Textorah

I Samuel 17

1
וַיַּאַסְפוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת־מַחֲנֵיהֶם לַמִּלְחָמָה וַיֵּאָסְפוּ שֹׂכֹה אֲשֶׁר לִיהוּדָה וַיַּחֲנוּ בֵּין־שׂוֹכֹה וּבֵין־עֲזֵקָה בְּאֶפֶס דַּמִּים
Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
Καὶ συνάγουσιν ἀλλόφυλοι τὰς παρεμβολὰς αὐτῶν εἰς πόλεμον, καὶ συνάγονται εἰς Σοκχὼθ τῆς Ἰουδαίας, καὶ παρεμβάλλουσιν ἀναμέσον Σοκχὼθ, καὶ ἀναμέσον ʼΑζηκὰ Ἐφερμέν.
And the Philistines gather their armies to battle, and gather themselves to Socoh of Judea, and encamp between Socoh and Azekah Ephes-dammim.
2
וְשָׁאוּל וְאִישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶאֶסְפוּ וַיַּחֲנוּ בְּעֵמֶק הָאֵלָה וַיַּעַרְכוּ מִלְחָמָה לִקְרַאת פְּלִשְׁתִּים
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
Καὶ Σαοὺλ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες Ἰσραὴλ συνάγονται, καὶ παρεμβάλλουσιν ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι αὐτοὶ, καὶ παρατάσσονται εἰς πόλεμον ἐξεναντίας τῶν ἀλλοφύλων.
And Saul and the men of Israel gather together, and they encamp in the valley, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
3
וּפְלִשְׁתִּים עֹמְדִים אֶל־הָהָר מִזֶּה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל עֹמְדִים אֶל־הָהָר מִזֶּה וְהַגַּיְא בֵּינֵיהֶם
And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side; and there was a valley between them.
Καὶ οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι ἵστανται ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους ἐνταῦθα, καὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἵσταται ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους ἐνταῦθα, καὶ ὁ αὐλὼν ἀναμέσον αὐτῶν.
And the Philistines stand on the mountain on one side, and Israel stands on the mountain on the other side, and the valley was between them.
4
וַיֵּצֵא אִישׁ־הַבֵּנַיִם מִמַּחֲנוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים גָּלְיָת שְׁמוֹ מִגַּת גָּבְהוֹ שֵׁשׁ אַמּוֹת וָזָרֶת
And there went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἀνὴρ δυνατὸς ἐκ τῆς παρατάξεως τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, Γολιὰθ ὄνομα αὐτῷ ἐκ Γὲθ, ὕψος αὐτοῦ τεσσάρων πήχεων καὶ σπιθαμῆς.
And there went forth a mighty man out of the army of the Philistines, Goliath by name, out of Gath, his height [was] four cubits and a span.
5
וְכוֹבַע נְחֹשֶׁת עַל־רֹאשׁוֹ וְשִׁרְיוֹן קַשְׂקַשִּׂים הוּא לָבוּשׁ וּמִשְׁקַל הַשִּׁרְיוֹן חֲמֵשֶׁת־אֲלָפִים שְׁקָלִים נְחֹשֶׁת
And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
Καὶ περικεφαλαῖα ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ θώρακα ἁλυσιδωτὸν αὐτὸς ἐνδεδυκώς· καὶ ὁ σταθμὸς τοῦ θώρακος αὐτοῦ, πέντε χιλιάδες σίκλων χαλκοῦ καὶ σιδήρου.
And [he had] a helmet upon his head, and he wore a breastplate of chain armor; and the weight of his breastplate [was] five thousand shekels of brass and iron.
6
וּמִצְחַת נְחֹשֶׁת עַל־רַגְלָיו וְכִידוֹן נְחֹשֶׁת בֵּין כְּתֵפָיו
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.
Καὶ κνημῖδες χαλκαῖ ἐπὶ τῶν σκελῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀσπὶς χαλκῆ ἀναμέσον τῶν ὤμων αὐτοῦ.
And greaves of brass [were] upon his legs, and a brazen target [was] between his shoulders.
7
וחץ וְעֵץ חֲנִיתוֹ כִּמְנוֹר אֹרְגִים וְלַהֶבֶת חֲנִיתוֹ שֵׁשׁ־מֵאוֹת שְׁקָלִים בַּרְזֶל וְנֹשֵׂא הַצִּנָּה הֹלֵךְ לְפָנָיו
And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him.
