The first New Testament printed in English

by Unknown

Chapter .xxvi.
And there fell a dearth in the land, passing the first dearth that fell in the days of Abraham. Wherefore Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. Then the LORD appeared unto him and said: go not down into Egypt, but bide in the land which I say unto thee: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for unto thee and unto thy seed I will give all these countries. And I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father, and will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries. And thorow thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because that Abraham hearkened unto my voice and kept mine ordinances, commandments, statutes and laws. And Isaac dwelled in Gerar. And the men of the place asked him of his wife, and he said that she was his sister: for he feared to call her his wife lest the men of the place should have killed him for her sake, because she was beautiful to the eye. And it happened after he had been there long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw Isaac sporting with Rebecca his wife. And Abimelech sent for Isaac and said: see, she is of a surety thy wife, and why saidest thou that she was thy sister? And Isaac said unto him: I thought that I might peradventure have died for her sake. Then said Abimelech: why hast thou done this unto us? one of the people might lightly have lain by thy wife and so shouldest thou have brought sin upon us. Then Abimelech charged all his people saying: he that toucheth this man or his wife, shall surely die for it. And Isaac sowed in the land, and found in the same year an hundred bushels: for the LORD blessed him, and the man waxed mighty, and went forth and grew till he was exceeding great, that he had possession of sheep, of oxen and a mighty household: so that the Philistines had envy at him: Insomuch that they stopped and filled up with earth, all the wells which his father's servants digged in his father Abraham's time. Then said Abimelech unto Isaac: get thee from me, for thou art mightier than we a great deal. Then Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley Gerar and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again, the wells of water which they digged in the days of Abraham his father which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham, and gave them the same names which his father gave them. As Isaac's servants digged in the valley, they found a well of springing {living} water. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen saying: the water is ours. Then called he the well Eseck because they strove with him. Then digged they another well, and they strove for that also. Therefore called he it Sitena. And then he departed thence, and digged another well for the which they strove not: therefore called he it Rehoboth, saying: the LORD hath now made us room, and we are increased upon the earth. Afterward departed he thence and came to Berseba. And the LORD appeared unto him the same night and said: I am the God of Abraham thy father, fear not for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And then he builded an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and there pitched his tent. And there Isaac's servants digged a well. Then came Abimelech to him from Gerar and Ahusath his friend and Phicoll his chief captain. And Isaac said unto them: wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me and have put me away from you? Then said they: we saw that the LORD was with thee, and therefore we said that there should be an oath betwixt us and thee, and that we would make a bond with thee: that thou shouldest do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and have done unto thee nothing but good, and send thee away in peace: for thou art now the blessed of the LORD. And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. And they rose up by times in the morning and sware one to another. And Isaac sent them away. And they departed from him in peace. And the same day came Isaac's servants, and told him of a well which they had digged: and said unto him, that they had found water. And he called it Seba, wherefore the name of the city is called Berseba unto this day. When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Iudith the daughter of Bery an Hethite, and Basmath the daughter of Elon an Hethite also, which were disobedient unto Isaac and Rebecca.

Chapter .xxvij.
