THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES,

CALLED

GENESIS.

 

CHAPTER 1

IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

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.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 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.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

 

CHAPTER 2

THUS the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 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 soul.

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in 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 evil.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

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.

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

 

CHAPTER 3

NOW the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees 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 eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

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, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

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 eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

 

CHAPTER 4

AND Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 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.

8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

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 pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.

24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

 

CHAPTER 5

THIS is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:

7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:

8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.

9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:

10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:

11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.

12 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:

13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:

14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.

15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:

16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:

17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.

18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:

19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.

21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:

22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:

26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:

27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.

28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:

29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.

30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:

31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.

32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

 

CHAPTER 6

AND it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; 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 renown.

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

18 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.

19 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.

20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

 

CHAPTER 7

AND the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

5 And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.

17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

 

CHAPTER 8

AND God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;

3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off 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;

9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;

11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.

14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,

16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:

19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

 

CHAPTER 9

AND God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

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

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

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

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.

19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

 

CHAPTER 10

NOW these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

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

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

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

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

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

15 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

 

CHAPTER 11

AND the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and 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.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:

15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:

21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

 

CHAPTER 12

NOW the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.

16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.

18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

 

CHAPTER 13

AND Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai;

4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, 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 Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

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:

15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

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 numbered.

17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.

 

CHAPTER 14

AND it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;

2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness.

7 And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.

8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

 

CHAPTER 15

AFTER these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

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 four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

 

CHAPTER 16

NOW Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.

6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

7 And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

9 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

11 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.

12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

14 Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

 

CHAPTER 17

AND when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

 

CHAPTER 18

AND the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.

23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

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?

25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.

30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.

32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

33 And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

 

CHAPTER 19

AND there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

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.

6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.

14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:

19 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:

20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

21 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.

22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

31 And the firstborn 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:

32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

 

CHAPTER 20

AND Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.

4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.

6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.

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.

13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.

16 And unto Sarah he 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.

17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

18 For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.

 

CHAPTER 21

AND the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.

5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.

7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:

23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

24 And Abraham said, I will swear.

25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.

26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.

27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.

28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?

30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

31 Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.

32 Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.

34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.

 

CHAPTER 22

AND it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;

21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,

22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

 

CHAPTER 23

AND Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.

7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,

9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.

10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

11 Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.

12 And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

13 And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.

14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

17 And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.

 

CHAPTER 24

AND Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

3 And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

7 The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

12 And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.

20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?

24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.

25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.

27 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.

28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.

33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.

34 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.

35 And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

36 And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.

37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

38 But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.

39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.

40 And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:

41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:

43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;

44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master’s son.

45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son.

49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the Lord hath spoken.

52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.

53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.

55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.

57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country.

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

 

CHAPTER 25

THEN again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.

4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.

6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;

10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi.

12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:

16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.

17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac:

20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

 

CHAPTER 26

AND there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

3 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 sware unto Abraham thy father;

4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.

10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

15 For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

19 And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.

24 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.

25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord.

30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.

33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

 

CHAPTER 27

AND it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:

3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed:

28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.

36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;

45 Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

 

CHAPTER 28

AND Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

2 Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother.

3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;

7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram;

8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;

9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.

11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

21 So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:

22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

 

CHAPTER 29

THEN Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.

2 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth.

3 And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well’s mouth in his place.

4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.

5 And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him.

6 And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep.

7 And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them.

8 And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.

9 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she kept them.

10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.

11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.

12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son: and she ran and told her father.

13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.

14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.

15 And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?

16 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.

18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.

20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.

22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.

23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.

24 And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.

25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?

26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.

28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.

29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

31 And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.

32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.

33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.

34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.

35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.

 

CHAPTER 30

AND when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

7 And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

10 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.

11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.

13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.

15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.

16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.

20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:

24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another son.

25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.

26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.

27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.

28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.

30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?

31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:

32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.

34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.

35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

36 And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle.

41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.

43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

 

CHAPTER 31

AND he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.

2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.

3 And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,

5 And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.

6 And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.

9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.

10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.

11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.

13 I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?

15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.

16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.

17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;

18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.

20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.

21 So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.

22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.

23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.

24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.

26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?

27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?

28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.

29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?

31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.

32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the two maidservants’ tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent.

34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.

35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.

36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?

37 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.

38 This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.

39 That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.

40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.

41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.

42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.

43 And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, 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?

44 Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.

47 And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.

48 And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;

49 And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.

51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee;

52 This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.

54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.

55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.

 

CHAPTER 32

AND Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;

14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.

16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?

18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.

19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.

21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.

22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.

 

CHAPTER 33

AND Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.

3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.

6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.

7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

8 And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.

9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.

10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.

12 And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.

13 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.

14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city.

19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.

20 And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.

 

CHAPTER 34

AND Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.

4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.

5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.

6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.

7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.

9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

10 And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.

11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.

13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:

14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:

15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;

16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.

18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son.

19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.

20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.

23 Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.

24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.

25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.

26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.

27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.

28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,

29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.

30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

 

CHAPTER 35

AND God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

3 And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Beth-el, he and all the people that were with him.

7 And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

8 But Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth.

9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him.

10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.

15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el.

16 And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.

18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin.

19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem.

20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.

21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:

24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:

25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:

26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram.

27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

28 And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.

29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

 

CHAPTER 36

NOW these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

3 And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

4 And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;

5 And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.

6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.

7 For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.

8 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

9 And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:

10 These are the names of Esau’s sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau.

11 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.

12 And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau’s wife.

13 And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife.

14 And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.

15 These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,

16 Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.

17 And these are the sons of Reuel Esau’s son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife.

18 And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau’s wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.

19 These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.

20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,

21 And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.

22 And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna.

23 And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.

25 And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.

26 And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.

27 The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan.

28 The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran.

29 These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah,

30 Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.

31 And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.

32 And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

33 And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.

34 And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.

35 And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith.

36 And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.

37 And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.

38 And Saul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.

39 And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

40 And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth,

41 Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon,

42 Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar,

43 Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.

 

CHAPTER 37

AND Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

12 And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;

24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

31 And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.

 

CHAPTER 38

AND it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.

3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.

4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.

5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.

6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.

7 And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.

8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

10 And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.

11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.

14 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, 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.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.

16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?

17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?

18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.

19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.

21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.

22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.

23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.

26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.

28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.

29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.

30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

 

CHAPTER 39

AND Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.

2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

6 And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.

7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

8 But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;

9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.

12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,

14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:

15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.

16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.

17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:

18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.

19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.

20 And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.

21 But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.

23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.

 

CHAPTER 40

AND it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.

2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.

3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.

4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.

5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.

6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.

7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?

8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.

9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;

10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:

11 And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.

12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:

13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

14 But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:

15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:

17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.

18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:

19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.

20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.

21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:

22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.

23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

 

CHAPTER 41

AND it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.

2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.

3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.

4 And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.

5 And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.

6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.

7 And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.

8 And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:

10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker:

11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.

12 And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.

13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.

14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.

15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.

16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:

18 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:

19 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:

20 And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:

21 And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

22 And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:

23 And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:

24 And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.

25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

26 The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

27 And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.

28 This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.

29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:

30 And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;

31 And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.

32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.

34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.

35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.

36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.

37 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?

39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:

40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;

43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

47 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.

48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.

49 And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

50 And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him.

51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.

52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

53 And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.

54 And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.

56 And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.

57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.

 

CHAPTER 42

NOW when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.

3 And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.

4 But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.

5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.

7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.

11 We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.

12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:

15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.

17 And he put them all together into ward three days.

18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:

19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:

20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.

26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.

27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack’s mouth.

28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?

29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,

30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:

32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:

34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.

35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

 

CHAPTER 43

AND the famine was sore in the land.

2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:

5 But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

7 And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

8 And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.

9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:

10 For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.

11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:

12 And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:

13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:

14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

15 And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.

17 And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

18 And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.

19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,

20 And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

21 And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.

22 And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.

23 And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.

24 And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.

25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.

26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.

27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

28 And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.

30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.

32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.

34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

 

CHAPTER 44

AND he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth.

2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.

4 And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?

5 Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.

6 And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.

7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:

8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold?

9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen.

10 And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.

11 Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.

12 And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.

13 Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.

14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.

15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.

17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.

18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.

19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?

20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.

21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.

22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.

23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.

24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.

26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us.

27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:

28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:

29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life;

31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.

32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.

33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.

34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

 

CHAPTER 45

THEN Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:

10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.

17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;

18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.

22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.

24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.

25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,

26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.

27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:

28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

 

CHAPTER 46

AND Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.

2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

5 And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:

7 His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

8 And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

9 And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.

10 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.

11 And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12 And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

13 And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.

14 And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.

15 These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.

16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.

17 And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.

18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

19 The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.

20 And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto him.

21 And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.

22 These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.

23 And the sons of Dan; Hushim.

24 And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.

25 These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.

26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.

28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.

30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.

31 And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;

32 And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.

33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?

34 That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

 

CHAPTER 47

THEN Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

2 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

4 They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:

6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?

9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.

13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.

14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.

16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.

17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.

18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:

19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.

20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s.

21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.

22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.

23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.

24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.

25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.

26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s.

27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:

30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.

 

CHAPTER 48

AND it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Beth-lehem.

8 And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?

9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.

10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.

12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.

14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.

18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

 

CHAPTER 49

AND Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.

9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.

19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

 

CHAPTER 50

AND Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.

2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.

3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.

4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.

6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.

10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond Jordan.

12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:

13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

15 And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.

23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees.

24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

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Holy Scripture (Bible) in Georgian

Bible in Georgian, XI century


Secondo Pia's 1898 negative of the image on the Shroud of Turin has an appearance suggesting a positive image. It is used as part of the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. Image from Musée de l'Élysée, Lausanne.



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I hate you because, why are you powerless 
with strong arm and weeping face 
and your fate, fate black fate 
why shrouded always in black? 
You who condemn the friend and fail to recognize the enemy, 
you who conclude a truce with your undoer, 
awaiting your fate by lying on your side, 
with empty pocket and unlit mind. 
Still I love you, onto my wounded dream 
you are sewn like a diamond button; 
I could never forget you, you're never apart from my heart, 
whether I'm awake or asleep. 
Poison burns my mouth, confusing my mood, 
at the end it still seemed sweet. 
Also most likely it's a law of nature; 
If you are mother, I belong to you as child!


translated from Georgian into English by Lela Jgerenaia
from 'Translations from World Literature'
Friday, May 29, 2009

I feel like singing and I sing,‐ 
I have three wounds on my heart: 
thinking about the past troubles me, 
There's nothing given in the present 
and thoughts of the future 
no one has shared with me! 
wrapped in mists, 
the star barely flickers, 
I can't take my eyes off it, 
seeing it once. 
persisting in watching it 
I became culpable. 
but in the heart the ulcer grows, 
chokes my soul, grieves me, 
I don't desire death, 
although torture reminds me of death, 
and my being that way 
reminds me of poor Amirani. 
the sword lies next to him, the pooch too 
devotedly gnawing iron; 
the sword does not come to the hero, 
nor is he able to reach it himself, 
the gnawed chain is also intact, 
he sees the next morning; 
torturing fire burns 
the master and his pug: 
the future's ray of hope dispels 
the hero's moans and groans.


translated from Georgian into English by Lela Jgerenaia
from 'Translations from World Literature'
Friday, May 29, 2009

Translated by Lela Jgerenaia
Edited by A. S. Kline


I
Veiled in the gloom of night
The sweet face of Kisteti
Appears, among hills around,
A rocky throne among cliffs.
The river moans in its dark ravine
Turbid, with grief at its heart.
The mountains too are bowed down,
Laving face and hands in the water;
On their breasts, many have died,
Unfitting is the blood on their flanks.
Seeking the blood of his brother’s killer,
A man travels along the road.
I say a road, but what road is this:
A narrow path over rock!
A path that’s so hard to walk,
He can scarcely move a step.
There, the village of the Kists,
Is like an eagle’s nest,
As pleasant a place to gaze on
As the breast of a woman.
Black fog slumbers about the village,
Its face deep in thought,
Listening to the hills around,
Absorbing the scene with joy.
It’s a guest for the moment,
Tomorrow, it moves elsewhere;
Departing, travelling the heights,
The slopes covered with ice;
It darkens and shrouds
The visible landscape.
Making the hunter cry out,
His track lost among cliffs,
Bringing joy to the wolf, the thief,
Those walkers in the dark.

II
High above, some stranger
Dislodges a rock from the cliff.
The traveller looks up,
Faced by a tall mountain.
He listens….after a moment
Hearing the hiss of sand.
He reaches for his gun:
It might be an enemy.
He looks about feverishly,
His weapon at the ready.
He sees someone burdened
With a double-headed staff.
He was dragging its dark weight,
That’s why the sand hissed.
The stranger said not a word,
Not a sound came from his mouth,
The barrel of the gun gleaming
Like the dew after morning rain.
He asked: ‘What kind of man are you?
Why are you wandering here at this hour?’
‘What would you have? I’m a hunter.’
‘You don’t look like one to me.’
‘Why should you not trust me?
Why are you suspicious?
Because I’m wandering perhaps
Like you across this mountain?
I am a hunter too,
And today I’ve hunted in vain.’
‘So it goes with us hunters.
Would you live without trouble?’
‘This also is trouble, brother,
I can barely move a step,
I’ve walked all these hills,
I traversed every ravine;
Black fog swirled around
Driven by a strong wind;
It howled through the ravines
Like a famished wolf.

I could barely see the road;
I tried to descend the cliff,
At a loss to know the way
I was struggling so fiercely.
I scared the beasts near and far,
I could hear their hooves clearly,
I could hear the rams clashing horns
As they fled along the cliff.
My heart sank at that
I could see nothing ahead;
Forget about the hunting,
I dared not take a step forward.’
The stranger standing close by
Came a little closer.
The traveller called out: ‘Hunt on, then,
Don’t complain, stay calm.’
‘Good hunting to you too, brother,
Kill a host of those agile creatures.’
‘Here’s one. So why complain?’
He showed him a horned ram,
Lying dead, one with curving horns.
‘A cunning one, but silent now.
If you want we’ll share it,
Equal shares, like comrades,
I’ll not take more than my own,
Let’s share it justly,
Come home with me tonight,
My dwelling is nearby.
Where do you come from, brother?
Tell me your name as well!
Don’t’ worry, God has found
Food for you today.
You shall have your share
In this ram I’ve slain,
Don’t look surprised, it’s no jest,
And I’m not seeking favours.
If it was not meant to be,
Why would you meet me, now?
It would be a shame
If you lost your share,

Who are you? Tell me your name.
Your looks seem Khesvurian.’
‘I am called, Nunua, brother,
A wanderer in the hills.’
But Zviadauri lied,
He concealed his true name.
What could he do? He was notorious,
He owed a debt of blood to many Kists,
He had cut the right hand of many Kists,
Sent them to an untimely grave.
‘Tell me your name, too,
Now I have told you mine.’
‘Mine is Jokhala, brother,
My last name, Alkhastaidze;
It would not do for us
To tell lies.
My house is nearby,
With doors like a fortress.
Come home with me tonight,
I’ll take you there myself.
If I’m not the perfect host
I’ll not treat you ill, at least.
Tomorrow, take your own way,
Go wherever you wish.
I’ll tell you some of my troubles,
You can share some of yours.’
‘Lead me wherever you wish, brother,
I long to be there – How far is it?
You’ve cut the ram’s throat,
And skinned its legs too.
I’ll not refuse to visit,
I’ll help carry the ram too
I don’t ask for a share, you know,
I’d not dishonour myself like that.’
Between them they skinned the ram,
And carried it to the house,
They exchanged many stories,
Grew acquainted as they went.