Καὶ ὁ κοντὸς τοῦ δόρατος αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ μέσακλον ὑφαινόντων, καὶ ἡ λόγχη αὐτοῦ ἑξακοσίων σίκλων σιδήρου· καὶ ὁ αἴρων τὰ ὅπλα αὐτοῦ προεπορεύετο αὐτοῦ.
And the staff of his spear [was] like a weavers’ beam, and the spear’s head [was formed] of six hundred shekels of iron; and his armor bearer went before him.
8
וַיַּעֲמֹד וַיִּקְרָא אֶל־מַעַרְכֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם לָמָּה תֵצְאוּ לַעֲרֹךְ מִלְחָמָה הֲלוֹא אָנֹכִי הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וְאַתֶּם עֲבָדִים לְשָׁאוּל בְּרוּ־לָכֶם אִישׁ וְיֵרֵד אֵלָי
And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them: 'Why do ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
Καὶ ἔστη καὶ ἀνεβόησεν εἰς τὴν παράταξιν Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, τί ἐκπορεύεσθε παρατάξασθαι πολέμῳ ἐξεναντίας ἡμῶν; οὐκ ἐγώ εἰμι ἀλλόφυλος, καὶ ὑμεῖς Ἐβραῖοι τοῦ Σαούλ; ἐκλέξασθε ἐαυτοῖς ἄνδρα, καὶ καταβήτω πρὸς με.
And he stood and cried to the army of Israel, and said to them, Why are ye come forth to set yourselves in battle array against us? Am not I a Philistine, and ye Hebrews of Saul? choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me.
9
אִם־יוּכַל לְהִלָּחֵם אִתִּי וְהִכָּנִי וְהָיִינוּ לָכֶם לַעֲבָדִים וְאִם־אֲנִי אוּכַל־לוֹ וְהִכִּיתִיו וִהְיִיתֶם לָנוּ לַעֲבָדִים וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֹתָנוּ
If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.'
Καὶ ἐὰν δυνηθῇ πολεμῆσαι πρός με, καὶ ἐαν πατάξῃ με, καὶ ἐσόμεθα ὑμῖν εἰς δούλους· ἐὰν δὲ ἐγὼ δυνηθῶ καὶ πατάξω αὐτὸν, ἔσεσθε ἡμῖν εἰς δούλους, καὶ δουλεύσετε ἡμῖν.
And if he shall be able to fight against me, and shall smite me, then will we be your servants: but if I should prevail and smite him, ye shall be our servants, and serve us.
10
וַיֹּאמֶר הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֲנִי חֵרַפְתִּי אֶת־מַעַרְכוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה תְּנוּ־לִי אִישׁ וְנִלָּחֲמָה יָחַד
And the Philistine said: 'I do taunt the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.'
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀλλόφυλος, ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ὠνείδισα τὴν παράταξιν Ἰσραὴλ σήμερον ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ· δότε μοι ἄνδρα, καὶ μονομαχήσομεν ἀμφότεροι.
And the Philistine said, Behold, I have defied the armies of Israel this very day: give me a man, and we will both of us fight in single combat.
11
וַיִּשְׁמַע שָׁאוּל וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־דִּבְרֵי הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הָאֵלֶּה וַיֵּחַתּוּ וַיִּרְאוּ מְאֹד
And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
Καὶ ἤκουσε Σαοὺλ καὶ πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου ταῦτα, καὶ ἐξέστησαν καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν σφόδρα.
And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed, and greatly terrified.
12
וְדָוִד בֶּן־אִישׁ אֶפְרָתִי הַזֶּה מִבֵּית לֶחֶם יְהוּדָה וּשְׁמוֹ יִשַׁי וְלוֹ שְׁמֹנָה בָנִים וְהָאִישׁ בִּימֵי שָׁאוּל זָקֵן בָּא בַאֲנָשִׁים
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons; and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among men.
