Paraphrase of the Hard Texts of Scripture, Scripture 1

Paraphrase of the Hard Texts of Scripture · Scripture 1

p. 1A PARAPHRASE VPONUPON THE HARD TEXTS OF THE WHOLE DIVINE SCRIPTURE. GENESIS.

CAP. I.

IN the beginning of time,1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. God the Father, Sonne, and Holy Ghost, made, of nothing, the whole great, and goodly frame of the world; both the heaven and the earth, and the other elements, with all the furniture and inhabitants of them all.

Yet not all together, and at once, nor in this perfect forme, at first,2 And the earth was without forme, and void, and darkenesse was upon the face of the deep: & the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. wherein we now see them, but by leisure & degrees; for both the earth and elements, in their first being, were a rude and confused heape, by him newly created without any matter preceding, or without any fashionable shape at all; it being not distinguished, fashioned, beautified, as afterward, neither had this vast masse of water and earth intermingled, as yet any light, either for distinction or ornament, but even in this their confusion, the holy Spirit (the preserver of all creatures) upheld, cherished, and gave fit succour to this imperfect beginning of all things.

Then God willed,3 And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. and in this point brought his eternall decree to execution, that there should be light, not of the Sunne, or starres, which were not yet created; but a common brightnesse onelyonly, to distinguish the time, and to remedy that former confused darknesse and it was accordingly made.

And God approved this light, by him created,4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and and God divided the light from the darknesse. to be of excellent, and necessary use, and established it, by his p. 2allowance, as fit to continue, and to be interchanged with darknesse.

5 And God called the light day, and the darknesse he called night: and the evening and the morning were the first day.And God set to either of them their due times and courses; appointing that the light should serve for day, darknesse for night, and that man afterwards should so call them; and so was the first naturall day, consisting of evening and morning, fully finished.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmamēt in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.Then God willed that there should be a large cleare aery distance betwixt those upper waters, which are gathered into clouds, and these below.

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters, which were under the firmament, from the waters, which were above the firmament, and it was so.Therefore God caused this large extent of aire, to spread it selfe high and wide, and thereby made a separation betwixt those aery, and these lower earthly waters, and it was done.

8 And God called the firmament heaven, and the evening and the morning were the second day.And this dilated aire (as also that above) hee taught man, after, to call heaven, and established the due use, and course therof, and thus was the second naturall day, consisting of evening and morning, finished.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appeare, and it was so.Further, God willed that these lower waters should be gathered into one common place of receit, and that the dry land, which was till now covered over therewith, should appeare, and it was so done.

10 And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters called he seas: and God saw that it was goodAnd God taught to call this dry land (according to the nature of it) earth: and the common receptacle of waters, seas: and God allowed this second dayes worke also as of necessary and excellent use for his purposed creatures.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grasse, the herbe yeelding seed, and the fruit tree yeelding fruit after his kinde, whose seed is in it selfe upon the earth: and it was so.Then God willed that by his immediate power, even before the Sunne was created, the earth should bring forth all manner of vegetables: both those that do voluntarily sprout up, and those which doe since require the art, and labour of man: all buds, blossomes, herbes, trees, which both may, and doe beare fruit according to their kinde; and whose fruit by his appointment containeth in it the seed of their owne kindes, and it was so done.

12 And the earth brought forth grasse, and herbe yeelding seed after his kinde, and the tree yeelding fruit, whose seed was in it selfe after his kinde: and God saw that it was good.And the earth brought forth, (as God commanded her) all manner of vegetables in very great variety, according to the severall kindes, both of herbes that yeeld their owne seed as the meanes of their future increase, and all trees that beare fruit, and whose fruit by his appointment, containeth in it the seed of their own kinde: & God allowed them as of necessary, and excellent use, & established the benefits therof to his future creatures.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.And thus was the third naturall day, consisting of morning and evening, also finished.

p. 3And God further willed,14 And God said, Let there bee lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night: and let them be for signes, and for seasons, and for dayes, and yeares. that in the highest part of the aire, which wee call heaven, there should bee made the starres, which are so many glorious lights, in the firmament, partly to make a perpetuall and constant division betwixt day and night, and partly to be certaine and naturall signes for mans direction in his course of judgement, and practice, for sowing, planting, sailing, and such other common affaires, and partly to make a distinction of seasōs: sommer, winter, spring, harvest, autumne, yeares, months, weekes, dayes, houres.

Lastly (which is their chiefest use) he willed that they should serve to give lively heate, and light,15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth, and it was so. from those high places, wherin he set them to his creatures here upon earth, and it was so done.

And now God made amongst the rest,16 And God made two great lights; the greater to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the starres also. two great lights greater then the rest, not in body, but in glory, the greater to rule the day; to which purpose he gathered into all that light, which hitherto was diffused through the aire; the lesser, together with the other smaller stars, to rule the night.

Thus God (I say) made these heavenly lights,17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth. and placed them in the highest part of the aire, that they might the better give light to the earth.

And that they might interchangeably governe the day and night, and distinguish the light from the darknesse,18 And to rule over the day, and over the night, and to divide the light from the darknesse: and God saw that it was good the dawning and twilight from the cleare day; and God allowed them, as of excellent, and necessary use for his other creatures.

So the fourth naturall day consisting of morning and evening, was fully finished.19 And the evening and and the morning were the fourth day.

Now,20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowle that may flie above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. that God had thus made fit roome and place for his creatures, he willed that they should in their severall rankes, and orders be framed; and first (as the least perfect) hee decreed that the waters should abundantly bring forth all swimming and creeping things (proper to it selfe) that have life; and, that of the lighter and more ayrie part thereof, should be made all kinde of fowles, that flie upon the earth, and waters, in the open space of the aire.

Then God of the same Element,21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth which the waters brought forth abundātly, after their kind, and every winged fowle after his kinde: and and God saw that it was good. made the mighty Whales, Whirlpooles, & all other those huge & strange formes of creatures; and all kinde of fishes, that live and move in the waters; he framed of the same matter, in great variety and abundance, according to their kinds, and every flying fowle according to his kind: and God allowed them to be of excellent use.

p. 422 And God blessed them, saying, Bee fruitfull and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas; and let fowle multiply in the earth.Then God gave a reall and sensible blessing unto them, willing and decreeing by an… everlasting Law, that these watery creatures should naturally multiply themselves by generation, in an especiall manner, and measure; so as they should plentifully store both the Sea and Rivers, and that the fowles also, should by a naturall forme of generation, multiply their numbers, and successions upon earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fift day.So the fift naturall day, consisting of morning and evening, was fully finished.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kinde, cattell, and creeping things and beasts of the earth after his kind: and it was so.Furthermore, God appointed that of the earth (by his almighty power) should bee made all other living things according to their kinds; all cattell that should be for more familiar use to man; all those creeping things, which live and move in, and upon the earth; and those wild beasts of the forrest, which live apart from the sight and service of man, each of them according to his nature, and kind, and it was so done.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kinde, and cattle after their kinde: and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.And God accordingly made the wild beast of the field according to his kinde, and all those creeping things which move in and upon the earth, according to their severall kind, and the tamer cattell, according to their kind, and God allowed their use as commodious and necessary.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our Image after our likenesse: and let them have dominion over the fish of the Sea, & over the fowle of the aire, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.Then God (when all helps, and ornaments were thus prepared) decreed, and after a divine manner consulted with himselfe, the Father with the Son, and holy Spirit, concerning the Creation of his chiefe creature, Man; as it were to this effect: We have made our severall creatures, in great variety; having given to them, being, life, sense and motion; but now, let us make that creature, for whose sake the rest have beene created; consisting as of a materiall body; wherein hee shall partake with other creatures, in being, life, sense, and motion; so also, of a spituall nature & substance, wherin he shall be like to us; being indued, as with all the faculties of a reasonable soule, so also with perfect knowledg, holinesse, righteousnesse: And let them have dominion over all the creatures, over the fishes of the Sea, and over the fowles of the aire, and over the cattel, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing, that creepeth on the earth.

27 So God created man in his owne Image, in the Image of God created he him, male and female created he them.So God, accordingly, created man, after his owne Image, both in respect of his spirituall soule, and of this integritie, and holinesse, and righteousnesse, wherewith hee was indued; hee created them in both sexes, both male and female; forming the male of the matter of earth, and the female afterwards of the male.

p. 5And God gave a speciall blessing unto them; and said,28 And God blessed thē, and God said unto them, be fruitfull, and multiply, and replenish the earth, & subdue it: & have dominiō over the fish of the sea. Be yee (through that power of propagation, which I give you) fruitfull; and multiply and replenish the earth with your seed; and be yee possessors and rulers of the earth, &c.

And God said, Behold, as I have made you,29 And God said, Behold I have given you every herbe bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree. and given you life, so am I carefull to provide and grant you fit sustenance for the continuance of that life, which I have given you: Take ye liberty therfore to eate of every plant, that groweth upon the earth, whether herbe or tree, &c.

CAP. II.

THus were the heavens, and the earth, and sea,1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the hoste of them. and all the hoasts of heaven (both the Angels, and starres,) and all the furniture of the earth and water (both plants, and beasts, and birds, and fishes) finished, by the mighty power of God in the space of sixe dayes.

And on the seventh day,2 And on the seventh day God ended his work, which he had made: and he rested on the seaventh day from all his worke which he had made. God having finished the the great worke of his creation; ceased from any further act of this kinde, rejoycing in the view of his glorious workmanship, and never since ceasing to preserve, order, and governe that world, which he then created.

And thereupon God gave a speciall blessing to the seventh day, and honoured it with this priviledge,3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all his worke which God created and made. that it should be a day set apart to rest and holinesse; that so by this meanes, men might be put in minde of the wonderfull worke of his creation, and might celebrate that rest of their creator.

This is the story,4 These are the generations of the heavens, and of the earth, when they were created, in the day that the Lord God mad the earth, &c. or just report of the making of the heavens, and the earth, in that beginning of time, wherein the Lord God (who hath eternall being in himselfe) gave a being to the earth and the heavens.

And to every plant of the field, when as before it had no being in the earth,5 And every plant of the field, before it was in the earth, and every herbe of the field, before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to raine upon the earth: and there was not a man to till the ground. and to every herbe that had not as yet beene, nor could have beene, as by any naturall meanes: for there had beene as yet no raine (which is the ordinary meanes of fruitfullnesse, (sent downe from God upon the earth, neither was there any man (as yet) to till the ground, and by his industry and art to draw forth any fruit therefrom.

OnelyOnly God caused a mist or vapour,6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. to rise up from the earth, and to fall downe againe, upon the whole face of the ground; whereby the earth was watered, and the fruits thereof refreshed, till he thought good to send the ordinary and naturall helpes of her fruitfulnesse.

p. 87 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soule.And the Lord God formed the body of man, of the mould of the ground, and inspired and animated him, with a living and reasonable spirit, which is immortall, immateriall, separable from the body: and so man, consisting of body and soule, became a perfect creature, indued with life and reason, and such qualities, and motions as were fit to proceed from both.