III
The turrets came in sight,
Dogs were barking;
From the doorways
Curious children were gazing;
The stone-built houses
Seemed like giant boulders.
‘Look, here are my family,
My fortress, my home;
Welcome, as brother to brother,
As godson to godfather.’
Jokhala called to his wife:
‘Come see who’s at the door!’
Pride was apparent
In the host’s conversation.
As they stood in the hallway, waiting…
The fire smouldered in the hearth,
An old man played on a lyre,
A man sitting near to him,
Sang of heroes
Of ancestral wars:
How they sacked Pshav-Khevsureti,
In vengeance for the blood of their brother;
They celebrate everywhere
The hand of a righteous man.
Then a beautiful woman appeared,
Dressed in black,
Slender as a willow tree,
Like a star descended to earth.
‘See, I have brought you a guest.’
‘Mercy be to God.’
How you will treat our guest, wife,
That is for you to say.
The woman welcomed him in:
‘Guest, may peace be upon you!’
‘You too, may you have peace
And your husband and children!’
She took the guest’s weapons,
They invited him in;

The woman following behind,
Jokhala leading;
Zviadauri following
His new brother.

IV
The man who sat by the hearth,
Grey-haired, elderly,
He rose now to his feet,
Like a powerful tiger on a cliff-top.
An old man, there as a guest,
Must respect the guest of another,
To rise to one’s feet is expected,
He must follow the mountain ways.
But on seeing the stranger,
He took on the mask of the wolf;
They were evident,
The thoughts in his mind,
The aged Kist felt no pleasure,
On seeing this stranger.
His heart throbbed with anger,
And his face betrayed it,
His hand drifted to his sword,
And he checked his knife, covertly,
But a guest cannot start a quarrel
In another man’s house.
He rose and exited quietly,
Biting his finger in bitterness,
He beat at his chest three times,
As he stepped outside.
He left and went from house to house,
Sharpening his tongue with poison:
‘Our deadly enemy, you Kists,
Walks with you, disguised, in the night.
It seems, Jokhala fails to know him
His eyes have not pierced the disguise.
He is the decimator of our people,
Attacking us with violence,
Forever insatiable in his desire
For our blood and bone.
Today he is in our hands, let’s see
If we can make him taste the bitterness
Of those Khevsur killed this summer;
We have unburied dead.

Tell me, if I fail of the truth,
If my words are in error!
Make our enemy know too,
That we are not basely born.
I am surprised at Jokhala,
Why open the door to an enemy,
Who is this guest? The idiot,
Why does he not see?
We must bring bitterness
To Zviadauri’s nostrils,
If not then let the women
Wield our shields and swords.’
Even the Kists’ children were stirred,
Everyone strapped on a sword,
The entire village was stirred –
Man, woman, and child.
They must sacrifice the life
Of Zviadauri to their dead;
They must kill him on his enemy’s grave
As is the custom.
To send a spy,
Instructing him in secret,
To go to Jokhala,
Like a neighbour and a brother;
Not to divulge in any way
The villagers’ intent.
To eat and to converse,
To discover where the guest will sleep;
To assault him at night, and bind him,
Needs little debate.
The spy arrives
With ingratiating tongue
He blesses Jokhala’s name,
He speaks freely, gives no offence.
He jests and tells stories,
He strikes sparks with his tongue.
Who could know his heart was full
Of the venom of a deadly snake.
They dined. The host
Admired his guest with all his heart.

‘He’s a brave man, you can tell,’
He swore by his cult,
‘Meeting today, tomorrow as brothers
Let us be one in spirit.’
He invited him to rest,
And showed him to his own bed.
His guest refused it, ‘No,’
I want neither mattress nor blanket.
I’ll sleep in the entrance way,
I’m not used to sleeping inside…
He had achieved the goal
Aimed at in his heart,
This is what the spy desires,
It’s why he made his way there.
And he left joyfully,
To spread the news around.
If the fox knows where the cockerel roosts,
What more can he wish!

V
‘Wife, what’s all this confusion?
Bring me my sword and sabre!
This is no trivial skirmish,
The whole enemy force is attacking!
They are out to destroy us,
Our guest has betrayed us;
Beneath brotherhood and friendship
He’s concealed an army!
Hush! Wait! I am wrong…
They are our Kists.
Why are they here, now;
What are they crying, what do they want?
Listen, carefully,
I can hear a man screaming.
What a dire sound,
What a dreadful deed!
They are slaughtering my guest
With their glittering swords.
Look at those ruthless ones,
How they trample through my home!
They have my manhood in their hands,
And they crush it as they crush the grapes.
Let me go and see,
What has stirred them so?...’
So saying, Jokhala rose
And gripping his sword in his hand,
He opened the doors of his house,
And stepped out defiantly.
‘Why are you here? He cried,
‘Whose guest do you bind with rope?
Why do you break our sovereign law,
Why do you drench my head with mud?
I swear by my religion, I’ll shed blood,
You will regret your vile conduct,
You’ll regret this, though you are my brothers,
Trampling like this on my manhood!...’
‘What do you mean, you fool,
Have you lost your wits?

Over a deadly guest, an enemy
Who would cut off the breasts of his own mother!’
So the Kists cried,
Shouting, all at once, loud as thunder
‘You and your guest, will both
Be hurled from the cliffs together.
Whatever the tribe must do, it will
According to the tribe’s rules.
This decimator of all Kisteti
Why do you treat him as your guest?
In the mountains, even a child
Knows this Zviadauri’s name.
You fool, he’s forever trying,
To exterminate us all.
He attacks us like a wolf,
He ambushes us on the trail.’
Jokhala thought deeply,
His face filled with regret,
As if an arrow had been fired,
Into the very centre of his heart.
‘It was he who killed your brother,
With his gun, in the birch-wood.
We know his face,
Fierce with rage.
“I am here, I, Zviadauri!”
He screamed from above;
We heard him clearly,
We were watching him from afar.
He filled Pshav-Khevsureti
With cattle he stole from us.
He stood behind the army,
Swift-footed, wearing a grey chokha.
Why do you shame yourself, you wretch,
For this insatiable creature?
How can you sit near him,
Without vomiting in his face?’
‘All that may be true…
But what are you trying to say,
You can’t tie my heart
To your wishes with a thread.

He is my guest, this day,
Though he owes me a sea of blood,
I cannot betray him.
I swear it, by God, his creator.
I ask you to loose him, Musa,
Not to torment him further,
When he leaves my household,
Then you may do as you wish.
Who has ever betrayed a guest,
In Kisteti, even in story?
What have I done, then,
That you are all at my door?
You forget the rules of your own cult,
That is why you act so wrongly;
What would you say to my family?
You are in my house, not outside!
Woe to you, children of Kists,
Who come to my door in force!
You attack an unarmed man,
How does that make you feel?’
Musa (to Jokhala)
‘We will bind you too,
For shaming the tribe, you wretch!
Will you dare to disobey
What we order?
You’re barking like some sheep-dog,
You are talking foolish nonsense;
On behalf of this non-believer,
Treating your brothers as the enemy,
Do you realise your own life
Will be filled now with misfortune!’
Jokhala (to Musa).
‘What? Do you call me a dog?
Then I’ll act like one, too!’
He drew his dagger,
And thrust it to the hilt into Musa’s heart.
‘Look, here is the true dog,
See how bold he grows with me!
You tramplers on my manhood,
Do you dare to curse me?

I swear, by Allah, I’ll slay you,
Before you can murder me with your sabres
May the wrath of land and sky show you no mercy,
For the unjust thing you do!’
‘Oh God, what has he done,
He’s given way to madness…’
Jokhala was attacked
By the whole force of Kists,
They tied his hands…they made sure
He could not wield his sword…
They threw him into the hallway
His hands and feet bound like a corpse.
The people’s condemnation is thunder,
Their saliva, the moisture of rain.
They seized the wounded man too,
Zviadauri….
What does Zviadauri say,
Why is his face like a stoic’s?
Grief is killing that brave man,
Because his hand lacks a sword:
‘You have seized me, you dogs,
A fortunate day for you!’
He said this quite calmly,
And he said nothing more.
They were dragging him to the graveyard,
Where the Kists were buried;
As a sacrifice to the dead,
To bear water for them there,
To obey them as their servant,
And wash their feet…

VI
On the far side of the village was a hill,
Scorched, and dusty;
Many brave men lay there,
Lion-hearted, nobly bred.
The silent hillside sloped below,
A torrent flowing through clay.
Those who wielded sword and gun
Their strong hearts no longer beat;
The voiceless ground devours them,
Harsh and insatiable;
Everyone thinks of it
As the very likeness of a human being…
Strength cannot save us from mortal fate
Nor cunning words.
This is Nature’s deep flaw,
That always offends my mind:
It kills everyone, good or bad,
And no-one survives in the end.
When the ship is wrecked
Every passenger is drowned!...
The sun had not yet risen,
The dew still rested on the grass,
The breeze had not yet blown,
Had not spread from above.
Countless men and women
Were gathered there.
Zviadauri was brought
Hands bound before the crowd,
All are eager for his slaughter,
Yet who among them would grieve?
Death terrifies us all,
When others are killed, we long to watch;
Most of the time men do not feel
The wickedness of their actions.
There are so many sinful souls,
Who live their lives without remorse;
Yet who does not wish to destroy
One who harms them?

VII
Here is the grave of a Kist,
Surrounded by the crowd.
Moollah begins to pray,
Remembering his dead:
‘Suffer, no more, Darda,
Nor be troubled,
Here are your brothers
At the door of your grave,
Be joyful, we sacrifice to you,
No longer swallow your anger against your foe,
May this dog die for you!’
The stranger’s voice is heard,
His hackles are rising,
His hair like a tiger’s.
Lime is burning
In the victim’s inner core.
Will this subdue his rage,
A blade with a rusted edge!
They fall upon Zviadauri,
Set the sword at his throat:
‘We sacrifice you to Darla!’
They all cry.
(Zviadauri) ‘Your dead are the dogs!’
He shouted to the crowd.
A brave man, defiant.
Unwavering, his brow.
The Kists were confounded,
The crowd reared up.
‘He refuses to die,
Behold, this dog!’
They are shouting and as they do
Slowly driving in the sword.
‘You are the dogs!’ he murmured in his throat
Before they severed his head!
‘Look at him, look,
Not a blink from his eyes!’
Life is ebbing, he is bleeding,
Zviadauri is dying,

But an enemy hand could not quench his heart,
His heart was still his heart…
And witnessing all this
One lovely woman melted,
Hiding her tears
Standing there, behind the crowd,
She wanted to aid him:
Her heart screamed: ‘Don’t kill him!’
She was thinking, angrily:
‘I wish I had a scythe,
I wish the female cult
Gave me the right,
To grant him life
In exchange for all these souls.
I wish I were the one
Who might sleep in his arms,
Whose breast, now damned,
Lay on his breast,
Would that one ever tire
Of her husband’s love!’
The Kists were angered, shamed:
Their wish was not fulfilled,
They could not make a fitting sacrifice
To the dead;
Their victim slew their hearts
And diminished their joy.
Ashamed they desired
To wield their swords as one
And make of the corpse
Ribbons stained with blood.
But they did not dare from shame:
And ‘Shameful!’ all were thinking.
Their hearts and minds
Vexed and troubled.
As they headed home,
Heads low, descending, they said:
‘We’d not have killed him
If as an enemy he’d not harmed us.
He was a brave man’,
All swore to Allah,

‘That’s why he fought like a tiger,
Defending the honour of his land.’
But “treat your enemy with harshness”
God himself commands us,
The sooner then must we
Drive a knife into their hearts.’
They abandoned Zviadauri’s
Corpse there, alone;
For the dogs to drag at him,
Birds to tear and dismember him;
‘He was no sacrifice, let him rot there
That too is no less harm.’
The Kists proclaimed this
Proudly, in loud voices.
And their voices were echoed
By the mountains’ dark ravines.
Night fell,
Light faded from the heights,
Darkness entered stealthily
The sun sank to rest.
The sunlight faded,
The sand no longer shining;
No longer seen now, vanished,
The white hair of the black summits.
Embroidered, veined with sorrows,
The face of those rocks,
That are forever grieving,
With pure streams like tears.
For death, mourning is fitting,
For a dead brother, a sister’s weeping,
For the forest, the stag’s trail,
Or the howling of wolves,
For a brave man death in battle,
Shattered sword in hand.
For war, the victory feast
With the enemy defeated.
Zviadauri was mourned
By the fret and fall of water,
The moan from the tall mountain
Freed on the breeze,

Tears from the ranks of mist
Ordained by God.
And by the stream, a woman,
Fine, a beauty of Kist,
Pours water over her breast and forehead,
Fainting from time to time.
She cried for a long time, quietly,
Though now and then she trembled,
The death of Zviadauri
Would appear before her eyes.
She was crying without tears,
Constrained by respect:
Respect for the tribe on the one hand
On the other, her fear of God.
Grieving for an enemy
Would bring their anger upon her.
The thought was in her mind,
But her heart took its own path,
The man’s heroic death,
Was etched on her heart.
That scene had pierced
The woman’s heart like an arrow,
Forcing this beauty
To mourn the slaughtered one.
She is waiting for dark, so she
Can weep for the dead by night;
She gave barely a thought
To her Jokhala,
A wife is mourning another’s man
What is the madwoman doing?
Perhaps they are killing Jokhala,
Breaking down the doors of the house!
She rose and glanced around
A frightened creature;
Swiftly she climbed
The mountainous cliffs;
With the fearful noise of the waters
Hissing in the gloom.
She climbed to the grave, leaned
There, then knelt in reverence,

She was sobbing, out of breath;
Tears melted the stone.
She took a knife and approached
Zviadauri’s corpse,
She cut three hairs from his beard
For a keepsake,
She wrapped them round a coarse twig
With her tapering sculpted fingers.
What is that deafening noise?
Her ears are ringing…
From the graves can be heard
The anger and moans of the dead!
As if infants were crying too,
Wailing bitterly!
It’s the voice of a shared anger,
Of a common grief:
‘What are you doing, you shameful wretch’
Was their bitter complaint,
‘Almighty God will vent his anger on you!’
Was the cry from the grave.
Swift clouds
Appeared on the surface of the sky…
She ran away, looking back,
The dead themselves ran after her,
‘Where can you hide yourself,
If you try to escape us now?’
The voices behind her cry,
The mountains echo their words,
Reverberating everywhere
Not just in one place or two.
‘Traitor!’ they all cry,
The peerless stallions,
The grasses, stones, and sand,
All around.
Here, from his grave, rises
Her dead brother, Ebari,
Unequalled among his peers,
Famed horseman of the Kists;
He shouted after his sister,
With thunderous words:

‘Oh, my sister, what have you done to me?
Why do you shame me so?
You have dug me a second grave,
Though I am dead and buried!
Is this how you prove yourself my sister,
Is this your womanhood?’
He glided along the path,
He howled towards the graveyard.