13
וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת בְּנֵי־יִשַׁי הַגְּדֹלִים הָלְכוּ אַחֲרֵי־שָׁאוּל לַמִּלְחָמָה וְשֵׁם שְׁלֹשֶׁת בָּנָיו אֲשֶׁר הָלְכוּ בַּמִּלְחָמָה אֱלִיאָב הַבְּכוֹר וּמִשְׁנֵהוּ אֲבִינָדָב וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁי שַׁמָּה
And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle; and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14
וְדָוִד הוּא הַקָּטָן וּשְׁלֹשָׁה הַגְּדֹלִים הָלְכוּ אַחֲרֵי שָׁאוּל
And David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul.--
15
וְדָוִד הֹלֵךְ וָשָׁב מֵעַל שָׁאוּל לִרְעוֹת אֶת־צֹאן אָבִיו בֵּית־לָחֶם
Now David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.--
16
וַיִּגַּשׁ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הַשְׁכֵּם וְהַעֲרֵב וַיִּתְיַצֵּב אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם
And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
17
וַיֹּאמֶר יִשַׁי לְדָוִד בְּנוֹ קַח־נָא לְאַחֶיךָ אֵיפַת הַקָּלִיא הַזֶּה וַעֲשָׂרָה לֶחֶם הַזֶּה וְהָרֵץ הַמַּחֲנֶה לְאַחֶיךָ
And Jesse said unto David his son: 'Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren.
18
וְאֵת עֲשֶׂרֶת חֲרִצֵי הֶחָלָב הָאֵלֶּה תָּבִיא לְשַׂר־הָאָלֶף וְאֶת־אַחֶיךָ תִּפְקֹד לְשָׁלוֹם וְאֶת־עֲרֻבָּתָם תִּקָּח
And bring these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and to thy brethren shalt thou bring greetings, and take their pledge;
19
וְשָׁאוּל וְהֵמָּה וְכָל־אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֵמֶק הָאֵלָה נִלְחָמִים עִם־פְּלִשְׁתִּים
now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, are in the vale of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.'
20
וַיַּשְׁכֵּם דָּוִד בַּבֹּקֶר וַיִּטֹּשׁ אֶת־הַצֹּאן עַל־שֹׁמֵר וַיִּשָּׂא וַיֵּלֶךְ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ יִשָׁי וַיָּבֹא הַמַּעְגָּלָה וְהַחַיִל הַיֹּצֵא אֶל־הַמַּעֲרָכָה וְהֵרֵעוּ בַּמִּלְחָמָה
And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the barricade, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.
21
וַתַּעֲרֹךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל וּפְלִשְׁתִּים מַעֲרָכָה לִקְרַאת מַעֲרָכָה
And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
22
וַיִּטֹּשׁ דָּוִד אֶת־הַכֵּלִים מֵעָלָיו עַל־יַד שׁוֹמֵר הַכֵּלִים וַיָּרָץ הַמַּעֲרָכָה וַיָּבֹא וַיִּשְׁאַל לְאֶחָיו לְשָׁלוֹם
And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brethren.
23
וְהוּא מְדַבֵּר עִמָּם וְהִנֵּה אִישׁ הַבֵּנַיִם עוֹלֶה גָּלְיָת הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי שְׁמוֹ מִגַּת ממערות מִמַּעַרְכוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיְדַבֵּר כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַיִּשְׁמַע דָּוִד
And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words; and David heard them.
24
וְכֹל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּרְאוֹתָם אֶת־הָאִישׁ וַיָּנֻסוּ מִפָּנָיו וַיִּירְאוּ מְאֹד
And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
25
וַיֹּאמֶר אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל הַרְּאִיתֶם הָאִישׁ הָעֹלֶה הַזֶּה כִּי לְחָרֵף אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל עֹלֶה וְהָיָה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יַכֶּנּוּ יַעְשְׁרֶנּוּ הַמֶּלֶךְ עֹשֶׁר גָּדוֹל וְאֶת־בִּתּוֹ יִתֶּן־לוֹ וְאֵת בֵּית אָבִיו יַעֲשֶׂה חָפְשִׁי בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל
And the men of Israel said: 'Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to taunt Israel is he come up; and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.'
26
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־הָאֲנָשִׁים הָעֹמְדִים עִמּוֹ לֵאמֹר מַה־יֵּעָשֶׂה לָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יַכֶּה אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הַלָּז וְהֵסִיר חֶרְפָּה מֵעַל יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי מִי הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הֶעָרֵל הַזֶּה כִּי חֵרֵף מַעַרְכוֹת אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים
And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying: 'What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the taunt from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should have taunted the armies of the living G-d?'