And it came to pass that Isaac waxed old and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. Then called he Esau his eldest son and said unto him: my son. And he said unto him: here am I. And he said: behold, I am old and know not the day of my death: Now therefore take thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and get thee to the fields, and take me some venison, and make me meat such as I love, and bring it me and let me eat that my soul may bless thee before that I die. But Rebecca heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And as soon as Esau was gone to the field to catch venison, and to bring it, she spake unto Iacob her son saying: Behold I have heard thy father talking with Esau thy brother and saying: bring me venison and make me meat, that I may eat and bless thee before the LORD yer I die. Now therefore my son hear my voice in that which I command thee: get thee to the flock, and bring me thence two good kids, and I will make meat of them for thy father, such as he loveth. And thou shalt bring it to thy father and he shall eat, that he may bless thee before his death. Then said Iacob to Rebecca his mother: Behold Esau my brother is rough and I am smooth. My father shall peradventure feel me, and I shall seem unto him as though I went about to beguile him, and so shall he bring a curse upon me and not a blessing: and his mother said unto him. Upon me be thy curse my son, only hear my voice, and go and fetch me them. And Iacob went and fetched them and brought them to his mother. And his mother made meat of them, according as his father loved. And she went and fetched goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau which she had in the house with her, and put them upon Iacob her youngest son, and she put the skins upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck. And she put the meat and bread which she had made in the hand of her son Iacob. And he went in to his father saying: my father. And he answered: here am I, who art thou my son? And Iacob said unto his father: I am Esau thy eldest son, I have done according as thou baddest me, up and sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. But Isaac said unto his son: How cometh it that thou hast found it so quickly my son? He answered: The LORD thy God brought it to my hand. Then said Isaac unto Iacob: come near and let me feel thee my son, whether thou be my son Esau or not. Then went Iacob to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said the voice is Iacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he knew him not, because his hands were rough as his brother Esau's hands and so he blessed him. And he asked him, art thou my son Esau? And he said: that I am. Then said he: bring me and let me eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought him, and he ate. And he brought him wine also, and he drank. And his father Isaac said unto him: come near and kiss me my son. And he went to him and kissed him. And he smelled the savour of his raiment and blessed him, and said See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD {lorde} hath blessed. God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine. People be thy servants and nations bow unto thee. Be lord over thy brethren, and thy mother's children stoop unto thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee, and blessed {lessed} be he that blesseth thee. As soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Iacob, and Iacob was scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father: then came Esau his brother from his hunting: and had made also meat, and brought it in unto his father and said unto him: Arise my father and eat of thy son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. Then his father Isaac said unto him: Who art thou? he answered I am thy eldest son Esau. And Isaac was greatly astonied out of measure, and said: Where is he then that hath hunted venison and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him, and he shall be blessed still. When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out greatly and bitterly above measure, and said unto his father: bless me also my father. And he said thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing. Then said he: He may well be called Iacob, for he hath undermined me now two times, first he took away my birthright: and see, now hath he taken away my blessing also. And he said, hast thou kept never a blessing for me? Isaac answered and said unto Esau: behold I have made him thy lord, {LORde} and all his mother's children have I made his servants. Moreover with corn and wine have I stablished him, what can I do unto thee now my son? And Esau said unto his father: hast thou but that one blessing my father? bless me also my father: so lifted up Esau his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered and said unto him: Behold thy dwelling place shall have of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. And with thy sword shalt thou live and shalt be thy brother's servant; But the time will come, when thou shalt get the mastery, and lowse his yoke from off thy neck. And Esau hated Iacob, because of the blessing that his father blessed him withal, and said in his heart: The days of my father's sorrow are at hand, for I will slay my brother Iacob. And these words of Esau her eldest son, were told to Rebecca. And she sent and called Iacob her youngest son, and said unto him: behold thy brother Esau threateneth to kill thee: Now therefore my son hear my voice, make thee ready, and flee to Laban my brother at Haran: And tarry with him a while, until thy brother's fierceness be swaged, and until thy brother's wrath turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him. Then will I send and fetch thee away from thence. Why should I lose you both in one day? And Rebecca spake to Isaac: I am weary of my life, for fear of the daughters of Heth. If Iacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such one as these are, or of the daughters of the land, what lust should I have to live?

Chapter .xxviij.
