-grandmothers were once as young as
 we are4 ,so1 when this  story begins1  
,king ,david's great-grandmother was    
just about at the age  when girls are   
graduated from the grammar school4 ,she 
lived in ,moab1 in  the country of      
,balaam and ,balak1 and her name was    
,ruth4 ,and at that time  a new family  
moved into that neighborhood from the   
land of ,judah1 from  the town of       
,bethlehem4 ,the man's name was         
,elimelech1 and his wife's name  was    
,naomi1 and they had two sons4 ,and by  
and by one of the sons married  a girl  
named ,orpah1 and the other married     
,ruth4 ,then ten years passed1  and     
,elimelech and his two sons died1 and   
,naomi and ,ruth and ,orpah were  left  
alone4    ,then ,naomi took her two     
daughters-in-law each by the hand1 and  
with  tears in her eyes kissed them1 and
 told them that she was going back to   
,bethlehem4 ,and at first they both said
 that they would go with her4 ,but  she 
told them that they would better go     

home4 8,i have no more sons10 she  said1
 8and no good house for you to live in40
 ,and ,orpah went home1  crying as she  
went4 ,but ,ruth stayed with ,naomi4    
8,intreat me not10 she  said1 8to leave 
thee1 or to return from following after 
thee3 for  whither thou goest ,i will   
go1 and where thou lodgest ,i will      
lodge3 thy  people shall be my people1  
and thy ,god my ,god40 ,so they gathered
 their  things together and set out upon
 their journey4 ,over they went across  
the river ,jordan1 and climbed the      
hills1 and came at last to ,bethlehem4  
,and there they arrived at the beginning
 of the barley harvest4    ,now the next
 morning ,ruth said to her mother1 8,i  
must help to support  myself and you1 so
 that we may not starve4 ,let me go into
 the fields and  gather the barley which
 the reapers leave behind them40 ,for   
they had a  good law in that country    
which said that the farmers must not    
gather up  all of the wheat or the      
barley or the fruit1 but must leave some

 for the  poor4 ,so ,ruth went to glean 
the barley4 ,the field in which she     
gleaned  belonged to a rich farmer whose
 name was ,boaz4 ,and pretty soon out   
came  ,boaz to see how the work was     
getting on1 and he noticed ,ruth and    
asked  about her4 ,and the head reaper  
told him who she was4 ,and ,boaz was    
very  kind to her4    8,my daughter10 he
 said1 8stay with my maidens in my      
field4 ,nobody shall  harm you4 ,gather 
as much as you can carry4 ,when you are 
thirsty1 go and  drink out of the men's 
bucket1 and at noon when you are hungry 
come and  eat your lunch with us40      
,and ,ruth said1 8,how is it that you   
are so good to me1 a stranger80    ,and 
,boaz answered1 8,i have heard about    
you1 how you have left your own  land   
and your own people to be a good        
daughter to my old friend ,naomi40      
,so ,ruth gleaned all day behind the    
reapers in the field of ,boaz1 and  when
 she was thirsty she drank from their   
bucket1 and when it was time  for lunch1

 she dipped her bread in the vinegar    
with the others1 and ,boaz  himself     
passed her the parched corn4 ,and ,boaz 
told the reapers to drop  some handfuls 
in her way2 so that at night she had    
more than a bushel of  barley to take   
home4    ,and ,naomi said1 8,my         
daughter1 where have you gleaned        
to-day80 ,and ,ruth  said1 8,in the     
field of ,boaz1 and he was very kind to 
me40    8,why10 cried ,naomi1 8he is a  
near kinsman4 ,your husband's father was
 his  cousin40 ,so every day1 through   
barley harvest and through wheat        
harvest1  ,ruth gleaned from morning    
till night in the fields of ,boaz4      
,by and by1 good ,naomi said to herself1
 8,boaz has no wife1 and ,ruth has  no  
husband4 ,how pleasant it would be if   
they should marry60 ,and so she  planned
 and planned    ,illustration3 ,,boaz   
,,notices ,,ruth ,,and ,,asks ,,about   
,,her    how she might bring it to pass4
 ,and one day she called ,ruth and thus 
and  so she said to her1 and ,ruth1 who 

thought that everything that ,naomi     
said was right1 promised to do as she   
was told4 ,and that night the wind  was 
blowing and the moon was shining1 and   
,boaz was working late1  winnowing      
barley in the threshing-floor1 he and   
his men1 and after  supper he lay down  
on the floor at the end of the heap of  
barley and  went to sleep4 ,and in the  
middle of the night he waked and turned 
over  to sleep again1 and there was     
,ruth4    ,and ,boaz said1 8,who is     
this80    ,and she said1 8,i am ,ruth4  
,my husband's father was your cousin40  
,and he said1 8,you have done well1 my  
daughter1 to come to me4 ,i will do     
whatever you wish4 ,only there is a     
kinsman nearer than ,i4 ,we must first  
see him4 ,lie down now and sleep40 ,so  
she lay down and slept1 and the  next   
morning1 before the day was light1 she  
rose up and went home4    ,and that day 
,boaz sat by the city gate1 and the     
kinsman passed4 8,ho60  called ,boaz1   
8turn aside and sit down here40 ,and    

,boaz called ten men to  sit beside     
them4 8,now10 said ,boaz1 8,naomi has   
some land to sell which  belonged to our
 brother ,elimelech4 ,will you buy it80 
8,yes10 the kinsman said1 8,i will40    
8,but wait60 said ,boaz4 8,whoever buys 
the land must take ,naomi with it1  and 
,ruth her daughter40    8,that is too   
much for me10 said the kinsman1 and he  
took off his shoe to  show that he would
 not buy4    8,then the land is mine10  
said ,boaz4 ,and the next day he married
 ,ruth  amidst the rejoicings of all the
 people of ,bethlehem4 ,and by and by   
there was a little boy named ,obed1 and 
he became the father of ,jesse1  and    
,jesse became the father of ,david4     
,,xxvi    8,,samuel6 ,,samuel60         
,one time1 in the hill country1 among   
the mountains of ,ephraim1 there  lived 
a farmer named ,elkanah4 ,he and ,hannah
 his wife were comfortably  rich4 ,they 
had fields of wheat and vineyards of    
grapes1 and flocks and  herds1 and      
plenty of hay in the barn2 but in one   

way they were  poor1--they had no       
children4 ,sometimes ,hannah cried      
because the house  was so empty and     
still1 and there were no voices of      
children in it4  ,sometimes she was so  
sad and lonely that she could not eat1  
and though  her husband tried to comfort
 her1 and said1 8,hannah1 am ,i not     
better to  you than ten sons80 still she
 was full of grief4 ,for children are   
the  best gift which ,god gives to man1 
and all the cornfields and vineyards    
and sheep and oxen in the world are not 
to be compared with them4    ,one day1  
,hannah went in to town1 to ,shiloh2 and
 as she passed the church  she stopped  
and knelt down on the steps and prayed  
with all her heart  that ,god would give
 her a son4 ,and ,eli1 the minister1 was
 sitting on a  bench by the church door4
 ,eli was an old man1 and his two sons1 
,hophni  and ,phinehas1 who had become  
ministers in his place1 were not only   
bad  ministers1 but bad men1 so that    
many people had stopped going to church4

  ,in those days1 when people went to   
church1 they carried sheep with them1   
or other animals1 to offer to ,god4     
,this they did that they might show     
,god that they truly loved ,him3 they   
gave ,him the best they had4 ,but when  
they came with their sacrifices1 and the
 meat was in the pot cooking  over the  
church fire1 ,hophni and ,phinehas would
 send their servants1  each with a great
 three-pronged fork in his hand1 and    
they would thrust  their forks into the 
pot1 and whatever they brought up they  
would carry  away to their masters4     
8,give us meat10 they said1 8for the    
priests40 ,and  if anybody objected1 the
 servants answered1 8,if you will not   
give it1 we  will take it from you by   
force40 ,thus ,hophni and ,phinehas had 
plenty to  eat1 and grew rich1 and      
became more wicked day by day1 but the  
number of  persons who came to church   
grew less and less4 ,so when ,eli saw   
,hannah  praying at the church steps he 
was surprised4 ,nobody had been to      

church  to pray for a long time4 ,he    
could not believe1 at first1 that she   
was  really praying2 her lips moved1 but
 she made no sound4 ,and because he  was
 old and his eyes were bad so that he   
could not see well1 he thought  that she
 was some drunken person4               
,illustration3 ,,the ,,lad ,,shall      
,,belong ,,to ,,the ,,lord    8,come1   
come10 he said at last1 8how long wilt  
thou be drunken80 ,but she  said1 8,sir1
 ,i am not drunken4 ,i am praying my    
prayers40 ,and she told him  what she   
was praying for4 ,and ,eli said1 8,my   
daughter1 go in peace4 ,may  the ,god of
 ,israel grant thy request40    ,and the
 ,god of ,israel did grant her request4 
,god sent a little son to  ,hannah and  
,elkanah1 and they named him ,samuel4   
,and when the child was  two years old1 
they went one day to the church in      
,shiloh1 and there was  ,eli sitting by 
the door4 ,and they said1 8,sir1 do you 
remember the woman  who was here praying
 for a son8 ,here she is1 and here is   

her son with  her4 ,and we have promised
 that the lad shall belong to the ,lord4
 ,take  him now and bring him up to be a
 minister of the church40 ,and they went
  away1 leaving the child behind them4  
,and ,eli took care of the little  boy1 
and because his own sons had turned out 
so badly1 he took the  greater pains    
with ,samuel1 and taught him to be      
obedient and honest and  to tell the    
truth4 ,and every year his mother came  
to see him and brought  him a little    
coat which she had made with her own    
hands4    ,at last1 one night when ,eli 
was so old that he could hardly see1 and
  ,samuel had grown to be a sturdy lad1 
they were both asleep in the same  room4
 ,there was a great box in the room     
called the ,ark1 and in it were  the two
 tables of stone on which the ,ten      
,commandments were written1 and  over it
 hung a lamp which was kept burning     
every night4    ,and ,samuel heard a    
voice calling his name1 8,samuel60 and  
he answered1  8,here am ,i10 and ran to 

see what ,eli wanted4 ,but ,eli said1   
8,i did not  call1 my son2 lie down     
again40    ,so ,samuel went and lay     
down1 and again there was a voice1      
8,samuel6  ,samuel60 ,and again ,samuel 
ran to ,eli1 saying1 8,here am ,i10 and 
,eli said1  8,i did not call40 ,and this
 happened a third time4    ,then ,eli   
perceived that the ,lord had called the 
child4 ,therefore ,eli  said to ,samuel1
 8,go lie down1 and if you hear the     
voice again1 say1  #8,speak1 ,lord1 for 
thy servant heareth4'0 ,and pretty soon 
he heard the  voice again1 8,samuel6    
,samuel60 and he said1 8,speak1 ,lord1  
for thy  servant heareth40    ,then the 
,lord spoke and said1 8,behold1 ,i will 
do a thing in ,israel at  which both the
 ears of every one that heareth it shall
 tingle4 ,i will  punish ,eli and his   
sons for all the evil that is done1 for 
they have  behaved themselves wickedly  
and he did not stop them40 ,then there  
was  silence1 and by and by the lamp    
burned out1 and the sun rose and it was 