27
וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הָעָם כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה לֵאמֹר כֹּה יֵעָשֶׂה לָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יַכֶּנּוּ
And the people answered him after this manner, saying: 'So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.'
28
וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלִיאָב אָחִיו הַגָּדוֹל בְּדַבְּרוֹ אֶל־הָאֲנָשִׁים וַיִּחַר־אַף אֱלִיאָב בְּדָוִד וַיֹּאמֶר לָמָּה־זֶּה יָרַדְתָּ וְעַל־מִי נָטַשְׁתָּ מְעַט הַצֹּאן הָהֵנָּה בַּמִּדְבָּר אֲנִי יָדַעְתִּי אֶת־זְדֹנְךָ וְאֵת רֹעַ לְבָבֶךָ כִּי לְמַעַן רְאוֹת הַמִּלְחָמָה יָרָדְתָּ
And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said: 'Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy presumptuousness, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.'
29
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד מֶה עָשִׂיתִי עָתָּה הֲלוֹא דָּבָר הוּא
And David said: 'What have I now done? Was it not but a word?'
30
וַיִּסֹּב מֵאֶצְלוֹ אֶל־מוּל אַחֵר וַיֹּאמֶר כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה וַיְשִׁבֻהוּ הָעָם דָּבָר כַּדָּבָר הָרִאשׁוֹן
And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke after the same manner; and the people answered him after the former manner.
31
וַיְּשָּׁמְעוּ הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר דָּוִד וַיַּגִּדוּ לִפְנֵי־שָׁאוּל וַיִּקָּחֵהוּ
And when the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he was taken to him.
32
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־שָׁאוּל אַל־יִפֹּל לֵב־אָדָם עָלָיו עַבְדְּךָ יֵלֵךְ וְנִלְחַם עִם־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הַזֶּה
And David said to Saul: 'Let no man's heart fail within him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.'
Καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ πρὸς Σαοὺλ, μὴ δὴ συμπεσέτω καρδία τοῦ κυρίου μου ἐπʼ αὐτόν· ὁ δοῦλός σου πορεύσεται καὶ πολεμήσει μετὰ τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου τούτου.
And David said to Saul, Let not, I pray thee, the heart of my lord be dejected within him: thy servant will go, and fight with this Philistine.
33
וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶל־דָּוִד לֹא תוּכַל לָלֶכֶת אֶל־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הַזֶּה לְהִלָּחֵם עִמּוֹ כִּי־נַעַר אַתָּה וְהוּא אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה מִנְּעֻרָיו
And Saul said to David: 'Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.'
Καὶ εἶπε Σαοὺλ πρὸς τὸν Δαυὶδ, οὐ μὴ δυνήσῃ πορευθῆναι πρὸς τὸν ἀλλόφυλον τοῦ πολεμεῖν μετʼ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι παιδάριον εἶ σὺ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἀνὴρ πολεμιστὴς ἐκ νεότητος αὐτοῦ.
And Saul said to David, Thou wilt not in anywise be able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art a mere youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־שָׁאוּל רֹעֶה הָיָה עַבְדְּךָ לְאָבִיו בַּצֹּאן וּבָא הָאֲרִי וְאֶת־הַדּוֹב וְנָשָׂא שֶׂה מֵהָעֵדֶר
And David said unto Saul: 'Thy servant kept his father's sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock,
Καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ πρὸς Σαοὺλ, ποιμαίνων ἦν ὁ δοῦλός σου τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ ποιμνίῳ· καὶ ὅταν ἤρχετο ὁ λέων, καὶ ἡ ἄρκος, καὶ ἐλάμβανε πρόβατον ἐκ τῆς ἀγέλης,
And David said to Saul, Thy servant was tending the flock for his father; and when a lion came and a she-bear, and took a sheep out of the flock,
35
וְיָצָאתִי אַחֲרָיו וְהִכִּתִיו וְהִצַּלְתִּי מִפִּיו וַיָּקָם עָלַי וְהֶחֱזַקְתִּי בִּזְקָנוֹ וְהִכִּתִיו וַהֲמִיתִּיו
I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
καὶ ἐξεπορευόμην ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπάταξα αὐτόν, καὶ ἐξέσπασα ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ· καὶ εἰ ἐπανίστατο ἐπʼ ἐμὲ, καὶ ἐκράτησα τοῦ φάρυγγος αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπάταξα, καὶ ἐθανάτωσα αὐτόν·
then I went forth after him, and smote him, and drew [the spoil] out of his mouth: and as he rose up against me, then I caught hold of his throat, and smote him, and slew him.