VIII
(Aghaza) ‘What are you after, damn you?
Where are you going?
Who permits you to tear at a good man’s flesh?
You dog, with greedy eyes!
Are Zviadauri’s bones
For you to pick at?’
So Aghaza cried,
Hurling a shower of stones.
The dead run behind her menacingly,
Along the edge of the rocky ravine.
She can still hear their voices,
Echoed by the mountains.
Aghaza’s agate black hair
Was filled with their disapproval.
As she neared her house,
She saw light streaming from it;
She wanted to scream for help,
Wanted her voice to be heard,
But she couldn’t speak a word,
Sweat poured from her forehead…
She felt she was suffocating,
Poured out like water on the threshold.
Jokhala was seated by the hearth,
One knee crossed over the other,
‘Woe is me,’ she said, that’s all,
The words died on her tongue.
The husband embraced his wife,
And helped her to the hearth.
‘What has happened to you, woman?
He asked, anxiously.
As if I lacked for sorrows,
Have you become one too?
What’s happened, what is it?
Tell me, open your lips!
Has anyone tried
To grasp you in his arms?
Tell me. I’ll not be angry
I’ll make him regret in an instant

Any disrespect to my honour,
I’ll knock the foolishness out of him,
As I made Musa regret
Coming to our door.’
He was waiting for an answer,
Standing over her,
At the same time gripping his dagger,
His hand on the hilt.
The woman could not speak,
Though her face looked calm.
Jokhala walked all round her,
Waiting for what she might say.
By midnight, Aghaza
Had slowly come to her senses.
She said to Jokhala: ‘What is all this?
Why are you so troubled?
Why do you imagine
What has no reality?
It’s all illusion…husband
I’ve not seen a living soul.
Who would dare do that to me?
Don’t I wear a bride’s head-scarf?
I returned from the graveyard
I was searching for your horse in the ravine
Instead of a horse, alas
I met with giants.
One dressed in a black felt cloak,
With an enormous body:
(Lightning in my eyes,
The reek of its flesh)
With vast ears, and teeth,
Loathsome, and black in colour.
He reached out his hands,
His enormous hands,
On his head like a mountain-top
Was a dark hat of leather,
He said: “Come with me,
Live with me, woman,
I have a heap of gold and silver
I’ll hide nothing from you.”

I ran in fear from him,
The giant too was running and howling,
The earth was shaking
Under his lumbering feet;
The voice scared me, the mountains
And valleys too,
Winding this way and that,
I barely reached here to tell you,
Out of breath and suffering.
Jokhala said: ‘Besides this giant,
There must have been something else,
I can’t believe what you say,
My thoughts are confused.
Why were you crying?
Tears have flowed down your cheeks;
Tell me now, tell me truthfully,
Or I’ll lose patience!
Some sorrow, some vital
Feeling has pierced your heart.
You can’t hide from my eyes
Every trace of that feeling;
There is no way to erase
Every trace of drink from the cup!...’
‘Why should I hide it from you, Jokhala,
What in my words could enrage you?’
The wife said, tremulous
Quivering in her voice,
‘I sacrificed my tears
To that guest of yours.
I felt pity for that unfortunate man
Dying here in a foreign place,
With no kin, no brother by,
To feel pity for him!
Who when he was struck by the sword,
Never even flinched.
Perhaps I sinned against you, and God,
Yet I cried for him, what could I do!...’
‘Why would I be angered at that?
To speak truth is better than lying.
You shed tears? You have shown mercy!

Who am I to judge that a wrong?
It is always fitting a woman
Should mourn a brave man.’

IX
Next morning, Aghaza
Drives out the cattle,
Birds are swooping,
Attracted by the corpse;
Aghaza too is drawn
To the rocky heights of the graveyard,
From which she scares the ravens,
The vultures, wings beating,
The insatiable eagles,
Feasting on the spoils of the dead;
With furtive movements of her hand,
Her eyes glittering like the sun,
She throws pebbles from the rocks,
While seeming to be knitting,
So cleverly, that no one
Can guess at her thoughts.

X
News reached Biso,
Like a clap of thunder:
‘They have killed Zviadauri,
One like sunlight from the sky,
The shield and sword of Pshav-Khevsureti,
Our vital defence!’
Those hearing the black news
The women, gathered;
In Biso his aged mother is crying,
Lamenting, sobbing bitterly,
‘Oh, why am I still alive?
Bury me too in the earth!
Show me my son’s limbs,
Bring him, let me touch them!
With my son’s right hand
Throw earth on my heart!
Oh, why am I still living?
Why am I still treading the earth?
Oh, why have the dead, failed
To order me to their realm?
How can I, remain
On sacrilegious soil?
Brave men heard the news,
Heard it in sorrow,
Grappled with each other
Grieved, roused by anger…
Hardly surprising; their defender
They now mourned with bitter tears!
They brandished spears,
Sharpened and greased the blades,
Donned shields and swords,
Gathered their forces for the morning.
Nothing strange indeed
If blood flows in torrents.
Apareka cried:
You’ll need rations for a week!’
‘A man from every clan!’
Babarauli yelled.

It was the din of men roused for battle,
Not the music of the flute!

XI
‘Run outside, Jokhala,
Don’t lie there calmly by the hearth,
See the force that has reached
Our mountain heights!
They are coming to visit,
They will soon be our guests,
They will make our women
Rue their rocking of the cradle,
They are driving off the cattle,
What is all this confusion!
See, their army has seized
The heights of Jaregi, and Samgori,
The wastelands of the shepherds,
They are descending from the cliffs.
Go, help your kin,
They’re advancing on the enemy,
Go too, Jokhala,
Go with all the others.’
‘Follow them? What are you saying, fool?
They won’t let me near them!
I’ll have to fight alone,
Let all Jarega see it;
Who is loyal, who is not,
Let the country see it.
The Kists think I’m a traitor,
Renouncing my own cult,
They think Jokhala,
Has sold himself for gain,
That I’ve betrayed Kisteti,
One careless of his own soul;
They are bringing a gravestone
To set on my living heart.’
As Jokhala spoke,
He was donning his body-armour:
Strapping his sword to his waist,
Slinging his gun from his shoulder,
It is not a Kist tradition
To wear a helmet on the head.

He walks along by himself,
Intent on meeting
With the foe.
The Kists are scattered over the heights.

XII
The army of the Khevsurs advances,
Their flag-bearer in the lead;
They swarm towards the graveyard,
The Kists’ house of silence:
They seek their dead warrior,
To gather his bones,
To put out the eyes
Of Zviadauri’s tormentors.
But they were met by the Kists,
Concealed at the gully’s edge;
Who grasp their guns,
They won’t yield
To the Khevsurs.
Agile young men
On both sides fire their guns
Shouting their battle cries,
Both sides suffer wounds,
Both sides fight on, regardless.
The bullets had their fill
Of blood, harming many.
Still the Kists did not break,
They stood firm as a fortress.
Babarauli of the Khevsurs,
Called for a sabre attack.
It came down to cold steel,
Shields gave way to sabres.
The Khevsurs are seeking
Rich treasure and spoils;
Shield, do not despise the sword
That hangs beside you.
The Khevsurs scrambling down
Met an insurmountable boulder.
Suddenly from behind it,
Sprang a lone Kist with a sabre,
Astounding the army of Kists,
By repulsing the enemy force.
Some thought it a mirage,
They called out, in disbelief,

‘Who is attacking the Khevsurs?
Is it one of us? Who is he?’
‘It looks like Jokhala,
Yes it’s him indeed!’
One shouted, others agreed,
They all stared, dumbfounded.
At his disdain for the enemy force,
Though they brandish swords and daggers.
Then the enemy killed him,
Pierced his chest with their sabre tips.
At that the Kists too rejoiced:
‘Let them kill him, he deserves to die!
Even now he treats us like fools,
As he has spurned us before,
Daring to set himself over all the rest,
And cover us in shame.
He met the enemy army alone,
And won over us by chance.’
The Khevsurs slaughtered Jokhala
On the rocky summit, on the heights.
They attacked the Kists,
Scattered over the slope.
A whirl of daggers and sabres,
Struck them in their chests;
The ringing and clatter of shield and sword
Rose to God above.
The Kist army fled,
They went scurrying towards their towers,
The Khevsurs chasing after,
Their helms glittering;
They gathered from the graveyard
The bones of Zviadauri:
Scattered some here, some there,
Torn apart by carrion birds.
They put the bones in their saddle-bags,
And headed for home,
Their hearts’ desire achieved,
The vengeance they had sworn.
They gathered the sheep and cattle,
Drove them over the mountains;

They took revenge on their foes,
Answering every desire!
His bones they carried with them,
Home from that foreign soil,
The Hope of Pshav-Khevsureti,
Their Fortress, their Iron Door.
His brothers will cry for him,
For the dead, according to custom,
They’ll inter his bones to lie
Beside his ancestors:
The tears that ran down his chest,
Have exacted the highest price!

XIII
‘Mourner of a stranger,
Khevsurs slew your husband.
Go mourn him, Aghaza,
Bury him in his grave.
The raven croaks at his head,
The wind sifts through his beard,
(Aghaza) ‘May your enemies know
The bitterness of my bitter existence!
Nobody comes near me,
Nobody cares about me.
I buried him on top of the cliff,
And I dug his grave myself.
All turn their backs on me,
All stand aside.
They even shut the graveyard,
Where I might bury my dead.’
‘Jokhala betrayed us,
That is the place for him,
Where he fought alone,
Spreader of poison amongst us,
Destroyer of our health,
Traitorous, unrelenting.’
‘Fire is burning me, brothers, fire is burning me,
Flameless, unmoving;
It slays my heart, confuses my mind,
With unfathomable thoughts!’
So the wife mourned Jokhala,
Shedding endless tears,
A chamois, with neck bent gracefully,
Loose hair, face like the moon,
She was sewing herself, like a pearl button,
To her husband’s chest.

XIV
The night is dark, rain pours,
The ground is quivering.
God, take care of those in torment,
Help them, have mercy on them!
Good is good despite all,
Show love to the wretched one!
Take the prayers of the tormented
To your heart like roses!
If you can’t help, accept
The souls of those in pain!...
Enough of this threatening sky
Dissipate, you clouds!
The river thunders, angrily,
Bursting over the boulders,
It’s wrath unchanged today,
Not knowing why it laments.
It has no fear of torment,
It knows nothing of death.
It only knows one thing:
Shedding its tears, and howling,
Endlessly joyless,
Forever howling and crying…
The wind scours the ravines
Shouting from the mountain;
On the cliff, the woman, her hair unbound
Stands, gazing at the river.
She seems like a fading star,
In the gloom her trembling mouth.
Speaks not a word…
She quivers, she stares at the river;
Dreadful the noise it makes,
Dreadful the way it flows!
Snarling, severe,
The black torrent rages.
‘Do not drown yourself!’
If they would only call to her.
The woman shut her eyes,
Leapt swiftly into the depths.

‘Why live on, to what end?
Such were her last thoughts.
In Kisteti no one cares for me,
Not one thing, not even a pebble.
Both of us harmed the Kists,
They damned my husband…
I bear a greater sin,
I shed tears for a stranger.’
The water took Aghaza,
Drowned her in its silt and sand.

XV
On that cliff-top, where Jokhala
Was slain in the fight with the Khevsurs,
At night they see an image,
Carved on the hill, by an avalanche:
Jokhala stands high on the boulder,
Shouting towards the graveyard:
‘Zviadaur, my brother,
Why won’t you show your face?’
From the graveyard there comes
A ghost with sword and shield,
He has crossed his arms
Over his heart,
He’ll come and greet
His brother silently.
There Aghaza too will rise,
With a sad, mournful face.
A fire burns beside them,
Dimly smouldering on the mountain.
Aghaza plays host to her guests,
She roasts a ram over the flames.
They are drinking to courage,
To each others’ respect
For the rites of host and guest,
To comradeship, brotherhood, sisterhood.
When you see them together
You can’t have enough of gazing;
Yet something dark appears
Filling your sight,
Dense, black in colour,
As the words of the poet.
It shrouds it like an enchantment,
No weapon can pierce it,
No prayer can charm it away,
Nor any hand remove it.
Only the river’s noise is heard,
Raging downwards, roaring,
While beauty stares into its depths
Her neck bent, gracefully…

1893



Notes:

Vazha-Pshavela (July 26, 1861 – July 10, 1915) was the pen-name of the Georgian poet and writer Luka P. Razikashvili, a classic writer of the new Georgian school of literature. He was born in a small village Chargali (in Pshavi, a mountainous province in Eastern Georgia). He graduated from the Pedagogical Seminary in Gori and then spent two years studying in St. Petersburg. He returned to Georgia and worked as a teacher of the Georgian language (Kartuli). He is the author of numerous literary works (including the poems ‘Aluda Ketelauri’, ‘Bakhtrioni’, ‘Gogotur and Apshina’, ‘Host and Guest’, ‘Snake eater’, ‘Eteri’, and ‘Mindia’) He was a representative of the National-Liberation movement of Georgia. Vazha-Pshavela died in 1915, in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Host and Guest shows the ability of the ancient traditions of hospitality towards the stranger to overcome differences of race and religion. The Kist-Khevsur conflicts occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries. For further information on the fascinating historical background to the Georgian tribal areas, click the links to the Wikipedia articles on the Kist and Khevsur peoples.

1989
1. Decree # 343 issued by the Council of  Ministers of the Georgian SSR. 14 May 1989.
2. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of  the Abkhaz ASSR on substantive exacerbation of the inter ethnic relations in the Abkhaz ASSR on account of unlawful attempt to establish Sukhumi branch of Tbilisi State University. 15 July 1989.
3. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the USSR on events in the Abkhaz ASSR. 17 July 1989.
4. Decree issued by  the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia,  Presidium of the Supreme  Council of the Georgian SSR and the Council of Ministers of The Georgian SSR on the State Programme of the Georgian Language. 15 August 1989.
5. The State Programme of the Georgian Language.15 August 1989.
6. Decree issued by the South Ossetian Oblast Committeee of the Communist Party of Georgia and Ispolcom of the South Ossetian Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies on State Programme for Development of the Ossetian Language. 4 September 1989.
7. State programme for development of the Ossetian language. 4 September 1989.
8. Decesion of the 11th Session of the South Ossetian Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the 20thconvocation on the information of the first Deputy Chairman of the South Ossetian Oblispolcom Comr. Sanakoev M.G., the chairman of the working group on summarizing the amendments, changes, proposals and remarks to be included in the laws of the Georgian SSR, the Constitution of the Georgian SSR and the  law of the Georgian SSR on election of the People’s Deputies of the Georgian SSR and the People’s Deputies of the local councils of the Georgian SSR. 26 September 1989.
9. Decree issued by the Oblast Committee of Abkhazia, Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR and the Council of Ministers of the Abkhaz on the State Programme for Development of the Abkhaz language. 10 October 1989.
10. State programme on Development of the Abkhaz Language. 10 October 1989.
11. Decree # 515 issued by the Council of Ministers of The Georgian SSR on Joint Appeal of A. Gorky Abkhaz State University and the Sukhumi Branch of Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. 20 October 1989.
12. Decision  taken by the 12th Extraordinary Session of the South Ossetian Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the 20th convocation on raising the status of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. 10 November 1989.
13. Decision  taken by the 12th extraordinary Session of the South Ossetian Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the 20th convocation on changes to Paragraph 1 of the Decision of 11th Session of the South Ossetian Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the 20th convocation of 26 September 1989 “on State Programme for Development of the Ossetian language”. 10 November 1989.
14. Decree issued by  the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on the Decisions made at the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Council of People’s Deputies of the 20th convocation of the  Autonomous Oblast of the South Ossetia. 16 November 1989.
15. Law of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia on changes and amendments to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the Georgian SSR. 18 November 1989.
16. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on Conclusions of the Special Commission on Political and Legal Assessment of Violation of the Georgian Russian Treaty of 7 May 1920. 18 November 1989.
17. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on election of the Commission of the  Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR to study the issues relating to the Status of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. 18 November 1989.