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there hee put man whom hee had formed.And the Lord God planted an orchard, and garden of pleasure, in the easterne tract of that goodly and fruitfull country of Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree, that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food: the tree of life also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evill.And the Lord God furnished, and adorned that garden with all variety of goodly and pleasant plants, that might be delectable either to the eye, or to the taste, or wholsome for nourishment: and amongst the rest caused to grow there, that flourishing and sacramentall tree of life; which as it had vertue to preserve the naturall life, so served to signifie both that eternall life of glory, and blessednesse in heaven, and the onelyonly author of that eternall life, Jesus Christ; and therewith also, that fatall tree of knowledge, the eating whereof should cause man (who before knew onelyonly good) to have a wofull knowledge and experience of evill.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted, and became into foure heads.And for the commodity of the place, God had so seated it, as that a river came downe out of Eden; to water the garden; and from thence it parted it selfe into foure severall streames.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold:The first is that chanell of Euphrates which is called Pischon, which washeth upon the land which afterward tooke the name of Havilah (one of the grand-children of Eber) where there is gold.

12 And the gold of that land is good, there is Bdellium and the Onyx stone.And the gold of that land (as likewise of his brother Ophirs) is very pure and fine; and there is store of rich gummes, or pearles, and precious stones

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon, the same is it that compasseth the whole lād of Ethiopia.The name of the second streame, or chanell, is Gihon, which floweth along by desert Arabia; the inheritance afterwards of Cush, the sonne of Cham.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria: and the fourth river is Euphrates.The name of the third streame is Hiddekel, or Tigris, which floweth eastward to Assyria: And the fourth, retaining the appellation of the whole maine river, is called Euphrates.

Then the Lord tooke man from the place where hee was created;15 And the Lord God tooke the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dresse it, and to keepe it. and placed him in this goodly paradise of Eden, not that hee should be idle, and there spend his time in vaine pleasure; but that hee might sowe, plant, prune, keepe and dresse it, not in any toyling, or afflicting labour, but only for his voluntary, and delightfull exercise.

p. 7And God prescribed man a Law for his diet,16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying; Of every tree of the garden thou maiest freely eate. to this effect; Thou seest with what plenty, and delicacie of fruit I have stored this garden, for thee; all which I leave to thy free choice, and full liberty: feed on which soever thou likest.

OnelyOnly one tree there is,17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evill, thou shalt not eate of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. which for the tryall of thine obedience, I forbid thee, and thine to taste of; the tree of experience so good & evill; so termed in regard of the event, for so soone as ever thou eatest the fruit therof, thou shalt surely bee in the state of mortality, and shalt sensibly feele evident proofes of thy frailty; and besides this bodily death, thy transgression of this my Commandement, shall be punished (if I should deale with thee in the rigour of my Justice) with the separation of thy body and soule from my presence for ever.

Now before this time, even in the sixt day,18 And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should bee alone: I will make him an helpe meet for him. the Lord had thus determined, concerning man; It is neither so cōfortable an estate, nor fit for the naturall propagation of mankinde, that the man should live alone, in one onelyonly Sex: I will make him an helper, of his owne nature, meet for him, in both regards.

For when the Lord had formed of the earth every beast of the field, and every fowle of the ayre,19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowle of the aire, and brought them unto Adam, to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. of their owne fit matter, and had brought them to man (who was their lord) to acknowledge his soveraignty, and to receive from him their names (for howsoever Adam, out of the knowledge of their severall nature, thought good to call them, so was their names.)

And when Adam had given fit names to all the creatures; to all the tamer sort of cattell,20 And Adam gave names to all cattell, and to the fowle of the aire, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an helpe meet for him. all the fowles of the aire, all wild beasts; all this while, among so great choice, Adam found not a meet helper of his owne nature, and forme, with whom he might converse for comfort, and generation.

Wherefore the Lord God had cast man into a deepe sleep or extasie,21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep, to fall upon Adam, & he slept, and he tooke one of his ribbs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. that he might not be sensible of what he suffered, and whiles he thus slept, he tooke out one of his ribbs from his side, and closed up the breach with flesh in the roome thereof.

And of this ribbe, thus taken from Adam,22 And the ribbe which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. God framed the woman, in a most comely proportion, and brought her thus framed immediately to Adam, as a fit match to joyne with him.

Then Adam lovingly and cheerfully receiving her,23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: shee shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. p. 8gladly acknowledged; this indeed, is she whom I sought among all the creatures, and found not: now have I obtained of the Lord, a fit helper for me, for loe, this is not onelyonly of the same nature, but (as I well see) of the same flesh, blood, and bone, with my selfe. She shall be therefore called woman; because she is taken out of the man, that as she received her substance from me, so she may take her name also.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shal cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.Seeing therefore such was the creation of woman, and the first institution of marriage; it is the everlasting will of God, that there shall be an intire and loving cōjunction betwixt the man and wife: and, whether in their habitation (if occasion so require) or whether in the danger of the dissolution of this bond, the man shall rather leave father and mother, and his duty to them in this case, for his wife, thē neglect her due satisfaction; & they two shall be so neerly knit together, both in body and minde, that they shall be but as one flesh; like as at their first creation.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.And such was the purity, simplicity, and perfection of their mindes and bodies, as that both Adam and his wife were naked; and found not this estate, either unwholsome, or unhonest, or uncomly: for as yet there was no lust in them, which might breed their shame either before God, or themselves.

p. 9CAP. III.

NOw the Serpent was, by nature,1 Now the Serpent was more subtill then any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made, and he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Yee shall not eate of every tree of the garden? more subtill then any beast of the field, which God had made; and therefore the fitter to be imployed, as an instrument of Sathan, to betray mankinde: Him therefore did Sathan make choice of; and in him thus spake in double sense to the woman; as the weaker vessell: Is it so indeede that God hath forbidden you to eate of any tree of the Garden?

And the woman said unto the Serpent;2 And the woman said unto the Serpent, We may eate of the fruit of the trees of the garden: We have free liberty given us to eate indifferently of the fruit of the Trees of the Garden, in great varietie of diet.

OnelyOnly from one tree in the midst of the Garden,3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eate of it, neither shall Ye touch it, lest ye die. hath God restrained us, and hath charged us; ye shall not eate of that one tree, nor touch it, upon paine of death.

Then the Serpent said to the woman; Tush, there is a farther matter in this prohibition; feare not;4 And the Serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. there is no danger of dying any death at all.

But herein God rather envies your further felicity; for he well knowes, on the contrary,5 For God knowes, that in the day ye eate therof, then your eyes shall be opened, and yee shall be as gods, knowing good and evill. that whensoever yee shall eat of that fruit, the eyes of your understanding (which are now halfe shut) shall be fully opened, and yee shall be full of divine knowledge, like your Maker: for (as the name of that tree may informe you) whereas now you know by halves onelyonly, that which is good; then you shall know evill also.

So the woman, being wonne by Sathan,6 And when the woman saw, that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, shee tooke of the fruit thereof, and did eate, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eate. to fixe her eies upon that fruit, and being perswaded that it was like by the outward shew of it, to be fit for use; and finding it to be exceeding pleasant to sight, And hearing it to be a fruit of such admirable benefit, for the obtaining of further knowledge, tooke thereof, and did eate it; and because she would have her husband partaker with her of such happinesse, she commended it to him; and he seduced by her, did eate of it also.

Then the eyes of their understanding were opened indeed as Satan had foretold,7 And the eyes of them both were opened, & they knew that: they were naked: and they sewed figge leaves together, and made themselves aprons. to discern between the good which they had lost, & the evill into w^ch they were fallen; opened therefore to their owne misery, and shame; for now the impuritie of their mindes caused them to see, and acknowledge the deformity of their bodies, which before their sin, were no other then comely: to the hiding whereof, they fastned together figge leaves, and made p. 10themselves, a cover for those parts, wherein now their corrupted nature told them their chiefe shame lay.

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in the coole of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the Garden.And now, after the conscience of their sinne; God who is the Judge, and revenger of it, gave some sensible tokens of his presence, about that time, when the heate of the day was abated, in the Garden; and therefore Adam and his wife (who had wont to delight in the presence of their God) now ranne away, to hide themselves, among the thickets of trees, from the sight of him.

But God (from whom he could not be hid) audibly called him forth;9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? and said unto him, in the person of both, Adam, where art thou?

Who answered, I heard thy voice in the Garden, and was afraid of thy Majestie,10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the Garden: and was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid my selfe. & in regard of my selfe, I saw that my nakednes had in it shame, and deformitie, Therefore I hid my selfe.

Then God saith, thou hast heretofore appeared before me boldly,11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldest not eate. and not complained of thy nakednesse, Whence therefore is thy shame, and conscience of deformity? It is a wrong cause which thou pretendest: the owne mouth evinceth thee as guiltie of the breach of my law, speake out therefore more plainly, against thy selfe; Hast thou not eaten of that fruit, whereof alone I charged thee, upon so fearefull a paine, that thou shouldest not eate?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave mee of the tree, and did eate.Then Adam, still desiring to put off the blame from himselfe, said, It is true, I have eaten indeed; but the fault was not so much mine; for, Lo, the woman, which was of thine owne choosing, and giving, she drew me to this sinne; which of my selfe I should not have easily yeelded to.

13 And the Lord God said unto the womā, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eate.And the Lord God said unto the woman; How is it that thou hast commited so hainous a crime, both to eate thy selfe, and to draw thy husband into sinne with thee? And the woman said, Alas, Lord, how did I thinke that any of thy creatures wold have thus betraied us; behold, the Serpent, a creature of thine owne making, beguiled me with false promises, and induced me, in simplicitie, to eate of it.

14 And the Lord God said unto the Serpent, Because, thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattell, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou goe, and dust shalt thou eate, all the daies of thy life.Then God, not examining any farther, beganne to pronounce sentence upon the Serpent; and said, Because thou hast beene used, as an instrument to destroy mankinde; thou shalt be most execrable, and detestable, above all, either Cattel, or wild beast, and where as thou didst lift up thy selfe to deceive the woman; now thou shalt for ever craule upon thy belly, in an ugly and horrible fashion, and, as thou hast brought man backe againe to p. 11the dust, so thou shalt eate the dust of the earth, while thou livest.

Unto the woman,16 VntoUnto the woman he said, I will greatly multiplie thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children: and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and hee shall rule over thee. which was the next instrument of this sinne, God said, I will greatly increase those sorrowes, which are proper to thy Sex, and those especially, which shall follow upon thy conceptions. And whereas thou shouldest have had children borne without sin, and borne without paine, now (seeing thou hast sought too much unlawfull pleasure) thou shalt in much anguish, and sore throwes of travell, bring forth Children; and as thou hast won thy husband, in this new act, to follow thee; so for ever thine appetite shall be subject to thine husband; & curbed by him at pleasure, and he shall with more command, & inequalitie rule over thee, in all thine actions.

Also, to Adam he said;17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkned unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eate of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake: in sorrow shalt thou eate of it al the daies of thy life. because thou hast yeelded to the evill perswasions of thy wife, and not to me, and hast eaten of that tree, whereof alone, I so deeply charged thee not to eate, behold, that earth which I made, and fitted for thy use, shall now, because of thy sinne, be accursed to thee, with barrennesse, and evill fruit; with much toyle, and paine, shalt thou procure, and eate the fruit thereof, all the dayes of thy life.

