The Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts Page 88

  63 The children of Israel also brought up each man his father's coffin with him, and each man the coffins of his tribe.

  CHAPTER 81

  1 The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot besides the little ones and their wives.

  2 Also a mixed multitude went up with them, flocks and herds, even much cattle.

  3 The temporary time of the children of Israel who lived in the land of Egypt in hard labor was two hundred and ten years.

  4 And at the end of two hundred and ten years, the Lord brought forth the children of Israel from Egypt with a strong hand.

  5 The children of Israel traveled from Egypt and from Goshen and from Rameses, and encamped in Succoth on the fifteenth day of the first month.

  6 The Egyptians buried all their firstborn whom the Lord had smitten, and all the Egyptians buried their slain for three days.

  7 The children of Israel traveled from Succoth and encamped in Ethom, at the end of the wilderness.

  8 On the third day after the Egyptians had buried their firstborn, many men rose up from Egypt and went after Israel to make them return to Egypt, for they regretted that they had sent the Israelites away from serving them.

  9 One man said to his neighbor, Certainly Moses and Aaron spoke to Pharaoh saying, We will go a three days' journey in the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God.

  10 So now let us rise up early in the morning and make them return; it shall be that if they return with us to Egypt to their masters, then we will know that there is faith in them, but if they will not return then will we fight with them, and make them come back with great power and a strong hand.

  11 All the nobles of Pharaoh rose up in the morning, and with them about seven hundred thousand men; they went forth from Egypt on that day and came to the place where the children of Israel were.

  12 And all the Egyptians looked and saw Moses and Aaron and all the children of Israel were sitting before Pi-hahiroth, eating and drinking and celebrating the feast of the Lord.

  13 All the Egyptians said to the children of Israel, Certainly you said, We will go a journey for three days in the wilderness and sacrifice to our God and return.

  14 So now this day makes five days since you went; why do you not return to your masters?

  15 Moses and Aaron answered them, saying, Because the Lord our God has testified in us saying, You shall no more return to Egypt, but take yourselves to a land flowing with milk and honey; as the Lord our God had sworn to our ancestors to give to us.

  16 And when the nobles of Egypt saw that the children of Israel did not listen to them to return to Egypt, they prepared themselves to fight with Israel.

  17 The Lord strengthened the hearts of the children of Israel over the Egyptians so that they gave them a severe beating; the battle was severe on the Egyptians and all the Egyptians fled from before the children of Israel; many of them perished by the hand of Israel.

  18 And the nobles of Pharaoh went to Egypt and told Pharaoh, saying, The children of Israel have fled and will no more return to Egypt, and in this manner did Moses and Aaron speak to us.

  19 Pharaoh heard this thing, and his heart and the hearts of all his subjects were turned against Israel; they repented that they had sent Israel, and all the Egyptians advised Pharaoh to pursue the children of Israel to make them come back to their burdens.

  20 They said each man to his brother, What is this which we have done, that we have sent Israel from our service?

  21 The Lord strengthened the hearts of all the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites, for the Lord desired to overthrow the Egyptians in the Red Sea.

  22 Pharaoh rose up and harnessed his chariot; he ordered all the Egyptians to assemble, not one man was left excepting the little ones and the women.

  23 And all the Egyptians went forth with Pharaoh to pursue the children of Israel, and the camp of Egypt was a very large and strong camp, about ten hundred thousand men.

  24 All of this camp went and pursued the children of Israel to bring them back to Egypt, and they reached them encamping by the Red Sea.

  25 The children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and saw all the Egyptians pursuing them; the children of Israel were greatly terrified at them and the children of Israel cried to the Lord.

  26 On account of the Egyptians, the children of Israel divided themselves into four divisions and they were divided in their opinions for they were afraid of the Egyptians, and Moses spoke to each of them.

  27 The first division was of the children of Reuben, Simeon, and Issachar, and they decided to cast themselves into the sea, for they were greatly afraid of the Egyptians.

  28 And Moses said to them, Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will effect this day for you.

  29 The second division was of the children of Zebulun, Benjamin and Naphtali, and they resolved to go back to Egypt with the Egyptians.

  30 And Moses said to them, Fear not, for as you have seen the Egyptians this day, so shall you see them no more for ever.

  31 The third division was of the children of Judah and Joseph, and they resolved to go to meet the Egyptians to fight with them.

  32 And Moses said to them, Stand in your places for the Lord will fight for you, and you shall remain silent.

  33 And the fourth division was of the children of Levi, Gad, and Asher, and they resolved to go into the midst of the Egyptians to confound them. Moses said to them, Remain in your stations and fear not, only call to the Lord that he may save you out of their hands.

  34 After this Moses rose up from among the people and prayed to the Lord and said,

  35 O Lord God of the whole earth, save now your people whom you brought forth from Egypt, and let not the Egyptians boast that power and might are theirs.