1990
18. Decree issued at the13th extraordinary Session of the Supreme Council of the 11th Convocation of the  Georgian  SSR on Guarantees for Protection of State Sovereignty of Georgia.  9 March 1990.
19. Law of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics on the issues relating to the secession of the Union  Republic from the USSR. 3 April 1990.
20. Law of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics on the economic relations between the USSR, Union  and Autonomous Republics. 10 April 1990.
21. Law of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics on Separation of Authorities Between the USSR and  the Subjects to the Federation. 26 April 1990.
22. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on introduction of amendments to the decree  issued by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on March 9, 1990  “Guaranties for Protection of State Sovereignty of Georgia”. 20 June 1990.
23. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on Creation of Legal Mechanism Aimed at Restoration of Independence of Georgia. 20 June 1990.
24. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on Evaluation of a Number of the USSR Laws, Based on Article 77 of the Georgian SSR. 20 June 1990.
25. Decision issued by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on Creation of Special Commission on Study the Issues in the Abkhaz ASSR. 26 July 1990.
26. Decision  taken by the 13th  Session of the South Ossetian Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the 20th convocation on the information of the commission on study of conduct of soviet, law-enforcement agencies and state officials during the difficult public and political situation in the South Ossetian  Autonomous Oblast in 1989-1990. 10 August 1990.
27. Decision of the Ispolcom of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast on
      Establishment of the Commission on study and elaboration of proposals to respond the statements and Complaints of the citizens demanding resettlement from other cities and regions to the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast and, also on the problems of refugees. 23 August 1990.
28. Declaration adopted at the Meeting of All-Level Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on the issues discussed at the 10th Session of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR. 23 August 1990.
29. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Legal Guarantees of Protection of the Statehood of Abkhazia. 25 August 1990.
30. Declaration of the State Sovereignty of the Abkhaz Soviet Socialist Republic. 25 August 1990.
31. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on the Decision Taken by  the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on 25 August 1990. 26 August 1990.
32. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on the 10th Session of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR of the 11th Convocation. 31 August 1990.
33. Decision taken by the 14th Session of the Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian  Autonomous Oblast of the 20th Convocation on reorganization of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast  into the Soviet Democratic Republic of South Ossetia. 20 September 1990.
34. Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Soviet Democratic Republic of South Ossetia. 20 September 1990.
35. Decision taken by the 14th Session of the Oblast Council  of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast of the 20th Convocation   on the laws valid in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. 20 September 1990.
36. Extract from the Decision of the 14th Session of the Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast of the 20th Convocation on Moratorium of Purchasing and Selling the Houses  and on “propiska” Procedures on the Territory of the Oblast. 20 September 1990.
37. Decision taken by the 14th Session of the Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast of the 20th Convocation on Declaration the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast as a Free Zone of Economy. 20 September 1990.
38. Decision taken by the 14th Session of the Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian  Autonomous Oblast of the 20th Convocation on performance of military service in the Soviet Army by the conscripts from the South Ossetia. 20 September 1990.
39. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on Decision Taken on 20 September 1990 by the Oblast Council of the Peoples’ Deputies of the Autonomous Oblast of the
      South Ossetia. 21 September 1990.
40. Decree issued by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on Consultations and Drafting of the Concept
of the new Union Treaty. 1 October 1990
41. Decision taken by the 15th (1) Session of the Council of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic concerning the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR of 21 September 1990. 16 October 1990.
42. Decision taken by the 15th (1) Session of the Council of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic on the Law of the USSR “on Property in the USSR”. 16 October 1990.
43. Decision taken by the 15th Session of the Council of the Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic on the attitude towards the election of Deputies to the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR. 16 October 1990.
44. Decision taken by the 15th Session of the Council of the Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies of the  South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic on the letter of 9th session of the South Ossetian Oblast Council of 6 May 1989 regarding the condemnation of the authors of “The Letter to Abkhaz Friends”.  16 October 1990.
45. Decree issued by the the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR on the Decision to change the status of the Oblast taken by the Oblast Council of the Peoples’ Deputies of the Autonomous Oblast of the South Ossetia. 22 November 1990.
46. Decision taken by the 16th Session of the Council   of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic to Rename the South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic as the South Ossetian Soviet Republic. 28 November 1990.
47. Decision taken by the 16th (2) Session of the Council   of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic on the status of the South Ossetian Soviet Republic. 28 November 1990.
48. Decision taken by the 16th (2) Session of the Council   of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian  Soviet Democratic Republic on changes of the title of the Interim Executive Council of the People’s  Deputies of the South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic. 28 November 1990.
49. Decision taken by the 16th (2) Session of the Council of the People’s Deputies of the South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic on the attitude towards the Resolution issued on 22 November 1990 by the Newly elected Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia “On Decision of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast on changing the status of the Oblast”. 28 November 1990.
50. Law of the Abkhaz ASSR on changes and amendments to the Constitution (Basic Law) of the Abkhaz ASSR. 4 December 1990.
51. Law of the Republic of Georgia on Abolition of the Autonomous Oblast of the South Ossetia.  11 December 1990.
52. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on Introduction of  State of Emergency on the territory of town of Tskhinvali and the Java District. 12  December 1990.
53. Decision taken by the first Session of the Supreme Council of the South Ossetian Soviet Republic on validity of the Constitution (Organic Law) on the territory of the South Ossetia. 13 December 1990.
54. Resolution issued by the Congress of the People’s Deputies of the USSR on general concept of the new Union Treaty and procedures of its conclusion. 25 December 1990.

1991
55. Decree issued by the President of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics on Certain Legal Acts Adopted in 1990 by the Republic of Georgia. 7 January 1991.
56. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of Georgia on the Decree issued by the President of the USSR on 7 January 1991. 9 January 1991.
57. Resolution of the Joint Session of the Supreme Council of the North Ossetian Soviet Socialist Republic and Vladikavkaz City Council of the People’s Deputies. 10 January 1991.
58 Decree issued by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on organization and measures for holding the Referendum of the USSR on the issue of preserving the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 16 January 199.
59. Decree issued by  the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR on Information of the Group of People’s Deputies Visiting the Georgian SSR and the South Ossetia. 22 January 1991.
60. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the republic of Georgia on Conscription of Draftees for the  Service in the Interior Troops-National Guard in 1991. 29 January 1991.
61. Law of the Republic of Georgia on the Local self-government in the Transitional Period. 29 January 1991.
62. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Certain Laws and  Decrees, issued on 29 January 1991 by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR. 7 February 1991.
63. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the RSFSR on Immediate assistance to the population of the North Ossetia in connection with the events in the Autonomous Oblast of South Ossetia. 8 February 1991.
64. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on dismissal of  R. Z. Shonia from the post of Chairman of Executive Committee of the People’s Deputies Regional Council of Gali District. 11 February 1991.
65. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on appointment of E. K. Janjulia on the Post of Prefect of the Gali District. 11 February 1991.
66. Decree issued by  the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme council of the Republic of Georgia of 11 February 1991 concerning the dismissal of the Chairman of the Ispolcom of the Council of People’s Deputies of the Gali District. 13 February 1991.
67. Decision issued by the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR on Results of Visit of the People’s Deputies in Georgia due to the Events in the South Ossetia. 14 February 1991.
68. Decree issued by Supreme Council of the USSR on Situation in the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast And the Measures for Stabilization of the Situation in the Region. 20 February 1991.
69. Resolution of the first Session of the South Ossetian Council of People’s Deputies of the first convocation on Preparation for and Holding of Referendum of the USSR on 17 March 1991. 26 February 1991.
70. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on Elections to the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR. 27 February 1991.
71. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on Decree “Organization and holding the Referendum on Preservation of the USSR” issued by the Supreme Council of the USSR. 28 February 1991.
72. Resolution on interpretation of section five, of paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the law of the Republic of Georgia ‘on the Local Self-governance in the Period of Transition’ issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia. 27 February 1991.
73. Statement of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia. 27 February, 1991  
74. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on prolongation the term of authority to the deputies of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR. 28 February 1991.
75. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on holding All Union referendum in the Abkhaz ASSR. 28 February 1991.
76. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on enactment of the law of the Abkhaz
      ASSR “On the Central Bank of the Abkhaz ASSR” and “The Law of the Abkhaz ASSR on the Banks and
      Banking Activity in the Abkhaz ASSR”. 28 February 1991.
77. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the USSR on the results of the referendum of the USSR of
      17 March 1991.  21 March 1991.
78. Information of the Central State Commission of the Abkhaz ASSR on holding the referendum of the
      USSR and the information of the District Commission on election of the deputy of the USSR at the 669
      Sukhumi territorial electoral district. 22 March 1991.
79. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on the Fact of
      holding the USSR Referendum on the Territory of the Republic of Georgia and on Election of a Deputy
      To the Peoples’ Deputies of the USSR in the # 669 Sukhumi constituency. 22 March 1991.
80. Decision of the Joint Meeting of the All-Level People’s Deputies of the South Ossetia and Public
      representatives on setting up of the Committee on stabilization of the situation in the South Ossetia
      23 March 1991.
81. Protocol of the negotiation between the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR and the
      Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia. 23 March 1991.
82. Resolution issued by the congress of the People’s Deputies of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist
      Republic  on the Situation in the South Ossetia. 31 March 1991.
83. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the USSR on the situation in the South Ossetian Autonomous
      Oblast. 1 April 1991.
84. The Act of Restoration of Statehood Independence of Georgia, adopted at the extraordinary session of the Supreme Council of Georgia. 9 April 1991
85. Decree issued by the President of the Republic of Georgia on Nation wide National and Civil
      Disobedience. 15 April 1991.
86. Decree issued by the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Council of the USSR on proposals aimed at
      normalization of the situation in the South Ossetia and its neighbouring area. 24 April 1991.
87. The Law of Georiga on Abolishing Tskhinvali and Khornisi Districts (rayons). 27 April 1991
88. Decree   of the Supreme Council of the Republic Of Georgia on Separation from Java District the Village Councils of Sinaguri, Kirov and Chasavali. 27 April 1991
89. Decision of the Meeting of Deputies of the Oblast, City, District, Settlement and Village Councils of the
      South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast on implementation of the Decree of the President of the USSR of
      7 January 1991 and the Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the USSR of 1 April 1991. 4 May 1991.
90. Decree issued by  the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on decree issued on 4
      May 1991 by the Oblast Council of People’s Deputies of the former Autonomous Oblast of South       Ossetia. 7 May 1991.
91. Decree issued by of the Supreme Council of the USSR on decision of the Meeting of Deputies of the
      Oblast, City, District, Settlement and Village Councils of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast on
      “Implementation of the Decree of the President of the USSR of 7 January 1991 and the Decree issued by
      the Supreme Council of the USSR of 1 April 1991”. 12 May 1991.
92. Statement of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia. 14 May 1991
93. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR on the work of the interstate
      Commission on normalization of the situation in the South Ossetia and its neighbouring area. 25 June
     1991.
94. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on the law of Georgia on
      “Creation of the Interior Troops - the National Guard of the Republic of Georgia”. 2 July 1991.
95. Decree # 288 issued by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Georgia. 5 July 1991.
96. Law of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on Changes and Amendments to the
      Constitution (Organic Law) of the Abkhaz ASSR. 9 July 1991.
97. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Establishment of the
      Central Electoral Commission on election of the Deputies to the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR.
      20 July 1991.
98. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on Establishment of Interim Organs of
      Governance and Fixing the Date of Elections to Sakrebulos  on the Territory of the Former Tskhinvali
      District. 25 July 1991.
99. Law of the Republic of Georgia  on Changes and Amendments to the Constitution. 25 July 1991..........
100. Decree # 342 issued by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Georgia on Regulation of Enrolment
      in Pre-School Establishment and First Classes of Secondary Schools. 31 July 1991.
101. Decree issued by  the President of the Republic of Georgia  on Stay of Execution of Law of the Abkhaz
      ASSR Adopted on 9 July 1991 on Introduction of Amendments to Paragraph 14 of Article 92 and Article
      156 of the Constitution of the Abkhaz ASSR. 5 August 1991.
102. Decree issued by  the President of the Republic of Georgia  on Stay of Execution of the decree issued on  
      20 July 1991 by the Presidium of Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR. 5 August 1991.
103. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on Activities Carried Out during the
      events of 19-21 of August by the Bureau of the Central Committee of Communist Party (CP) of Georgia,
      the Republican Committee of CP of Abkhazia, the Oblast Committee of CP of the former South Ossetia
      and the self-imposed Executive Committee of the Council of People’s Deputies of so called South
      Ossetia. 26 August 1991.
104. Law of the Abkhaz ASSR on amendments to the Constitution (Organic Law) of the Abkhaz  ASSR.
     27 August 1991.
105. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on implementation of the law of the Abkhaz
      ASSR of 27 August 1991 “on amendments to the Constitution (Organic Law) of the Abkhaz ASSR”.
      7 August 1991.
106. Law of the Abkhaz ASSR on changes to the law of the Abkhaz ASSR “on Public Referendum in the
      Abkhaz ASSR”. 27 August 1991.
107. Law of the Abkhaz ASSR on changes to the law of the Abkhaz ASSR “on election of the Deputies to the
      Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR”. 27 August 1991.
108. Temporary Law of the Abkhaz ASSR on Rules of Election and Appointment of Officials by the
        Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR. 27 August 1991.
109. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Bringing into Effect the Temporary Law
        of the Abkhaz ASSR on “Rules of Election and Appointment of Officials by the Supreme Council of the
        Abkhaz ASSR”. 27 August 1991.
110. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on termination of activity of the Abkhaz
        Republican Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. 27 August 1991.
111. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on the Law of the Republic of Georgia
        “On Introduction of Changes and Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Georgia”.
   27 August 1991.
112. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Decree Issued by the President of the
        Republic of Georgia on “Suspension of the Law of Abkhazian ASSR of 9 July 1991 on Introduction of
        Amendments and Changes to Paragraph 14 of Article 92 and Article 156 of the Constitution of the
        Abkhaz ASSR”. 27 August 1991.
113. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on the laws of the
        Republic of Georgia “on Monetary Regulation in the Republic of Georgia”,  “on the National Bank of
        the Republic of Georgia” and “on the Banks and Banking Activity”. 30 August 1991.
114. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Certain Acts Issued by
        the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Georgia. 27 September 1991.
115. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on securing the economic
        basis for the sovereignty of Abkhazia. 27  September 1991.
116. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Creation of the State
        Customs Service of the Republic of Abkhazia. 27  September 1991.
117. Decree issued by the President of the Republic of  Georgia on Suspension of Effect of the Decree issued
        on 27 September 1991 by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR “on Creation of
        the State Customs Service of the Republic of Abkhazia”. 8 October 1991.
118. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on the Decree issued on
        27 September 1991 by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR “on Creation of the
        state Customs Service of the Republic of Abkhazia”. 8 October 1991.
119. Decree issued by the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR on Situation
        Established in the North Ossetian SSR. 16 October 1991.
120. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the North Ossetian SSR on Appeal of the Session of the South
        Ossetian Oblast Council of the People’s Deputies to the Supreme Council of the North Ossetian SSR.
        22 October 1991.
121. Decree issued by the President of the Republic of  Georgia on suspension of implementation of the
        Decree issued by the Supreme Council of Abkhazian ASSR on “Securing Economic Bases of
        Sovereignty of Abkhazia” and the Decree issued on 22 October 1991 by the Council of Ministers of the
        Abkhaz ASSR on “Subordination to Jurisdiction of the Abkhaz ASSR of all Enterprises and
        Organizations that have previously been under the Union and Republican Jurisdiction”. 24 October
        1991.
122. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the RSFSR on the Situation in the North Ossetian SSR.
        25 October 1991.
123. Resolution of the Congress of the People’s Deputies of the RSFSR  on the course of implementation of
        the Resolution of the 3rd Extraordinary Congress of the People’s Deputies of the RSFSR “on the
        situation in the South Ossetia”. 1 November 1991.
124. Statement of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia. 5 November 1991
125. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on Abolishment of the State of
        Emergency on the Territories of City of Tskhinvali and Java District. 25 November 1991.
126. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on the Current Situation of
        Mobilization Reserves and Conscription to the Active Military Service. 27 November 1991.
127. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Creation of the State
        Security Service of Abkhazia. 27 November 1991.
128. Decree issued by the President of the Republic of Georgia on Current Situation in Shida Kartli.
        2 December 1991.
129. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on Current Situation in Shida Kartli.
        3 December 1991.
130. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on Decree Issued on 26 November
        1991 by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR. 3 December 1991.
131. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of the RSFSR on the course of implementation of
        Decree issued by the 5th Extraordinary Congress of the People’s Deputies of the RSFSR “on the situation in the South Ossetia”. 12 December 1991.
132. Resolution on Denunciation of the Treaty on Establishing the USSR. 12 December 1991  
133. Alma-Ata Declaration. 21 December 1991
134. Declaration of the First Congress of the Ossetian People on Restoration of National-political and Territorial Integrity of Ossetia. 13-14 December 1991.
135. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia on Dislocation of the Military Units, Establishments of Border-guard and Internal Forces, and Navy Forces and on Changes of Order of Their Functioning on the Territory of Abkhazia. 29 December 1991.
136. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Establishment
under the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia the Interim Council on Coordination of the
 Activity and Re-subordination of the Military and Militia Units Dislocated on the Territory of Abkhazia.
  29 December 1991.

