Burnt offerings XVIII

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 man's brother will I require the life of man.

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

***

And now, my daughter, fear not;

I will do to thee all that - thou requirest:

for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous workman.

And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

**

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, - sin lieth at the door.

And unto thee shall be his desire, - and thou shalt rule over him.

**

Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; - let him do the kinsman's part:

***

But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, - thou, and thy sons, - and thy wife, - and thy sons' wives with thee.

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, - to keep them alive with thee;

they shall be male - and female.

***

but if he - will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then - will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, - as the Lord liveth:

lie down until the morning.

And she lay at his feet until the morning:

and she rose up before one could know another.

And he said,

Let it not be known that a workman came into the floor.

*****

And it was told Tamar,

saying,

Behold

thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.

And she put her widow's garments off from her,

and covered her with a veil,

and wrapped herself,

**

And God said,

Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life,

and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

**

and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath;

for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot;

***

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, - and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

Behold,

the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance:

behold,

he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, - and vanity.

To whom then will ye liken God? - or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

***

And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, -an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

***

The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

Have ye not known?

have ye not heard?

hath it not been told you from the beginning? - have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

That bringeth the princes to nothing;

he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

       

Yea,

they shall not be planted;

yea,

they shall not be sown:

yea,

their stock shall not take root in the earth:

and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

*****

Also he said,

Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee,

and hold it.

*****

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.

And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

***

And Lot said unto them,

Oh,

not so,

my Lord:

Behold now,

thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life;

and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me,

and I die:

Behold now,

this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one:

*

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?

*

Oh,

let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

And he said unto him,

See,

I have accepted thee concerning this thing also,

that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

*****

And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.

ISamuelyeaon