Then Isaac called Iacob his son and blessed him, and charged him and said unto him: see thou take not a wife of the daughters of Canaan, but arise and get thee to Mesopotamia to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father: and there take thee a wife of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. And God almighty bless thee, increase thee, and multiply thee that thou mayest be a number of people, and give thee the blessing of Abraham: both to thee and to thy seed with thee, that thou mayest possess the land (wherein thou art a stranger) which God gave unto Abraham. Thus Isaac sent forth Iacob, to go to Mesopotamia unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Sirien, and brother to Rebecca Iacob's and Esau's mother. When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Iacob, and sent him to Mesopotamia, to fetch him a wife thence, and that, as he blessed him he gave him a charge saying: see thou take not a wife of the daughters of Canaan: and that Iacob had obeyed his father and mother, and was gone unto Mesopotamia: and seeing also that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father: Then went he unto Ismael, and took unto the wives which he had, Mahala the daughter of Ismael Abraham's son, the sister of Nabaioth to be his wife. Iacob departed from Berseba and went toward Haran, and came unto a place and tarried there all night, because the son was down. And took a stone of the place, and put it under his head, and laid him down in the same place to sleep. And he dreamed: and behold there stood a ladder upon the earth, and the top of it reached up to heaven. And see, the angels of God went up and down upon it, yea and the LORD stood upon it and said: I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father and the God of Isaac: The land which thou sleepest upon will I give thee and thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth: And thou shalt spread abroad: west, east, north and south. And thorow thee and thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. And see I am with thee, and will be thy keeper in all places whother thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land: Neither will I leave thee until I have made good, all that I have promised thee. When Iacob was awaked out of his sleep, he said: surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware. And he was afraid and said how fearful is this place? it is none other, but even the house of God and the gate of heaven. And Iacob stood up early in the morning and took the stone that he had laid under his head, and pitched it up on end, and poured oil on the top of it. And he called the name of the place Bethel, for indeed the name of the city was called Lus before time. And Iacob vowed a vow, saying: If God will be with me and will keep me in this journey which I go and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to put on, so that I come again unto my father's house in safety: then shall the LORD be my God, and this stone which I have set up an end, shall be God's {godes} house. And of all that thou shalt give me, will I give the tenth unto thee.

Chapter .xxix.
Then Iacob lift up his feet, and went toward the east country. And as he looked about, behold there was a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lay thereby (for at that well were the flocks watered) and there lay a great stone at the well mouth. And the manner was to bring the flocks thither, and to roll the stone from the well's mouth and to water the sheep, and to put the stone again upon the well's mouth unto his place. And Iacob said unto them: brethren, whence be ye? And they said: of Haran are we. And he said unto them: Know ye Laban the son of Nahor. And they said: We know him. And he said unto them: is he in good health? And they said: he is in good health: and behold, his daughter Rahel cometh with the sheep. And he said: lo, it is yet a great while to night, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water the sheep and go and feed them. And they said: we may not, until all the flocks be brought together, and the stone be rolled from the well's mouth, and so we water our sheep. While he yet talked with them, Rahel came with her father's sheep, for she kept them. As soon as Iacob saw Rahel, the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, he went and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep of Laban his mother's brother. And Iacob kissed Rahel, and lift up his voice and wept: and told her also that he was her father's brother and Rebecca's son. Then Rahel ran and told her father. When Laban heard tell of Iacob his sister's son, he ran against him, and embraced him and kissed him and brought him into his house. And then Iacob told Laban all the matter. And then Laban said: well, thou art my bone and my flesh. Abide with me the space of a month. And afterward Laban said unto Iacob: though thou be my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me what shall thy wages be? And Laban had two daughters, the eldest called Lea and the youngest Rahel. Lea was tender eyed, but Rahel was beautiful and well favored. And Iacob loved her well, and said: I will serve thee seven years for Rahel thy youngest daughter. And Laban answered: it is better that I give her thee, than to another man: bide therefore with me. And Iacob served seven years for Rahel, and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. And Iacob said unto Laban: give me my wife, that I may lie with her. For the time appointed me is come. Then Laban bade all the men of that place, and made a feast. And when even was come, he took Lea his daughter and brought her to him and he went in unto her. And Laban gave unto his daughter Lea, Zilpha his maid, to be her servant. And when the morning was come, behold it was Lea. Than said he to Laban: wherefore hast thou played thus with me? did not I serve thee for Rahel, wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? Laban answered: it is not the manner of this place, to marry the youngest before the eldest. Pass out this week, and then shall this also be given thee for the service which thou shalt serve me yet seven years more. And Iacob did even so, and passed out that week, and then he gave him Rahel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rahel his daughter, Bilha his handmaid to be her servant. So lay he by Rahel also, and loved Rahel more than Lea, and served him yet seven years more. When the LORD saw that Lea was despised, he made her fruitful: but Rahel was barren. And Lea conceived and bare a son, and called his name Ruben, for she said: the LORD hath looked upon my tribulation. And now my husband will love me. And she conceived again and bare a son, and said: the LORD hath heard that I am despised, and hath therefore given me this son also, and she called him Simeon. And she conceived yet and bare a son, and said: now this once will my husband keep me company, because I have borne him three sons: and therefore she called his name Levi. And she conceived yet again, and bare a son saying: Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Iuda, and left bearing.