And when thou hast done thy best to it, it shall deceive thy hope, and, in stead of wholesome graine,18 Thornes also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee: and thou shalt eate the herbe of the field. shall yeeld thee thornes and thistles; and thou that hast thus pleased thy tast, shalt no more eate of the pleasant fruit of this Garden; but shalt be faine to take up with the herbs and fruit of the field, else where.

And not onelyonly with vexation of minde,19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eate bread, till thou returne unto the ground: for out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou returne. but with wearisome and extreme labour of body, shalt thou procure thy sustenance; and that not for some short time, but till thou returne to the earth; for, what proud conceipt and hope soever the Serpent put into thee, of not dying, I tell thee, that as of the dust of the earth thou wert formed, so now thou art in the state of certaine mortality, and to dust shalt thou returne.

And Adam, now looking for that perpetuity in his seed,20 And Adam called his wives name Eve, bebecause she was the mother of all living. which he saw he could not have in himselfe, called his wives name, Hevah, because she was, and should be the mother of all living men, the posteritie whereof he saw would be large, and manifold.

And God the Lord, partly for wholsomnesse of body,21 VntoUnto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skinnes, & cloathed them. and partly to put them in minde of their corruption, which had made nakednesse shamefull, prepared skinnes for Adam and Eve, and taught them both to fashion those skinnes into garments (whereby their whole bodies might be covered) and also to put them on.

p. 1222 And the Lord God said; Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evill. And now lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eate and live for ever:Then the Lord God upbraiding man with his follie, said; See now how well Sathan hath performed his promise to man: Is he not thinke you, become like one of us? Hath he not gained a goodly measure of knowledge, both of good and evill? And now heede must be taken lest he should farther prophane the sacrament of that other tree of life, and double his sinne, by hoping as vainely, to obtaine an eternall life, by the fruit thereof, as he hoped for the perfection of knowledge by the other.

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence he was taken.Therefore the Lord forced man to goe forth of the Garden of pleasure, as being unworthy to abide in so godly a place any more, and let him to till the other baser Earth whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man: and he placed at the East of the gardē of Eden, Cherubims, and a flaming sword, which turned every way, to keepe the way of the tree of life.And when God had thus, in disgrace, cast man out of Paradise, that he might utterly cut off all hope of his returne, he placed on the East side of Eden (where the entrance was,) Angells with flaming swords, continually shaken, to be guarders thereof, which untill the defacing thereof by the flood, duely kept it from all possibility of reentring; as in regard of the whole Garden, so especially of the tree of life, which God would not have touched by man, in this estate of his corruption.

CAP. IIII.

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.THen Adam, after his banishment out of Paradise, had carnall knowledge of Evah his wife; which conceived and bare a sonne, whom shee (acknowledging the performance of Gods promise and blessing) called Cain, that is, Possession, because, said she, I have obtained a man, even after my fall, by the gift of the Lord.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flocke, and of the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering.And Abel also himselfe brought of the first fruits of his flocke; and of the fattest, and best of them; with a faithfull and cheerefull heart, and the Lord shewed by some visible testimonie, that he did gratiously accept both Abels person, and offering.

And Cain was exceeding wroth, and his countenance fell.He was exceedingly moved with anger, and envie against God, and his brother: and bewrayed extreame discontentment in his countenance, which was now churlish and dejected.

7 If thou doe well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou dost not well, sinne lieth at the doore: and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.If thou doe well, and offer in faith, is there any doubt but thou shalt be accepted, as well as thy brother? but if thou doe amisse, both the conscience of thy sinne, shall p. 13be ever ready to afflict and torment thee, and the due revenge of sinne shall continually waite upon thee; and, as for thy brother, there is no cause of heart burning towards him; for both by nature, and his owne will, he is subject unto thee, and thou, as the elder brother, mayest command him.9 Am I my brothers keeper?Amos 1

Am I to waite upon my younger brother, or should not he rather attend upon me? Why shouldest thou aske an accompt of him from me?

Againe, God said:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brothers blood crieth unto me from the ground. What villany is this that thou hast done? behold how silent soever thou be in the confession of thy sinne, the blood of thy brother (which thou hast shed) cries loude in mine eares, out of the Earth, for vengeance against thee.

Now therefore cursed be thou both in thy paines which thou bestowest upon the ground,11 And now art thou cursed from the Earth which, &c. and in thy flight from this earth which hath, &c.

And wheresoever thou shalt bestow thy paines in tilling the ground,12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not hence-forth yeeld unto thee her strength: A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the Earth. it shall not henceforth yeeld thee her wonted increase; neither shalt thou be able to settle thy selfe any where; for thine unquiet conscience shall not suffer thee to rest, but shall drive thee from place to place, so as thou shalt be a miserable vagabond, and runagate in the earth.

Then Cain said unto the Lord,13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater then I can beare. Alas how shall I abide this curse? The punishment which thou inflictest upon me is intolerable.

For behold, thou castest me out of this earth,14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the Earth, and from thy face shall I be hid, and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth: and it shall come to passe, that every one that findeth me, shall slay me. and out of thy protection and grace, wherein alone is all safety, and I, driven with the horrors of mine owne conscience, shall be a vagrant, and runagate, upon earth, I know not whither; and whosoever findeth me (though of mine owne loynes) shall kill me, as I have done my brother.

Then the Lord said unto him, Feare not,15 And the Lord said unto him; Therefore whosoever slaieth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sever fold. And the Lord set a marke upon Cain, lest any finding him, should kill him. this danger of thy death, I would have it the chiefe part of thy punishment to live long & miserable, for fearefull example unto others: whosoever therefore shal kill Cain (though so bloody a murtherer) he shall be punished by many degrees more severely then Cain himselfe, for the blood of his brother. And God set a visible and conspicuous marke upon the body of Cain, that whosoever met him, might hereby be warned not to lay hands upon him, notwithstanding his just desert of death.

p. 1416 Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, & dwelt in the land of Nod, on the East of Eden.Then Cain was shut out from the protection of God, and that place where were visible signes of Gods presence, and meanes of his worship: and dwelt after his uncertaine and wandering manner, in that Land which was afterwards from his aberration, called the land of Nod, toward the East side of Eden.

23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah & Zillhah, Heare my voice, ye wives of Lamech, harken unto my speech: For I have slaine a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillhah: what tell you me of any dangers and feares? heare my voice O yee faint-hearted wives of Lamech, and hearken to my speech; I passe not of the strength of any adversary: For I know my owne valour, and power to revenge, if any man give me but a wound, or a stroke, though he be never so young, and lustie, I can, and will kill him dead.

24 If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold, truly Lamech seventie and seven fold.And if the murtherer of Cain shall finde it avenged upon him sevenfold, how then shall the violence offered to Lamech escape the revenge of seventy times seven fold?

26 Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.Then, after all the dissolutenesse and prophanenes of Caines posteritie, men beganne to gather themselves into Congregations for publike service of God, and to make open, and solemne profession of Religion.

CAP. V.

1 This is the Booke of the generation of Adam: in the day that God created man, in the likenesse of God made he him.THis is the Roll or Catalogue of the generations of Adam, In that sixt day wherin God created man, he made him after his owne Image, in holinesse and righteousnesse.

3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirtie yeares and begat a son in his owne likenesse, after his Image; and called his name Seth.And Adam lived an hundred and thirtie yeares when in the ordinary course of generation, he begot a sonne in the same state of corruption, and mortalitie, wherein himselfe was after his fall, and he called his name Seth.

24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God tooke him.And Henoch acknowledged the Lord in all his wayes, and studied in all his life to approve himselfe to God, having his affections and conversation above: therefore he had no more being upon Earth: For God tooke him from amongst men; and after no ordinary manner translated both his body and soule into his glory.

29 And he called his name Noah; saying, This same shall comfort us, concerning our worke' and toile of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.And called his name Noah: because of the consolation which should arise from that rest which p. 15the world should enjoy through him; saying, whether by revelation, from God, or upon the confidence of his good hope, this same shall by the blessing, wherwith his Justice shall be rewarded, comfort us concerning that toyle & sorrow, which our sinnes have procured; and this earth which the Lord hath cursed for our iniquities, shall through his holinesse, and integritie, in some measure, recover her strength, and yeeld due increase.

CAP. VI.

SO when the world beganne to be much peopled both of men and women:1 And it came to passe, when men beganne to multiply on the face of the Earth, and daughters were borne unto them:

Then even the professors of Religion the seed of the righteous Seth and Henoch,2 That the sonnes of God saw the daughters of men, that they were faire, and they tooke them wives, of all which they chose. saw the daughters of the prophane and godlesse generation of Cain, and Lamech; that they were faire, and being overtaken with their beauty, yeelded so much to their lust, that without all respect had to religion, and godlines, they matched themselves carelesly in mariage with them.3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not alwaies strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his daies shall be an hundred and twenty yeares.

Therefore the Lord decreed thus with himselfe. I have used meanes enow to have reclaimed the world from their wickednesse: I have taught, admonished, threatned them, all this prevailes not, I will no more strive with the perversnesse of Man, in this kinde: For, when I have all done, they are still but carnall; I will therefore set him a stint of yeares, before his common destruction, unlesse therefore within an hundred & twentie yeares he repent him of his sins: I wil then surely destroy him.

In those dayes were men monstrous both in stature and conditions,4 There were Giants in the Earth in those dayes: and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of renowne. and not the parents onelyonly but their children; for after that the seed of the righteous had thus lawlesly joyned thēselves with the daughters of the wicked: and they had borne them children, even these also were men of the same hugenesse and disposition, which were in those past ages much spoken of for their strength and tyranny.

Then God (like as a man that repenteth him of his worke,6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart. purposeth to undoe that which he hath wrought) by the effect seemed to our weakenesse, as if he repented him of mans Creation, in that he p. 16now determined to destroy him, whom hee had made, & now was both grievously displeased with their sinnes, and yet loath to revenge.

11 The Earth also was corrupt before God, &c.Then not onelyonly the men, but the very Earth itselfe was defiled with their abominations in the presence of God.

14 Make thee an Arke of Gopher wood: Roomes shalt thou make in the Arke, and shalt pitch it within & without with pitch.Make thee by the helpe of workemen, an Arke of the tallest Pine or Cedar trees, framed and planed for that purpose, thou shalt make many severall partitions in the Arke, and shalt cause it to bee pitched within and without.

15 And this is the fashion, which thou shalt make it of: the length of the Arke shall bee 300 Cubits, the breadth of it 50 Cubits, and the height of it 30 Cubits.And this shall be the proportion wherein thou shalt make it; the length thereof shall be three hundred of the largest Cubits, such as the tall stature of men in thine age affordeth; and the breadth fifty of the same Cubits, so as the length may bee Sixe times the breadth, and Ten times the height.

16 A Window shalt thou make to the Arke, and in a Cubite shalt thou finish it above: and the doore of the Arke shalt thou set in the side thereof: with lower, second, and third Stories shalt thou make it.Thou shalt make a cleare light of windowes in the Arke, and in the space of a Cubit above them, shall be the rising of the Roofe thereof; the doore of the Arke shalt thou make in the one side thereof, not in either of the ends, and thou shalt frame it in three lofts, or floores one above another.

CAP. VII.

1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the Arke, for thee have I seene righteous before me in this generation.NOw when an hundred and twenty yeares after that first warning given to Noah, were expired; the Lord said to Noah: Enter thou and all thine house into the Arke, for thee onelyonly hauehave I found, in this corrupt and depraved age, free from the common infection of wickednes, and sincere-hearted towards me.