light1 and ,samuel got up and opened the
 doors and let the morning  breeze blow 
in4 ,and ,eli said1 8,samuel1 what did  
the ,lord say80 ,and  ,samuel did not   
like to tell1 but ,eli urged him1 and he
 told4 ,and ,eli  said1 8,it is the     
,lord1 let him do what seemeth him      
good40          ,,xxvii    ,,the        
,,battle ,,of ,,the ,,ark ,,of ,,god    
,well1 things went on from bad to worse4
 ,one day a stranger came to ,eli  and  
stood before him as he sat on the bench 
by the church door4 ,and the  stranger  
said1 8,hear what the ,lord ,god says to
 you1 ,eli4 ,i chose your  father to be 
my priest1 to minister at my altar1 to  
burn incense before  me1 and to offer   
the sacrifices of my people4 ,and now   
you honor your  sons more than you honor
 me1 and they are making themselves rich
 by  stealing the offerings which the   
people bring4 ,therefore it shall come  
to pass that your two sons shall die    
both of them in one day1 and your       
grandchildren shall be so poor that they

 shall stand begging at the  church     
steps1 saying1 #8,give me a little money
 and a bit of bread1 for ,i  am         
hungry4'0 ,but it was too late4 ,the    
time to teach people to be good is  when
 they are young1 and ,eli had let that  
time go by4 ,he had allowed his  sons to
 do whatever they pleased when they were
 small boys1 and now he  could not stop 
them4    ,then the ,philistines1 the    
neighbors and old enemies of ,israel1   
began to  be troublesome again4 ,the    
,philistines lived in the long plain by 
the  sea1 and the ,israelites lived     
among the hills1 and a river ran from   
the  hills into the plain1 making a deep
 valley4 ,up this valley climbed the    
,philistines1 till they came to a town  
of the ,israelites called               
,beth-shemesh4 ,and in a field beside   
the town was a great rock called        
,ebenezer4 ,and there they had a battle1
 the ,philistines against the           
,israelites1 and the ,israelites ran    
away4 ,and that night the ,israelites   

held a council and said1 8,what can we  
do8 for the ,philistines are  mightier  
than we40 ,and they said1 8,let us go to
 the church in ,shiloh and  get the ,ark
 of ,god4 ,if we have that among us1 it 
may save us out of the  hand of our     
enemies40 ,for they remembered how when 
their fathers crossed  the ,jordan1 at  
the beginning1 the ,ark was carried at  
the head of the  host2 and how it was   
borne by the priests1 with blowing of   
trumpets1 at  the siege of ,jericho4 ,so
 they took the ,ark out of the ,shiloh  
church1 and  ,eli's sons1 ,hophni and   
,phinehas1 carried it1 one at one end   
and the  other at the other4 ,and when  
the ,ark came into the camp1 all ,israel
  shouted with a great shout1 so that   
the earth rang again with the echo  of  
it4 8,let ,god arise10 they cried1 8and 
let his enemies be scattered4  ,let them
 also that hate ,him flee before ,him60 
,for that was the battle  cry of        
,israel4    ,now the ,philistines in    
their camp heard the noise of the shout1

 and  they said1 8,what is the meaning  
of the noise of this great shout in the 
camp of the ,hebrews80 ,and they sent   
men to find out1 and the men came  back 
and said1 8,god is come into the camp6  
,the ,god of ,israel who smote  the     
,egyptians with plagues1 and who has won
 the men of ,israel so many  victories  
over their enemies1 is in the camp4 ,woe
 unto us6 ,such a thing  has never      
happened since the ,philistines became a
 nation4 ,woe unto us6  ,who shall      
deliver us out of the hands of this     
mighty ,god80 ,and they held  a council 
to determine what to do4 ,it was plain  
that they must make a  choice between   
two things3 either they must run away as
 soon as they  could and as fast as they
 could1 or else they must fight harder  
than  they had ever fought4 ,of these   
they chose the second1 like brave men4  
,they said one to another1 8,be strong1 
,o ye ,philistines1 and quit  yourselves
 like men1 that ye be not servants to   
the ,hebrews as they have  been to you3 

quit yourselves like men and fight40    
,so the battle came on again1 and the   
,philistines fought like heroes1 and    
the ,israelites were beaten worse than  
ever4 ,they ran like sheep when the     
wolves are after them4 ,and the ,ark of 
,god was taken2 and the two sons of     
,eli1 ,hophni and ,phinehas1 were slain4
    ,now ,eli was almost a hundred years
 old1 and blind4 ,and that day1 while   
the battle was raging afar off1 he sat  
on his bench by the side of the  road1  
at the church door1 and waited for the  
news4 ,and his heart  trembled within   
him for fear4 ,and by and by a man came 
running out of  the army from the scene 
of battle4 ,his clothes were torn1 and  
there was  dust upon his head2 so that  
all who saw him knew at once that the   
army  of ,israel had been defeated4 ,but
 ,eli could not see him4 ,and all who   
saw  cried out with a great cry1 8,what 
is it8 ,what has happened80 ,and the    
runner told them4    ,and ,eli heard the
 noise of the crying1 and he said1      

8,what is the meaning  of the noise of  
this tumult80 ,and the man from the     
battle hastened to  ,eli and said1 8,i  
am he that came out of the army1 and ,i 
am fled to-day  out of the army40       
,and ,eli said1 8,what is done there1 my
 son80 ,and the messenger answered1     
8,israel is fled from before the        
,philistines2 and there has been a great
  slaughter among the people2 and your  
two sons1 ,hophni and ,phinehas1 are    
dead2 and the ,ark of ,god is taken60   
,and it came to pass when the messenger 
made mention of the ,ark of ,god  that  
,eli fell off the seat backward by the  
side of the gate1 and his  neck broke1  
and he died1 for he was an old man and  
heavy4 ,thus the word  of the ,lord came
 true which ,he said to ,samuel1 that   
the wickedness of  ,eli's sons should be
 punished in such a way that both the   
ears of all  who heard of it should     
tingle4          ,,xxviii    ,,five     
,,gold ,,mice      ,the ,philistines had
 five strong cities1 and the strongest  

of these was  ,ashdod1 which means 8the 
fort40 ,when they had defeated the      
,israelites at  ,beth-shemesh1 beside   
the great rock ,ebenezer1 and had taken 
away the ,ark  of ,god1 they made all   
haste to get to ,ashdod4 ,down they came
 along the  valley and across the plain 
till they drew near the sea4 ,and they  
shut  the gates of ,ashdod behind them4 
,and the ,ark of ,god they carried to   
the  temple of their own god1 ,dagon4   
,for many people thought in those days  
that there were as many gods as there   
were countries1 each having its  own4   
,thus they believed that the ,lord was  
the god of the land of ,israel1  but    
that ,dagon was the god of the land of  
the ,philistines4 ,so in every  city    
they had a temple of ,dagon4 ,samson had
 pulled down the one which  belonged to 
the city of ,gaza1 but they had built it
 up again4    ,they carried the ,ark of 
,god into ,dagon's temple at ,ashdod1   
and set it  down before ,dagon's image4 
,for to this image the ,philistines said

 their  prayers1 and cried 8,o ,dagon1  
hear us60 ,and they thought that the    
image  could hear them4 ,they left the  
,ark before the ,idol1 and shut the     
temple  doors that night1 and went home4
 ,but the next morning1 when the        
,philistines came to the temple at      
service time to thank ,dagon for giving 
them victory over the ,israelites1      
behold the image of ,dagon had fallen   
down and lay upon the floor4 ,that      
seemed very strange4 ,but they set the  
image up again1 and shut the temple     
doors when the sun went down1 and  left 
the ,ark and the ,idol together as      
before4 ,and the next morning1 when     
they came in1 behold1 the image of      
,dagon lay on the floor again before    
the ,ark1 and this time his head and    
both his hands were broken off4    ,and 
not only did this strange thing happen1 
but the people of ,ashdod  began to feel
 sick4 ,the plague broke out among them4
 ,and at the same  time1 the mice began 
to eat the wheat and the vines4 ,the    

mice came1  nibbling and nibbling till  
they destroyed all that grew in the     
fields4  ,and wherever the mice went1   
the plague went with them4 ,and the     
people of  ,ashdod said one to another1 
8,it is on account of the ,ark of ,god40
 ,and  they took the ,ark and sent it to
 the city of ,gath4 ,and at ,gath the   
same  thing happened4 ,the mice came and
 the plague followed them1 and          
everybody was sick4 ,and from this city 
it was taken    ,illustration3 ,,they   
,,put ,,the ,,ark ,,upon ,a ,,cart1     
,,and ,,the ,,mice ,,beside ,,it    to  
another and another4 ,and everywhere the
 mice and the plague appeared4    ,at   
last the ,ark was brought to ,ekron4    
,and there it came to pass that all  the
 city cried out1 saying1 8,they have    
brought about the ,ark of the ,god  of  
,israel to us1 to slay us and our       
people40 ,and that very day the mice    
came1 and the plague4 ,and the men of   
,ekron sent and gathered together  all  
the lords of the ,philistines1 and said1

 8,send away the ,ark of the  ,god of   
,israel1 and let it go to its own place1
 that it slay us not and  our people40  
,and the lords of the ,philistines sent 
for the priests and  the diviners1 for  
all the wisest people of the land1 and  
said1 8,what  shall we do to the ,ark of
 the ,lord8 how shall we send it to its 
place80  ,and the wise men said1 8,make 
a new cart1 and take two cows and tie   
them  to the cart1 and bring their      
calves home from them4 ,and take the    
,ark of  ,god and lay it on the cart1   
and in a box beside the ,ark put five   
gold  mice1 one for each of your cities4
 ,and see what the kine will do4 ,if    
they go back home to their calves1 then 
we shall know that this is all  an      
accident1 it just happened so2 but if   
they go straight towards the  land of   
,israel1 then we shall know that it is  
the ,lord's doing40    ,so they made a  
new cart1 and five gold mice1 and they  
put the ,ark upon  the cart and the mice
 beside it1 and they tied the two cows  

to the cart  and took away their calves1
 and watched to see what they would do4 
,and1  behold1 the kine went straight   
towards the land of ,israel1 lowing as  
they went1 and turned not aside to the  
right hand nor to the left4 ,along  the 
valley road they went towards           
,beth-shemesh1 and the lords of the     
,philistines followed after them4 ,and  
at ,beth-shemesh1 men were reaping      
their wheat harvest in the valley1 and  
they lifted up their eyes and saw  the  
,ark and rejoiced to see it4 ,and the   
cows came into the field of a  man named
 ,joshua1 and there stood still4 ,and it
 was the field in which  the battle had 
been fought when the ,ark had been      
taken4 ,and the cart  stopped beside the
 great stone1 ,ebenezer4 ,and the men of
 ,beth-shemesh  took the ,ark and put it
 on the top of the great stone1 and the 
five gold  mice beside it4 ,and they    
took the cart and split it up and made a
 fire  for a sacrifice1 and there upon  
the fire they offered ,god the kine for 