Chapter .xxx.
When Rahel saw that she bare Iacob no children, she envied her sister and said unto Iacob: give me children, or else I am but dead. Then was Iacob wroth with Rahel saying: Am I in God's {godes} stead which keepeth from thee the fruit of thy womb? Then she said: here is my maid Bilha: go in unto her, that she may bear upon my lap, that I may be increased by her. And she gave him Bilha her handmaid to wife. And Iacob went in unto her: And Bilha conceived and bare Iacob a son. Then said Rahel: God hath given sentence on my side, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son. Therefore called she him Dan. And Bilha Rahel's maid conceived again, and bare Iacob another son. And Rahel said. God is turned, and I have made a change with my sister, and have gotten the upper hand. And she called his name Naphtali. When Lea saw that she had left bearing, she took Silpha her maid, and gave her Iacob to wife. And Silpha Lea's maid bare Iacob a son. Then said Lea: Good luck: and called his name Gad. And Silpha Lea's maid bare Iacob another son. Then said Lea: happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed. And called his name Asser. And Ruben went out in the wheat harvest and found mandragoras in the fields, and brought them unto his mother Lea. Then said Rahel to Lea give me of thy son's mandragoras. And Lea answered: Is it not enough, that thou hast taken away my husband, but wouldest take away my son's mandragoras also? Then said Rahel well, let him sleep with thee this night, for thy son's mandragoras. And when Iacob came from the fields at even, Lea went out to meet him, and said: come in to me, for I have bought thee with my son's mandragoras. And he slept with her that night. And God heard Lea, that she conceived and bare unto Iacob the fifth son. Then said Lea: God hath given me my reward, because I gave my maiden to my husband, and she called him Isachar. And Lea conceived yet again and bare Iacob the sixth son. Then said she: God hath endued me with a good dowry. Now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and called his name Zabulon. After that she bare a daughter, and called her Dina. And God remembered Rahel, heard her, and made her fruitful: so that she conceived and bare a son, and said God hath taken away my rebuke. And she called his name Ioseph saying: The LORD {lorde} give me yet another son. As soon as Rahel had borne Ioseph, Iacob said to Laban: Send me away that I may go unto mine own place and country, give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest what service I have done thee. Then said Laban unto him: If I have found favour in thy sight (for I suppose that the LORD {|God|} hath blessed me for thy sake) appoint what thy reward shall be, and I will give it thee. But he said unto him, thou knowest what service I have done thee, and in what taking thy cattle have been under me: For it was but little that thou hadst before I came, and now it is increased into a multitude, and the LORD hath blessed thee for my sake. But now when shall I make provision for mine own house also? And he said: what shall I give thee? And Iacob answered: thou shalt give me nothing at all, if thou wilt do this one thing for me: And then will I turn again and feed thy sheep and keep them. I will go about all thy sheep this day, and separate from them all the sheep that are spotted and of divers colours, and all black sheep among the lambs and the party and spotted among the kids: And then such shall be my reward. So shall my righteousness answer for me: when the time cometh that I shall receive my reward of thee: So that whatsoever is not speckled and party among the goats and black among the lambs, let that be theft with me. Then said Laban: Lo, I am content, that it be according as thou hast said. And he took out that same day the he goats that were party and of divers colours, and all the goats that were spotted and party coloured, and all that had white in them, and all the black among the lambs: and put them in the keeping of his sons, and set three days' journey betwixt himself and Iacob. And so Iacob kept the rest of Laban's sheep. Iacob took rods of green poplar, hazel, and of chestnut trees, and pilled white streaks in them and made the white appear in the staves: And he put the staves which he had pilled, even before the sheep, in the gutters and watering troughs, when the sheep came to drink: that they should conceive when they came to drink. And the sheep conceived before the staves, and brought forth streaked, spotted and party. Then Iacob parted the lambs, and turned the faces of the sheep toward spotted things, and toward all manner of black things thorow out the flocks of Laban. And he made him flocks of his own by them self, which he put not unto the flocks of Laban. And alway in the first bucking time of the sheep, Iacob put the staves before the sheep in the gutters, that they might conceive before the staves: But in the latter bucking time, he put them not there: so the last brood was Laban's and the first Iacob's. And the man became exceeding rich and had many sheep, maidservants, menservants, camels and asses.