2 Of every cleane beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts which are not cleane by two the male and his female.Of every cleane beast (whereof there shall bee great use for meate and sacrifice) shalt thou take unto thee seaven; of each kinde; the one halfe whereof shall bee male, the other, which is the greater halfe, female: all which shall by payres come unto thee (as I formerly promised) being sent by instinct from mee for their preservation; but of vncleane beasts (whereof there is lesse use) thou shalt take but onelyonly a couple of each; the male and his female.

p. 17In the end of the six hundredth yeare of Noahs life in the second monethmonth of the Spring,11 In the 600. yeare of Noahs life, in the second monethmonth, the seventeenth day of the monethmonth, the same day, were all the fountaines of the great Deepe broken up, and the windowes of Heaven were opened. the seventeenth day of the monethmonth; even in that same day, began the issues of the lower waters (which are gathered within the earth) to gush forth above their bankes, and those which God had bound in the Clouds of Heaven to powre downe vehemently, like as if some full vessels had beene at once cast out of the windowes of the Aire.

And the Lord by whose instinct all these Creatures were brought thither,16 And the Lord shut him in, &c. when all were entered which hee meant to preserve, closed up the doore fast and sure, that he might be safe from the waters.

And the waters violently overwhelmed all the whole Earth (counting from the beginning of those forty dayes wherein the raine fell,24 And the waters prevailed upon the Earth an hundred and fifty dayes. unto the end of an hundred and fifty dayes) for the full space of five moneths.

CAP. VIII.

THen God who cannot forget his mercy to his, shewed by the effect to Noah,1 And God remembred Noah, and every living thing, and all the Cattell that was within the Arke: and God made a winde to passe over the Earth, and the waters asswaged. that hee remembred him, and for his sake, all the wild beasts, and tame Cattel, that were with him in the Arke; therefore God by his immediate power caused an extraordinary drying or driving winde, to passe about the earth, thus covered with waters, and the fury of the waters began by little and little to decrease.

And God made way for the Channels of the earth to receive in the waters, which they had sent forth,2 The Fountaines also of the deepe, and the windowes of Heaven were stopped, and the Raine from Heaven was restrained. and shut up the lower waters into their former receptacles, and closed up the passages of the Clouds above, and so the fall of the raine was restrained, when it had continued forty dayes and nights.

And after the end of the hundred and fiftieth day from the beginning of the floud,3 And after the end of the hundred & fifty dayes the waters were abated. the waters sensibly abated.

And in the seventh monethmonth,4 And the Arke rested in the seventh monethmonth, on the seventeenth day of the monethmonth, upon the mountaines of Ararat. and in the seventeenth day of the monethmonth, the Arke which had hitherto floated uncertainly, and was carried up by the force of the waves, that it could feele no ground, now, in the ebbing of the waters, stayed upon one of the high mountaines of Ararat, the ledge whereof passeth along from Armenia Eastward towards India.

And from this resting of the Arke,5 And the waters decreased continually untill the tenth monethmonth: and in the tenth monethmonth, on the first day of the monethmonth were the toppes of the mountaines seene. in the space of seventy three dayes, which was till the first day of the p. 18tenth monethmonth, the waters so farre abated, that the tops of the mountaines were seene.

And forty dayes after the first of the tenth monethmonth (which fell upon the eleventh day of the eleventh monethmonth) Noah opened one of the windows of the Arke,6 And it came to passe at the end of forty dayes, that Noah opened the windowes of the Arke which he had made. which he had made.

And he let forth a Raven (because that foule was of a good sent;7 And he sent forth a Raven, which went forth too and fro untill the waters were dryed up from off the Earth. and used to feed on carcasses, which might be found lying upon the mountaines) thereby to have perfect knowledge of the decrease of the waters; which continued fluttering up and down, too and fro, not farre from the Arke, till the waters were dryed up upon the earth.

8 Also he sent forth a Dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground.Againe, since hee could have no information hereof, by the Raven, about seven dayes after, hee sent out a Dove from him, a Bird that was both more tame and domesticall; and which was wont to seeke her foode in the plaines, that by this second messenger, hee might see, if the earth were yet lightened of her burthen of waters.

9 For the waters were upon the face of the whole Earth.For the waters were still over all that part of the Earth, where he should have rested, and still covered all the plaines.

13 And Noah removed the covering of the Arke, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.And Noah removed some part of the roofe of the Arke, that he might looke round about him, and viewing it, found that the upper part of the ground, even of the plaines appeared dry, that is, not covered over with waters; though still soft, and moorish, with the continuance of that former moisture, that it was not yet fit for habitation.

14 And in the second monethmonth on the twenty seventh day of the monethmonth was the Earth dry.And in the second MonethMonth, in the twenty seaventh day of the monethmonth (which was a yeare and ten dayes after the beginning of the Flood) was the Earth fully dry, and firme, and habitable againe.

20 And Noah builded an Altar unto the Lord, and tooke of every cleane beast, and of every cleane foule, and offered burnt offerings on the Altar.Then Noah, moved thereto by the godly example of his forefathers, and by warrant from God, built an Altar to the Lord; and tooke of every cleane beast, and of every cleane foule, one, (for God had appointed him one odde of each of these for this purpose) and, partly for expiation, partly in token of his thankfulnes, offered them, as a burnt offering consumed to ashes unto God, for preservation of them and all their fellow-Creatures.

21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savor, and the Lord said in his heart, I will not againe curse the ground for mans sake: for the imagination of mans heart is evill from his youth: neither will I againe smite any more every thing living, as I have done.And the Lord, who was before offended with Mankind, now was pacified toward the remainder of them; and pleased gratiously to accept this obedience of Noah; and as hee had eternally decreed, so hee uttered p. 19his counsell to Noah, I will not from henceforth send any more such generall curse upon the Earth for mans sake; for I see that if I should judge him according to his deserts, I should every day bring upon him a new Deluge, for behold, all the thoughts and the whole fashion of mans heart is altogether evill, even from his Infancy; my mercy therefore shall exalt it selfe above his sinnes, neither will I any more smite all living things, as I have now done, with an universall destruction.

Hereafter the course and use of the seasons of the yeare, the Harvest, the Spring, Winter, and Summer;22 While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold add heat, and Summer, and Winter, and day, and night shall not cease. and their tempers of heate, and cold, and the differences of the night, and day, (which now in the thicke and gloomy darknesse, could not well be observed) shall no more generally cease, over all the whole Earth, at once, so long as the Earth remaineth is this state.

CAP. IX.

THe outward priviledges of your first Creation,2 And the feare of you, and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, & upon every fowle of the aire, and upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. I doe now (though imperfectly) renew to you, let the feare and dread of you be planted naturally in every beast of the Earth, whether tame or wilde, & in every foule of the Aire, and generally in all that treadeth upon the Earth; and in all the fishes of the sea; all these, my will is, shall be subject to your pleasure and command; that as by you, and for you, they were preserved, so they accordingly serve to your use.

Yea, in respect of your diet,3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you: even as the greene hearbe have I given you all things. I do now whether give or renew unto you, more ample priviledges, for now, sith that the strength of all herbs, & plants are decreased with the deluge, I allow you every thing that moveth, & liveth to be meat for you; of all which you will wisely make choyce for your selves, of those Creatures which are wholsome, and fit, even as freely doe I now allow you to eate thereof, as I formerly did allow the greene herbe for them and you; so doe I now allow them unto you.

But so doe I give you the libertie to eate of the flesh of all other Creatures,4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall you not eate. as that you abstaine from eating the blood of thē; whether with the flesh, or severed from it; whether they be alive, or dead, for in the blood is the seat of life, which cannot without cruelty be devoured.

Further,5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require: at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every mans brother, will I require the life of man. know yee that I have great respect as to the eating, so to the spilling of blood, wherein the vitall spirits are seated, but especially of man, which is my principall p. 20Creature; and so doe detest cruelty in shedding his blood, that if a very brute beast shall be guilty of this fact, I will have his blood shed againe for it; much more will I have this satisfaction from a neighbour, or brother, for the life of a man.

6 Who so sheddeth mans blood, by man shall his blood, be shed: for in the Image of God made he man.Whosoever sheddeth mans blood, unlesse by lawfull authoritie from God, his blood shall be shed againe; for in his owne Image hath God made man: some remnants whereof there are still in our depravednesse: therefore followes it, that both a man may not shed his brothers blood, and that the magistrates in Gods name may and must revenge it.

13 I doe set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant, betweene me & the earth.I will and ordaine, that the Raine-bow which you have seene appeare in the watery Cloud, shall be, from henceforth, set apart for the signe of a covenant, made on my part betwixt me and the Earth, of never drowning it againe, which may the more fitly represent thus much unto you, for that it naturally is wont to foresignifie the ceasing of the Raine, by the appearance thereof.

15 And I will remēber my covenant which is betweene me and you, and every living creature of all flesh: and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.You shall then know, by this signe, that I remember my purpose of never drowning the world, &c.

And Noah began againe, according to his former trade,20 And Noah beganne to be an husbandman, and he planted a Vineyard. to exercise himselfe, in tilling the earth, & of those vines, which were found here, and there, sprouting out of the earth, he with much industry, planted a whole Vineyard; and by this meanes devised the use of wine.

21 And he dranke of the wine, and was drunken, and he was uncovered within his tent.And he dranke of that his wine, and (whether through Ignorance, or weakenesse) was drunke therewith; insomuch that forgetting himselfe, and all shame, and comelinesse, he lay immodestly uncovered, and that openly in the floore of his Tent.

22 And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakednes of his father, and told his two brethren without.And when Cham the youngest sonne of Noah, had unnaturally sported himselfe in gazing upon his fathers nakednesse, he told his two brethren, without, that they might also take part with him in this wicked derision of their father.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest sonne had done unto him.Then Noah awoke from his wine, and by inquiry upon occasion of his sonnes garment, which he found upon him, knew what his youngest sonne had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan: a servant of servants he shall be unto his brethren.And in the spirit of Prophesie said; The sinne of Cham is so great, that the punishment of it shall not rest in him alone, but shall be derived to his posterity: Even Canaan his sonne, amongst the rest, shall be accursed, he shall be in most slavish servitude even to his owne brethren.

27 God shall inlarge (or perswade) Iaphet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant.God shall perswade the posterity of Iaphet, by the voice of his word, to come home into the bosome of the true Church, and Canaans Issue shall be servants unto theirs.

p. 21CAP. X.

ANd Cush begat Nimrod,8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. who began to usurpe much rule, & by oppression to inlarge the bounds of his dominions.

He was a cruell tyrant, both in his usurpation,9 Hee was a mighty hunter before the Lord: Wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mightie hunter before the Lord. and in the manner of his government, without all awe of God, or care of men, wherefore it is ever since growne into a proverb; As great a tyrant as Nimrod.

CAP. XI.

THen all the men upon the whole earth,1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. had but one Common language, and one fashion of speech.

And as they spread themselves from that Esterne mountainous Country, where the Arke first staied:2 And it came to passe as they journied from the East, that they found a plaine in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. they found a large, and fruitfull plaine (since called Shinar) now Mesopotamia, and there they setled their abode.