a  burnt offering4 ,and then they       
rejoiced and gave thanks unto the ,lord4
          ,,xxix    ,,saul ,,and ,,the  
,,seer      ,the asses had run away4    
,they had found a hole in the fence and 
had got  out into the road1 and nobody  
knew where they were4 ,so ,saul's father
  said1 8,saul1 the asses are lost4     
,take one of the men with you and go and
  find them40 ,and they went in search1 
,saul and the hired man4 ,and here  they
 looked1 and there they looked1 down    
this way and down that1 in the  woods   
and in the fields1 but they were nowhere
 to be found4 ,they hunted  for them for
 three days1 in vain4    ,at last1 ,saul
 said to the servant1 8,come1 let us go 
home4 ,my father will  fear that we are 
lost1 as well as the asses4 ,he will be 
anxious40    ,but the servant said1 8,in
 the next town there lives a seer4 ,he  
is the  wisest man in all the land4 ,he 
can see through mountains and tell what 
is on the other side1 and he knows what 
is going to happen to-morrow and  next  

year4 ,let us go to him4 ,perhaps he can
 tell us where the asses are1  and which
 way we ought to take to find them40    
8,we ought not to go to the seer10 said 
,saul1 8without a gift4 ,we ought  to   
take him some sort of present for his   
trouble4 ,but our hands are as  empty as
 our basket4 ,what can we give him80    
,and the servant answered1 8,i have a   
little silver money in my purse4  ,that 
will ,i give to the man of ,god to tell 
us our way40    8,well said10 replied   
,saul2 8come let us go40 ,so they went  
to the next  town to find the seer4     
,the city where the seer lived lay on   
the side of a hill1 and there was a     
well by the gate1 and as ,saul and his  
servant drew near they found young      
maidens going out1 with pitchers on     
their heads1 to fetch water for  supper4
 ,and they said to the maidens1 8,is the
 seer here80 ,and they  answered them   
and said1 8,he is3 behold1 he is before 
you4 ,this is the  day of a feast on the
 top of the hill1 and of a sacrifice to 

the ,lord4  ,and already the people are 
waiting for the seer1 for they will not 
sit  down to the table until he comes to
 ask the blessing4 ,he will be coming   
out of the gate directly4 ,you are just 
in time to meet him40 ,and as they      
spoke there came an old man out of the  
gate1 tall and wrapped in a  cloak4     
,and ,saul said1 8,will you kindly tell 
me where the seer's house is80    ,and  
the old man said1 8,i am the seer4 ,i am
 ,samuel1 the seer4 ,i have been        
expecting you4 ,you must dine with me   
to-day1 and spend the night40    ,and   
when ,saul said that he must go home1   
because his father would be  worried    
about him and about the asses1 ,samuel  
said1 8,the lost asses have  been found4
 ,and you are found also2 for ,i        
perceive that you are he on  whom is the
 desire of all ,israel40    ,and ,saul  
said1 8,why do you speak so to me8 ,my  
tribe is the least of the  tribes1 and  
my father's family is the least of the  
families of my tribe4  ,what do you     

mean80 ,but ,samuel did not reply1 and  
,saul followed him up to  the top of the
 hill1 greatly wondering4    ,now there 
was a house at the top of the hill1 and 
about thirty men who  had been invited  
to dinner were waiting in the parlor4   
,in came ,samuel1  bringing ,saul and   
his servant1 just as they were in their 
dusty clothes2  and ,samuel gave them   
the best seats at the table1 ,saul on   
his right and  ,saul's servant on his   
left4 ,and ,samuel called the cook and  
said1 8,bring  me the portion of meat   
which ,i told you to set apart for me10 
and the  cook brought in a leg of lamb  
and set it before ,samuel4 ,and ,samuel 
said  to ,saul1 8,i knew that you were  
coming1 and when ,i sent the invitations
 ,i  had a place and a portion kept for 
you40 ,so ,saul ate with ,samuel1 and   
was more and more astonished4    ,at    
last the feast was over1 and the guests 
went down from the top of the  hill to  
their houses in the city1 and ,saul and 
his servant went home  with ,samuel4    

,and as the sun went down1 and the cool 
wind began to blow  in the hot streets  
and the stars came out1 ,samuel took    
,saul upstairs to  the flat roof1 and   
there they sat and had a long talk      
together4    ,and ,samuel said1 8,saul1 
,i had a dream about you yesterday      
afternoon4 ,i  heard in my dream the    
voice of ,god saying1 #8,to-morrow about
 this time ,i  will send you a man out  
of the land of ,benjamin1 and you are to
 anoint  him king over my people        
,israel4' ,and to-day1 when ,i came to  
the gate and  saw you1 the ,lord said in
 my heart1 #8,there is the man of whom  
,i spoke4'0    ,the next morning they   
rose as the sun was coming up over the  
side of the  hill4 ,and ,samuel went    
with ,saul to show him the right road4  
,and as they  came out of the city into 
the open country1 ,samuel said1 8,bid   
the  servant to pass on before us1 but  
you wait here a while that ,i may show  
you what is the will of ,god40 ,so the  
servant went on ahead1 and they two     

were alone4 ,and ,samuel took a vial of 
oil1 and poured it on ,saul's head1  and
 kissed him1 and    ,illustration3      
,,samuel ,,and ,,saul ,,have ,a ,,long  
,,talk ,,together    said1 8,the ,lord  
has anointed you to be the king of      
,israel40 ,then ,saul  and his servant  
went towards home4 ,and two men met them
 who said1 8,saul1  the asses are found1
 but your father is greatly worried     
about you4 ,he is  sorrowing for you1   
and saying1 #8,what shall ,i do for my  
son8'0          ,,xxx    ,,the ,,battle 
,,of ,,the ,,right ,,eyes      ,when    
,saul reached home after his adventure  
with the seer1 he was very  silent4     
,three men had met him by the way1 one  
with three kids1 another  with three    
baskets of bread1 and the third carrying
 a skin bottle of  wine2 and they had   
stopped and saluted him as some great   
person1 and had  given him two loaves4  
,and down from the top of a hill had    
come a  procession of prophets with the 
music of tambourines and flutes and     

harps and cymbals1 singing and dancing  
as they came1 and ,saul had felt  moved 
to join them1 so that they who passed by
 and saw him were  astonished1 and said1
 8,is ,saul among the prophets80 ,but of
 all this he  said nothing4 ,when his   
uncle ,abner said1 8,where have you been
 all this  time80 he answered1 8,we went
 to seek the asses1 and when we saw that
  they were nowhere1 we came to         
,samuel40    8,and what did ,samuel     
say80 asked ,abner4    8,why1 ,uncle    
,abner10 said ,saul1 8he told us plainly
 that the asses were  found40 ,but the  
words of ,samuel concerning the kingdom 
of ,israel1 he  told him not4           
,presently1 ,samuel called the people of
 ,israel together and said1 8,you  have 
asked the ,lord to give you a king1 and 
the ,lord has granted your  request4    
,this very day1 even as ,i speak1 the   
king stands among you4 ,come  now1 pass 
before me tribe by tribe40 ,so they     
passed before him tribe by  tribe1 and  
he chose the tribe of ,benjamin4 ,and he

 made the tribe of  ,benjamin to pass   
before him family by family1 and he     
chose the family of  ,kish1 ,saul's     
father4 ,and he caused the family of    
,kish to pass before him  man by man1   
but there was one man missing4 ,where   
was ,saul8 ,so they sent  men to find   
him1 for he had hidden himself4 ,and    
they found him and  brought him out1 and
 there he stood before the people1 the  
tallest and  goodliest man in all the   
country round1 head and shoulders above 
everybody4 ,and ,samuel said1 8,you see 
him whom the ,lord has chosen1 that     
there is none like him among all the    
people40 ,and they all shouted with  a  
great shout1 8,god save the king60      
,as for ,saul1 though he was now a king1
 he went back the next day to his  own  
home and went to work again on the farm 
as if nothing had happened4  ,indeed1 it
 seemed for a time as if the people1 in 
spite of their  shouting1 would not take
 him for their king4 ,some of them said1
 8,how  shall this man save us80 ,and   

they despised him and sent him no       
presents4  ,but he was silent as before1
 and attended to his own business in the
  field and in the barn1 and held his   
peace4    ,at last1 one day1 news came  
of the ,challenge of the ,right ,eyes4  
,the king  was plowing when the         
messengers arrived1 and as he came home 
in the  afternoon1 driving the oxen     
before him1 he heard a great commotion  
among  the people4 8,what is the        
matter80 he asked4 8,what ails the      
people that  they weep80 ,so they told  
,saul the news4    ,the men of ,ammon1  
whom ,jephthah had fought and chased    
away1 had come  back and laid siege to a
 town in ,gilead called ,jabesh4 ,they  
had encamped  around it1 so that nobody 
could go out or come in1 and the        
citizens  could get no food4 ,so the men
 of ,jabesh said to ,nahash the king of 
the  men of ,ammon1 8,we will surrender 
the city4 ,only make an agreement of    
peace with us1 and we will be your      
servants40 ,but ,nahash answered1 8,i   

will make peace with you on one         
condition3 that ,i may thrust out all   
your right eyes40 ,then the men of      
,jabesh were in a sad plight1 and they  
said1 8,give us seven days to find help4
 ,if at the end of the week1 there  is  
no one to save us1 then we will come    
out1 and you shall take our  eyes40     
,then they sent messengers across the   
,jordan1 and it was their  report which 
made ,saul's neighbors cry aloud4       
,and when ,saul heard it1 the ,spirit of
 ,god came upon him4 ,his anger was     
kindled into a fierce blaze at the cruel
 threats of the men of ,ammon4          
,instantly he took a yoke of oxen and   
killed them and cut them into  pieces4  
,and he sent messengers each with a     
bleeding piece of flesh to  all the     
towns of ,israel2 and the messengers    
cried1 8,whoever comes not  forth after 
,saul to fight against the men of       
,ammon1 so shall it be done  to his     
oxen40 ,and great fear fell on all the  
people1 and they came out  with one     

consent4 ,and word was sent to the men  
of ,jabesh1 8,to-morrow by  the time the
 sun is hot1 you shall have help40      
,so the men of ,jabesh said to ,nahash1 
8,to-morrow we will come out to you1    
and you shall do to us all that is in   
your heart40 ,but ,nahash had no        
knowledge of the march of ,saul4 ,saul  
marched his army all that night2  and   
early in the morning he fell upon the   
,ammonites before they were  awake1 and 
attacked them on this side and on that1 
and beat them1 and  chased them back    
into the desert1 till no two of them    
were left  together4 ,then some said1   
8,where are the enemies of ,saul1 who   
would not  have him for their king8 ,let
 us put them to death40 ,but ,saul would
 not  permit it4 8,there shall not a man
 be put to death this day10 he said4 ,so
  they crowned ,saul over again4        
8,come10 they said1 8let us renew the   
kingdom40 ,and all the people promised  
to obey ,king ,saul4          ,,xxxi    
,,the ,,adventure ,,of ,,the ,,great    