Chapter .xxxj.
And Iacob heard the words of Laban's sons how they said: Iacob hath taken away all that was our father's, and of our father's goods, hath he gotten all this honour. And Iacob beheld the countenance of Laban, that it was not toward him as it was in times past. And the LORD said unto Iacob: turn again into the land of thy fathers and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee. Then Iacob sent and called Rahel and Lea to the field unto his sheep, and said unto them: I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as in times past. Moreover the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know how that I have served your father with all my might. And your father hath deceived {disceaved} me and changed my wages ten times: But God suffered him not to hurt me. When he said the spotted shall be thy wages, then all the sheep bare spotted. If he said, the streaked shall be thy reward, then bare all the sheep streaked: thus hath God taken away your father's cattle and given them me. For in bucking time, I lifted up mine eyes and saw in a dream: and behold, the rams that bucked the sheep were streaked, spotted and party. And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream saying: Iacob?. And I answered: here am I. And he said: lift up thine eyes and see how all the rams that leap upon the sheep are streaked, spotted and party: for I have seen all that Laban doth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel where thou anointedest the stone and where thou vowdest a vow unto me. Now arise and get thee out of this country, and return unto the land where thou wast born. Then answered Rahel and Lea and said unto him: we have no part nor inheritance in our father's house: he counteth us even as strangers, for he hath sold us, and hath even eaten up the price of us. Moreover all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours and our children's. Now therefore whatsoever God hath said unto thee, that do. Then Iacob rose up and set his sons and wives up upon camels, and carried away all his cattle and all his substance which he had gotten in Mesopotamia, for to go to Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rahel had stolen her father's images. And Iacob went away unknowing to {Iacob stale away the heart of} Laban the Sirian, and told him not that he fled. So fled he and all that he had, and made himself ready, and passed over the rivers, and set his face straight toward the mount Gilead. Upon the third day after, was it told Laban that Iacob was fled. Then he took his brethren with him and followed after him seven days' journey, and overtook him at the mount Gilead. And God came to Laban the Sirian in a dream by night, and said unto him: take heed to thyself, that thou speak not to Iacob ought save good. And Laban overtook Iacob: and Iacob had pitched his tent in that mount. And Laban with his brethren pitched their tent also upon the mount Gilead. Then said Laban to Iacob: why hast thou this done unknowing to me, {done to steal away my heart} and hast carried away my daughters as though they had been taken captive with sword? Wherefore wentest thou away secretly unknown to me and didst not tell me, that I might have brought thee on the way with mirth, singing, timbrels and harps, and hast not suffered me to kiss my children and my daughters?. Thou wast a fool to do it, for I am able to do you evil. But the God of your father spake unto me yesterday saying take heed that thou speak not to Iacob ought save good. And now though thou wentest thy way because thou longest after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? Iacob answered and said to Laba: because I was afraid, and thought that thou wouldest have taken away thy daughters from me. But with whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him die here before our brethren. Seek that thine is by me, and take it to thee: for Iacob wist not that Rahel had stolen them. Then went Laban into Iacob's tent, and into Lea's tent, and into two maidens' tents: but found them not. Then went he out of Lea's tent, and entered into Rahel's tent. And Rahel took the images, and put them in the camel's straw, and sat down upon them. And Laban searched all the tent: but found them not. Then said she to her father: my lord, be not angry that I can not rise up before thee, for the disease of women is come upon me. So searched he, but found them not. Iacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: Iacob also answered and said to him: what have I trespassed or what have I offended, that thou followedest after me? Thou hast searched all my stuff, and what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? put it here before thy brethren and mine, and let them judge betwixt us both. This twenty years that I have been with thee, thy sheep and thy goats have not been barren, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. Whatsoever was torn of beasts I brought it not unto thee, but made it good myself: of my hand didst thou require it, whether it was stolen by day or night. Moreover by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep departed from mine eyes. Thus have I been twenty years in thy house, and served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy sheep, and thou hast changed my reward ten times. And except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the God whom Isaac feareth, had been with me: surely thou hadst sent me away now all empty. But God beheld my tribulation, and the labour of my, hands: and