1992
137. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of South Ossetia on holding the public
        referendum of the Republic of South Ossetia. 3 January 1992.
138. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on measures for maintaining the public
        order and lawfulness in Abkhazia. 13 January 1992.
139. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia  on Additional
        Measures for Regulation the Public Order and Securing the Lawfulness in Abkhazia. 20 January 1992.
140. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Transferring of the agencies of
        Procuracy and the Ministry of Interior under the Jurisdiction of Abkhazia. 24 January 1992.
141. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Re-subordination of the
        Environment Procuracy and the Transport Procuracy under the Procuracy of the Abkhaz ASSR.
        24 January 1992.
142. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia  on Endorsement
        of the Provisions of the Interim Council on Coordination of Activities and Re-subordination of Military
        and Police Forces Attached to the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia. 13 February 1992.
143. Regulations of the Interim Council on Coordination of Activities and Re-subordination of Military and
        Police Forces Attached to the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia. 13 February 1992.
144. Declaration of the Military Council of the Republic of Georgia. 21 February 1992.
145. Decree issued by the Military Council of the Republic of Georgia on Action of Legislation in the
        Republic of Georgia. 24 February 1992.
146. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Re
        subordination of the Military Commissariats of Abkhazia. 25 February 1992.
147. Law of  Abkhazia on amendments to the law “on Legal Regime of the State of Emergency in the
        Abkhaz ASSR”. 26 February 1992.
148. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Additional Measures for
        Regulation the Public Order and Securing the Lawfulness in Abkhazia. 26 February 1992.
149. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of Abkhazia on Announcement the Special Regime of Conduct
        of the citizens on the Territory of Abkhazia. 26 February 1992.
150. Law of Abkhazia on Subordination of Certain State Management Organs. 5 March 1992.
151. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Creation under the Chairman of
        the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia of the Interim Council on Coordination of activity of
       military units dislocated on the territory of Abkhazia. 6 March 1992.
152. Decree # 291 issued by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Georgia on the Decree #255  on
        ”Transfer of Some Enterprises and Organizations under the Jurisdiction of the Ministry of Trade of the
        Abkhaz ASSR” issued by the Council of Ministers of the Abkhaz ASSR on 26 November  1991.
        10 March 1992.
153. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Procedures of
        Appointment of the Leading Personnel within the System of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of
        Abkhazia. 17 March 1992.
154. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Endorsement of
        the Military Oath. 17 March 1992.
155. Oath of Allegiance. 17 March 1992.
156. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Temporary
        Procedure of “propiska” of the Citizens on the Territory of the Republic of Abkhazia. 24 March 1992.
157. Decree issued by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Abkhazia on Taking under Jurisdiction
        and State Management of the Republic of Abkhazia the Enterprises, Organizations and Agencies of the
        Union and Union-republic Subordination Located on the Territory of Abkhazia. 24 March 1992.
158. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Recruitment
        into the Active Military Service and Measures for Observance the law “On General Obligatory Military
         Service”. 31 March 1992.
159. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia  on changes to the Decree by the
        Supreme Council of Abkhazia “On Introduction of Special Regime of Conduct of the Citizens on the
        10 April 1992.
160. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Adding to the
        list of the Decree by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia “On Securing
        the Economic Basis of the Sovereignty of Abkhazia”. 28 April 1992.
161. Decree issued by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Abkhaz ASSR on Conscription in April
        June of 1992 to the active military service the Citizens born in 1965-1974. 30 April 1992.
162. Decree issued by the State Council of the Republic of Georgia on Solution of the Complex Problems
        Related to Formation and Functioning of Border Zone of the Republic of Georgia. 7 May 1992.
163. Decree issued by the State Council of the Republic of Georgia on the Decree # 46 issued on 24 March
        1992 by the Council of Ministers of the Abkhaz ASSR on “Transfer Under the Jurisdiction of the
        Republic of Abkhazia the Enterprises, Agencies and Organizations of the Union and Union-Republic
        Subordination Located on the Territory of Abkhazia”.19  May 1992.
164. Resolution issued by the Extraordinary Session of the Supreme Council of the North Ossetian SSR.
        21 May 1992.
165. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia  on Permission to
        Change the Last Name and Biographical Particulars on National Affiliation upon Request of Citizens.
        26 May 1992.
166. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on Entering on the Agenda of the Forth
        Session of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation the issue “on the Situation in the North and
        South Ossetia”. 28  May 1992.
167. Declaration of Independence of the Republic of South Ossetia. 29 May 1992.
168. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Decree issued by the State
        council of Georgia “on Regulation of Problems on Formation and Operation of the Border zone of the
        Republic of Georgia”. 3 June 1992.
169. Decision taken by the Joint Session of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the North Ossetian SSR
        and the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the South Ossetia. 8 June 1992.
170. Protocol of the Meeting between the Cheirmen of the State Council of the Republic of Georgia E. A.
        Shevardnadze and the Cheirman of the Supreme Council of the North Ossetian SSR A. Kh. Galasov.
        10 June 1992.
171. Agreement on Principles of Settement of Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 24 June 1992.
172. Decree issued by the Presidium of the State Council of the Republic of Georgia on the Current Situation
        in Abkhazia. (2 July 1992.).
173. Protocol of the Meeting of representatives of the Parties on the Implementation of the Agreement on
        Principles of Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 4 July 1992.
174. Protocol #1 of the Session of the Joint Control Commission (JCC). 4 July 1992.
175. Decision #1 of the Session of  Joint Control Commission (JCC). 4 July  1992
176. Decision #2 of the Session of Joint Control Commission (JCC) on Establishment of Joint Group of Observers. 4 July  1992
177. Decision #3 of the Session of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) on Establishment of Multilateral Press Centers. 4 July 1992
178. Protocol #2 of the Meeting of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the   Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement, 6 July 1992
179. Annex 1 To Protocol #2 of the JCC Session. DECISION On establishment of the headquarters
(staff) of joint forces for keeping law and order in the zone of conflict and approving of the
composition of subdivisions for active service and securing the rear. 6 July 1992
180. Annex 2 To Protocol #2 of the JCC Session Decision of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. 6 July 1992
181. Protocol #3 of the Meeting of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. 12July 1992.
182. Annex 1 To Protocol #3 of the  JCC Session. Provision On Joint Peacekeeping Forces (JPKF) and Law and Order Keeping Forces (LOKF) in the Zone of Conflict. 12July 1992
183. Decree # 753 issued by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Georgia on Abrogation of Decrees of
        the government of Georgia related to Allocation of lands for Airdromes located in the village of Nikozi
        and for the Infantry Regiment Located in Tskhinvali. 23 July 1992.
184. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on changes to the Regulations of
        the Supreme Council of Abkhazia of the 12th convocation. 23 July 1992.
185. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Secession of the Legal Effect of
        the Constitution of the Abkhaz ASSR of 1978. 23 July 1992.
186. Constitution of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia of 1 April 1925.
187. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia  on changing the name of the Soviet
        Socialist Republic of Abkhazia. 23 July 1992.
188. Law of the Republic of Abkhazia on new symbolics of the Republic of Abkhazia. 23 July 1992.
189. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia  on draft-agreement between the
       Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of Georgia. 23 July 1992.
190. Law of the Republic of Abkhazia on Transit Duties. 23 July 1992.
191. Decree issued by the State Council of the Republic of Georgia on decree issued on 23 July 1992 by the
       Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on “Cessation of Legal Effect of the Constitution of the Abkhaz
        ASSR of 1978”. 25 July 1992.
192. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Further Work of Faction of Deputies
        “Democratic Abkhazia” of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR. 29 July 1992.
193. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on Political-Legal Assesment of the Decree
        issued by the First Session of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz ASSR on “Cessation of the Legal
        Effect of the 1978 Constitution of the Abkhaz ASSR and Restoration of the 1925 Constitution of the
        Abkhaz SSR”. 29 July 1992.
194. Decision of the Session of the Joint Control Commission (JCC). 3 August 1992.
195. Decree issued by the Government of the Republic of Georgia # 814 on Suspension of the Decree issued
        by the Council of Ministers of the Abkhaz ASSR on 21 February 1992. 7 August 1992.
196. Decree issued by the Presidium of the State Council of the Republic of Georgia on Introduction of the
        State of Emergency on the Railway Transport. 10 August 1992.
197. Decree issued by  the State Council of the Republic of Georgia  on Decree Issued on 10 August 1992 by
        the Presidium of the State Council of the Republic of Georgia on “ Introduction of the State of
        Emergency on the Railway Transport”. 11 August 1992.
198. Decree issued by  the Presidium of  the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia on Mobilization
        of Adult Citizens and Distribution of arms to the regiment of the internal troops of Abkhazia. 14 August
        1992.
199. Extract from the Resolution  of the Extraordinary Session of the Supreme Council of the Republic of
         Kabardino-Balkaria. 17 August 1992.
200. Protocol  of consultations on the regulation of the conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia. 29 August
        1992.
201. Memorandum On Boarders of South Ossetia. 31 August 1992
202. Final Document of the Moscow meeting. 3 September 1992.
203. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia. 16 September 1992.
204. Decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Abkhazi. 16 September 1992.
205. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on the Situation in the North Caucasus
        in the Light of Events in Abkhazia. 25 September 1992.
206. Decree # 965 issued by the Government of the Republic of Georgia on Transferring the Sanatoriums, Recreation Houses and Summer Cottages under former Soviet and Soviet-Republican  Subordination to the State Chancellery of the Government of the Republic of Georgia. 30 September 1992.
207. 184. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on  the issue of Abkhazia. 26 November 1992.
208. Decree on restoration of certain original place-names of residential settlements of the Republic of Abkhazia, issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia. 4 December 1992.
209. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on Implementation of the Decree
        issued by the Supreme Council of Russian Federation “on Situation in the North Caucasus in the Light
        of Events in Abkhazia” of 25 September 1992. 25 December 1992.

1993
210. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the North Ossetian SSR On Appeal  of the Supreme Council of the Republic of South Ossetia to the People’s Deputies of the North Ossetia. 13 January 1993.
211. Communique on the Results of Working Visit of the Chairman of the Council of Nationalities of the
        Supreme Council of the Russian Federation Abdulatipov R. G. and the Deputy Chairman of the
        Government of the Russian Federation Shakhrai S. M. in the Republic of Georgia. 18 February 1993.
212. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on the Presence of Russian Military Units on the Territory
        of Abkhazia. 25  February 1993.
213. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on Communique “Results of Working Visit of Chairman of
        the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation Abdulatipov R. G. and
        the Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Shakhrai S. M. in the Republic of
        Georgia” signed on 18 February 1993. 4 March 1993.
214. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the North Ossetian SSR on Recognition of the Republic of
        South Ossetia. 6 March 1993.
215. Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on Decree of the Supreme Council of
        the North Ossetian SSR “on Recognition of the Republic of South Ossetia”. 22 March 1993.
216. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on Necessary Measures to be Taken to Protect Life and
        Ensure Security of Peaceful Population in the Armed Conflict Zone. 1 April 1993.
217 Protocol of Negotiations between the Governmental Delegations of the Republic of Georgia and the
        Russian Federation. 9 April 1993.
218. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on withdrawal of Russian Military Units from the Conflict
        Zone in Abkhazia. 27 April 1993.
219. Decree issued by the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on
        implementation of the Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation “on the situation
        in the North Caucasus in connection with the events in Abkhazia” of 25 September 1992 and “on
        implementation of the Decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation “on the situation
        in the North Caucasus in connection with the events in Abkhazia of 25 September 1992” of 25
        December 1992. 30 April 1993.
220. Communique on Russian-Abkhaz Consultations. 6 May 1993.
221. Resolution adopted by the Second Congress of the Ossetian People. 21-22 May 1993.
222. Resolution 849 (9 July 1993) adopted by the Un Security Council.
223. Agreement on ceace-fire and the mechanisms of  its implementation in Abkhazia. 27 July 1993.
224. Decree issued by the Council of Ministers-the Government of the Russian Federation on urgent
        measures on Implementation of the Agreement on Cease-fire in Abkhazia and the Mechanisms of the
        control over its implementation of  27 July 1993. 5 August 1993.
225. Resolution 854 (6 August 1993) adopted by the UN Security Council.
226. Resolution 858 (24 August 1993) adopted by the UN Security Council.
227. Decree issued by the Council of Ministers-the Government of the Russian Federation on Further
        Measures for Regulation of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. 13 September 1993.
228. Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of
        Georgia on Restoration of Economy in the Zone of Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 14 September 1993.
229.  Resolution 876 (19 October 1993) adopted by the UN Security Council.
230. Resolution 881 (4 November 1993) adopted by the UN Security Council.
231. Memorandum of Understanding Between the Georgian and the Abkhaz Sides at the negotiations in
        Geneva. 1 December 1993.
232. Resolution 892 (22 December 1993) adopted by the UN Security Council.