,,trembling      ,the wife of ,king     
,saul was named ,ahinoam4 ,they had five
 children1 three  boys and two girls4   
,and the name of their eldest son was   
,jonathan4  ,jonathan was like his      
father1 tall and handsome1 and he was as
 brave as  he was modest4 ,it was said  
that he could run as fast as an eagle   
could  fly4    ,at that time1 most of   
the men of ,israel who could run were   
running away1  in fear of the           
,philistines4 ,the ,philistines had     
taken possession of the  land4 ,the     
,israelites had neither swords nor      
spears2 and1 in order to  keep them from
 making any1 the ,philistines had       
banished the blacksmiths4  ,every time a
 man wanted to get his axe or his plow  
sharpened he had to  go to the country  
of the ,philistines4 ,there was little  
use1 however1 for  plows or axes1 for   
the ,israelites were afraid to go to    
work either in  the fields or in the    
woods4 ,they hid themselves in caves and
 in thickets  and among the rocks and on

 the tops of the mountains and in pits4 
,some  of them left the country1 and    
went over the ,jordan to the land of    
,gilead4 ,saul1 indeed1 had six hundred 
soldiers1 but they followed him         
trembling4    ,now across the central   
mountains of the land1 there was a pass1
 so that  men might go across the       
country from the ,jordan ,river on the  
east to the  ,mediterranean ,sea on the 
west4 ,the valley of ,michmash led up   
from the  ,jordan on one side and the   
valley of ,ajalon led down to the       
sea-coast on  the other4 ,on the south  
side of this deep and narrow pass was a 
place  called ,geba2 there ,saul was    
encamped with his six hundred trembling 
men4  ,on the north side was a place    
called ,michmash2 there the ,philistines
 had  so great an army that to count    
them was like counting the sand of the  
sea4 ,there was a sharp rock on the     
north1 called ,bozez1 the ,shining2 and 
a sharp rock on the south1 called       
,seneh1 the ,strong2 and the wood lay   

between them4    ,then the young prince1
 ,jonathan1 spoke to his armor-bearer   
and said1  8,come and let us go over to 
the ,philistine garrison4 ,it may be    
that the  ,lord will bless us1 for it   
matters not to ,him whether we be many  
or  few40    ,and the squire1 his       
armor-bearer1 said1 8,do what you will2 
,i will go  with you40    ,now ,king    
,saul was sitting under a tree on the   
other side of the camp1  so that he did 
not know what ,jonathan was doing4      
,jonathan said1 8,we will climb down to 
the bottom of the pass and show         
ourselves to the enemy4 ,if they say1   
#8,stay there1 you ,israelites1 till  we
 come down and get you1' we will stand  
still in our place4 ,but if they  say1  
#8,come up here1 if you dare1' then we  
will go up4 ,that shall be a  sign that 
the ,lord is on our side40    ,and      
pretty soon the watchmen of the         
,philistines saw two men in the wood  at
 the bottom of the pass4 ,and the       
,philistines said1 8,see1 the ,hebrews  

are coming out of the holes where they  
had hid themselves40 ,and they  called  
to ,jonathan and his armor-bearer and   
said1 8,come up to us1 and we  will show
 you something40    ,and ,jonathan said 
to his armor-bearer1 8,come now1 for the
 day is ours40    ,and he climbed up the
 steep face of the pass on his hands and
 knees1 and  his squire climbed up after
 him4 ,and suddenly1 when nobody was    
looking1  they fell upon the            
,philistines1 shouting like a hundred   
men4 ,and there  was a panic in the     
,philistine camp4 ,nobody knew just what
 had happened4  ,some thought that a    
great army of ,israelites1 twice the    
size of theirs1  and every soldier as   
big as a giant1 had attacked them4 ,and 
they began  to tremble1 and those who   
were next beyond them trembled1 and even
 the  earth trembled1 so that it was a  
very great trembling4 ,and they ran one 
against another4    ,and ,king ,saul    
came out from under the tree where he   
had been sitting1  and looked across the

 valley1 he and his soldiers1 and they  
said1 8,what  is the matter8 ,what is   
going on in the ,philistine camp8 ,why  
do they  run80 ,and ,saul said1 8,see   
who is gone from us40 ,and it was found 
that  ,jonathan and his armor-bearer    
were missing4 ,so they knew that these  
were  the heroes who had scared the army
 of the ,philistines4 ,at first the men 
of ,israel were uncertain what to do1   
whether to fight or to pray4 ,saul  sent
 for the priest1 and the priest gathered
 the people and began to  pray that they
 might know what all this meant and what
 ,god would have  them do4 ,but while he
 prayed the noise in the camp of the    
,philistines  went on and increased1 and
 it was plain that the multitude was    
running  like frightened sheep1 and     
beating down one another as they ran4   
,so ,saul  stopped the priest and called
 for the captain1 and over they all went
  into the battle4 ,and there were men  
of ,israel in the camp of the           
,philistines1 who had been taken        

prisoners1 and they began to fight      
against their captors1 and all the men  
who had hidden themselves in  caves and 
pits and among the rocks came out to see
 what all this noise  and tumult meant1 
and when they saw that the ,philistines 
ran away1 they  ran after them4 ,so     
there was a great defeat4 ,and thus the 
day went until  the sun began to set4   
,then ,saul took a great stone for an   
altar1 and offered upon it the          
sacrifice of the people1 and gave great 
thanks to ,god1 and there was  praise   
and rejoicing all that night4 ,but the  
,philistines never stopped  running till
 they had reached their own cities and  
had locked the gates  behind them4      
,,xxxii    ,,the ,,bleating ,,of ,,the  
,,sheep      ,in the midst of the       
,adventure of the ,great ,trembling1 a  
strange thing  happened4    ,king ,saul1
 when he sent his soldiers to chase the 
,philistines1 forbade  them to taste    
food till the setting of the sun4 ,and  
this he did in a  very solemn manner1   

making a vow1 like ,jephthah4 ,he said  
that if any man  ate anything before the
 sun went down1 that man must be put to 
death4  ,but as the day went on1 the    
soldiers grew very hungry4 ,at last they
 came  to a wood1 where there were      
honeycombs lying on the ground2 but no  
man  put his hand to his mouth1 for they
 remembered the king's vow4 ,then came  
,jonathan and saw the honey1 and before 
anybody could stop him he reached  out a
 stick and took some honey on the end of
 it and put it in his  mouth4 ,for he   
knew nothing of the king's commandment4 
,then the sun went down1 and after      
supper ,saul said1 8,let us go again in 
pursuit of the enemy40 ,but the priest  
forbade it4 ,the priest said that  there
 was sin in the camp4 ,they must first  
find out the sinner and  punish him as  
the king had vowed4 ,and ,saul said1    
8,come near now1 all  you chiefs1 and   
let us see where the sin has been this  
day4 ,for1 as the  ,lord liveth1 though 
it be in ,jonathan my son1 he shall     

surely die40 ,but  there was not a man  
among all the people that answered him4 
,then said  the king1 8,stand you all on
 one side1 and ,i and ,jonathan my son  
will be  on the other side1 and we will 
cast lots40 ,and they cast lots1 and    
,saul  and ,jonathan were taken2 and    
they cast lots between ,jonathan and    
,saul1  and ,jonathan was taken4 ,and   
,saul said1 8,my son1 what have you     
done80 ,and  ,jonathan answered1 8,i did
 but taste a little honey with the end  
of the  rod that was in my hand1 and so 
,i must die40 ,and ,saul said1 8,god do 
so  and more also3 for thou shah surely 
die1 ,jonathan40 ,but up rose all the   
people1 and cried1 8,shall ,jonathan    
die1 who hath wrought this great        
salvation in ,israel8 ,the hero of the  
battle1 the king's son1 shall he  die8  
,god forbid3 as the ,lord liveth1 there 
shall not one hair of his  head fall to 
the ground3 for he hath wrought with    
,god this day40 ,so the  people rescued 
,jonathan1 that he died not4            

,somehow1 ,king ,saul was never the same
 man after that4 ,it seemed as if  the  
dreadful strain and distress of that    
night had affected his mind4  ,much of  
the time he was like himself2 but again 
there were days when he  would speak to 
nobody1 but would sit apart thinking    
dreadful thoughts4    ,one day1 ,samuel 
came to ,saul and said1 8,i have a      
message for you from  the ,lord4 ,he    
wishes you to go to war with the men of 
,amalek40 ,now the  ,amalekites were the
 oldest enemies of ,israel4 ,they lived 
down south in  the deserts1 and had been
 the first to attack the ,israelites    
when they  came out of ,egypt4 ,and ever
 since1 they had been like the wild     
,indians  in the days of our            
forefathers4 ,they would dash up1 with  
bows and  arrows1 and fire upon the     
villages of the ,israelites and kill the
  people4 8,now10 said ,samuel1 8you    
must go to war with these savages and   
destroy them utterly4 ,you must not     
leave any of them alive1 and you must   

destroy all that they have1 that they   
may be no more a nation40    ,so ,saul  
marched against the ,amalekites1 and won
 a great victory4 ,but he  did not as   
,samuel had told him4 ,he spared ,agag1 
king of the ,amalekites1  and the best  
of the sheep and oxen4 ,and back he     
came1 and his victorious  army1 driving 
the cattle before them1 and bringing    
,agag as a captive4    ,that night the  
word of the ,lord came to ,samuel1 and  
the ,lord said1 8,saul  has turned back 
from following me1 and has not performed
 my  commandments40 ,and it grieved     
,samuel1 and he cried unto the ,lord all
  night4 ,and early in the morning      
,samuel went to meet ,saul1 and ,saul   
greeted him and said1 8,blessed be thou 
of the ,lord3 ,i have performed the     
commandment of the ,lord40 ,and ,samuel 
said1 8,what1 then1 is the meaning  of  
this bleating of the sheep in my ears1  
and the lowing of the oxen  which ,i    
hear80 ,and ,saul said1 8,the people    
spared the best of the sheep  and oxen  

to sacrifice them to the ,lord40 ,and   
,samuel said to ,saul1 8,stop6  let me  
tell you what the ,lord said to me last 
night40 ,and ,saul said1  8,say on40    
,and ,samuel said1 8,the ,lord sent you 
on a journey1 and said #8,go  and       
utterly destroy the sinners the         
,amalekites4' ,why did you not obey80   
,and ,saul said1 8,i have obeyed the    
,lord3 except that the people brought   
,agag and the sheep and oxen to         
sacrifice them to the ,lord40 ,and      
,samuel  said1 8,hath the ,lord as great
 delight in burnt offerings and         
sacrifices  as in obeying the voice of  
the ,lord8 ,behold1 to obey is better   
than  sacrifice1 and to hearken than the
 fat of rams4 ,because thou hast        
rejected the word of the ,lord1 he hath 
rejected thee from being king40    ,and 
,saul fell down before ,samuel and      
cried1 8,forgive me1 and the ,lord      
forgive me2 ,i have sinned40 ,but       
,samuel turned to go away4 ,and ,saul   
caught hold of ,samuel's cloak1 and the 

cloak rent4 ,and ,samuel said1  8,thus  
hath the ,lord torn from you the kingdom
 of ,israel this day40 ,and  ,saul      
cried1 8,do not tell the people3 honor  
me now1 ,i pray thee1 in the  sight of  
the people40 ,and to this ,samuel       
consented4 ,he went with ,saul1  and    
with his own hands hewed ,agag in pieces
 before the ,lord4 ,but from  that day  
he sought another king to set over      
,israel in the place of  ,saul4         
,,xxxiii    ,a ,,shepherd ,,of          
,,bethlehem      ,the largest farm in   
,bethlehem belonged to a man named      
,jesse4 ,although he  was now advanced  
in years1 he had lived on the farm all  
of his long  life1 and his father had   
lived there before him4 ,indeed1 it was 
still  remembered in the neighborhood   
how ,jesse's grandfather1 as he         
harvested  the wheat and barley of his  
broad acres1 had fallen in love with a  
poor  girl named ,ruth1 who worked among
 the gleaners1 and had married her1 to  
the surprise and delight of the village4