  36 So the Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Speak to the children of Israel that they shall proceed, and stretch out your rod on the sea and divide it and the children of Israel shall pass through it.

  37 And Moses did so; he lifted up his rod on the sea and divided it.

  38 And the waters of the sea were divided into twelve parts, and the children of Israel passed through on foot with shoes, as a man would pass through a prepared road.

  39 The Lord displayed to the children of Israel his wonders in Egypt and in the sea by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

  40 When the children of Israel had entered the sea the Egyptians came after them, and the waters of the sea covered them and they all sank in the water; not one man was left except Pharaoh, who gave thanks to the Lord and believed in him, therefore the Lord did not cause him to perish at that time with the Egyptians.

  41 The Lord ordered an angel to take him from among the Egyptians, who cast him on the land of Ninevah and he reigned over it for a long time.

  42 On that day the Lord saved Israel from the hand of Egypt, and all the children of Israel saw that the Egyptians had perished; they beheld the great hand of the Lord in what he had performed in Egypt and in the sea.

  43 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to the Lord, on the day when the Lord caused the Egyptians to fall before them.

  44 And all Israel sang in concert saying, I will sing to the Lord for He is greatly exalted, the horse and his rider has he cast into the sea, consider that it is written in the book of the law of God.

  45 After this the children of Israel proceeded on their journey and encamped in Marah; the Lord gave to the children of Israel statutes and judgments in that place in Marah, and the Lord commanded the children of Israel to walk in all his ways and to serve him.

  46 They journeyed from Marah and came to Elim; in Elim were twelve springs of water and seventy date trees and the children encamped there by the waters.

  47 They journeyed from Elim and came to the wilderness of Sin, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from Egypt.

  48 At that time the Lord gave manna to the children of Israel to eat, and the Lord caused fo
od to rain from heaven for the children of Israel day by day.

  49 And the children of Israel ate the manna for forty years, all the days that they were in the wilderness, until they came to the land of Canaan to possess it.

  50 They proceeded from the wilderness of Sin and encamped in Alush.

  51 And they proceeded from Alush and encamped in Rephidim.

  52 When the children of Israel were in Rephidim, Amalek the son of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, the brother of Zepho, came to fight with Israel.

  53 And he brought with him eight hundred and one thousand men, magicians and conjurers, and he prepared for battle with Israel in Rephidim.

  54 They carried on a great and severe battle against Israel, and the Lord delivered Amalek and his people into the hands of Moses and the children of Israel, and into the hand of Joshua, the son of Nun, the Ephrathite, the servant of Moses.

  55 The children of Israel struck Amalek and his people at the edge of the sword, but the battle was very severe on the children of Israel.

  56 And the Lord said to Moses, Write this thing as a memorial for you in a book, and place it in the hand of Joshua, the son of Nun your servant; you shall command the children of Israel, saying, When you come to the land of Canaan, you shall utterly wipe out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

  57 And Moses did so, and he took the book and wrote on it these words, saying,

  58 Remember what Amalek has done to you in the road when you went forth from Egypt.

  59 He met you in the road and struck your rear, even those that were feeble behind you when you were faint and weary.

  60 Therefore it shall be when the Lord your God shall have given you rest from all your enemies round about in the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, to possess it, that you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven, you shall not forget it.

  61 The king who shall have pity on Amalek or on his memory or on his offspring, behold I will blame him, and I will cut him off from among his people.

  62 And Moses wrote all these things in a book, and he advised the children of Israel respecting all these matters.

  CHAPTER 82

  1 The children of Israel proceeded from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai, in the third month from their going forth from Egypt.

  2 At that time Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses, came with Zipporah his daughter and her two sons for he had heard of the wonders of the Lord which he had done to Israel, that he had delivered them from the hand of Egypt.

  3 Reuel came to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, where the mountain of God was.

  4 And Moses went forth to meet his father-in-law with great honor, and all Israel was with him.

  5 Reuel and his children remained among the Israelites for many days, and Reuel knew the Lord from that day forward.

  6 In the third month from the children of Israel's departure from Egypt, on the sixth day, the Lord gave to Israel the ten commandments on Mount Sinai.

  7 All Israel heard all these commandments, and all Israel rejoiced greatly in the Lord on that day.

  8 And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai; he called to Moses and Moses came in the midst of a cloud and ascended the mountain.

  9 Moses was on the mount forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water, and the Lord instructed him in the standards and judgments in order to teach the children of Israel.

  10 And the Lord wrote the ten commandments which he had commanded the children of Israel on two tablets of stone, which he gave to Moses to command the children of Israel.

  11 At the end of forty days and forty nights, when the Lord had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, the Lord gave to Moses the tablets of stone written with the finger of God.