And some yeares after they had there well seated themselves, they said one to another, Come,3 And they said one to another; Goe to, let us make brick, & burne them thorowly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. let us make bricke, and burne it in the fire; so they had bricke for stone, the fittest matter that this fat plaine would afford, for building; and a cleaving-pitchy slime (which that soile yeeldeth) in stead of morter.

Then Nimrod, as their ring-leader, and the rest of his followers,4 And they said, Goe to, let us build us a City & a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. said thus in consultation among themselves, Goe to, let us build us a large City, and a tower therein, of an exceeding height; partly that we may make our selves famous, and partly that we may unite our power and societie, and prevent the danger of being dispersed one from another.

But the Lord, who is every where,5 And the Lord came downe to see the City, and the tower, which the children of men builded. and seeth all things (to speake of him after the manner of men) as if he should come downe, and looke upon the City & tower, which these vaine men, in the pride of their hearts had begunne to build, so tooke notice of what they did and meant to doe:

And the Lord decreed thus with himselfe, Behold,6 And the Lord said; Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to doe: and now nothing will bee restrained from them, which they have imagined to doe. the people is one in heart, joyning together in one common resolution of this worke; and they all have one language, that they may the better performe it, and this they have through our permission, begun, and proceeded to doe, and now, nothing appeares which may stop them p. 22in all that vaine project they have imagined to thēselves.

7 Goe to, let us goe downe, & there confound their language, that they may not understand one anothers speech.Come, let us (as if we should goe downe amongst them) so from Heaven cause their languages to bee confounded, &c.

CAP. XII.

2 And I will make of thee a great Nation, and I will blesse thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.THou shall lose nothing by the change, for in stead of a small kindred which thou shalt leave, I will cause thee to be the father of a great, and populous nation: And I will prosper thee both outwardly, and spiritually, and make thy name famous and reverend; And thou shalt be ever mentioned in the forme of all blessings.

3 And in thee shall all families of the earth bee blessed.And in, and by that holy seed, the Messias, which shall come of thy loines, all the people of the earth shall be blessed.

11 And it came to passe, when he was come neere to enter into Aegypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a faire woman to looke upon:And when he drew neare to enter into Aegypt; in his infirmitie, consulting with flesh and blood, he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, while I looke upon the Southern women, and compare them with thee, thy colour and complection is much more beautifull then theirs:

Therefore it will (I feare) come to passe, that the Aegyptians making no conscience of their wayes,12 Therefore it shall come to passe, when the Aegyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. but being altogether led by their lust, when they see thee, they will say, Shee is his wife, there is no hope of enjoying her while he is alive: so they will kill me, that they may with more libertie enjoy thee, and live with thee.

CAP. XIII.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plaine of Iordane, that it was well watered, every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the Garden of the Lord, like the land of Aegypt, as thou commest unto Zoar.SO when Lot had taken a view of all that Countrey, he saw that part of the plaine of Iordane to be well watred every where; and therefore very rich and commodious for pasture; for before the Lord destroyed Sodom, & Gomorrah; with those other three bordering Cities, it was a goodly and fruitfull land; like unto the Garden of Eden, for pleasure; or like unto the land of Aegypt watred with the streames of Nilus: especially that part that is toward Zoar, as it is now called, thē Bela.

11 Then Lot chose him all the plaines of Iordane: &c.Then Lot being led onelyonly by his eye, not at all inquiring into the qualitie of the people, chose to himselfe (although the younger) all that part of the plaine of Iordane.

p. 23Seeing thou hast so willingly yeelded to thy Nephew,14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, Northward, and Southward, and Eastward, and Westward. thou shalt sustaine no losse by it, Lift up thine eyes now, and looke round about thee, from this high place where thou art, Northward, and Southward, &c.

For all the land which thou seest, and all that pertaines unto it, will I give to thee in right, and to thy seed after thee, in possession, for many ages.15 For all the land, which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seede for ever.

And I will increase thy seed, both carnall and spirituall, unto a very exceeding great number,16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbred. so as they shall not be counted for multitude.

CAP. XIIII.

TIdal King of a mixed people,1 Tidal King of Nations. which dwelt neare unto them.

When Abram heard that his Nephew Lot was taken captive,14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, borne in his owne house, three hundreh and eighteene, and pursued them unto Dan. he brought forth into the field and armed three hundred & eighteene persons of them that were borne & brought up in his house, besides them that he had bought, and procured to his service, yea, besides the companies of his confederates, and pursued them to the farthest point of that land, which God should give to his posterity, even to Dan.

And Melchizedek, King of Salem,18 And Melchizedek, King of Salem, brought foorth bread and wine, &c. brought forth store of provision for the entertainment of Abram, and his company; which as he did royally like a King,

So as he was a Priest of the most high God,19 And he blessed him, and said; Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessour of heaven and earth. by vertue thereof he blessed him, saying, Blessed be thou Abram, &c.

And Abram acknowledging his office,20 And hee gave him Tithes of all. voluntarily offered to him the Tithe of all the goods that were taken.

I have solemnly sworne by the Lord the most high God, &c. And in token thereof lift up my hand unto him,22 I have lift up my hand unto the Lord, &c. ere I went to this fight.

Wishing all evill to my selfe,23 That I will not take from a thrid even to a shoo-latchet, &c. if I shall take from thee so much as a thrid, &c.

CAP. XV.

ANd Abram which hitherto had onelyonly heard Gods promises to him, now said; Alas Lord,2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I goe childlesse, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus. all the blessings p. 24that thou shalt personally give me, cannot much availe me, seeing I goe childlesse, and the man, whom I shall leave heire of my house, is but a stranger in blood, and Countrey, this Eliezer of Damascus.

5 And he brought him forth abroade, and said, Looke now towards Heaven, and tell the starres, if thou be able to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.Moreover, he brought him forth of his house in the Evening, after he had spent the day within, in the exercise of his faith, and said: Looke up, now, to Heaven, and count the starres thou seest there, if thou canst possibly number them; so far shalt thou be from barrennesse, that thy seed, both spirituall and carnall, shall be as infinite in number, as they.

6 And he beleeved in the Lord: and he counted it to him for righteousnesse.And Abram beleeved in God, and stedfastly relied on these gratious promises, which were made unto him; And therefore upon his faith God accounted him truly just, and righteous in his sight.

8 And he said, Lord God, wherby shall I know that I shall inherit it?And Abram said, O Lord God, I doe beleeve that my seed shall (as thou saiest) inherit this land; but yet I desire thee to give me some further confirmation and assurance of my faith in this point.

12 And when the Sunne was going downe, a deepe sleepe fell upon Abram: and loe, an horrour of great darknesse fell upon him.And when the Sunne was set, there fell, by the appointment of God, a dead sleepe upon Abram, and his minde was troubled in his dreame, with much feare and unquietnesse.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them foure hundred yeares.Then the Lord said to him, (for the declaring of these doubtfull visions of his sleepe) know for certaine, that thy seed shall be a stranger in Aegypt, and Canaan (which as yet also is not thine) for the space of foure hundred yeares; in a great part whereof they shall serve, and be evill-entreated.

And in the fourth succession of men they shall come forth to this place againe (which then shall be theirs) for the wickednesse of the Amorites (who must be driven out hence,16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither againe: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. to give roome to thy posterity) is not yet come to their full ripenesse for my intended judgments.

17 And it came to passe, that when the Sunne went downe, and it was darke, behold, a smoking fornace, and a burning lampe that passed betweene those pieces.Also yet somewhat longer after the going down of the Sunne, there was represented unto him a great darknesse, and behold, A smoaking fornace, in which God would foreshew to Abram the affliction, and servility, of his posterity, and withall there was a cleare lampe betokening his deliverance, both which passed betweene the pieces formerly divided.

p. 25CAP. XVI.

THen Sarai Abrams wife (being past all hope of Issue,3 And Sarai, Abrams wife, tooke Hagar her maide the Aegyptian, after Abram had dwelt tenne yeares in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. seeing she was now seventy five yeers old) tooke Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, after she had waited ten years for the performance of Gods promise, concerning Abrams seede (so long had Abram now dwelt in Canaan) and by consent of all sides (out of her weaknesse and distrust) gave her to her husband to be his wife, in regard of all the rights of the mariage bed, though not of household government.

And he shall be a wild and savage man,12 And hee will bee a wild man: his hand will be against every man, and every mans hand against him: and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. of a fierce and untameable disposition; hee shall be ready in the height of his courage, to fight with every man, and every man shall be as ready to wage warre with him; all which notwithstanding, his successe shall be such, that he shall live, and rule farre and wide in all the Coasts of his brethren.

For she said; have I not here also,13 For she said, I have also here looked after him that seeth me. even in the waste desert, and not only in the house of Abram, seen that good God of mine, which hath first gratiously looked upon me, and mine affliction?

CAP. XVII.

ANd when Abram was ninty and nine yeares old,1 And when Abram was ninetie yeares old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him; I am the Almighty GOD, walke before me, and bee thou perfect. and had now waited thirteene yeares after the birth of Ismael, the Lord by some visible representation of his presence appeared unto Abram, and said to him, I am God Omnipotent, and therefore able to fulfill all my promises which may seeme delayed; onelyonly carry thou thy selfe holily and awfully (as ever in my sight) and let thy heart be still sincere and upright towards me.

And I will renew,2 And I will make my Covenant betweene me & thee. and by a sensible signe confirme and ratifie my covenant betweene me and thee.

But the manchild which at due age shall through his owne default be uncircumcised,14 And the uncircumcised man-child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised: that soule shall be cut off from his people: he hath broken my Covenant. contemning mine ordinance, even that person shall be cut off from the fellowship of my people, both on earth and in heaven; because he hath (in neglect of the signe) broken and despised my Covenant.

Then Abram fell upon his face, and partly for joy, partly for admiration and astonishment,17 Then Abram fell upō his face, & laughed, & said in his heart, Shall a Childe be borne unto him that is an hundred yeares old? and shall Sarah, that is ninty yeares old, beare? laughed in himselfe, and thought thus in his heart; Shall a Child be p. 26borne to meat an hundred yeares of age; and (which is more wonderfull) shall this sonne be borne of Sarah my wife, after her ninety yeares barrennes? seeing our youth could raise no seed, shall our old age be blessed with posterity?

18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee.And Abraham said to God; I beleeve, O Lord, as thou saiest, that my old age shall be blessed with further Issue, for which also thou wilt (in all likelihood) reserve thy speciall & highest favour; but let not the sonne thou hast given me already, even Ishmael, he cast out, and neglected by thee; let it please thee to continue him to me also with much prosperity.

CAP. XVIII.

2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and loe, three men stood by him, &c.ANd as he looked about, behold, three Angels in the appearance of men (though not yet so knowne of him,) stood within view of him.

And he noting one of them to carry some extraordinary Majesty above the rest,3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, passe not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. as being indeed the Sonne of God, spake especially to him, not excluding the rest; Lord, if I have now found favour in thy sight, goe not, I pray thee, hastily away from me thy servant; but be content that I may give thee some intertainment.

10 And he said, I will certainely returne unto thee according to the time of life; and loe, Sarah thy wife shall have a sonne, &c.And he said, I will most certainely returne againe to thee at that time, when the conception, by course of nature, may have life and being, and Lo, then Sarah thy wife shall beare thee a sonne.