    ,the corn in the little valleys of  
the hill farm stood so thick that it    
seemed to laugh and sing as it danced   
with the wind4 ,apples grew in the      
orchard1 and grapes in the vineyard4    
,morning and evening the cows came  to  
be milked1 and ,jesse's wife made the   
milk into cheese and butter4  ,sheep lay
 along the hillside1 and she spun the   
wool into stout clothes  for ,jesse and 
their sons and daughters4    ,there were
 eight sons1 most of them grown into    
tall men2 and one of the  older         
daughters had three boys1 who were      
sturdy lads1 ,joab and ,asahel  and     
,abishai4 ,about of an age with these   
three boys was ,jesse's youngest  son1  
whose name was ,david4    ,there was a  
gleam of red in ,david's hair and a glow
 of red in ,david's  cheeks1 and he was 
as brave as he was handsome4 ,his part  
of the  farm-work was to tend the sheep4
 ,in the wild woods near by were lions  
and bears1 who looked with hungry eyes  
upon the sheep1 and ,david had to  fight

 them4 ,when he went out to the pasture 
he carried not only a bag  which his    
mother had filled with things to eat1   
but a thick stick and a  sling4         
,sometimes he fought the lions and bears
 with the stick1 and  sometimes with the
 sling2 and if the boys of ,bethlehem   
could throw as  well as the left-handed 
sons of the ,benjamin family near by1   
,david could  sling a stone at a hair   
and hit it4 ,this was an accomplishment 
which he  afterwards found useful4      
,most of the time1 however1 the tending 
of the sheep was an occupation so  easy 
and peaceful that ,david found leisure  
to gaze at the clouds1 and at  the      
stars1 and to make songs and sing them1 
to the great satisfaction of  the sheep1
 accompanying himself upon a harp4 ,he  
had his music lessons1  and practiced   
several hours a day4    ,one day1 while 
,david was out in the hill pasture1     
there came to the  village an old man1  
driving a cow1 and having in his hand a 
horn of  precious oil4 ,when the men of 

,bethlehem saw him they were as         
frightened  as if the cow had been a red
 lion and the horn had been attached to 
a  unicorn4 ,for the old man was        
,samuel1 the prophet1 who1 they thought1
  could call down thunder and lightning 
out of the clear sky4 ,and they  said1  
8,do you come peaceably80    ,and       
,samuel said1 8,peaceably4 ,come with   
me1 all of you1 while ,i offer a        
sacrifice to the ,lord40    ,so the men 
followed ,samuel till they came to the  
village well4 ,but ,david  was minding  
the sheep4 ,and after the sacrifice1    
,samuel held his horn of  oil high above
 his head and looked about among the    
men4 ,at first his eye  lighted on      
,eliab1 ,david's oldest brother2 for he 
looked like a king in  the clothes of a 
farmer4 ,but the ,lord spoke in         
,samuel's soul and said3  8,the ,lord   
seeth not as man seeth2 for man looketh 
on the outward  appearance1 but the     
,lord looketh on the heart40 ,so it was 
also with  ,david's other brothers4     

,then said ,samuel to ,jesse1 8,are     
these all the sons you have80    ,and   
,jesse answered1 8,there is one more1   
the youngest4 ,he is keeping the        
sheep40    8,send10 said ,samuel1 8and  
fetch him40    ,so ,david came1 ruddy   
and of a beautiful countenance and      
goodly to look  upon4 ,and when ,samuel 
saw him1 immediately he poured the horn 
of  precious oil upon him4 ,then ,samuel
 went away1 leaving the people          
perplexed and wondering4 ,but ,david    
knew in his heart that he had been      
chosen to be the king of ,israel4       
,now ,king ,saul was every day growing  
worse of his disease4 ,trouble and      
disappointment and a perplexed          
conscience and the stress of war were   
telling terribly upon him4 ,he could not
 sleep4 ,at times1 he was beside        
himself1 and acted like a crazy man4 ,at
 last1 the doctors told him that  the   
best remedy for him was music4 8,find a 
man10 they said1 8who is a  cunning     
player on the harp2 and it shall come to

 pass that when the evil  spirit is upon
 thee he shall play with his hand1 and  
thou shalt be  well40    ,and somebody  
said1 8,i know a young man in           
,bethlehem1 a son of ,jesse1 who  is    
cunning in playing4 ,he is a mighty     
valiant youth1 and good1 and            
good-looking40    ,and the king said1   
8,tell him that ,i want him40    ,and   
the next day there was great excitement 
among ,jesse's neighbors4  ,there was   
,david at the farm gate1 and his father 
and mother and his  brothers and sisters
 telling him good-by1 and the king's    
messengers in  waiting4 ,on one side of 
,david was an ass laden with loaves from
 his  mother's oven2 on the other side  
was a little kid of the goats2 and over 
his shoulders was a skin of wine made   
from the grapes which grew on the  warm 
side of the hill4 ,these were gifts for 
the king4 ,and in his hand  was his     
harp4    ,thus the shepherd boy became  
the minstrel of the king4 ,and when the 
evil  spirit came upon ,saul1 ,david    

took his harp and played with his hand1 
and  the music refreshed ,saul1 and he  
was eased of his distress4 ,and the king
  loved the boy1 and he made him his    
squire1 to bear his armor4              
,,xxxiv    ,,david ,,fights ,,the       
,,giant      ,thus did ,david divide his
 time3 part he spent in the court of    
,king ,saul1  and part in the country on
 his father's farm4    ,then there came 
a war1 and the king went out to battle4 
,instead of the  music of the harp he   
listened to the music of the drums4 ,but
 ,david was  needed at home1 for his    
older brothers were in the army1 and he 
kept the  sheep4    ,one day his father 
said to ,david1 8,david1 ,i want you to 
take these ten  loaves of bread and this
 basket of parched corn to your brothers
 in the  army1 and here are ten cheeses 
for their captain2 and bring me word    
again about your brothers and about the 
war40    ,and ,david made his way down a
 long valley till by and by he came to a
  level plain4 ,there was a hill on one 

side of the plain to the east1 and      
another hill on the other side to the   
west1 and these hills were full of      
soldiers4 ,on the western hill the      
,philistines had their camp1 and on the 
eastern hill were the forces of the     
,israelites2 and between them across    
the plain ran a little brook4    ,and as
 ,david drew near he heard a noise of   
shouting4 ,the ,philistines  shouted    
with a great shout1 and the ,israelites 
answered4 ,and then there  came a voice1
 like the voices of ten stout men in    
one1 and called out  something which    
,david was too far away to understand4  
,and when he came  nearer1 there he saw 
in the middle of the plain1 with his    
back to the  ,philistines and his face  
to the army of ,israel1 a mighty giant4 
,the  giant was ten feet high1 and all  
his clothes were made of brass4 ,he had 
a helmet of brass upon his head1 and a  
breastplate of brass upon his  breast1  
and a target of brass upon his back1 and
 boots of brass upon his  feet4 ,in one 

hand he carried a huge spear1 in the    
other hand a sword4  ,before him went   
his squire1 bearing his shield4    ,and 
this is what the giant said1 8,choose   
you a man for you10 he cried1  8and let 
him come to me4 ,if he be able to fight 
with me and kill me1 we  will be your   
servants2 but if ,i prevail against him 
and kill him1 ye  shall be our servants1
 and serve us40 ,and not a man of all   
the hosts of  ,israel dared to go out   
and fight him4    ,then the soul of     
,david was stirred within him4 ,he spoke
 to the first man  whom he met4 8,tell  
me10 he said1 8what does this mean80    
,and the man answered1 8,yonder is      
,goliath1 the giant of ,gath4 ,every day
  he comes out at this hour and defies  
our army4 ,king ,saul has promised  that
 whosoever shall face him and overcome  
him shall have a great reward  in gold1 
and the hand of the princess1 as well4  
,but nobody is bold  enough to try it40 
,david said1 8,i will try it40    ,so   
the word came to his brother ,eliab that

 ,david had offered to fight  ,goliath2 
and ,eliab did not like it4 ,it seemed  
to him1 as it often seems  to older     
brothers1 that the boy was still a      
child4 ,as for ,king ,saul1  when they  
told him1 he smiled and shook his head4 
8,you are not able10 he  said1 8to fight
 with this ,philistine1 for you are but 
a youth1 and he a  man of war from his  
youth40    ,but ,david said1 8,i have   
fought lions and bears since ,i was ten 
years  old4 ,i have seized them by the  
beard and killed them4 ,i can do the    
same  with this ,philistine4 ,the ,lord 
that delivered me out of the paw of the 
lion and out of the paw of the bear1 ,he
 will deliver me out of the hand  of    
this ,philistine40    ,even so1 it      
seemed like the proposal of a lamb to   
fight a wolf4 ,but what  else could be  
done8 ,at last1 the king took ,david    
into his own tent1 and  offered him his 
armor4 ,but the king was the tallest man
 in the army1 and  the shepherd boy was 
short of stature4 ,saul's helmet came   

down over  ,david's ears1 and his coat  
of mail touched ,david's heels4 ,he put 
them  off4 8,i can fight best10 he said1
 8in my own way40    ,and ,david took   
his staff in his hand1--the stout stick 
with which he  kept the sheep1--and he  
had his sling1 and from the bank of the 
brook he  chose him five smooth stones4 
,and thus he went out into the plain    
between the armies1 and faced the giant4
    ,and the giant in all his armor     
came1 and his squire carried his shield 
before him1 and when he looked to see   
what champion the ,israelites had  found
 at last1 there was but a boy1--a       
red-cheeked boy with a staff in  one    
hand and a sling in the other4    ,the  
giant was very angry4 8,am ,i a dog10 he
 cried1 8that thou comest at  me with a 
stick8 ,i will give thy flesh to the    
fowls of the air and to  the beasts of  
the field1 and they shall pick thy      
bones40    ,and ,david answered1 8,thou 
comest to me with sword and spear and   
shield2  but ,i come to thee in the name

 of the ,lord ,god of hosts1 whom thou  
hast  defied40    ,thus the champions   
drew together1 while the two armies     
watched in  breathless silence4 ,and    
,david ran to meet the giant4 ,and even 
as he ran1  he put his hand into his    
shepherd's bag1 and took out a smooth   
stone and  put it in his sling and slung
 it4 ,up went the sling1 out went the   
stone1 down went the giant4 ,straight as
 an arrow1 the stone struck him  in the 
forehead4 ,and ,david ran1 and with the 
giant's sword cut off the  giant's head4
    ,then did the ,philistines flee1 and
 the men of ,israel raised a great      
shout and chased them4          ,,xxxv  
,,under ,,the ,,king',s ,,displeasure   
,after ,david killed the giant1 he kept 
the sheep no longer4 ,he lived at  the  
court with the king1 and became a       
soldier4 ,saul made him a general  of   
the army1 and everybody praised him4    
,when the ,philistines came again1      
,david led the men of war to battle1 and
 when they came back in victory  the    