1994
233. Communique on the second round of negotiations between the Georgian and Abkhaz Sides in Geneva.
        13 January 1994.
234. Resolution 896 (31 January  1994) adopted by the UN Security Council.
235. Resolution 901 (4 March 1994) adopted by the UN Security Council.
236. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia  on Legislative Practice of Apartheid and Racism in the
        Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. 10 March 1994.
237. Resolution 906 (25 March  1994) adopted by the UN Security Council.
238. Quadripartite Agreement on voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons. 4 April 1994.
239. Declaration on measures for a political settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. 4 April 1994.
240. Declaration on the results of the First Meeting of the Quadripartite Commission on the issues of
        voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons. 9 April 1994.
241. Declaration on observing sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of  borders of the CIS
        member-states. 15 April 1994.
242. Declaration of the Participants of the Second Meeting of the Quadripartite commission on the issues of
        voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons. 27 April 1994.
243. Annex to the Report of the UN Secretary General on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia; Proposals for
        political and legal elements for a comprehensive settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. 3 May
        1994.
244. Protocol For The Establishment of a Coordinating Commission.  11 May 1994.
245. Agreement on a Cease-fire And Separation of  Forces. 14 May 1994.
246. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 24 May 1994.  
247. Joint Statement. 14 June 1994.
248. Resolution 934 (3 June 1994) adopted by the UN Security Council.
249. Protocol of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Georgia and the Government of
        the Russian Federation To the Agreement between thr Government of the Republic of Georgia and the
       Government of the Russian Federation on Economic Restoration of the Regions Located in the Zone of
        Georgian-Ossetian Conflict, Signed on 14 September 1993. 5 July 1994.
250. Resolution 934 (21 July 1994) adopted by the UN Security Council.
251. UNOMIG Mandate, adopted by the Security council Resolution 937 (21 July 1994).
252. Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation Between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of
        Tatarstan. 17 August 1994.
253. Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation Between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of
        Bashkortostan.  18 August 1994.
254. Decision issued of the Council of the CIS Heads of States on usage of Collective Forces to maintain
        peace in the conflict zone of Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. 22 August 1994.
255. Statement on Voluntary Return of Refugees - Internally Displaced Persons. 2 September 1994.
256. Decree on restoration of certain original names of residential settlements of the Republic of
Abkhazia, issued by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia. 9 September 1994.
257. Statement of the parliament of Georgia. 12 October 1994.
258. Decision of the Council of the CIS Heads of States on approval of the Mandate on Peace-keeping
        Operation in the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict Zone. 21 october 1994.
259. Annex to the  Decision of the Council of the CIS Heads of States on approval of the Mandate on Peace
        keeping Operation in the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict Zone of 21 0ctober 1994.
260. Agreement on Further Development of the Process of Peaceful Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian
        Conflict and the Mixed Controlling Commission. 31 October 1994.
261. Regulation on the Joint Control Commission for the Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict
31 October 1994.
262. From the Constitution of the Republic of North Ossetia. 12 November 1994.
263. Statement on the issue of refugees and displaced persons. 18 November 1994.
264. Constitution of the Republic of Abkhazia. 26 November 1994.
265. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 1 December 1994.
266. From the Resolution of the OSCE Budapest Summit. 6  Desember 1994.
267. Protocol 3 of the Meeting of the Joint Control Commission for the Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict 6 December 1994
268. Decision of the Joint Control Commission for the settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict On economic rehabilitation in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 6 December 1994.
269. Decision of the Joint Control Commission for the settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict On measures for the resolution of the problem of refugees from internal districts of the Republic of Georgia who are now residing on territory of the Republic of North Ossetia. 6 December 1994.
270. Decision of the Joint Control Commission for the settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict On the Forces for the Support of Peace.  6 December 1994.
271. Decision of the Joint Control Commission for the settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 6 December 1994.
272. Annex # 1 to JCC  Decission.  Regulation Concerning the Basic principles of Operation of the Military Contingents and of the Groups of Military Observers Designated for the Normalization of the Situation In the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 6 December 1994.
273. Annex № 1 to the Regulation concerning the Basic Principles of Operation of the Military Contingents and of the Military Observers Designated for the Normalization of the Situation in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. Rights and Obligations of the Commander of the Joint Forces for the Maintenance of Peace in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 6 December 1994.
274. Decree issued by the Government of the Russian Federation on the measures of temporary restriction of
        crossing state borders between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic
        of Georgia. 19 December 1994.
275. Decree issued by the Government of the Russian Federation on lifting certain restrictions established by
        the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 19 December 1994 #1394 on the measures
       of temporary restriction of crossing state borders between the Russian Federation and the Republic of
       Azerbaijan and the Republic of Georgia. 27 December 1994.

1995
276. Resolution 971 (12 Januay 1995) adopted by the UN Security Council.
277. Memorandum by the Heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States on Maintaining the Peace and
        Stability in the Commonwealth of  Independent States. 10 February 1995.
278. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on Supreme Authority of the Autonomous Republic of
        Abkhazia. 24 February 1995.
279. Decree issued by the State Duma of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Humane Treatment
        of the Needs of the Population of Abkhazia. 24 February 1995.
280. Working Protocol of the Talks on the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict Settlement. 6 May 1995.
281. Resolution 993 (12 May 1995) adopted by the UN Security Council.
282. Agreement  on Friendship and Cooperation Between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of
        Kabardino-Balkharia. 19 May 1995.
283. Decree issued by the Government of the Russian Federation on Partial Changes in the Decree issued by
        the Government of the Russian Federation of 19 December 1994 #1394 “On temporary Restrictions of
        Crossing the Border of the Russian Federation with the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of
        Georgia”.  24 May 1995.
284. Decision issued by the Council of the Heads of States  of the Commonwealth of Independent States  on
        Specification to and Extension of the Mandate of the Collective Force on Maintaining the Peace in the
        conflict Zone in Abkhazia, Republic of Georgia. 26 May 1995.
285. Annex to the Decision adopted on 26 May 1995 by the  Council of the Heads of States  of the
       Commonwealth of Independent States on Specification to and Extension of the Mandate of the Collective
        Force on Maintaining the Peace in the Conflict Zone of Abkhazia. 26 May 1995.
286. Decision issued by the Council of the Heads of States  of the Commonwealth of Independent States on
        proposals on reconciled operations for the conflict settlement in Abkhazia, Georgia. 26 May 1995.
287. Annex 1 to the Decision  of he Council of the Heads of States  of the Commonwalth of Independent
        States of 26 May 1995 on Possible Political Measures for Regulation of the Conflict in Abkhazia,
        Georgia 26 May 1995.
288. Protocol # 4 of the meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 9 June 1995.
289. Annex 1 To protocol # 4 of the JCC session Decision On the Process of Construction and Rehabilitation Works in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict.. 9 June 1995
290. Annex 2 To Protocol # 4 of the JCC Session. Decision on Implementing Decision of the JCC on the JPKF. 9 June 1995.
291. Annex 3 To Protocol # 4 of the JCC Session. Decision On Developing Actions for Return of Refugees from North Ossetia – Alania to Internal regions of Georgia in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 9 June 1995.
292. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on Admitting Members of the Parliament of Georgia elected
        in Abkhazia to the membership of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia. 14 June 1995.
293. Decree issued by the Government of the Russian Federation on removal of certain restrictions of
        Russian-Georgian border crossing within the frontiers of Krasnodar Region established by the Decree of
        the Government of the Russian Federation of 19 December 1994 # 1394. 7 July 1995.
294. Decree issued by the State Duma of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation  on assistance to the
        population of Abkhazia. 14 July 1995.
295 Protocol #5 of the meeting of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 19-20 July 1995.
296. Annex 1 To Protocol # 5 of the JCC Session  Decision On the Process of Construction and Rehabilitation Works in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 19 July 1995.
297 Annex 2 To Protocol # 5 of the JCC Session Decision of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 19 July 1995.
298. Enclosure to Annex 2 of Protocol #5 of the JCC Session On Widening the Scope of Activities of Economic Workgroup of the JCC with regard to the Territories that were involved in the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 19 July 1995.
299. Annex 3 To Protocol #5 of the JCC Session Decision of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement On the Actions to be taken for Activating the Return of Refugees from North Ossetia –Alania to Internal Regions of Georgia. 19 July 1995.
300. Annex 4 To Protocol # 5 of the JCC Session Decision of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement On Implementing Decision of the JCC on the JPKF. 19 July 1995.
301. Annex 5 To Protocol # 5 of the JCC Session Statement Of Georgian and Russian Parties on Further Development of the Process of Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict. 19 July 1995.
302. Protocol on Georgian-Abkhaz conflict settlement (draft). 24 July 1995.
303. Constitution of Georgia. 24 August 1995.
304. Decree issued by the Government of the Russian Federation on partial changes to the Decree issued by
        the Government of the Russian Federation of 19 December 1994 # 1394 “on temporary measures of
        restriction of border crossing of the Russian Federation with the Republic of Azerbaijan and the
        Republic of Georgia”. 26 August 1995.
305. Law of the Republic of Georgia. 1 September 1995.
306. Protocol of the Meeting of Representatives of Georgia, South Ossetia, The Russian Federation and
        North Ossetia with Participation of the OSCE on Comprehensive Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian
        Conflict. 30 October 1995.
307. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on Acknowledgment of Mandates of Members of the
        Parliament. 25 November 1995.

1996
308. Resolution 1036 (12 January 1996) adopted by the UN Security Council.
309. Decision  taken by the Council of the Heads of States  of the Commonwealth of Independent States on
        Measures for Settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia. 19 January 1996.
310. Annex to the  Decision  taken  by the Council of the Heads of States  of the Commonwealth of
        Independent States on Approval of the Regulations of the Collective Peacekeeping Force in the
        Commonwealth of Independent States of 19 January 1996.
311. Resolution of the Council of the Interparliamentary Assambly of the Member States of the
        Commonwealth of independent States on the Statement of the Parliamentary Delegation of Georgia
        Regarding Peaceful Settlement of Conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia. 17 Febriary 1996.
312. Proposals of Georgia on the status of Abkhazia, Georgia. 5 March 1996.
313. Resolution adopted by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Legal Effect for the Russian Federation of the Results of the USSR Referendum of 17 March of
1991 on the issue of Keeping the USSR. 15 March 1996.
314. Resolution adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on strengthening the integration of the peoples united within the USSR and annulment of the Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of 12 December 1991 ‘on Denunciation of the Treaty of Establishing the USSR’.15 March 1996.
315. Resolution of  the Parliament of Georgia on measures of conflict settlement in Abkhazia. 17 April 1996.
316. Memorandum on Necessary Measures to be undertaken in order to Ensure Security and Strengthening of
        Mutual Trust Between the Parties to the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 16 May 1996..........................
317. Decision  taken by the Council of the Heads of States  of the Commonwealth of Independent States  on
        Presence of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces in the Conflict Zone of Abkhazia, Georgia. 17 May
       1996.
318. Resolution 1065 (12 July 1996) adopted by the UN Security Council.
319. Protocol # 6 meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. July 23-24, 1996.
320. Annex 1 To Protocol #6 of the JCC Session. Decision on Activities of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 23 July 1996.
321. Enclosure to Annex 1 of Protocol # 6 of the JCC Session. 23 July 1996.
322. Annex 2 To Protocol # 6 of the JCC Session. Decision on Providing the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict with Power. 23 July 1996.
323 Annex 3 To protocol # 6 of the JCC session. Decision on Providing the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict with Natural Gas. 23 July 1996./
324 Annex 4 to Protocol # 6 of the JCC Session. Decision on Construction and Rehabilitation Works in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 23 July 1996.
325. Statement on Results of the Meeting between E. A. Shevardnadze and L. A. Chibirov in Vladikavkaz.
        27 August 1996.
326. Protocol of  the Talks on the Regulation of Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict. 12 September 1996.
327. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia  on Implementation of the Decree Issued by the Parliament
        of Georgia on 17 April 1996 “On Measures for Conflict Settlement in Abkhazia”. 2 October 1996.
328. Resolution by the Parliament of Georgia on Measures for Settlement the Critical Situation evoked by the
        Unlawful Declaration to Schedule Elections Made by the Abkhaz Separatist Regime. 2 October 1996.
329. Decision  taken by the Council of the Heads of States  of the Commonwealth of Independent States on
        Extension of the term of presence and additions to the Mandate of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces in
        the conflict zone of Abkhazia, Georgia. 17 October 1996.
330. Resolution 1077 (22 October 1996) adopted by the UN Security Council.
331. Decree issued by the President of Georgia on Holding of Nation-Wide Plebiscite among Electors –
        Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees from Abkhazia. 31 October 1996.
332. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Government of the
        Republic of North Ossetia on social-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation. 9
        November 1996.
333. Resolution issued by the European Parliament. 12 November 1996.
334. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on the so-called Presidential Elections on the Part of
        Territory of the Tskhinvali Region Held on 10 November 1996. 26 November 1996.
335. The Central Electoral Commission of Georgia. Final Protocol on Results of Referendum among the
        Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees from the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. 28 November
        1996.
336. From the Lisbon Summit Declaration of the OSCE. 2-3 December 1996.
337. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on Expanding the Mandate of the Supreme Council of the
        Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. 25 December 1996.