11 And it ceased to bee with Sarah after the maner of women.That disposition of body which naturally (in their moneths) is necessary for child-bearing women, was through drinesse of age long agoe ceased in Sarah.

12 Therefore Sarah laughed within her selfe, saying, After I am waxen old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord being old also?Therefore Sarah distrustfully laughed in the secret of her heart, and said in her selfe? After I am waxen old (above the course of nature in those that are capable of conceiving) and my husband Abraham also; shall I have the pleasure of the marriage bed, which in my younger dayes I could not finde?

18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, & all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.Seeing that I have purposed to honour Abraham so, as that of his loynes a great and mighty Nation shall rise; and in that seed which shall come of him, namely the Saviour of mankinde, all the nations in the earth shall be blessed, and all solemne benedictions shall still be under the name of Abraham.

12 I will goe downe now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the crie of it which is come unto me: and if not, I will know.I will now take some publike course, wherby the world may see, and know, that I take notice of their sinnes: I p. 27will therefore call their sinnes to examination, and judge them according to the shamelesnesse of their wickednesse, and if their iniquitie hath beene lesse hainous then it hath appeared, I will inflict some lesse grievous punishment upon them.

And the two destroying Angels turned from Abraham, and went towards Sodom,22 And the men turned their faces from thence and went towards Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. but Abraham stood still before the third, whom now he knew to be the sonne of God, suing to him for mercy.

If there be fifty sincere, upright,24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the City, wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? and innocent men in all the five Cities (whereof Sodom is the chiefe) wilt thou destroy them notwithstanding?

If there shall lacke five of fifty righteous in all the five Cities, wilt thou for the want of five destroy them?28 Peradvenrure there shall lacke five of the fifty righteous; wilt thou destroy all the City for lacke of five?

CAP. XIX.

WHo crying unto Lot, said,5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. where are the men which came unto thee this night, whose goodly forme and beauty we noted; bring them forth to us, that we may use them to our lust.

For seeing they are come to my house as my guests;8 OnelyOnly unto these men doe nothing: for therefore came they under the shadow of my roofe. by the law of common equity and hospitality, they may well looke to be safe guarded by me.

Then they smote all the Sodomites,11 And they smote the men that were at the doore of the house, with blindnesse, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to finde the doore. that were at the doore, both small and great, with such dizzinesse of braine, and dimnesse of sight; that they went up and downe, groping for Lots doore, till they were weary, and could not finde it.

Then Lot went out, and spake unto his sonnes in law,14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sonnes in law, which maried his daughters, &c. which were contracted to his daughters.

And when they had brought them (as it were) by strong hand out of the City; the Angell said,17 And it came to passe when they had brough thē forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life, looke not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plaine: escape to the mountaine, lest thou be consumed. now escape for thy life; doe not, (whether for distrust, or curiosity, or pity) once looke towards Sodome, and thinke it not enough that thou hast voyded the City, unlesse thou make speede also out of the whole plaine, which hath been defiled by these abominations; haste thee therefore up to the next hill, lest thou be destroyed.

See now this towne which is hard by,20 Behold now, this City is neare to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh let me escape thither (is it not a little one?) and my soule shall live. and therefore easie for me to flee unto; and is withall a little one, and therefore not much for thee to grant, and by all likelihood p. 28not so notoriously evill as these other, that are more frequent and populous: O let me goe thither for shelter, behold, it is no great thing that I aske of thee, and yet such as may be to my safety and preservation.

22 Haste thee, escape thither: for I cannot doe any thing till thou be come thither: therefore the name of the citie was called Zoar.Haste thee then, and be thou there preserved; for such is my merciful respect to thee, that it holds my hands so, that I cannot take revenge on these wicked Cities, till thou be in safety: Therefore upon this occasion of Lots argument from the smalnesse of the City, it was ever after called Zoar.

24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.Then God the Sonne rained downe upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other two Cities of the plaine, fire and brimstone, from God the Father out of Heaven.

Now his wife, that stood lingring behind him, whether through love or pity of the place,26 But his wife looked backe from behind him, & she became a pillar of salt. or expectation of her sonnes in law, or distrust, or curious desire to see the manner of the judgement, looked back towards Sodom, & therfore was enwrapped in the judgement, & through the extreame rage of that fire and brimstone, wherewith she was overwhelmed, was miraculously made a pillar of a white or saltish kinde of stone.

30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountaine, & his two daughters with him: for he feared to dwell in Zoar, & he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.But he feared to tarry in Zoar, through the weaknesse of his faith, notwithstanding Gods promise to him, whether for that it was so neare to Sodom; or whether for the manners of the place, but chose rather to dwell solitary in a Cave, in the mountaine, both he and his two daughters.

31 And the first borne said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth, to come in unto us, after the manner of all the earth.And the elder said to the younger, Our father is now old, and cannot long be in any possibilitie of Issue, and in all these parts there is not left a man which might converse with us, for generation.

Come, we know well that our father will never by sober perswasions be drawne to this Act; let us make him drunke with wine,32 Come, let us make our father drinke wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. and so lie with him; not so much for any lust, as for the preservation of some seed of our father.

And he being oppressed with wine, was drawne unawares unto this filthinesse,33 And they made their father drinke wine that night, and the first borne went in, and lay with her father: & he perceived not when she lay downe nor when she arose. not considering what he did; and not perceiving either when he lay downe or rose up.

p. 29CAP. XX.

ANd Abraham, through his weakenes,2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: And Abimelech King of Gerar sent, and tooke Sarah. seeing how his excuse had sped in Aegypt; renewed it now againe, and concealing part of the truth, said, she is my sister; Then Abimelech, a King in that Countrey of Canaan, upon the report given of her, sent, and tooke her into his house.

And he said, Lord wilt thou punish not me onelyonly,4 Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation. but my whole nation and people, in me, which are utterly innocent in this businesse.

Now then deliver the man his wife againe,7 Now therefore restore the man his wife: for he is a Prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live, &c. for he is a man deare unto me, and one whom I have in an especiall manner graced with my presence, and promises; and therefore, whose prayers shall be much availeable for thy safety and life.

What motive didst thou raise unto thy selfe from any lightnesse in me, or injury done to thy selfe by me,10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing. that thou shouldest doe this thing?

Yet in very deed I have not meerely lied, in saying,12 And yet indeed she is my sister: she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. she is my sister; but onelyonly dissembled, and concealed some part of the truth; for she is very neere of blood to me, my neece, as being the daughter of that brother of mine, whom my father had by a second wife.

Likewise, to Sarah, he said, Behold, I have given to him whom thou calledst thy brother,16 And unto Sarah hee said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. a thousand pieces of silver; behold he is thy protection, from all injuries, wheresoever thou cōmest; thine eyes & desires shall content themselves with him alone; & he shall stand betwixt all others eyes, and thee, as thy lawfull husband; that they may not thus inordinately desire thee: and by this speech and event she was thus secretly reproved.

For the Lord had punished all the women in Abimelechs house with a sudden barrennesse;18 For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abrahams wife. so that they could not conceive; because of Sarah Abrahams wife.

CAP. XXI.

WHo could ever have thought or beleeved,7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? much lesse would have told Abraham, that Sarah, after this age, should both beare him a sonne, and have this strength and vigor of body continued to her, to give sucke also, &c?

p. 3014 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, & tooke bread, & a bottle of water, & gave it unto Hagar, (putting it on her shoulder) and the child, and sent her away, &c.He tooke bread, and a bottle of water, so much as he thought would suffice till they came to the place he injoyned them; and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and committed the boy to her hand, and sent her away, &c.

And now God caused her to see a well of water which was there before her,19 And God opened her eyes, & she saw a well of water, & she went and filled the bottle with water, & gave the lad drinke. but, through her griefe, or the closenesse of the place, was not before seene of her.

And he answered; My desire is that thou shouldest receive from my hands these seven lambes, as a pledge or confirmation of this covenant of peace, made betweene us;30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witnesse unto me, that I have digged this Well. and an ernest of the recovery, and free grant of this Well, which I have digged; in the receipt whereof thou shall disclaimed all right and title unto it for ever.

CAP. XXII.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither doe any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy sonne, thine onelyonly sonne from me.THen he said, Doe not (as thou art about) sacrifice this thy Sonne unto me, neither doe any bodily hurt to him; for now thou hast sufficiently approved by thine act and forwardnesse, that thou hast an heart truly religious towards God, seeing, at my Commandement, thou hast not forborne to have slaine thine onelyonly Sonne, in whom the promise of blessing was made unto thee.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place, Iehovah-jireh, as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seene.And Abraham named the place (God will provide) whereupon the Jewes have a proverbe still continued amongst them; God will make provision in the Mount, when all meanes faile.

17 And thy seed shall possesse the gate of his enemies.Thy posterity shall be victorious over their enemies.

Of thy seed shall come that Saviour, in whom all beleevers through the world shall be blessed,18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

CAP. XXIII.

2 And Abraham came to mourne for Sarah and to weepe for her.ANd Abraham entred into the Tent of Sarah, that he might solemnely mourne for her, in the sight of the Corps.

6 Thou art a mighty Prince amongst us, &c.Thou art a great Prince, and one whom God hath much honoured amongst us.

15 The land is worth foure hundred shekels of silver: what is that betweene thee and me?The Land is worth some hundred and eleven ounces of silver; about fourescore crownes betweene friends; how small a summe is that to stand upon?

p. 31CAP. XXIIII.

ACcording to the common rite used in the oathes of inferiors to their superiors.2 Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh.

To Charran in Syria.10 To Mesapotamia, unto the City of Nahor.

To rest under their burthens.11 To kneele downe.

Which is the …ight of neare three ounces.22 Ten shekels weight of gold.

CAP. XXV.

WHy have I conceived,22 If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord, &c. if I must feele such painefull unquietnesse within me? And she sought to God in her prayers, to know the reason and issue of this inward strife.

The Twinnes which are strugling within thee,23 Two nations are in wombe, &c. shall be the fathers of two opposite nations, the Israelites, and Edomites.

Make over to me all the priviledges of thy birthright:31 Sell me this day thy birthright. the consecration, the honor, the double portion that belongeth thereunto.

CAP. XXVII.

THe smell of the garments of my Son,27 See the smell of my sonne is as the smell of a field, which the Lord hath blessed. is as the sweet perfume which is sent up from a field richly furnished with all manner of pleasant and fragrant flowers, and herbs.

And Isaac was exceedingly astonished in himselfe at the thought of the conveiance of the blessing upon a person that he intended not.33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, &c.

The course of thy life shall be troublesome, & unquiet,40 By thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother. And thou shalt uphold thy state by warres: and though thy person shall be free, yet in thy posterity thou shalt be subject to the issue of thy brother Iacob.

If Esau should in his fury kill thee;45 Why should I bee deprived of you both in one day? the Law will justly kill him, and so we lose both at once.

These heathenish wives of Esau, are a perpetuall and intolerable vexation to my soule,46 I am weary of my life, because of the daughters of Heth. by reason of their Idolatry, and vitiousnesse.

p. 32CAP. XXVIII.

16 Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.SUrely the Lord hath in a divine dreame, or vision, represented himselfe to me inexpectedly in this place.