women came out to greet them at the gate
 of every city as they  passed1 dancing 
and playing on instruments of music1 and
 singing1--        8,saul hath slain his
 thousands1       ,and ,david his ten   
thousands40    ,but that displeased     
,saul1 and in his displeasure his old   
malady  returned4 ,and now his insanity 
began to take a dangerous form4 ,one day
  when his madness was upon him1 and    
,david was playing on the harp to  quiet
 him1 the king said to himself1 8,i will
 kill ,david60 ,and his spear  was in   
his hand1 and as ,david played he threw 
it at him4 ,but he missed  his aim4     
,now the king had promised that whoever 
killed the giant should have not  only a
 reward in gold1 but the hand           
,illustration3 ,,david ,,escapes ,,by   
,,the ,,window    of the princess4 ,but 
there were two princesses1 ,merab and   
,michal4 ,saul  had intended to give    
,david the hand of ,merab1 but already  
,michal had  given him her heart4 ,while
 ,david was only a shepherd and a       

minstrel1 the  young princess1 listening
 to his music1 had fallen in love with  
him4 ,and  ,david1 as he played1 had    
played to her4    ,so the mad king made 
a plot4 8,very well10 he said1 8you     
shall have  ,michal1 but first you must 
bring me as a dowry the heads of a      
hundred  ,philistines40 ,for he thought 
that in the battle1 ,david would be     
killed4  ,but ,david went out into the  
enemy's country1 and when he came back  
he  brought two hundred ,philistine     
heads4 ,so he married the princess1     
amidst  great rejoicing4    ,but hardly 
had the wedding guests gone home when   
the king made another  plot4 ,he        
determined to send men to seize his     
son-in-law and kill him4  ,but ,michal  
heard of it4 ,and that night1 as she    
looked out of her window1  the princess 
saw in the dim light the forms of men   
moving about among  the trees4 ,and she 
said to her husband1 8,david1 you must  
save your life  this very night2        
to-morrow will be too late40 ,and she   

took a stout rope  and let it down out  
of a back window1 and when nobody was   
looking ,david  climbed down and ran    
away4    ,then ,michal took a wooden    
image which stood in a corner of the    
best  room and carried it to ,david's   
bed4 ,she laid a pillow of goat's hair  
under its head1 and tucked in the       
bedclothes about its chin1 and in the   
dark it looked like ,david4 ,pretty soon
 there came a loud knocking at the      
street door4    8,who is there80 said   
,michal4    ,a man's voice answered1    
8,we are come from the king with a      
message for  ,david40    8,well10 said  
,michal1 8you can't see him to-night2 he
 has gone to bed  sick40    ,so the men 
went back to ,saul1 and the delay was   
long enough to enable  ,david to get out
 of the city1 where the king could not  
find him4    ,then the men returned and 
knocked again1 louder than before4      
8,who is there80 said ,michal4    ,and a
 man's voice answered1 8,sick or well1  
we must see ,david40 ,and the  man and  

his companions had daggers in their     
hands4    8,come in1 then10 said        
,michal1 8and ,i will take you to his   
room40    ,and when they came into      
,david's room and saw ,david1 as they   
supposed1  lying in the bed asleep1 they
 drew their daggers with one accord and 
stabbed him with all their might4 ,and  
the daggers stuck in the wooden  image6 
,now ,david had another friend at court 
beside his wife the princess1 and  that 
was his wife's brother1 ,jonathan4      
,jonathan loved ,david as his own  soul4
 ,indeed1 ,jonathan had given ,david his
 own royal robe1 and his sword  and his 
bow1 and had said1 8,after my father is 
dead1 you shall be king  and not ,i40   
,so ,david sent word to ,jonathan1 and  
said1 8,find out how serious this is4   
,is it only your father's madness       
getting worse1 or does he really intend 
to take my life80    ,and they made this
 plan4 ,the next day there was to be a  
great dinner at  the king's house1 and  
,david's place would be empty4 ,and     

,saul would  notice the empty place1 and
 ,jonathan would listen to hear what he 
would  say1 and would let ,david know4  
,and ,jonathan said1 8,the day after    
to-morrow ,i will go out into the field 
with my bow1 as if ,i meant to shoot at 
a mark4 ,and you be hiding4 ,i will     
shoot five arrows and send the boy to   
fetch them4 ,if ,i say1 #8,here1 boy1   
the arrows are on this side1' then you  
may know that all is well4 ,but if  ,i  
say1 #8,go farther1 the arrows are      
beyond you1' then flee for your life4   
,but promise me now1 ,david1 that when  
you come1 as you surely will1 to be     
prosperous and great1 you will be good  
to me and to my children40 ,and  ,david 
promised4    ,so at the feast1 the place
 was empty4 ,and ,saul said1 8,where is 
,david80  and ,jonathan said1 8,he has  
gone to ,bethlehem40 ,and ,saul rose up 
in  fierce anger and took his spear and 
tried to kill his son4    ,then the next
 day1 ,jonathan went out with his bow   
and shot five arrows1  and as the boy   

went to pick them up1 he called1 8,go   
farther1 the arrows  are beyond you40   
,and ,david knew that there was but a   
step between him  and death4 ,and       
,jonathan sent the boy home and found   
,david1 and they both  wept bitterly4   
,then ,jonathan returned to his father's
 house1 and ,david  fled as fast as he  
could go into the wilderness4           
,,xxxvi    ,,the ,,cave ,,of ,,adullam  
,when ,david fled for his life from the 
displeasure of ,king ,saul1 he  became  
an outlaw1 like ,robin ,hood4    ,on the
 way he stopped at a village called     
,nob1 where the ,ark of ,god was  kept4 
,and he asked the priest for bread and a
 sword4 ,and the priest  said1 8,there  
is no bread here except that which is on
 the holy table40    ,and ,david said1  
8,let me have that40 ,so the priest gave
 him five loaves4  ,and the priest said1
 8,there is no sword here except that   
with which you  cut off the giant's     
head4 ,it is wrapped up in a cloth40    
,and ,david said1 8,i am on the king's  

business1 and in great haste1 and ,i    
have no sword4 ,there is none like that2
 give it to me40 ,so the priest  gave   
him the sword4 ,but a man named ,doeg1  
the king's chief herdsman1 saw  what was
 done1 and told the king4    ,then      
,david went to ,bethlehem to his        
father's farm and told the bad news  of 
the anger of the king4 8,he has         
threatened to kill me4 ,indeed1 he has  
already tried twice to kill me1 once    
with his own hand4 ,you and mother  must
 go at once to a place of safety4 ,come1
 let me take you to our  cousins in     
,moab1 the family of my                 
great-grandmother ,ruth40 ,so over they 
went1 across the ,jordan1 and put       
themselves under the protection of the  
king of ,moab4    ,as for ,david1 he    
found a place of refuge in the ,cave of 
,adullam4 ,and  there men gathered about
 him4    ,the first to come was         
,abiathar4 ,he had been a priest at     
,nob1 and he told  ,david what had      
happened4 ,doeg had gone straight to    

,saul4 8,i saw the son  of ,jesse coming
 to ,nob10 he said1 8and the chief      
priest gave him bread  from the holy    
table and the giant's sword40 ,and ,saul
 sent for the chief  priest1 and the    
priest said1 8,here am ,i40    ,and     
,saul frowned upon him1 and said1 8,why 
have you conspired against me  with the 
son of ,jesse1 and have given him a     
sword to slay me80    ,and the chief    
priest answered1 8,who is so faithful   
among all your  servants as ,david1 your
 son-in-law1 and honorable in your      
house8 ,i knew  nothing of any trouble  
between you and him40    ,then the      
king's old madness came upon him1 and he
 called for men to kill  not only the   
chief priest1 but all the other priests4
 ,and at first1  nobody would do it4    
,not a man would lift his sword to      
strike those  unarmed1 innocent men4    
,finally1 ,doeg did it4 ,he fell upon   
them with such  fury that only one      
escaped4 ,abiathar escaped1 and became  
one of ,david's  band4    ,and others   

came1 till there were six hundred men4  
,some had chosen the  outlaw life       
because they were in distress1 some     
because they were in  debt1 some because
 they were discontented and were weary  
of peace and  quiet and desirous of     
adventures4 ,a wild and hardy life they 
had1 among  the hills1 under the stars1 
fighting the ,philistines1 chasing the  
,amalekites1 defending shepherds from   
the attacks of brigands1 and making     
rich sheepmasters pay for their         
protection4    ,there was ,abishai1     
,david's nephew4 ,one day ,david was    
fighting the  ,philistines1 and the army
 of the enemy lay about ,bethlehem4 ,and
 in the  midst of the battle1 in the    
dust and heat1 ,david was very thirsty2 
and  he looked across the valley over   
the heads of the struggling soldiers1   
and there in the distance were the green
 trees of his native village4  ,and     
,david said1 8,oh1 that one would give  
me drink of the waters of the  well of  
,bethlehem1 that is by the gate40 ,and  

,abishai and two others who  stood by   
and heard these words started straight  
for ,bethlehem4 ,running  and hiding and
 fighting1 they made their way through  
the ,philistine  army1 and filled a cup 
with water and brought it back and gave 
it to  ,david4 ,and ,david would not    
drink it4 ,he said it was too sacred to 
drink1  gained as it was by the peril of
 men's lives4 ,he poured it solemnly    
upon  the ground4 ,that was ,abishai's  
adventure4    ,there was ,benaiah1 the  
son of ,jehoiada4 ,one time1 he went    
down into a  pit on a snowy day and     
single-handed fought a lion and killed  
him4  ,another time he was attacked by  
an ,egyptian1 eight feet high1 whose    
spear was like a weaver's beam4 ,benaiah
 had only a stick in his hand  when the 
,egyptian fell upon him2 but he plucked 
the spear out of the  ,egyptian's hand1 
and slew him with his own spear4 ,that  
is the sort of  man ,benaiah was4       
,there was ,jonathan1 another of        
,david's nephews4 ,he had a fight with a

  ,philistine1 on each of whose hands   
were six fingers1 and on each of his    
feet six toes1 and the man was big in   
proportion4 ,but he was not big  enough 
to vanquish ,jonathan4    ,there were   
eleven men of ,god1 whose faces were    
like the faces of lions1  and their feet
 as swift as the wild roes on the       
mountains4 ,once in the  spring1 when   
the water of the ,jordan was in full    
flood1 brimming from  bank to bank1 they
 swam across and put to flight1 some    
east and some  west1 the people who     
lived on the other side4    ,david also 
had his share of danger4 ,once he       
ventured into a ,philistine  city and   
entered the service of the ,philistine  
king4 ,and the ,philistines  found out  
who he was4 8,this10 they said1 8is the 
man who killed our  champion the giant40
 ,and they proposed to make an end of   
him4 ,and ,david  pretended to be crazy4
 ,he opened his mouth so that his       
spittle fell down  upon his beard2 he   
scrabbled on the doors of the gate2 so  

that the king  said1 8,see1 the fellow  
is mad40 ,thus he escaped4    ,in such  
adventures ,david and his men of        
,adullam passed their days4             
,,xxxvii    ,,the ,,outlaw ,,and ,,the  
,,sheepmaster      ,there lived in the  
land of ,israel1 among the southern     
hills1 a man named  ,nabal1 with        
,abigail his wife4 ,nabal had three     
thousand sheep and a  thousand goats1   
and his pastures reached farther than   
the eye could see2  but he had a stingy 
and sullen temper4 ,abigail1 however1   
was as generous  as she was beautiful4  
,they were shearing sheep1 one day1 on  
,nabal's farm1 and there were good      
things to eat and drink1 and the        
shepherds were all very merry1 when     
suddenly they saw ten men coming up     
along the dusty road4 ,one was          
,abishai1 and one was ,jonathan1 and one
 was ,benaiah the son of ,jehoiada1  and
 the other seven were lusty outlaws1 and
 they came with a message  from their   
captain1 ,david4 8,peace10 they said1   