  12 When the children of Israel saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mount, they gathered round Aaron and said, As for this man Moses, we know not what has become of him.

  13 Now therefore rise up, make to us a god who shall go before us, so that you shall not die.

  14 Aaron was greatly afraid of the people, and he ordered them to bring him gold and he made it into a molten calf for the people.

  15 The Lord said to Moses, before he had come down from the mount, Go down, for your people whom you brought forth from Egypt have corrupted themselves.

  16 They have made to themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it; now therefore leave me, that I may consume them from off the earth for they are a stubborn people.

  17 And Moses sought the countenance of the Lord, and he prayed to the Lord for the people on account of the calf which they had made; afterward he descended from the mount and in his hands were the two tablets of stone which God had given him to command the Israelites.

  18 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf which the people had made, the anger of Moses was set ablaze and he broke the tablets under the mount.

  19 Moses came to the camp; he took the calf and burned it with fire, and ground it till it became fine dust and scattered it on the water, and gave it to the Israelites to drink.

  20 There died of the people by the swords of each other about three thousand men who had made the calf.

  21 The next morning Moses said to the people, I will go up to the Lord, perhaps I may make atonement for your sins which you have sinned to the Lord.

  22 And Moses again went up to the Lord, and he remained with the Lord forty days and forty nights.

  23 And during the forty days Moses entreaed the Lord on behalf of the children of Israel, and the Lord listened to the prayer of Moses, and the Lord was begged of him on behalf of Israel.

  24 Then spoke the Lord to Moses to cut out two stone tablets and to bring them up to the Lord, who would write on them the ten commandments.

  25 Moses did so, and he came down and fashioned the two tablets and went up to Mount Sinai to the Lord, and the Lord wrote the ten commandments on the tablets.

  26 Moses remained yet with the Lord forty days and forty nights, and the Lord instructed him in standards and judgments to give to Israel.

  27 The Lord commanded him respecting the children of Israel that they should make a sanctuary for the Lord that his name might rest therein, and the Lord showed him the likeness of the sanctuary and the likeness of all its vessels.

  28 And at the end of the forty days, Moses came down from the mount and the two tablets were in his hand.

  29 And Moses came to the children of Israel and spoke to them all the words of the Lord, and he taught them laws, rules and judgments which the Lord had taught him.

  30 Moses told the children of Israel the word of the Lord, that a sanctuary should be made for him to dwell among the children of Israel.

  31 And the people rejoiced greatly at all the good which the Lord had spoken to them through Moses, and they said, We will do all that the Lord has spoken to you.

  32 And the people rose up like one man and they made generous offerings to the sanctuary of the Lord; each man brought the offering of the Lord for the work of the sanctuary and for all its service.

  33 All the children of Israel brought each man of all that was found in his possession for the work of the sanctuary of the Lord, gold, silver and brass, and every thing that was serviceable for the sanctuary.

  34 All the wise men who were practiced in work came and made the sanctuary of the Lord, according to all that the Lord had commanded, every man in the work in which he had skill; all the wise men in heart made the sanctuary and its furniture and all the vessels for the holy service as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  35 And the work of the sanctuary of the tabernacle was completed at the end of five months; the children of Israel did all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

  36 And they brought the sanctuary and all its furniture to Moses; like to the representation which the Lord had shown to Moses, so did the children of Israel.

  37 And Moses saw the work, and behold they did it as the Lord had commanded him
, so Moses blessed them.

  CHAPTER 83

  1 In the twelfth month, in the twenty-third day of the month, Moses took Aaron and his sons and dressed them in their garments and anointed them, and did to them as the Lord had commanded him, and Moses brought up all the offerings which the Lord had on that day commanded him.

  2 Moses afterward took Aaron and his sons and said to them, For seven days you shall remain at the door of the tabernacle, for thus am I commanded.

  3 And Aaron and his sons did all that the Lord had commanded them through Moses, and they remained for seven days at the door of the tabernacle.

  4 On the eighth day, being the first day of the first month, in the second year from the Israelites' departure from Egypt, Moses erected the sanctuary and put in all the furniture of the tabernacle and all the furniture of the sanctuary, and he did all that the Lord had commanded him.

  5 Moses called to Aaron and his sons, and they brought the burnt offering and the sin offering for themselves and the children of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

  6 On that day the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, took strange fire and brought it before the Lord who had not commanded them to do it, and a fire went forth from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord on that day.

  7 Then on the day when Moses had completed erecting the sanctuary, the princes of the children of Israel began to bring their offerings before the Lord for the dedication of the altar.

  8 And they brought up their offerings each prince for one day, a prince each day for twelve days.

  9 And all the offerings which they brought, each man in his day, one silver charger weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels after the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering;

  10 One spoon, weighing ten shekels of gold, full of incense;

  11 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year for a burnt offering;