17 How dreadfull is this place? this is none other, then the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven.How full of awe and reverend respect is this place, which God hath thus sanctified by his presence, having so familiarly manifested himselfe to me here, as men doe in their dwelling houses to their friends; this is no other then a representation of Gods spirituall house, his Church, by which we enter into the glory of heaven.

22 And this stone which I have set for a pillar, shall be Gods house.The place where I set up this stone shalbe dedicated to the worship and service of my God, where I will build an Altar to his name.

CAP. XXIX.

12 Her fathers brother &c.HEr fathers Cousin or Nephew.

17 Leah was tender eyed, &c.Leah had an unbecomming weaknesse in her eyes.

27 Fulfill her weeke, & we will give this also, &c.Doe thou celebrate the consummation of Leahs marriage seven dayes, according to the custome, and then when this former marriage is fully ratified, and complete, I will give thee her other sister to wife.

31 That Leah was hated, &c.That Leah was lesse regarded or disesteemed in comparison of Rachel.

CAP. XXX.

1 Give me children or else I die, &c.GRiefe and impatience will kill me, if I have not children from thy loynes, as well as my Sister Leah.

3 Behold my maide Bilhah, goe in unto her, and she shall beare upon my knees; that I may also have children by her.Behold my maid Bilhah, goe retyre thy selfe into her chamber, and lie with her, and I shall have children by her, which I shall bear upon my knees, and in my bosome, as my owne.

4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife.Then she gave him Bilhah her maid to converse with as a wife.

14 And found Mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah.And found mandrake apples in the field, which he had perceived his mother to esteeme for their medicinable use, and brought them therefore to her.

18 And Leah said, God hath given mee my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband.Then said Leah, God hath repayed me my reward for the good office which I did to my husband, in giving him my hand-maid for his Concubine.

p. 33And God heard her prayers,22 And God hearkened to her, and opened her wombe. and gave her power to conceive.

And turned the faces of those sheepe which were in the flocke of Laban, towards the party-coloured,40 And Iacob did separate the Lambes, and set the faces of the flockes towards the ringstraked, and all the browne in the flocke of Laban. and blacke, which were of his flocke, that the sight thereof might cause those colours in their conception.

CAP. XXXI.

BUt your father hath deceived me,7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times, &c. and changed my wages agreed upon, very often, but God hath so ordered it, that his changes have beene no losse to my estate.

For, in ramming time,10 And it came to passe at the time that the cattell conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dreame, and behold the rammes which leaped upon the cattell, were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. God premonished me in a dreame, of this course of inriching my selfe, by the party-coloured goates male and female; and of this meanes to effect that diversity of colour.

Hath he not delt with us as strangers? for he hath sold us to thee for thy service, in stead of a Dowry,15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for hee hath sold us, & hath quite devoured also our money. and since hee hath thus used us, shall we stay still, that he may prey upon us, and consume that substance which wee have.

Then Rachel,19 And Rachel had stoln the Images that were her fathers. whether out of some superstition of her owne, or in some purpose to bereave her father of those meanes of his Idolatry, stole the Images which her father had wont to worship.

Then Iacob stole away secretly without the knowledge or consent of Laban, his father in Law.20 And Iacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian.

He tooke his kinsfolke with him, &c.23 And he tooke his brethren with him.

The accustomed infirmitie of women is upon me,35 Let it not displease my Lord, that I cannot rise up before thee, for the custome of women is upon mee. and makes me unfit for these outward duties of courtesie; I beseech thee hold me excused in the forbearance of this ceremonie of my due respect to thee.

If the God of my father,42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the feare of Isaac had beene with mee, surely thou hadst sent mee away now empty. I meane the God of Abraham, and the same God whom Isaac my father feareth, and worshippeth, had not beene with me, and prospered me, &c.

And Laban in the Syrian tongue, and Iacob in the Hebrew called it, The heape of the witnesse.47 And Laban called it Iegar-Sahadutha, but Iacob called it Galeed.

The God which once Abraham worshipt, and the gods of his predecessors, be judge betweene us: but Iacob sware by the true God whom his father Isaac feared.53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father judge betwixt us: but Iacob sware by the feare of his father Isaac.

p. 34CAP. XXXII.

1 And Iacob went on his wayes: and the Angels of God met him.ANd the Angells of God appeared to him in the way, in the forme of heavenly souldiers.

5 And I have sent to tell thee my Lord, that I may finde grace in thy sight.And I have sent to give thee my Lord Esau notice both of my purpose of passing through thy Countrey, and of my estate.

11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I feare him.Deliver me from the revenge of my brother, even my Brother Esau, for I feare lest he will come and put all to the sword, without regard of sexe, or age.

13 And tooke of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother.And tooke of the choicest of that substance he had for a present for Esau.

God the Son appeared to him, and wrestled with him in the likenesse of a man, exercising both his bodily and spirituall strength.24 And there wrestled a man with him untill the breaking of the day.

And when he had proved the strength of his faith such, as that it could not be daunted, &c. lest Iacob should have beene puffed up with the opinion of his strength,25 And when he saw, that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Iacobs thigh was out of joynt, as he wrestled with him. Christ left him a bodily afflictiō to humble him by, such as might testifie, it was not the hand of a meere man that strove with him.

And he as yet concealing himselfe from Iacob, said (after the manner of men) as if the violence of Iacob had compelled him,26 And he said, Let me goe, for the day breaketh: and he said, I will not let thee go, except thou blesse mee. Let me goe, for the morning appeareth: but Iacob now perceiving some more then humane matter in this his wrestler, answered, Let me be importunate with thee, not to depart from me, till thou have blessed me.

27 And hee said unto him? What is thy name, & he said, Iacob.Then asked he (not as being ignorant, but as desirous to take occasion from Iacobs owne report of his name, to pronounce his purpose of the alteration of it) What is thy name?

28 For as a Prince hast thou power with God & with men, and hast prevailed:Because thy faith and importunity hath prevailed with God, much more shalt thou prevaile with Esau, and with whatsoever adversary.

30 For I have seene God face to face, and my life is preserved.I have seene the Sonne of God in the assumed shape of a man, face to face, and have escaped death, both from this sight, and also from the danger of Esau.

32 Therefore the children of Israel eate not of the sinew which shranke.Therefore the children of Israel, in a reverent remembrance of this act and event, concerning Iacob, eate not of the hinder sinewes, &c.

p. 35CAP. XXXIII.

SO hee went before them,3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himselfe to the ground seven times, untill hee came neere to his brother. and bowed himselfe in an humble manner sundry times, while he was within the sight of Esau.

It is unspeakeably comfortable to me, that I have seen thy face thus loving and friendly to me.10 For therefore have I seene thy face, as though I had seene the face of God.

And he consecrated there, anew, that Altar, which was set up by his Grandfather Abraham, which he called,20 And hee erected there an Altar, and called it, El-Elohe-Israel. The altar of the mighty God of Israel.

CAP. XXXIIII.

SO his affections were set upon Dinah.3 And his soule clave unto Dinah the daughter of Iacob.

Then wil we take our sister away out of your custodie, and depart.17 Then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.

It shall not be onelyonly a matter of pleasure and contentment to us, but also of great profit unto you all, For shall we not have a right in all their substance and strength?23 Shall not their cattell, and their substance, and every beast of theirs be ours? &c.

All that dwelt within the Citie.24 All that went out of the gate of his Citie.

And on the third day when they were sore and stiffe of the wound of their circumcision, &c.25 And it came to passe on the third day, when they were sore, &c.

Ye have put me to much unquietnesse in unsetling my estate, and have made me odious to the inhabitants.30 And Iacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me, &c.

CAP. XXXV.

CAst away those false gods of the heathen,2 Put away the strange gods that are among you, and change your garments. which you learned to worship in Syria, the idols of Laban, or Shechem, and cleanse both your soules and bodies: and by the change of your very apparell, testifie the change of your hearts.

Moreover, God said unto him,10 And God said unto him, thy name is Iacob: thy name shall not be called any more Iacob, &c. in a confirmation and reiteration of the same favour, which he had formerly shewed to Iacob: Thy name shall no more bee called Iacob, &c.

Many Tribes shall arise from thy seede,11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitfull and multiplie &c. And Kings shall come out of thy loines, &c. and out of them shall many exercise Princely authority both over their owne Nations, and others.

So Iacob according to his vow formerly made, set up a Monument of a stone in that place where God had talked with him,14 And Iacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him. and both by pouring out of water and oyle consecrated it to God.

p. 3418 That she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin.She called his name, The sonne of my sorrow; but his father (as not willing to have so sad a remembrance of his losse, evermore before him, in the name of his sonne) called him (to signifie his dearenesse, with a little change of the word) The sonne of my right hand.

CAP. XXXVI.

6 And went into the Countrey from the face of his brother Iacob.ANd fully removed his whole familie and substance unto mount Seir, where he had before sojourned.

24 This was that Anah, that found the mules in the wildernesse.This was that Anah, which first found out by mixture of the seeds of two kindes, the generation of mules in the wildernesse.

31 Before there reigned any King over the children of Israel.Before there was any ordinary Ruler or Magistrate in Israel.

CAP. XXXVII.

2 And Ioseph brought unto his father their evill report.ANd Ioseph brought unto his fathers care the evill rumors and reports that went of the misbehaviour of his brethren.

3 And he made him a coate of many colours.And he made him a party-coloured coate, which was held to be of more pleasant shew, and, by reason of the mixtures, more curious.

27 And let not our hand be upon him.Let us not lay violent hands upon him, and be defiled with his blood, in suffering him thus wilfully to perish with hunger.

28 Then there passed by Midianites, merchant men.The Midianites (or Ismaelites so called, indifferently, because they bordered upon each other, and were neare both in place, and blood) passed by.

30 And I, whither shall I goe?And I, which way shall I turne me, or what shall I doe? since both I have already provoked my fathers displeasure by my incest, and at my hands especially (as being eldest) he will require my brother.

32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father, and said, this have we found.So they sent that party-coloured coate, and caused it to be brought unto their father with this message.

35 For I will go downe into the grave unto my sonne mourning.Surely I will not cease mourning for my sonne, untill I goe downe to my owne grave.

Unto Potiphar, one of Pharaohs chiefe Courtiers, the Captaine of his gard.36 Unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaohs, and Captaine of the gard.

p. 37CAP. XXXVIII.

GOe according to the custome of our people,8 Goe in unto thy brothers wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. and converse with thy deceased brothers wife, and doe that office to her which appertaines to the next of blood: that the issue which shall come of thee, may be imputed unto him, to take away the reproach of his barrennesse.

For he thought, it is not safe thus to bestow my sonne,11 For he said, lest peradventure he did also as his brethren did. neither hath this match beene hitherto so prosperous, that I dare adventure my third sonne, yet will I put her in hope hereof for her present contentment.

When Judah saw her sitting thus openly, alone,15 When Iudah saw her, he thought her to bee an harlot: because she had covered her face. by the way side, he judged her an whore; for he could not discerne her who she was, because her face was covered with the vaile.

Let her keepe these pledges;23 Let her take it to her, lest we be ashamed. and let us take no notice of them, nor make any inquiry, lest the filthinesse of this my fact may hence be knowne, to my shame.

CAP. XXXIX.

HE tooke care of nothing,6 And he left all that he had, in Iosephs hand: and he knew not of ought he had, save the bread which he did eate. save onelyonly to eate and drinke, and follow his owne contentments; referring the oversight of all things to Ioseph.