8be to thee and to thy  house1 and unto 
all thy great possessions4 ,we have     
protected thy  shepherds in the fields1 
as they will tell thee4 ,we have driven 
off the  ,amalekites who came to steal  
the sheep4 ,remember us1 now1 and send a
  gift to ,david the son of ,jesse40    
,and ,nabal was very angry4 8,who10 he  
said1 8is ,david1 and who is the son  of
 ,jesse8 ,there be many servants        
nowadays that break away every man from 
his master4 ,shall ,i take my bread and 
my water1 and my flesh that ,i have     
killed for my shearers1 and give it unto
 men whom ,i know not whence they  be80 
,to this the ten men listened in grim   
silence1 and straightway turned  about  
and went away1 and ,nabal and his       
shepherds watched them till they  were  
lost to sight over the top of the hill4 
,but one of the shepherds ran in and    
told ,abigail4 8,mistress ,abigail10 he 
cried1 8an evil thing has happened4     
,david sent men to salute our master1   
and he railed on them1 and sent them    

away empty4 ,but1 indeed1 ,david and    
his band were very good to us shepherds4
 ,we were not hurt1 neither  missed we  
anything1 as long as we were in the     
fields4 ,they were a wall  to us1 both  
by night and by day4 ,what shall we do8 
,you know the might of  ,david2 he will 
come and destroy us all4 ,and not one of
 us dares say a  word to ,nabal40       
,then ,abigail made haste1 and took two 
hundred loaves of bread1 and two  skin  
bottles of wine1 and five sheep dressed 
for roasting1 and five  baskets of      
parched corn1 and a hundred clusters of 
raisins1 and two  hundred cakes of figs4
 ,these she packed on the backs of      
asses1 and said  to her servants3 8,go  
on with these before me4 ,i will come   
after you40  ,and without a word to     
,nabal she hurried to meet ,david4      
,thus they climbed the hill1 the        
servants and the mistress1 and there at 
the bottom was a cloud of flying dust1  
and under the cloud was ,david  with his
 men1 hastening with all speed to punish

 ,nabal4    ,and when ,abigail saw      
,david she alighted and bowed down to   
the ground  before him4 8,let not my    
lord10 she said1 8regard my husband1 who
 is a  foolish person4 ,see1 here is a  
present1 all that you can wish4 ,do not 
shed blood without a cause4 ,i know that
 the ,lord will certainly make my  lord 
victorious over all the land1 because my
 lord fights the battles of  the ,lord  
and does no evil4 ,and the enemies of my
 lord shall the ,lord  sling out as from
 the middle of a sling4 ,and it shall   
come to pass1 when  the ,lord shall have
 made thee ruler over ,israel1 thou wilt
 be glad to  remember that thou hast    
shed no blood without a cause1 or in    
revenge40    ,and ,david said to        
,abigail1 8,blessed be the ,lord ,god of
 ,israel1 which  sent thee this day to  
meet me1 and blessed be thy advice1 and 
blessed be  thou1 which hast kept me    
this day from coming to shed blood1 and 
from  avenging myself with my own hand4 
,for in very deed1 as the ,lord ,god of 

,israel liveth1 except thou hadst hasted
 and come to meet me1 surely by  the    
morning light both ,nabal and all that  
belong to him should have  perished     
miserably40    ,then ,david received her
 gift1 and said to her1 8,go up in peace
 to thy  house4 ,see1 ,i have harkened  
to thy voice and have accepted thy      
person40  ,so ,abigail turned about and 
went one way1 and ,david turned about   
and  went the other way4    ,nabal's men
 were eating and drinking1 as ,abigail  
came home1 sitting at a  feast fit for a
 king4 ,nabal was drunken1 and merry    
with the foolish  merriment of drink4   
,so she told him nothing1 either less or
 more1 until  the morning light4        
,then she said1 8,nabal1 yesterday your 
life was in great danger1 and ,i  saved 
you4 ,david was on his way here with    
four hundred men1 and ,i met  him and   
turned him back40    ,and ,nabal was so 
filled with terror that his heart1 for  
the moment1  ceased to beat3 as if he   
had been walking in his sleep and had   

waked to  find himself on the very edge 
of a steep cliff4 ,and his fright and   
the  liquor he had drunk brought on a   
sudden sickness4 ,he went to bed1 and   
never got up again3 and in ten days he  
was dead4    ,now ,david's wife1 the    
princess ,michal1 had been taken from   
him by the  king and married to another 
man4 ,and1 anyhow1 it was then the      
custom  for men to have more wives than 
one4 ,so when the tidings of the death  
of  ,nabal came to ,david1 his heart    
turned toward the brave and beautiful   
lady who had stopped him on the road4   
,and again a band of messengers  from   
,david approached the house which had   
once been ,nabal's1 but this  time they 
asked in ,david's name not for bread and
 meat1 but for the hand  of ,abigail4   
,and ,abigail1 remembering the grace and
 courtesy of the bold  outlaw1          
consented4          ,,xxxviii    ,,the  
,,adventure ,,of ,,the ,,king',s ,,spear
      ,wherever ,king ,saul went he     
carried his tall spear4 ,when he sat at 

the  table1 he had it close beside him1 
as his son ,jonathan knew by sad        
experience4 ,he even took it with him   
when he went to bed1 leaning it  against
 the wall beside his pillow as he slept4
 ,of course1 then1 when he  went to     
capture ,david he bore his spear over   
his shoulder4 ,thus he set  out1 and    
three thousand men with him4    ,word   
had come to the king that ,david was    
hiding in a certain place4 ,men  came   
one day from a place called ,ziph1 and  
said to ,saul1 8,o king1 ,david  has hid
 himself in the hill of ,hachilah4 ,come
 quick1 and catch him40    ,for the men 
of ,ziph1 like a great many other quiet 
people1 were much  afraid of ,david4    
,indeed1 we may well believe that while 
lion-killers and  giant-slayers are very
 pleasant persons to meet in the pages  
of books1 a  band of five or six hundred
 of them might be objectionable         
neighbors4  ,nabal was not the only     
sheepmaster who wished that they were   
all in  ,jericho1 or in some other      

remote place on the other side of the   
river  ,jordan4 ,so the men of ,ziph did
 their best to get rid of them4 8,now is
  the time10 they said1 8to capture     
,david4 ,he and his men are hiding in   
the hill of ,hachilah40    ,so ,saul set
 forth1 with his three thousand1 and to 
the hill of ,hachilah  they came4 ,and  
being tired after their long march1 the 
first thing that  they did was to pitch 
their camp on the side of the hill4     
,then they laid  them down and went to  
sleep1 for it was dark4 ,saul had five  
times as  many men as ,david1 so nobody 
was afraid4 ,they did not take even the 
common precaution of a guard to keep    
awake and watch4 ,saul slept1 and  his  
uncle ,abner the captain slept1 and all 
the soldiers slept1 in the  shelter of  
the rocks and under the thick bushes4   
,and the moon came out  and looked upon 
,saul's camp1 and there they lay1 all   
the three thousand1  sound asleep1 while
 a single spark of light reflected from 
the sky shone  on the tip of the spear  

which showed where the king lay beneath4
    ,then from behind the rocks1 high up
 the hill of ,hachilah1 who should  come
 softly creeping but ,david himself4 ,he
 saw the sleeping camp1 and in  the     
midst of it the king's spear stuck in   
the ground by the king's  pillow4 ,and  
he spoke to ,abishai1 who was beside    
him4 8,who10 he said1  8will go down    
with me to ,saul to the camp80          
,illustration3 ,,david ,,with ,,the     
,,king',s ,,spear    ,and immediately   
,abishai spoke up and said1 8,i will go 
with you40    ,for ,abishai thought that
 ,david was the best and bravest of all 
men1 the  very pattern of heroism and   
chivalry4    ,so down they went1        
stealing silently along among the       
sleeping soldiers1  like ,gideon among  
the tents of the ,midianites4 ,and there
 lay ,saul  asleep1 with a jug of water 
on one side of him1 and his spear stuck 
in  the ground on the other4    ,then   
whispered ,abishai to ,david1 8,god hath
 delivered thine enemy into  thy hand   

this day4 ,now therefore let me smite   
him1 ,i pray thee4 ,see1  here is his   
spear1--the spear with which he tried to
 kill thee1--let me  pin him with it to 
the earth4 ,one blow will be enough40   
,but ,david answered1 8,do not touch    
him4 ,it is true that he tried to kill  
me1 and is here in pursuit of me4 ,but  
he is the ,lord's anointed4 ,he is  the 
king of ,israel4 ,i will leave him in   
the ,lord's hands4 ,let the ,lord  bring
 him in his own good time to his        
appointed end1 by sickness or by        
battle4 ,i will not hurt him4 ,take away
 his jug of water and his spear1  and   
let us go back40    ,and this they did4 
,they took away the jug of water and the
 king's spear1  and departed4 ,and no   
man saw it1 nor knew it1 neither        
awakened3 they  were all asleep4        
,then ,david stood on the top of the    
hill1 and called with a loud voice in   
the still night1 8,abner60 he cried1    
8,ho1 ,abner6 ,answerest thou not1      
,abner80    ,and ,abner suddenly wakened

 at the voice of ,david1 and sat up1 and
 looked  about him much confused1 and   
said1 8,who calls80    ,and ,david      
answered from the hill in the light of  
the moon1 8,thou art a  valiant man1    
,abner6 ,thou art a mighty captain6     
,thou art a prudent master  of the      
king's body-guard6 ,the king has been in
 peril of his life1 while  you slept4   
,there came one even to his side to kill
 him1 and you knew it  not4 ,where is   
the king's jug of water8 ,where is the  
king's spear80    ,and ,saul awoke and  
recognized the voice of ,david4 ,and he 
said1 8,is this  thy voice1 my son      
,david80    ,and ,david said1 8,it is my
 voice1 ,o king4 ,why dost thou pursue  
me8 ,what  have ,i done against thee8   
,what evil is in my hand8 ,thou hast    
believed  lies about me40    ,then ,saul
 was deeply moved1 and said1 8,i have   
done wrong4 ,return1 my son  ,david4 ,i 
will do thee no more harm1 because my   
life was precious in thy  sight this    
day4 ,i have played the fool and erred  

exceedingly40    ,but ,david answered   
and said1 8,behold1 the king's spear4   
,let one of the  young men come over and
 fetch it4 ,may the ,lord spare me1 as  
,i have  spared the ,lord's anointed40  
,and ,saul replied1 8,blessed be thou1  
my son ,david4 ,thou shalt do great     
things and prevail40    ,thus ,david    
forbore a second time from taking his   
revenge upon his  enemies4 ,then ,david 
and his six hundred went upon their way1
 and ,saul  and his three thousand went 
back along the road by which they came4 
,,xxxix    ,,in ,,the ,,land ,,of ,,the 
,,enemy      ,in the midst of ,david's  
troubles with the king of ,israel he    
received a  present from the king of    
,gath4 ,the king of ,gath gave him a    
town4    ,it happened in this way4 ,as  
weeks grew into months1 and ,david1 in  
spite  of ,saul's fair words1 did not   
dare to trust his head within reach of  
,saul's spear1 he said to himself at    
last1 8,i am afraid that ,i shall some  
day perish at the hand of ,saul4 ,what  