36
גַּם אֶת־הָאֲרִי גַּם־הַדּוֹב הִכָּה עַבְדֶּךָ וְהָיָה הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הֶעָרֵל הַזֶּה כְּאַחַד מֵהֶם כִּי חֵרֵף מַעַרְכֹת אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים
Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath taunted the armies of the living G-d.'
Καὶ τὸν λέοντα καὶ τὴν ἄρκον ἔτυπτεν ὁ δοῦλός σου, καὶ ἔσται ὁ ἀλλόφυλος ὁ ἀπερίτμητος ὡς ἓν τούτων· οὐχὶ πορεύσομαι καὶ πατάξω αὐτὸν, καὶ ἀφελῶ σήμερον ὄνειδος ἐξ Ἰσραήλ; διότι τίς ὁ ἀπερίτμητος οὗτος, ὃς ὠνείδισε παράταξιν Θεοῦ ζῶντος;
Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear, and the uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them: shall I not go and smite him, and remove this day a reproach from Israel? for who [is] this uncircumcised one, who has defied the army of the living God?
37
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר הִצִּלַנִי מִיַּד הָאֲרִי וּמִיַּד הַדֹּב הוּא יַצִּילֵנִי מִיַּד הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הַזֶּה וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶל־דָּוִד לֵךְ וַיהוָה יִהְיֶה עִמָּךְ
And David said: 'The HaShem that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.' And Saul said unto David: 'Go, and HaShem shall be with thee.'
Κύριος ὃς ἐξείλατό με ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ λέοντος καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς τῆς ἄρκτου, αὐτὸς ἐξελεῖταί με ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου τοῦ ἀπεριτμήτου τούτου· καὶ εἶπε Σαοὺλ πρὸς Δαυὶδ, πορεύου, καὶ ἔσται Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ.
The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this uncircumcised Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord shall be with thee.
38
וַיַּלְבֵּשׁ שָׁאוּל אֶת־דָּוִד מַדָּיו וְנָתַן קוֹבַע נְחֹשֶׁת עַל־רֹאשׁוֹ וַיַּלְבֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ שִׁרְיוֹן
And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
Καὶ ἐνέδυσε Σαοὺλ τὸν Δαυὶδ μανδύαν, καὶ τὴν περικεφαλαίαν χαλκῆν περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ,
And Saul clothed David with a military coat, and [put] his brazen helmet on his head.
39
וַיַּחְגֹּר דָּוִד אֶת־חַרְבּוֹ מֵעַל לְמַדָּיו וַיֹּאֶל לָלֶכֶת כִּי לֹא־נִסָּה וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־שָׁאוּל לֹא אוּכַל לָלֶכֶת בָּאֵלֶּה כִּי לֹא נִסִּיתִי וַיְסִרֵם דָּוִד מֵעָלָיו
And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he essayed to go,but could not; for he had not tried it. And David said unto Saul: 'I cannot go with these; for I have not tried them.' And David put them off him.
καὶ ἔζωσε τὸν Δαυὶδ τὴν ῥομφαίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπάνω τοῦ μανδύου αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐκοπίασε περιπατήσας ἅπαξ καὶ δίς· καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ πρὸς Σαοὺλ, οὐ μὴ δύνωμαι πορευθῆναι ἐν τούτοις, ὅτι οὐ πεπείραμαι· καὶ ἀφαιροῦσιν αὐτὰ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ.
And he girded David with his sword over his coat: and he made trial walking [with them] once and again: and David said to Saul, I shall not be able to go with these, for I have not proved [them]: so they remove them from him.
40
וַיִּקַּח מַקְלוֹ בְּיָדוֹ וַיִּבְחַר־לוֹ חֲמִשָּׁה חַלֻּקֵי־אֲבָנִים מִן־הַנַּחַל וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתָם בִּכְלִי הָרֹעִים אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ וּבַיַּלְקוּט וְקַלְּעוֹ בְיָדוֹ וַיִּגַּשׁ אֶל־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his scrip; and his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine.