Cast wanton eyes and affections upon Ioseph.7 That his masters wife cast her eyes upon Ioseph.

See, he hath taken in this Hebrew, to offer this villanie and violence unto me.14 See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us, to mocke us.

CAP. XL.

WHat doe you looking after sinister meanes,8 Doe not interpretations belong to God? or why are yee grieved for the want of meanes? Hath not God given power of interpreting all secrets to some of his servants?

Within three dayes shall Pharaoh advance thee to thy former dignity.13 Yet within three dayes shall Pharaoh lift up thine head.

Within three dayes shall Pharaoh put thee to death,19 Yet within three dayes shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, & shall hang thee on a tree, and the birds shall eate thy flesh from off thee. and after, for the greater ignominie, shall hang thee upon a tree, till thy flesh be consumed.

p. 38CAP. XLI.

16 It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answere of peace.I Can doe nothing of my selfe in this businesse, but God shall by me give an answer to the contentment of Pharaoh.

34 And take up the fifth part of the land of Aegypt.And take up the fifth part of the fruits of the Land, & keepe it in meet store-houses for future use.

43 And they cryed before him, Bow the knee?And the heralds cryed before him, that the people should bow their knees to him, &c.

44 I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot, in all the land of Aegypt.I only reserve unto my selfe the place & title of being King of Aegypt, in the rest I will have thee to be next me; So that no man shall attempt any thing at all in the publike government of the State, without thy advice and consent.

45 And Pharaoh called Iosephs name, Zaphnath-Paaneah, and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah Priest of On?And Pharaoh called his name, The discloser of secrets, and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of another Potipher, which was governor of Heliopolis.

CAP. XLII.

6 And he it was that sold to all the people of the land.YEe are spies, and are come to marke what parts of the land are least defenced.

13 Thy servants are twelve brethren, &c. And behold the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.It neede not seeme suspicious to thee that we come thus so many together of a Company; for the cause is, that we are all so many brethren, &c. And one is dead.

16 Or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.Or else, as sure as Pharaoh liveth, ye are but spies.

36 Ioseph is not, and Simeon is not, and yee will take Benjamin away: all these things are against mee.Ioseph is dead, and Simeon is in danger to miscarry in prison, and now you will take Beniamin from me; all these are heavy afflictions, which you have brought upon me.

CAP. XLIII.

14 If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.I Am determined to put it to the hazard, relying on God for the event; if therefore I shall be robbed of my sonnes, let me be robbed, goe you on, and doe as the necessity of the businesse requireth.

2 Because the Aegyptians might not eate bread with the Hebrewes.Because the Aegyptians held it unlawfull to eate with the Hebrewes; cheifly for the differences of their Religion; for the Hebrewes were wont to sacrifice those creatures which the Aegyptians worshipped.

p. 39CAP. XLIIII.

VP, follow after them,4 Up, follow after the men, and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evill for good? and when thou dost overtake them, make this merry and officious lie for my sake: Aske them, in dissimulation, Why have ye, &c.

Is not that which you have stolen, the cup of speciall note and vse for my master, both for his table,5 Is not this it, in which my Lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? and (according to the manner of the Aegyptian Magicians) for divination, and sooth-saying?

Could you thinke any otherwise of me, being a Peere of Aegypt,15 Wote ye not, that such a man as I, can certainly divine? but that I could by divination finde out your offence?

CAP. XLV.

GOd hath made me not onelyonly a Counsellor of State to Pharaoh,8 And hee hath made me a father to Pharaoh. but a meanes of preservation of his Court and Kingdome, &c.

You see and perceive by my language,12 That it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. that I am your brother Ioseph, that speake unto you.

I will give you the most commodious and fruitfull part of the land of Aegypt, to dwell in,18 And I will give you the good of the Land of Aegypt, and ye shall eate the fat of the Land. and ye shall be partakers of the best profits of the Countrey.

And Iacob swouned with sudden astonishment at this newes of Ioseph, and the mention of his name.26 And Iacobs heart fainted, for he beleeved them not.

CAP. XLVI.

ANd Ioseph shall close up thine eyes, when thou diest.4 And Ioseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

For every sheepe keeper, not out of pride, but superstition, is abominable to the Aegyptians.34 For every shepherd is an abomination unto the Aegyptians.

CAP. XLVII.

TAke thee the choyce of the whole Land of Aegypt.6 The land of Aegypt is before thee.

If thou knowest that there be any amongst them of skill and strength:6 And if thou knowest any man of activity among them;

The whole time of my life, which to me hath beene as a continued pilgrimage,9 The dayes of the yeers of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty yeers? both in respect of my many habitations, and of that one fixed habitation which abides for me above, &c.

p. 4031 And Israel bowed himselfe upon the beds head.And Iacob raised himselfe upon his Pillow to give thankes to God.

CAP. XLVIII.

5 Ephraim & Manasseth which were borne unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Aegypt, are mine.MAnasseth and Ephraim shalbe, not as my grandchildren, but even as my owne, and shall have a portion of inheritance among their brethren, as if they had come immediately out of my owne Loines.

6 And thy issue which thou begettest after them, shalbe thine, & shalbe called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.But thy other children, if any shall be since borne unto thee, shall carry thy name, and looke for their portion under the title of the Tribes of Ephraim, and Manasses.

And Ioseph tooke them away from his fathers knees, to set them in that order wherein he desired the blessing might be given them,12 And Ioseph brought them out from betweene his knees, and he bowed himselfe with his face to the earth. which done, he bowed himselfe to the ground, in a reverent and humble manner to crave this blessing from his father.

That Angell of the Covenant, the Son of God, which hath delivered, &c. Let them be numbred among the Patriarkes of Gods people,16 The Angell which redeemed me, &c. And let my name bee named on them. as my sonnes, &c.

I give thee one Portion (according to the priviledge of the birth-right) above thy brethren: the Citie and territories of Shechem,22 I have given to thee one portiō above thy brethren, which I tooke out of the hand of the Amorite. which after that my sonnes had taken from the Hivites, I maintained by strong hand against the Amorites.

CAP. XLIX.

1 That I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last dayes.WHat shall come to passe in the following times, both soone upon my departure, and many ages after.

3 Thou art my first borne, my might, and the beginning of my strength.Thou wert both begotten in the prime of my strength, and wert the first of my sonnes in whom my strength consisteth: having as then all the priviledges of the first borne; Preheminence over thy brethren, and a double portion above them.

4 Thou shalt not excell.Thou art runne abroad as water, that is spilt, which cannot be gathered up; thou shalt no more be eminent above thy brethren, &c.

5 Simeon and Levi are brethren, instruments of cruelty are in their habitations;Simeon and Levi, which have too well consented together to doe mischiefe: and were instruments of much cruelty in their agreement against the Sichemites;

6 O my soule, come not thou into their secret: unto their assembly mine honour bee not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfe-will they digged downe a wall:Let not my soule joyne with them in their consultations: p. 41neither let my reputation depend upon their meeting, which my heart abhorred; f…r in their wrath they slew the Shechemits, and in their selfe-will brake downe the walls of their Citie.

They shall have no certaine habitations allowed to their Tribes,7 I will divide them in Iacob, and scatter them in Israel. but shall be mingled with their other brethren.

Iudah,8 Iudah, thou art hee whom thy brethren shall praise. according as thy name imports, thou shalt have praise from thy brethren, who shall acknowledge thy Princedome, in thy posterity, over them, &c.

Judah shall have a knowne distinct Tribe amongst his brethren and governours in the kingdome,10 The Scepter shall not depart from Iudah, nor a law giver from between his feet, untill Shilo come; and unto him shall the gathering of people be. of the same Line, to beare rule untill the time of Messias comming: and the people shall yeeld their obedience to him.

He shall so abound with wines,11 Binding his foale unto the vine, and his asses colt unto the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. that he shall load his Asses with grapes, and even wash his garments with the juice of them.

His posterity shall be abundantly furnished with wine and milke, Vineyards and Pastures.12 His eyes shall bee red with wine, and his teeth white with milke.

Zebulun shall be commodiously situated for his trafique, by the Sea side towards Zidon.13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea, and he shall be for an haven of ships.

Issachar shall be laborious and strong, more fit for subjection then command;14 Issachar is a strong Asse, couching downe betweene two burdens. and shall yeeld himselfe willingly to all impositions of labor, and tributes.

Dan, though he be the sonne of a bondwoman, yet shall attaine unto the dignitie of ruling amongst the Tribes of Israel:16 Dan shall Iudge his people, as one of the Tribes of Israel: and shall afford some that shall sway the government.

His posterity shall inlarge their bounds,17 Dan shall be a Serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth his horse heeles. and prevaile more by subtilty, then strength: and therefore shall bee like the Serpent, &c.

And though this Tribe shall passe through many oppressions & grievances, yet, O Lord,18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. I doe constantly expect thy gracious deliverance of him.

Gad shall be sore annoyed with the Ammonites,19 Gad, a troope shall overcome him: but hee shall overcome at the last? and other neighbouring nations, but shall at last prevaile.

Concerning Asher,20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yeeld royall dainties. he shall be seated in a place of great fruitfulnesse, and delicacy.

Nepthali shall be both swift to warre, and yet gentle,21 Nepthali is a Hinde let loose; he giveth goodly words. and friendly to embrace and maintaine peace.

Ioseph shall be as a fruitfull Bough,22 Ioseph is a fruitfull Bough, even a fruitfull Bough by a well, whose branches runne over the wall. set beside a fountaine, p. 42whose branches shall run upon the wall, and have benefit of the reflection.

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, & hated him.His enemies bent themselves against him (as an archer doth his bow to shoot at a marke:) and wrought all the mischiefe they could against him.

24 But his bow abode in strength, &c. Of the mighty God of Iacob: from thence is the shepheard, the stone of Israel.But his strength was able to match them in their owne kind, &c. The God of Iacob, of whom and by whom Ioseph was appointed, as a nourisher and refuge unto Israel.

The blessing of me thy father shall be the stronger upon thee,26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bound of the everlasting Hills. by being added unto the blessing of Abraham, and Isaac, which all doe light upon thee: and shall continue as long as there are hills upon the earth.

Benjamin shall be fierce and terrible in his warres, devouring his enemies as a Wolfe his prey, and shall have his whole time taken up with the division,27 Benjamin shall ravine as a Wolfe: in the morning he shall devoure the prey, and at night hee shall divide the spoile. and improving of the spoile.

CAP. L.

3 And the Aegyptians mourned for him threescore and tenne dayes.ANd the Aegyptians bewailed him seventy dayes, whereof the forty dayes of embalming were a part.

Forgive the trespasse of them, which, besides the bonds of nature,17 Forgive the trespasse of the servants of the God of thy father. are tied unto thee with so neare bonds of Religion, &c.

19 Feare not: for am I in the place of God?Feare not: for is not all this done by the will and disposition of that wise, and holy God, which ordained this to good?

23 The children also of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were brought up upon Iosephs knees.The sonnes of Machir were a comfort to Ioseph, their grandfather, in their education; Who brought them up, and tooke pleasure in them.

25 And ye shall carry up my bones from hence.Ye shall, when ye depart out of Aegypt, cary my bones hence with you, and bury them in the promised Land, &c.