1997
338. Resolution 993 adopted by the UN Security Council. 30 January 1997
339. Protocol # 7 of the meeting of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian Ossetian conflict settlement. 13February 1997.
340 Annex 2 To Protocol #7 of the JCC Session Decision on Return of Refugees and IDPs as a result of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict to the Places of their Permanent Residence. 13 February 1997.
341. Annex 3 to Protocol #7 of the JCC Session. Procedure OF voluntary return of refugees and idps as a result of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict to the places of their permanent residence. 13 February 1997
342. Annex 4 To Protocol #7 of the JCC Session Decision on the process of implementing the “agreement between the government of russia and georgia on economic rehabilitation of regions in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict” (1993, moscow). 13 February 1997.
343. Protocol of the Meeting devoted to the Issues of Comprehensive Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian
        Conflict. 5 March 1997.
344. Annex 2. Procedure of Activities of the Authorized Delegations on the Negotiations on Full-Scale Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 5 March 1997.
345. Joint Declaration on Further Measures aimed at Restoration of Economy and Developments in the
        course of Georgian-Ossetian Conflict.  5 March 1997.
246. Decree issued by the Government of Russian Federation on Removal of restrictions set out in the Decree
        issued by the Government of the Russian Federation on 19 December 1994 #1394 “On Measures for
        Temporary Restrictions of Border-Crossing Between the Russian Federation and the Republic of
        Azerbaijan and the Republic of Georgia”. 14 March 1997.
347. Decision  taken by the Council of the Heads of States  of the Commonwalth of Independent States on
        Implementation of the Measures for Conflict Settlement in Abkhazia, Georgia. 28 March 1997.
348. Decision  taken by the Council of the Heads of States  of the Commonwealth of Independent States on
        Support to the Peacekeeping Operations in the Conflict Zone of Abkhazia, Georgia. 28 March 1997.
349. Decree issued by the People’s Assembly-The Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia on the Decision
        Taken by the heads of States of the Commonwealth of independent states of 28 march 1997 “on Support
        the Peacekeeping Operations in the Conflict Zone of Abkhazia, Georgia”. 1 April 1997.
350. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Resolution 119 (1997) 1 on the conflicts in
        Transcaucasia. 22 April 1997.
351. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on Further Presence of Armed Forces of the Russian
        Federati­­on de­­ployed in the zone of Abkhaz Conflict under the Auspices of the Commonwealth of
        Independent States. 30 May 1997.
352. Resolution issued by the Council of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Member-States of the
        Commonwealth of independent States on Peaceful Regulation of the Conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia.
        8 June 1997.
353. Resolution on Extension of the Mandate of the Collective Peace-keeping Forces in the Conflict Zone of Abkhazia, Georgia, adopted by the state Duma of the Russian federation. 23 June 1997.
354. Decree issued by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation  on the statement of
        the state DUMA on the impermissibility of violating the universal principles and norms of International humanitarian law with regard to the impoverished population of Abkhazia. 24 June 1997.
355. Federal Assembly - Parliament of the Russian Federation Statement of the State Duma "On the impermissibility of violating universal principles and norms of international humanitarian law with regard to the impoverished population of Abkhazia". 24 June 1997.
356. Resolution on conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, adopted  by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. 8 July         1997.
357. Annex 1 to Protocol #7 of the JCC Session. Decision settlement On Activities of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 13 July 1997.
358. Resolution 1124 (31 July 1997) adopted by the UN Security Council.
359. Statement on the Meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz Sides. 14 August 1997.
360. Protocol # 8 of the meeting of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 26 September 1997.
361. Annex 1 To Protocol #8 of the JCC Session. Decision on Activities of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 26 September 1997.
362. Annex 2 To Protocol #8 of the JCC Session. Decision on the process of implementation of the Procedure on Voluntary Return of Refugees and IDPs to the Places of their Permanent Residence, and Approval of the draft procedure on ad hoc committee for supporting the voluntary return of refugees and IDPs to the places of their permanent residence. 26 September 1997
363. Annex 3 To Protocol #8 of the JCC Session .Decision on results of implementing the agreement concluded between the governments of Russia and Georgia on economic rehabilitation of the regions in the zone of conflict (1993, Moscow) and the proposals on new principles and forms of further liquidation of social and economic consequences of the conflict. 26 September 1997.
364. Resolution of the People’s Assembly - Parliament of Abkhazia on Deportation of Abkhazs (Abazs) in the 19th Century. 15 October 1997.
365. Resolution of the People’s Assembly-the Parliament of the republic of Abkhazia on condemnation of
        genocide, ethnic cleansing and other crimes committed by the military-political authorities of Georgia
        against the population of Abkhazia during the Georgian-Abkhazian war of 1992-1993. 15 October 1997.
366. Resolution of the People’s Assembly – the Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia. on Condemning the Genocide and other Repressive Measures against the Abkhaz People and representatives of other Nations residing in Abkhazia, resorted by the government of the Georgian Democratic Republic and the Soviet Georgia, and on Overcoming of their Aftermath. 15 October 1997.
367. Resolution of the People's Assembly Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia On condemnation of facts of high treason and collaboration with the occupational authorities during the Georgian-Abkhazian war of 1992-1993. 20 October 1997.
368. Decree issued by the Government of the Russian Federation on Importing of Citrus and Some Other
        Agricultural Products to the Russian Federation. 7 November 1997.
369. Statement on Results of the Meeting between E. A. Shevardnadze and L. A. Chibirov. 14 November
        1997.
370. Final Statement on the results of the resumed meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides held in
        Geneva from 17 to 19 November 1997.
371. Protocol of the First Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz sides.
        18 December 1997.
372. Statute (regulations) of the Coordinating Council. 18 December 1997.

1998
373. Protocol of the First Special Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz Sides.
   22 January 1998.
374. Record of the Second Session of  Working Group I, of the of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian
        and Abkhazian Parties  on issues related to the lasting non resumption of hostilities and to security
        problems. 22 Ja­­nuary 1998.
375. Resolution 1150 (30 January 1995) adopted by the UN Security Council.
376. Decision Taken by the Council of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Member-States  of  the
        Commo­n­­­­wealth of independent States  on the situation of conflict settlement in Abkhazia, Georgia.
        28 February 1998.
377. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 6 March 1998
378 Protocol of the third Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides.
        31 March 1998.
379. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 1 April 1998.
380. Decision Taken by the Council of the heads of States of the Commonwealth of independent States on       
        Additional Measures for the Conflict Settlement in Abkhazia, Georgia. 28 April 1998.
381. Protocol of the fourth (second special) Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz
        Sides. 22 May 1998.
382. Protocol on Cease-fire, Separation of Armed Formations and Guarantees on Inadmissibility of       Forcible Activities. 25 May 1998.
383. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 27 May 1998.
384. Statement on Results of Meeting Between E. Shevardnadze and L. Chibirov. 20 June 1998.
385. Decree issued by the State Duma of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Normalization of   
        Border and Customs Regimes along the Abkhaz Portion of the Border of the Russian Federation.
       24 June 1998.
386. Resolution of the European Parliament on the situation in Georgia. 17 July 1998.
387. Concluding Statement on the Results of the second Meetings of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides held in
        Geneva from  23 to 25 July 1998.
388. Resolution 1187 (30 July 1998) adopted by the UN Security Council.
389. Protocol of the fifth Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz sides.
        2 September 1998.
390. Protocol of  the Meeting of the Georgian and Abkhaz Sides on issues of stabilization of the situation
        on the line dividing the sides. 24 September 1998..
391. Athens Meeting of the Georgian and Abkhaz sides on Confidence-Building Measures. 18 October 1998.
392. Decree issued by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Measures to
        Assist with Energy Supply the Economy of the South Ossetia, Georgia. 11 November 1998.
393. Decision of the Oslo OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting  on Georgia. 1 December 1998.
394. Protocol of the sixth special Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides.
        18 December 1998.
395. Protocol on the Meeting of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides. 21 December 1998.

1999
396. Resolution 1225 adopted by the UN Security Council. 28 January 1999.
397. Protocol of the seventh Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides. 11 Fabruary 1999.
398. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 5 March 1999.
399. Protocol # 9 of the session of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 31 March  1999.
400. Annex 2 To Protocol # 9 of  the JCC Session. Decision On Rehabilitation of Economy in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 31 March  1999.
401. Decision taken by the Council of the heads of States of the Commonwealth of Independent States on   
        Further Steps towards the settlement of the Conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia. 2 April 1999.
402. Protocol of the eights  Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides.
        29 April 1999.
403. Statement  of the Parliament of Georgia. 11 May 1999.
404. Istanbul Statement of the Georgian and Abkhaz Sides on Confindence-Building Measures 7-9 June   
        1999.
405. Basic principles for determining the status of Abkhazia within the new State structure of Georgia. 23 July 1999.
406. Protocol # 10 of the session of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 23 July 1999.
407. Annex 1 To Protocol # 10 of  the JCC Session. Decision on the Activities of the JPKF. On Mutual Cooperation of Law Enforcement Organs of the Parties to the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 23 July 1999.
408. Annex 2 to Protocol # 10 of  the JCC Session. Decision of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement on Rehabilitation. 23 July 1999.
409  Annex 3 to the protocol # 10 of the JCC Session. Decision Concerning the Return of Refugees. 23 July 1999.
410 Annex 4 to Protocol # 10 of  the JCC Session. Decision On Participation of Representatives of the European Commission in the Works of the JCC in the Form of Observers During the Discussions about the Economic Issues. 23 July 1999.
411. Annex 5 to Protocol # 10 of the JCC Session. Decision on Indexation and Payment of Deposits to the Population of the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 23 July 1999.
412. Annex  to Protocol # 10 of the JCC Session. Decision on establishment of the workgroup on settlement the problem of land-utilization on contiguous territories in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 23 July 1999.
413. Annex 7 to Protocol # 10 of the JCC Session. Decision on cargo transportation  through itineraries between inhabited localities on the South Ossetian territory. 23 July 1999.
414. Resolution 1250 adopted by the UN Security Council. 30 July 1999.
415. Decree issued by the Government of the Russian Federation on declaring certain earlier Decrees of the
        Government of the Russian Federation no longer valid. 9 September 1999.
416. List of Decrees issued by the Government of the Russian Federation no longer Valid. 9 September 1999.
417. Act on the National Independence of the Republic of Abkhazia. 12 October 1999.
418. Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and Georgia. 17 November 1999.
419. From the Declaration of the OSCE Istanbul Summit. 17-18 November 1999.
420. Decree issued by the Parliament of Georgia on Recognition of the Mandate of the Members of the
        Parliament of Georgia. 20 November 1999.
421. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 24 December 1999.

2000
422. Protocol of the 9th Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides.
       18-19 January 2000.
423. Protocol of the Joint Group (JG) on detection and investigation of the facts of violation of the Moscow
        Agreement of 14 May 1994 and on the politically motivated unlawful activities. 19 January 2003.
424. Statement of the State Commissions of Abkhazia and Georgia on Search for those Persons Missing without Missing. 19 January 2000
425. Resolution 1287 adopted by the UN Security Council. 31 January 2000.
426. Protocol of the Sukhumi Meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides  on the Implementation of
        the Protocol of  24 September 1998 and Other Measures Aimed at Stabilization of the Situation in the
        Security zones and Limited Weaponry. 3 February 2000.
427. Protocol of Consultative Meeting of Experts of Georgian and Russian Sides on Introduction of Visa
        Regime between Georgia and the Russian Federation. 20 April 2000.
428 Protocol of the fourth Meeting of Experts' Groups of authorized delegations of the sides within the Framework of the Negotiation Process on a Full Scale Resolution of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 7 July  2000
429.  Protocol of the Gali Meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides on the issues of stabilization of
        the situation in the security. 11 July 2000.
430. Protocol of the 10th Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides. 11 July
        2000.
431. Statement of the State Commission of Abkhazia and Georgia on Search for the persons Missing without Trace. 11 July 2000.
432. Resolution 1311 (28 July 2000) adopted by the UN Security Council.
433. Joint Statement of the Forth Session of the working Group I. 20 August 2000.
434. Joint Statement of the Fifth Session of the working Group I. 4 October 2000.
435. Protocol of the Eleventh Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides.
        24 October 2000.
436. The Statement of the Parliament of Georgia on introduction of visa regime between Russia and Georgia.
24 November 2000
437. Order by the Government of the Russian Federation. 30 November 2000
438. Decree issued by the Government of Russian Federation. 30 November 2000.
439. Joint Statement of the Sixth  Session of the working Group I. 13 December   2000.
440. Agreement between the Government of Georgia and the Government of the Russian Federation  on
        Cooperation in Restoration of Economy in the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Zone and Return of
        Refugees. 23 December 2000.

2001
441. Resolution of the European Parliament on the visa regime imposed by the Russian Federation on
        Georgia. 18 January 2001.
442. Protocol of the Twelfth Session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides.
        23 January 2001.
443. Resolution 1339 adopted by the UN Security Council. 31 January 2001.
444. Declaration of the Parliament of Georgia on the so-colled Local Self-governance Elections to be held on 10th March 2001, Organized by the Sukhumi Separatist Regime. 2 March 2001.
445. Yalta Declaration of the Georgian and Abkhaz Sides. 15-16 March 2001.
446. Appendix to the Programme of Action on Confidence-building between the Georgian and Abkhaz Sides.
        15-16 March 2001.
447. Annex to the Programme of Action on Confidence-building between the Georgian and Abkhaz Sides.   15-16 March 2001.
448 Statement of the Parliament of Georgia  on the planed so called referendum elections of the separatist regime of Tskhinvali on 8 April  200. 30 March 2001.
449. The Constitution (Organ Law) of the Republic of South Ossetia. 8 April 2001.
450. Protocol of the Gali Meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides. 16 April 2001.
451. Protocol # 11 meetings of Cochairmen of the JCC for Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 21 April 2001.
452. Annex 1 To Protocol # 11 of the JCC Session. Decision on Activities of the JPKF and Mutual Cooperation of Law Enforcement Organs of the Parties for Fighting with Crime in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 21 April 2001.
453. Annex 2 To Protocol # 11 of the JCC Session. Decision the JCC for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 21 April 2001.
454. Annex 3 To Protocol # 11 of  the JCC Session. Decision on the Process of Return of Refugees. 21 April 2001.
455. Annex 4 To Protocol # 11 of the JCC Session. Decision on the Actions to be taken for Improvement of the Activities of the JCC. 21 April 2001.
456. Annex to Protocol # 11 of the  JCC Session. Provision On Special Coordinating Center (the SCC) under the JCC for Mutual Activities of Law Enforcement Organs in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 21 April 2001.
457. Protocol of the Gali Meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz Sides. 11 May 2001.
458. Memorandum on the Meeting between L. A. Chibirov and Y. M. Luzhkov. 21 May 2001
459. Law of the Republic of Abkhazia on Enactment of the Basics of the Civil Legislation of the USSR and Republics. 15 June 2001.
460. Protocol # 2 on results of the meeting of Cochairmen of the JCC for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 3 July 2001.
461. Annex 1 To Protocol # 2 of  the meeting of  Cochairmen of the JCC. decision on activities of the JPKF. 3 July 2001.
462. Annex 2 To Protocol # 2 of the  meeting of  Cochairmen of the JCC. Decision on measures to be taken for development and realization of inter-state program for mutual cooperation in rehabilitation of economy in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 3 July 2001.
463. Annex 2 To Protocol # 2 of Session of  Cochairmen of the JCC
Decision of the meeting of Cochairmen of the JCC for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement On measures to be taken for development and realization of inter-state program for mutual cooperation in rehabilitation of economy in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 3 July 2001.
464. Annex 3 To Protocol # 2 of Session of  Cochairmen of the JCC. Decision on Return of Refugees. 3 July 2001.
465. Annex 4 To Protocol # 2 of Session of  Cochairmen of the JCC. Decision on proposals of active chairmanship of the OSCE and the European Commission. 3 July 2001.
466. Joint Statement of the Seventh  Session of the working Group one. 10 July 2001.
467. Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia  on Non-Implementation by the Russian Federation of the Joint
 Statement Adopted at the Istanbul OSCE Summit in 1999. 18 July 2001.
468. Resolution 1364 (31 July 2001) adopted by the UN Security Council.
469 Protocol # 3 of the meeting of Cochairmen of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 2 August 2001.
470. Annex 1 To Protocol # 3 of Session of Cochairmen of the JCC. Decision On activities of the JPKF and mutual cooperation of law enforcement organs of the parties for fight against crime in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 2 August 2001.
471. Annex 2 To Protocol # 3 of Session of Cochairmen of the JCC.  Decision of the meeting of Cochairmen of the JCC for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement On measures to be taken for development and realization of inter-state program for mutual cooperation in rehabilitation of economy in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 2 August 2001.
472. Annex 3 To Protocol # 3 of Session of  Cochairmen of the JCC. Decision on Return of Refugees. 2 August 2001.
473. Annex 4 To Protocol # 3 of Session of  Cochairmen of the JCC. Decision On Proposals of Acting Chairmanship of the OSCE and the European Commission. 2 August 2001.
474. Аnnex  to the Protocol of 14 August 2001. List of Unlawfully Detained People
475. Protocol of the Gali Meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides. 14 August 2001.
476. Joint Statement of the Eighth Session of the Working Group One. 11 September 2001.
477. Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on the situation in the territory of Abkhazia. 11 October 2001
478. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 27 September 2001.
479. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 27 September 2001.
480. Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia Concerning the situation on the territory of Abkhazia. 11October 2001.
481. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia Regarding the Statement of the Duma of the Russian Federation. 12October 2001.
482. Protocol # 4 of the meeting of Cochairmen of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 25 October 2001.
483. Annex 1 To protocol # 4 of session of  Cochairmen of the JCC. Decision on some organizational issues of the process of negotiations on settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and funding thereof.25 October 2001.
484. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 10 November 2001.