rebuked thee yesterday. Laban answered and said unto Iacob: the daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the sheep are my sheep, and all that thou seest is mine. And what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? Now therefore come on, let us make a bond, I and thou together, and let it be a witness between thee and me. Then took Iacob a stone and set it up on end, and said unto his brethren, gather stones. And they took stones, and made an heap, and they ate there, upon the heap. And Laban called it Zegar Sahadutha, but Iacob called Gilead. Then said Laban: this heap be witness between thee and me this day (therefore is it called Gilead) and this toot hill which the LORD {lorde} seeth (said he) be witness between me and thee when we are departed one from another: that thou shalt not vex my daughters neither shalt take other wives unto them. Here is no man with us: behold, God is witness betwixt thee and me. And Laban said moreover to Iacob: behold, this heap and this mark which I have set here, betwixt me and thee: this heap be witness and also this mark, that I will not come over this heap to thee, and thou shalt not come over this heap and this mark, to do any harm. The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor and the God of their fathers, be judge betwixt us. And Iacob sware by him that his father Isaac feared. Then Iacob did sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and tarried all night in the hill. And early in the morning Laban rose up and kissed his children and his daughters, and blessed them and departed and went unto his place again.

Chapter .xxxij.
But Iacob went forth on his journey. And the angels of God came and met him. And when Iacob saw them, he said: this is God's {godes} host: and called the name of that same place Mahanaim. Iacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, unto the land of Seir and the field of Edom. And he commanded them saying: see that ye speak after this manner to my lord Esau: thy servant, Iacob sayeth thus; I have sojourned and been a stranger with Laban unto this time: and have gotten oxen, asses and sheep, menservants and womenservants, and have sent to shew it my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. And the messengers came again to Iacob saying: we came unto thy brother Esau, and he cometh against thee and four hundred men with him. Then was Iacob greatly afraid, and wist not which way to turn himself, and divided the people that was with him and the sheep, oxen and camels, into two companies, and said: If Esau come to the one part and smite it, the other may save itself. And Iacob said: O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac: LORD, which saidest unto me, return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant. For with my staff came I over this Iordan, and now have I gotten two droves. Deliver me from the hands of my brother Esau, for I fear him: lest he will come and smite the mother with the children. Thou saidest that thou wouldest surely do me good, and wouldest make my seed as the sand of the sea which can not be numbered for multitude. And he tarried there that same night, and took of that which came to hand, a present, unto Esau his brother: Two hundred she goats and twenty he goats: two hundred sheep and twenty rams: thirty milch camels with their colts: forty kine and ten bulls: twenty she asses and ten foals and delivered them unto his servants, every drove by them selves, and said unto them: go forth before me and put a space betwixt every drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying: When Esau my brother meeteth thee and asketh thee saying: whose servant art thou and whither goest thou, and whose are these that go before thee: thou shalt say, they be thy servant Iacob's, and are a present sent unto my lord Esau, and behold, he himself cometh after us. And so commanded he the second, and even so the third, and likewise all that followed the droves saying, of this manner see that ye speak unto Esau when ye meet him, and say moreover. Behold thy servant Iacob cometh after us, for he said. I will pease his wrath with the present that goeth before me and afterward I will see him myself, so peradventure he will receive me to grace. So went the present before him and he tarried all that night in the tent, and rose up the same night and took his two wives and his two maidens and his eleven sons, and went over the ford Iabok. And he took them and sent them over the river, and sent over that he had and tarried behind himself alone. And there wrestled a man with him unto the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he smote him under the thigh, and the sinew of Iacob's thigh shrank as he wrestled with him. And he said: let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said: I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him: what is thy name? He answered: Iacob. And he said: thou shalt be called Iacob no more, but Israel. For thou hast wrestled with God and with men and hast prevailed. And Iacob asked him saying, tell me thy name. And he said, wherefore dost thou ask after my name? and he blessed him there. And Iacob called the name of the place Pheniel, for I have seen God face to face, and yet is my life reserved. And as he went over Peniel, the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh: wherefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew that shrank under the thigh, unto this day: because that he smote Iacob under the thigh in the sinew that shrank.