Καὶ ἔλαβε τὴν βακτηρίαν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξελέξατο ἑαυτῷ πέντε λίθους λείους ἐκ τοῦ χειμάῤῥου, καὶ ἔθετο αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ καδίῳ τῷ ποιμενικῷ τῷ ὄντι αὐτῷ εἰς συλλογὴν, καὶ σφενδόνη αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ· καὶ προσῆλθε πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν ἀλλόφυλον.
And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s scrip which he had for his store, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
41
וַיֵּלֶךְ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הֹלֵךְ וְקָרֵב אֶל־דָּוִד וְהָאִישׁ נֹשֵׂא הַצִּנָּה לְפָנָיו
And the Philistine came nearer and nearer unto David; and the man that bore the shield went before him.
42
וַיַּבֵּט הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וַיִּרְאֶה אֶת־דָּוִד וַיִּבְזֵהוּ כִּי־הָיָה נַעַר וְאַדְמֹנִי עִם־יְפֵה מַרְאֶה
And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair countenance.
Καὶ εἶδε Γολιὰθ τὸν Δαυὶδ, καὶ ἐξητίμασεν αὐτόν· ὅτι αὐτὸς ἦν παιδάριον, καὶ αὐτὸς πυῤῥάκης μετὰ κάλλους ὀφθαλμὼν.
And Goliath saw David, and despised him; for he was a lad, and ruddy, with a fair countenance.
43
וַיֹּאמֶר הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֶל־דָּוִד הֲכֶלֶב אָנֹכִי כִּי־אַתָּה בָא־אֵלַי בַּמַּקְלוֹת וַיְקַלֵּל הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֶת־דָּוִד בֵּאלֹהָיו
And the Philistine said unto David: 'Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?' And the Philistine cursed David by his god.
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀλλόφυλος πρὸς Δαυὶδ, ὡσεὶ κύων ἐγώ εἰμι, ὅτι σὺ ἔρχῃ ἐπʼ ἐμὲ ἐν ῥάβδῳ καὶ λίθοις; καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ, οὐχί, ἀλλʼ ἢ χείρωυ κυνός· καὶ κατηράσατο ὁ ἀλλόφυλος τὸν Δαυὶδ ἐν τοῖς θεοῖς αὐτοῦ.
And the Philistine said to David, Am I as a dog, that thou comest against me with a staff and stones? and David said, Nay, but worse than a dog. And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44
וַיֹּאמֶר הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֶל־דָּוִד לְכָה אֵלַי וְאֶתְּנָה אֶת־בְּשָׂרְךָ לְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְבֶהֱמַת הַשָּׂדֶה
And the Philistine said to David: 'Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.'
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀλλόφυλος πρὸς Δαυὶδ, δεῦρο πρὸς μὲ, καὶ δώσω τὰς σάρκας σου τοῖς πετεινοῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τοῖς κτήνεσι τῆς γῆς.
And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth.
45
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אַתָּה בָּא אֵלַי בְּחֶרֶב וּבַחֲנִית וּבְכִידוֹן וְאָנֹכִי בָא־אֵלֶיךָ בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי מַעַרְכוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר חֵרַפְתָּ
Then said David to the Philistine: 'Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to thee in the name of HaShem of hosts, the G-d of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast taunted.
Καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ πρὸς τὸν ἀλλόφυλον, σὺ ἔρχῃ πρὸς μὲ ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ καὶ ἐν δόρατι καὶ ἐν ἀσπίδι, κᾀγὼ πορεύομαι πρὸς σὲ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Θεοῦ σαβαὼθ παρατάξεως Ἰσραὴλ, ἣν ὠνείδισας σήμερον,
And David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with sword, and with spear, and with shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord God of hosts of the army of Israel, which thou hast defied
46
הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְסַגֶּרְךָ יְהוָה בְּיָדִי וְהִכִּיתִךָ וַהֲסִרֹתִי אֶת־רֹאשְׁךָ מֵעָלֶיךָ וְנָתַתִּי פֶּגֶר מַחֲנֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְחַיַּת הָאָרֶץ וְיֵדְעוּ כָּל־הָאָרֶץ כִּי יֵשׁ אֱלֹהִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל
This day will HaShem deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a G-d in Israel;
καὶ ἀποκλείσει σε Κύριος σήμερον εἰς τὴν χεῖρά μου, καὶ ἀποκτενῶ σε, καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν κεφαλήν σου ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ δώσω τὰ κῶλά σου καὶ τὰ κῶλα παρεμβολῆς ἀλλοφύλων ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῖς πετεινοῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις τῆς γῆς· καὶ γνώσεται πᾶσα ἡ γῆ, ὅτι ἔστι Θεὸς ἐν Ἰσραήλ.
this day. And the Lord shall deliver thee this day into my hand; and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from off thee, and will give thy limbs and the limbs of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and all the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel.