2002
485. Protocol of the Meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides on the Issue of Stabilization of the Situation in the Zone of Conflict. 17 January 2002.
486. Resolution 1393 (31 January 2002) adopted by the UN Security Council.
487. Protocol of the Meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides. 11 February 2002.
488. Protocol #5 meetings of Co-chairmen of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. February 28 – March 1, 2002.
489. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 28 February 2002
490. From the Statement of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Situation in Georgia with regard of military presence of the USA on its territory. 6 March 2002.
491. Protocol of the Meeting between the Minister of Education of Georgia Mr. Al. Kartozia and De-facto
        Minister of Education of Abkhazia Mr. B. Dbar . 11 March 2002.
492. Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on the situation in Abkhazia. 20 March 2002.
493. Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on the Unlawful Misappropriation of State Property and
        Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons’ Private Property in Abkhazia. 20 March 2002.
494. Decree issued by the State Duma of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Ever Increasing
        Tension around Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 22 March 2002.
495. Decision  of the Council of the CIS Heads of States on the presence of Collective Peace Keeping Forces in the Conflict zone of Abkhazia, Georgia. 22 March 2002.
496. Protocol of the Meeting between the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides on 29 March 2002 in Sukhumi.
497. Protocol # 6 of the  meeting of the co-Chairmen of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 14-16 May 2002.
498 Annex 1 To Protocol #6 of the Meeting of Co-Chairmen of the JCC. Decision settlement On Arrangements Dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of Signing the Russian-Georgian Agreement on 504. Principles of Peaceful Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict and Starting the Activities of the JPKF. 16 May 2002.
499. Annex 2 to Protocol No 6 of the JCC Co-chairmen meeting. Decision of the co-Chairmen of the Joint Control Commission for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlenment On Interaction in Rehabilitation of Economy in the Georgia-Ossetian Conflict Zone. 16 May 2002.
500. Annex 3 To Protocol #6 of the Meeting of  Co-Chairmen of the JCC Decision settlement on the Status of Return of Refugees. 16 May 2002.
501. Joint Statement by President George W. Bush and President Vladimir V. Putin  on Counterterroris
Cooperation. 24 May 2002.
502. Joint Declaration on New U.S.-Russia Relationship. 24 May 2002.
503. Law of the Russian Federation  on Citizenship of the Russian Federation. 31 May 2002.
504. Protocol # 7 meetings of co-Chairmen of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 5 June 2002.
505. Annex 1 To protocol # 7 of the JCC session. Decision of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement On the arrangements dedicated to the 10th anniversary of signing the Russian-Georgian Agreement on the Principles of Peaceful Settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict and starting the JPKF’s activities. 5 June 2002.
506. Annex 2 To Protocol #7 of the JCC Session. Decision of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement On preparation of meetings of Co-Chairmen of the JCC and session of a workgroup on economic issues in Moscow. 5 June 2002.
507. Protocol # 23 of the meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 9 July 2002.
508. Annex 1 To Protocol # 23 Meeting of the Joint Control  Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement Decision on Rehabilitation of Economy in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 9 July 2002.
509. Annex 2 To Protocol #23 Meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. Decision on Draft Russia-Georgia Interstate Project on Return, Development, Integration and Re-Integration of Refugees, IDPs and other Persons Suffered as a Result of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 9 July 2002.
510. Annex 3 To Protocol # 23 Meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. Decision on Regulating a Registration of the JCC Meetings of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. 9 July 2002.
511. Annex 4 to Protocol # 23 Meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. Decision on Proposal of the European Commission. 9 July 2002.
512. Address of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement to the European Commission (EC).  9 July 2002.
513. Protocol of the meeting of the Working Group Three. 25 June 2002.
514. Joint Statement of the Twelfth Session of the Working Group One. 20 July 2002.
515. Resolution 1427 (29 July  2002) adopted by the UN Security Council.
516. Protocol of the Working Group 2 of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz sides. 20 July 2002.
517. Protocol # 24 of the meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 30 July 2002.
518. Annex 1 To Protocol # 24 of  the JCC Session Decision on the facts of violation of the management system of the JPKF in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and the measures to be taken for providing efficient functioning thereof. 30 July 2002.
519. Annex 2 To Protocol # 24 of  the JCC Session. Decision on non-sanctioned flight of aircrafts over the territory of the zone under the responsibility of the JPKF. 30 July 2002.
520. Statement On the Facts of Violation of The Management System of the JPKF in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict and the Measures to be Taken for Providing Efficient Functioning Thereof. 30 July 2002.
521. Joint Statement of the Georgian and Abkhaz  Sides.  4 August 2002.
522. Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on the Fact of Bombing of the Territory of Georgia by the
        Military Forces of the Russian Federation. 26 August 2002.
523. Rezolution of the Parliament of Georgia on the fact of bombing the territory of Georgia by the military forces of the Russian federation. 26 August 2002.
524. Protocol # 25 of the session of  Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 3-4 October 2002.
525. Law of Georgia on changes and amendments to the constitution of Georgia. 10 October 2002.
526. Protocol of the meeting of the Working Group Three. 14 November 2002.

2003
526. Resolution 1462 (2003) adopted by the United Nations Security Council, 30 January 2003
527. Statement of the Parliament of Georgia. 30 January 2003.
528. Protocol # 26 of the session of the  Joint Control Commission for the settlement of Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 9-10 February 2003.
529. Attachment 2 To the Protocol #26 of the JCC of  Decision on the Activities of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces and the Interaction between the Sides’ Law Enforcement Bodies in the Zone of Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 10 February 2003.
530. Attachment 3 To the Protocol #26 of the JCC. Decision on the information of the EC Delegation to Georgia about the EC plans for the year 2003 on implementation of rehabilitation projects in the zone of Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 10 February 2003.
531. Attachment 4  To the Protocol #26 of the JCC. Decision on the implementation of recommendations of the VIII Meeting of the Sides’ Plenipotentiary Delegations Expert Groups within the frames of the negotiation process for the full-scale settlement of Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 10 February 2003.
532. Attachment 5 To the Protocol # 26 of the JCC. Decision  of the  Joint Control Commission for the settlement of Georgian-Ossetian conflict On some organizational issues of the negotiation process on the settlement of Georgian-Ossetian conflict and their financial provision. 10 February 2003.
533. Concluding Statement  on the meetings between Mr. Vladimir Putin-President of the Russian Federation and Mr. Eduard Shevardnadze-President of Georgia. 6-7 March 2003.
534. The principles for division of competences between Tbilisi and Sukhumi (Boden Document). March 2003
535. Protocol # 27 meetings of Cochairmen of the JCC for Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 14-16 May 2003.
536. Annex 1 To Protocol # 27 of  the JCC Session. Decision the JCC for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement on Actions To Be Taken For Realization Of The Agreement Between The Governments Of Russian Federation And Georgia On Mutual Cooperation And Rehabilitation Of Economy In The Zone Of The Georgian-Ossetian Conflict And Return Of Refuges Dated. 23 December  2000.
537. Annex 2 To Protocol # 27 of the JCC Session. Decision On Realization of the Rehabilitation of the EC Program. 14-16 May 2003.
538. Annex 3 To Protocol # 27 of the JCC Session. Decision the JCC for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement On activities of the JPKF and Mutual Cooperation of Law Enforcement Organs in the Zone of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict. 14-16 May 2003.
539. Minutes of the meeting on the issues of rehabilitation of the electroenergetic objects Enguri Power Station. 16 May 2003.
540. Protocol #28 meetings of Cochairmen of the JCC for Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 23-26 June 2003.
541. Annex 1 To Protocol # 28 of the JCC Session. Decision on the draft inter-state Russian-Georgian program on return, accommodation, integration and reintegration of refugees, IDPs and other persons suffered as a result of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and actions for rehabilitation of economy in the regions of return. 23-26 June 2003.
542. Annex 2 To Protocol # 28 of the JCC Session. Decision on actions to be taken for realization of the Agreement between the Government of Russian Federation and Georgia on mutual cooperation in rehabilitation of economy in the zone of conflict and return of refugees dated December 23, 2000.
23-26 June 2003.
543. Annex 3 To Protocol # 28 of the JCC Session. Decision on implementation off the decision of the JCC (Annex 2 to Protocol #27 dated May 14-16 of 2003 in Gori) “on Realization of the Rehabilitation Program of the European Commission”. 23-26 June 2003.
544. Annex 4 To Protocol # 28 of the JCC Session. Decision on fulfillment of article 4 of the Agreement between the Government of Russian federation and Georgia on mutual cooperation in the zone of Georgian-Ossetian conflict and return of refugees dated December 23, 2000, and article 12.2. of the Protocol 4 of the session of the Russian-Georgian Commission on the issues of economic cooperation dated December 23, 2000. 23-26 June 2003.
545. Annex 5 To Protocol # 28 of  the JCC Session. Decision on some organizational issues of the process of negotiations for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and its funding. 23-26 June 2003.
546. Protocol # 29 meetings of Cochairmen of the JCC for Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. July 14-15 2003.
547. Resolution 1494 (2003) adopted by the United Nations Security Council, on 30 July 2003
548. Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on the remedies of ensuring the implementation of Chapter VII of the UN Charter. July 16 2003.
549. Statement of the Council of the Heads of States of the Commonwealth of Independent States. 19 September 2003.
550. Protocol of the meeting of co-Chairmen of the JCC for Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. October 2 2003.
551. Gali Protocol  of 8 October 2003 on reducing the tension and improving the mechanisms for security in the conflict zone. 8 October 2003.

2004
552. Protocol on the implementation of the third EC funded rehabilitation Program in the zone of Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 2004 January 30.
553. Protocol of the Gali meeting on security matters . 19 January 2004.
554. Resolution 1524 (2004) adopted by the UN Security Council. 30 January 2004.
555. Protocol # 30 meetings of Co-chairmen of The JCC for Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 16 April  2004.
556. Annex 1 To Protocol # 30 of  the JCC Session. Provision on Information Bulletin of joint Control Commission for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. 16 April  2004.
557. Statement of Cochairmen of the JCC for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. 16 April  2004.
558. Government of Georgia on Realization of the Agreement  between the Governments of Russian Federation and Georgia on Mutual Cooperation in Rehabilitation of Economy in the Zone of Conflict and return of Refugees. 16 April  2004.
559. Government of Russian Federation. On Realization of the Agreement  between the Governments of Russian Federation and Georgia on Mutual Cooperation in Rehabilitation of Economy in the Zone of Conflict and return of Refugees. 16 April  2004.
560. Statement  of  Parliament of Georgia. 4 June 2004
561. Resolution 1554 (2004) adopted by the United Nations Security Council. 29 July 2004.
562. Statement of the State Duma of Federal Assembly of Russian Federation on the Situation in the Caucasus. 5 August 2004.
563. Memorandum of understanding on the third European Commission funded rehabilitation  program in the zone of Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 16 September 2004.
564 Statement on the Results of the Meeting of Z. Zhvania and E. Kokoiti. 5 November 2004.
565. Protocol the 7-th meeting of Experts’ Group of authorized delegations of the sides within the negotiation process on full-scale settlement of Georgian-Ossetian conflict. 4 October 2004.
566. Protocol # 40 of the Meeting of Co-chairmen of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 19-20 November 2004.
567. Annex to Protocol # 40 of the JCC provision on meetings of authorized Co-chairmen of the JCC. 19-20 November 2004.
568 Protocol # 40 of the Meeting of Co-chairmen of Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 19-20 November 2004.
569. Protocol # 41 of the Meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian conflict settlement. 22-23 December 2004.
570. Annex 1 to Protocol # 41 of the JCC. Statement of Co-chairmen of the JCC for the Georgian Ossetian conflict settlement. 23 December 2004.

2005
571. Protocol on commitments. 24 January 2005.
572. Resolution 1582 (2005) adopted by the UN Security Council. 28 January 2005
573 Protocol # 42  of the Meeting of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflcit Settlement. 16-17 March 2005
574. Annex to Protocol # 42 of the meeting of the JCC Co-chairs  Decesion On Realization of Previous Decision of the Joint Control Commission on Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement and on Furthering of the Process of  Regulation. 16-17 March 2005.
575. Protocol of the high level Meeting in Gali on Security Issues, 12 May 2005
576. Protocol # 43 of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Co-chairs of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. 30-31 May 2005
577. Annex #2 to the Protocol # 43 of the JCC meeting  Decesion on the Activity of the JPKF in the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Zone and on the Interaction of the Law Enforcement Agencies of the Sides. 30-31 May 2005.
578.  Protocol # 44 Of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Co-chairs of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) for the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Settlement. 22-23 June 2005
579. Annex # 1 to the JCC Protocol. cProtocol on the Results of the Meeting of the Heads of Law Enforcement Organs of the Sides. 22-23 June 2005
580.  Resolution on the Situation in Abkhazia, Georgi. 1-5 July 2005
581. Resolution 1615 (2005) adopted by the UN Security Council. 29 July 2005.
582. Resolution Of the Parliament of Georgia Regarding the Current Situation in the Conflict October 11, 2005
583. The Georgian-South Ossetian Peace Plan, Developed by the Government of Georgia. 8 November 2005
584. Senate Resolution 344 Expressing Support for the Government of Georgia’s South Ossetian Peace Plan and the Successful and Peaceful Reintegration of the Region into Georgia. December 21, 2005
585. Resolution 1656 (2006) adopted by the United Nations Security Council. 31 January 2006
586. Resolution Of The Parliament of Georgia on the Current Situation in the Former Autonomous District of South Ossetia and Ongoing Peace Process. 15 February 2006.
587. Resolution 1666 (2006) adopted by the UNO Security Council, 31 March 2006.