shall ,i do8 ,whither shall ,i turn8    
,how can ,i get beyond his reach8 ,i    
will go over to the enemy4 ,i will      
offer my sword1 and the swords of my six
 hundred men1 to the  ,philistines40    
,and that he did4 ,and ,achish1 king of 
,gath1 to whom he went1 received  him4  
,but many of the ,philistines were in   
doubt4 ,they feared that ,david's       
coming was but a plot to defeat and     
destroy them4 8,some dark night10  they 
said1 8,david will rise up and kill us40
    ,then ,david said to ,achish1 8,give
 me1 ,i pray thee1 some small place in  
the country1 where ,i may dwell40 ,and  
,achish gave him the border town of     
,ziklag1 far from the princes of the    
,philistines4 ,so all the band with     
their wives and children settled in     
,ziklag4    ,having ,ziklag for their   
headquarters1 they went out on forays   
and fought  the ,amalekites4 ,they      
brought away whatever they could lay    
their hands  upon1 and no ,amalekites   
remained to tell the tale4 ,and when    

they came  back from these adventures1  
,achish would say1 8,where have ye made 
a raid  to-day80 ,and ,david would      
answer1 8,we have been in the south     
country1 in  the land of ,judah40 ,for  
in those days men did not understand1 as
 we do1  how wrong it is to tell a lie4 
,and ,achish believed this false report1
  and said to himself1 8,david is making
 war on his own people4 ,he will  never 
dare to desert us now and go back to his
 own land40    ,at last1 the time came  
for another war between the ,philistines
 and the  ,israelites4 ,in all the towns
 of the ,philistines men were busy      
shaping  bows and arrows2 the           
blacksmiths at their flaming forges were
 sharpening  swords and spears2 soldiers
 were drilling on every village green1  
captains were making plans1 and the army
 was assembling4 ,achish sent for       
,david4 8,now10 he said1 8we are to make
 a great march against your old  enemy1 
,king ,saul1 and we shall need your     
help40 ,that was very hard for  ,david2 

but when the march began1 there he was  
with his six hundred1  bringing up the  
rear4 ,what else could he do8           
,fortunately for ,david1 the ,philistine
 leaders would not have him4 8,what  do 
these ,hebrews here80 they said4 ,and   
,achish answered1 8,they are trusty     
men4 ,david has been sent into exile by 
,saul1 his master1 and has come  with us
 to fight against him40 ,but the princes
 and the captains were not  satisfied4  
8,make this fellow return10 they said2  
8he will attack us from  behind4 ,he    
will reconcile himself to ,saul by      
bringing him our heads40    ,so ,achish 
was obliged to dismiss ,david4 8,the    
princes will not have you10  he said4   
8,come now1 to-morrow morning by the    
first light1 rise up and  get you gone40
 ,and when the sun rose on the morrow1  
,david and his men  were on their way to
 ,ziklag4    ,but when they came in     
sight of ,ziklag1 their joy was turned  
to  lamentation2 for1 behold1 the whole 
place was on fire4 ,a cloud of black    

smoke covered the town1 and underneath  
the smoke were heaps of ashes4  ,not a  
living soul remained4 ,the ,amalekites  
had come and destroyed the  town1 and   
had carried away the women and children 
into captivity4    ,at first1 the whole 
six hundred sat down upon the ground and
 cried4 ,then  they got up with stones  
in their hands1 and began to mutter     
something  about throwing them at       
,david's head4 ,but ,abiathar1 the      
priest said3 8,the  thing to do is to   
follow the ,amalekites4 ,quick6 let us  
pursue and  overtake them60    ,so off  
they started on the run1 and never      
stopped till they came to the  bank of  
the brook ,besor4 ,and then two hundred 
men lay down and declared  that they    
could go no further4 ,but the others    
pushed still forward over  the brook4   
,by and by1 in a field1 they found a man
 who1 at first sight1 seemed to  be     
dead4 ,but they raised him up1 and gave 
him bread and he did eat1 and  they made
 him drink water1 and they gave him a   

piece of a cake of figs  and two        
clusters of raisins4 ,and when he had   
eaten1 his spirit came to  him again4   
,for he had eaten no bread1 nor drunk   
any water three days and  three nights4 
,and ,david said1 8,to whom belongest   
thou8 and whence art thou80    ,and he  
said1 8,i am a young man of ,egypt1     
servant to an ,amalekite1 and my  master
 left me1 because three days ago ,i fell
 sick4 ,we had been on a  raid1 and had 
burned ,ziklag40    ,and ,david said1   
8,canst thou bring me down to this      
company80    ,and after ,david had      
promised neither to kill him nor to give
 him up to  his master1 the man agreed  
to act as guide4    ,as the sun was     
setting1 they came in sight of the      
,amalekites1 eating and  drinking and   
dancing like wild ,indians1 because of  
the great spoil which  they had taken4  
,and ,david smote them so suddenly and  
fiercely that they  were surprised and  
overcome4 ,four hundred of them1 young  
men on swift  camels1 escaped1 but all  

the spoil remained4 ,there was nothing  
lacking1  neither small nor great1      
neither sons nor daughters3 ,david      
recovered  all4    ,but meanwhile1 in   
the north1 along the ,great ,plain1 the 
army of the  ,philistines was marching  
day and night to give battle to the army
 of  ,king ,saul4          ,,xl    ,,the
 ,,witch ,,of ,,endor      ,in the old  
days1 almost everybody believed in      
witches4 ,even wise men  thought that   
there were old women who had made a     
bargain with the ,prince  of ,evil3 the 
old women had sold their souls1 and in  
return had been  given power to see into
 the future1 to hurt their enemies      
without  touching them1 and to talk with
 those who had been long dead4    ,this 
strange belief1 which is now held only  
by ignorant or superstitious  persons1  
came from two facts4    ,it is a fact   
that the world in which we live is so   
full of wonders and  mysteries that     
almost anything seems possible4 ,it is  
also a fact that  one of the most       

mysterious and wonderful things in the  
world is the  human mind3 some people1  
just by using their minds1 can speak to 
others  miles away1--that is called     
telepathy2 some people1 just by using   
their  minds1 can make others do what   
they wish them to do and see what they  
wish them to see1--that is called       
hypnotism4 ,these powers of the mind    
are still beyond our understanding1 but 
we do not believe that they have  any   
more connection with the ,prince of     
,evil than wireless telegraphy or  the  
electric light4 ,in the old days1       
however1 men and women who had  these   
powers were called wizards and witches1 
and it was thought that  the best thing 
to do with them was to put them to      
death4    ,now ,king ,saul had driven   
the witches and the wizards out of the  
land4  ,but afterwards it came to pass  
that he was exceedingly desirous to know
  what was in store for him in the near 
future4 ,the ,philistines were  marching
 along the ,great ,plain1 and ,saul had 

mustered all his men to  meet them1 and 
there was to be a great battle2 and     
,saul was afraid4  8,oh10 he cried1     
troubled and perplexed1 8if ,samuel were
 here1 he would  tell me what to do4    
,oh1 for a single word with ,samuel60   
,but ,samuel was  dead4    ,at last1    
,saul said to his servants1 8,go1 seek  
me out a witch1 that ,i may  go to her  
and inquire of her40 ,his servants said3
 8,the witches have been  driven out1   
but there is still one remaining1 in a  
hiding place1 at  ,endor40 ,and ,saul   
disguised himself1 and took two men with
 him1 and went  to ,endor4 ,and they    
came to the witch's house by night4     
8,who is there80 said the witch4        
8,one in distress10 said ,saul1 8who    
wishes a moment's speech with a         
departed spirit40    ,and the witch     
said1 8,i cannot help you4 ,the king has
 banished all the  witches4 ,if he were 
to find me1 he would take my life40     
,but ,saul answered1 8,i am able to     
protect you4 ,only do as ,i ask and     

there  shall no harm befall you40       
8,who is it10 asked the witch1 8with    
whom you wish to speak80    ,and ,saul  
said1 8,samuel40    ,then the witch     
began to use her mind4 ,the first thing 
which her mind  told her was that her   
visitor was no other than the king      
himself4 ,and  this the king confessed4 
8,be not afraid10 he said1 8only bring  
,samuel to  speak with me40 ,then the   
witch's mind told her what ,samuel would
 say1 if  he were yet alive4 ,she       
thought of the ,philistine army and of  
,saul's few  soldiers4 ,she thought of  
the sternness of ,samuel1 and how he had
 in his  lifetime rebuked the king4 ,it 
was plain that ,samuel1 if he could     
speak1  would declare the sure defeat of
 ,saul1 and would say that it was a     
divine punishment upon him4    ,now the 
house was as dark as the black night1   
except where a dim light  showed the    
witch's face and deepened the           
surrounding gloom4 ,and suddenly  the   
witch cried with a loud voice1 and put  

her hands before her eyes2  and ,saul   
said1 8,what do you see80 ,and she said1
 8,i see a god ascending  out of the    
earth40 ,and ,saul said1 8,what form is 
he of80 ,and the woman  answered1 8,an  
old man cometh up1 and he is covered    
with a mantle40    ,when ,saul heard    
that1 he bowed down with his face to the
 ground4 8,what  does he say80 said he4 
,in the darkness of the room1 and in the
 confusion and mystery of the  moment1  
,saul knew not whether the answering    
voice was that of the witch  or of the  
prophet4 ,but there was a ,voice4 ,and  
the ,voice said1 8,why hast  thou       
disquieted me to bring me up80 ,and     
,saul answered1 8,i am sore  distressed2
 for the ,philistines make war upon me  
to destroy me1 and ,god  is departed    
from me1 and answereth me no more1      
neither by prophets nor  by dreams3     
therefore have ,i called thee1 that thou
 mayest make known  unto me what ,i     
shall do40    ,and the ,voice said1     
8,wherefore dost thou ask of me1 seeing 

the ,lord is  departed from thee1 and is
 become thine enemy8 ,because thou      
obeyedst not  the voice of the ,lord1   
therefore he hath rent the kingdom out  
of thine  hand and given it to ,david4  
,and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons  
be  with me40    ,then ,saul fell       
straightway all along upon the earth1   
and was sore afraid  because of the     
words of ,samuel2 and there was no      
strength in him1  because he had eaten  
nothing all the day nor all the night4  
,and the  witch said1 8,let me set a    
morsel of food before thee1 that thou   
mayest  have strength when thou goest on
 thy way40 ,but ,saul said1 8,i will not
  eat40 ,at last1 however1 he got up    
from the floor and sat upon the bed1    
and ate1 he and his two companions1 and 
went away into the night4    ,and on the
 morrow it happened as the ,voice had   
said4 ,the ,philistines  fought and the 
men of ,israel fled and fell down slain 
in ,mount ,gilboa4  ,as for ,saul and   
his sons1 the archers hit them with     

their arrows2 so  they died1 the king   
and his three sons1 that same day       
together4