47
וְיֵדְעוּ כָּל־הַקָּהָל הַזֶּה כִּי־לֹא בְּחֶרֶב וּבַחֲנִית יְהוֹשִׁיעַ יְהוָה כִּי לַיהוָה הַמִּלְחָמָה וְנָתַן אֶתְכֶם בְּיָדֵנוּ
and that all this assembly may know that HaShem saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is HaShem'S, and He will give you into our hand.'
Καὶ γνώσεται πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία αὕτη, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ καὶ δόρατι σώζει Κύριος, ὅτι τοῦ Κυρίου ὁ πόλεμος, καὶ παραδώσει Κύριος ὑμᾶς εἰς χεῖρας ἡμῶν.
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord delivers not by sword or spear, for the battle [is] the Lord’s, and the Lord will deliver you into our hands.
48
וְהָיָה כִּי־קָם הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיִּקְרַב לִקְרַאת דָּוִד וַיְמַהֵר דָּוִד וַיָּרָץ הַמַּעֲרָכָה לִקְרַאת הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי
And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
Καὶ ἀνέστη ὁ ἀλλόφυλος καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς συνάντησιν Δαυίδ.
And the Philistine arose and went to meet David.
49
וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִד אֶת־יָדוֹ אֶל־הַכֶּלִי וַיִּקַּח מִשָּׁם אֶבֶן וַיְקַלַּע וַיַּךְ אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֶל־מִצְחוֹ וַתִּטְבַּע הָאֶבֶן בְּמִצְחוֹ וַיִּפֹּל עַל־פָּנָיו אָרְצָה
And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.
Καὶ ἐξέτεινε Δαυὶδ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ κάδιον, καὶ ἔλαβεν ἐκεῖθεν λίθον ἕνα, καὶ ἐσφενδόνησε, καὶ ἐπάταξε τὸν ἀλλόφυλον εἰς τὸ μέτωπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ διέδυ ὁ λίθος διὰ τῆς περικεφαλαίας εἰς τὸ μέτωπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.
And David stretched out his hand to his scrip, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone penetrated through the helmet into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the ground.
50
וַיֶּחֱזַק דָּוִד מִן־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי בַּקֶּלַע וּבָאֶבֶן וַיַּךְ אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וַיְמִיתֵהוּ וְחֶרֶב אֵין בְּיַד־דָּוִד
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51
וַיָּרָץ דָּוִד וַיַּעֲמֹד אֶל־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וַיִּקַּח אֶת־חַרְבּוֹ וַיִּשְׁלְפָהּ מִתַּעְרָהּ וַיְמֹתְתֵהוּ וַיִּכְרָת־בָּהּ אֶת־רֹאשׁוֹ וַיִּרְאוּ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים כִּי־מֵת גִּבּוֹרָם וַיָּנֻסוּ
And David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their mighty man was dead, they fled.
Καὶ ἔδραμε Δαυὶδ, καὶ ἐπέστη ἐπʼ αὐτὸν, καὶ ἔλαβε τὴν ῥομφαίαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐθανάτωσεν αὐτὸν, καὶ ἀφεῖλε τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ· καὶ εἶδον οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι, ὅτι τέθνηκεν ὁ δυνατὸς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἔφυγον.
And David ran, and stood upon him, and took his sword, and slew him, and cut off his head: and the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and they fled.
52
וַיָּקֻמוּ אַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה וַיָּרִעוּ וַיִּרְדְּפוּ אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים עַד־בּוֹאֲךָ גַיְא וְעַד שַׁעֲרֵי עֶקְרוֹן וַיִּפְּלוּ חַלְלֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים בְּדֶרֶךְ שַׁעֲרַיִם וְעַד־גַּת וְעַד־עֶקְרוֹן
And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
Καὶ ἀνίστανται ἄνδρες Ἰσραὴλ καὶ Ἰούδα, καὶ ἠλάλαξαν, καὶ κατεδίωξαν ὀπίσω αὐτῶν ἕως εἰσόδου Γὲθ, καὶ ἕως τῆς πύλης ʼΑσκάλωνος· καὶ ἔπεσον τραυματίαι τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ τῶν πυλῶν καὶ ἕως Γὲθ, καὶ ἕως ʼΑκκαρών.