Chapter .xxxiij.
Iacob lift up his eyes and saw his brother Esau come, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Lea and unto Rahel and unto the two maidens. And he put the maidens and their children foremost, and Lea and her children after, and Rahel and Ioseph hindermost. And he went before them and fell on the ground seven times, until he came unto his brother. Esau ran against {to meet} him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And he lift up his eyes and saw the wives and their children, and said: what are these which thou there hast? And he said: they are the children which God hath given thy servant. Then came the maidens forth, and did their obeisance. Lea also and her children came and did their obeisance. And last of all came Ioseph and Rahel and did their obeisance. And he said: what meanest thou with all the droves which I met? And he answered: to find grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau said: I have enough my brother, keep that thou hast unto thyself. Iacob answered: oh nay but if I have found grace in thy sight, receive my present of my hand: for I have seen thy face as though I had seen the face of God: wherefore receive me to grace and take my blessing that I have brought thee, for God hath given it me freely. And I have enough of all things. And so he compelled him to take it. And he said: let us take our journey and go, and I will go in thy company. And he said unto him: my lord knoweth that I have tender children, ewes and kine with young, under mine hand, which if men should overdrive but even one day, the whole flock would die. Let my lord therefore go before his servant and I will drive fair and softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children, be able to endure: until I come to my lord unto Seir. And Esau said: let me yet leave some of my folk with thee. And he said: what needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau went his way again that same day unto Seir. And Iacob took his journey toward Sucoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: whereof the name of the place is called Sucoth. And Iacob went to Salem {came peaceably in} to the city of Sichem in the land of Canaan, after that he was come from Mesopotamia, and pitched before the city, and bought a parcel of ground where he pitched his tent, of the children of Hemor Sichem's father, for an hundred lambs; And he made there an altar, and there called upon the mighty God of Israel.

Chapter .xxxiiij.
Dina the daughter of Lea which she bare unto Iacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And Sichem the son of Hemor the Hevite lord of the country, saw her, and took her, and lay with her, and forced her: and his heart lay unto Dina the daughter of Iacob. And he loved the damsel and spake kindly unto her, and spake unto his father Hemor saying, get me this maiden unto my wife. And Iacob heard that he had defiled Dina his daughter, but his sons were with the cattle in the field, and therefore he held his peace, until they were come. Then Hemor the father of Sichem went out unto Iacob, to commune with him. And the sons of Iacob came out of the field as soon as they heard it, for it grieved them, and they were not a little wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel, in that he had lain with Iacob's daughter, which thing ought not to be done. And Hemor communed with them saying: the soul of my son Sichem longeth for your daughter: give her him to wife, and make marriages with us: give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you, and dwell with us, and the land shall be at your pleasure, dwell and do your business, and have your possessions therein. And Sichem said unto her father and her brethren: let me find grace in your eyes, and whatsoever ye appoint me, that will I give. Ask freely of me both the dowry and gifts, and I will give according as ye say unto me, and give me the damsel to wife. Then the sons of Iacob answered to Sichem and Hemor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled Dina their sister. And they said unto them, we can not do this thing, that we should give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, for that were a shame unto us. Only in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that all the men children among you be circumcised, then will we give our daughter to you and take yours to us, and will dwell with you and be one people. But and if ye will not hearken unto us to be circumcised, than will we take our daughter and go our ways. And their words pleased Hemor and Sichem his son. And the young man deferred not for to do the thing, because he had a lust to Iacob's daughter: he was also most set by of all that were in his father's house. Then Hemor and Sichem went unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city saying: These men are peaceable with us, and will dwell in the land and do their occupation therein; And in the land is room enough for them, let us take their daughters to wives and give them ours: only herein will they consent unto us for to dwell with us and to be one people: if all the men children that are among us be circumcised as they are. Their goods and their substance and all their cattle are ours, only let us consent unto them, that they may dwell with us. And unto Hemor and Sichem his son hearkened all that went out at the gate of his city. And all the men children were circumcised whatsoever went out at the gates of his city. And the third day when it was painful to them, two of the sons of Iacob, Simeon and Levi Dina's brethren, took either of them his sword and went into the city boldly, and slew all that was male, and slew also Hemor and Sichem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dina their sister out of Sichem's house, and went their way. Then came the sons of Iacob upon the deed, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister: and took their sheep, oxen, asses and whatsoever was in the city and also in the fields. And all their goods, all their children and their wives took they captive, and made havoc of all that was in the houses. And Iacob said to Simeon and Levi: ye have troubled me and made me stink unto the inhabiters of the land, both to the Cananites and also unto the Pherezites. And I am few in number. Wherefore they shall gather them selves together against me and slay me, and so shall I and my house be destroyed. And they answered: should they deal with our sister as with an whore?

Chapter .xxxv.
And God said unto Iacob, arise and get thee up to Bethel, and dwell there. And make there an altar unto God that appeared unto thee, when thou fleddest from Esau thy brother. Then said Iacob unto his household and to all that were with him, put away the strange gods that are among you and make your selves clean, and change your garments, and let us arise and go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there, unto God which heard me in the day of my tribulation and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Iacob all the strange gods which were under their hands, and all their earings which were in their ears, and Iacob hid them under an oak at Sichem. And they departed. And the fear of God fell upon the cities that were round about them, that they durst not follow after the sons of Iacob. So came Iacob to Lus in the land of Canaan, otherwise called Bethel, with all the people that was with him. And he builded there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because that God {|the LORDe|} appeared unto him there, when he fled from his brother. Then died Debora Rebecca's nurse, and was buried beneath Bethel under an oak. And the name of it was called the oak of lamentation. And God appeared unto Iacob again after he came out of Mesopotamia, and blessed him and said unto him: Thy name is Iacob. Notwithstanding thou shalt be no more called Iacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And so was his name called Israel. And God said unto him: I am God allmighty, grow and multiply: for people and a multitude of people shall spring of thee, yea and kings shall come out of thy loins. And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, will I give unto thee, and unto thy seed after thee will I give it also. And God departed from him in the place where he talked with him. And Iacob set up a mark in the place where he talked with him: even a pillar of stone, and poured drink offering thereon and poured also oil thereon, and called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. And they departed from Bethel, and when he was but a field brede from Ephrath, Rahel began to travail. And in travailing she was in peril. And as she was in pains of her labour, the midwife said unto her: fear not, for thou shalt have this son also. Then as her soul was departing, that she must die: she called his name Ben Oni. But his father called him Ben Iamin. and thus died Rahel and was buried in the way to Ephrath which now is called Bethlehem. And Iacob set up a pillar upon her grave, which is called Rahel's grave pillar unto this day. And Israel went thence and pitched up his tent beyond the tower of Eder. And it chanced as Israel dwelt in that land, that Ruben went and lay with Bilha his father's concubine, and it came to Israel's ear. The sons of Iacob were twelve in number. The sons of Lea: Ruben, Iacob's eldest son, and Simeon, Levi, Iuda, Isachar, and Zabulon. The sons of Rahel: Ioseph and Ben Iamin. The sons of Bilha Rahel's maid: Dan and Nephtali. The sons of Zilpha Lea's maid Gad and Asser. These are the sons which were born him in Mesopotamia. Then Iacob went unto Isaac his father to Mamre a principal city, otherwise called Hebron: where Abraham and Isaac sojourned as strangers. And the days of Isaac were an hundred and eighty years: and then fell he sick and died, and was put unto his people being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Iacob buried him.