And the men of Israel and Judah arose, and shouted and pursued them as far as the entrance to Gath, and as far as the gate of Ashkelon: and the slain men of the Philistines fell in the way of the gates, both to Gath, and to Ekron.
53
וַיָּשֻׁבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִדְּלֹק אַחֲרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיָּשֹׁסּוּ אֶת־מַחֲנֵיהֶם
And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their camp.
Καὶ ἀνέστρεψαν ἄνδρες Ἰσραὴλ ἐκκλίνοντες ὀπίσω τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, καὶ κατεπάτουν τὰς παρεμβολὰς αὐτῶν.
And the men of Israel returned from pursuing after the Philistines, and they destroyed their camp.
54
וַיִּקַּח דָּוִד אֶת־רֹאשׁ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וַיְבִאֵהוּ יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וְאֶת־כֵּלָיו שָׂם בְּאָהֳלוֹ
And David took the head of the philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
Καὶ ἔλαβε Δαυὶδ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου, καὶ ἤνεγκεν αὐτὴν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ, καὶ τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν ἐν τῷ σκηνώματι αὐτοῦ.
And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
55
וְכִרְאוֹת שָׁאוּל אֶת־דָּוִד יֹצֵא לִקְרַאת הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אָמַר אֶל־אַבְנֵר שַׂר הַצָּבָא בֶּן־מִי־זֶה הַנַּעַר אַבְנֵר וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְנֵר חֵי־נַפְשְׁךָ הַמֶּלֶךְ אִם־יָדָעְתִּי
And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host: 'Abner, whose son is this youth?' And Abner said: 'As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.'
56
וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁאַל אַתָּה בֶּן־מִי־זֶה הָעָלֶם
And the king said: 'Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.'
57
וּכְשׁוּב דָּוִד מֵהַכּוֹת אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וַיִּקַּח אֹתוֹ אַבְנֵר וַיְבִאֵהוּ לִפְנֵי שָׁאוּל וְרֹאשׁ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי בְּיָדוֹ
And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו שָׁאוּל בֶּן־מִי אַתָּה הַנָּעַר וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד בֶּן־עַבְדְּךָ יִשַׁי בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי
And Saul said to him: 'Whose son art thou, thou young man?' And David answered: 'I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.'

How it works

A parallel reader for the Hebrew Bible and its oldest witnesses: the Masoretic text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint, each with an English translation where one is available.

Reading a chapter

Choose a book and chapter at the top, or type a reference into Go to (Isa 53:11, 1 Sam 3, sam 3:4, ii kgs 2, ben sira 51). Book names can be abbreviated; a name shared by numbered books (sam, kings, chr, macc) opens the first of them unless you add the number. The arrow keys move between chapters, and the address bar keeps a link to the verse you clicked, so you can bookmark or share a place.

Each row is one verse. Rows follow the Masoretic verse numbering, so the Hebrew, JPS and Samaritan columns line up exactly. The Septuagint is numbered differently in many places (Psalms, Jeremiah, Exodus 35–40, parts of Kings, Proverbs, Daniel, and dozens of chapter boundaries). Its verses are placed against their Masoretic counterparts, and a small tag such as 50:3 shows the Septuagint's own number when it differs. Greek verses that have no Masoretic counterpart (for example the Prayer of Azariah in Daniel 3) appear in reading order as separate rows marked LXX.

Columns

The chips at the top switch columns on and off. Drag a chip (or a column heading) to reorder; with a chip focused, the ← → keys move it. Your choice is remembered. The Samaritan columns appear only in Genesis–Deuteronomy; the scrolls column appears wherever a manuscript survives, including Ben Sira. Columns marked † are licensed for non-commercial use only.

Words: lexicon and concordance

Hover over any Hebrew word (Masoretic, Samaritan or scroll) or any Greek word to see its dictionary form, Strong's number, a short gloss and its grammar. Click the word to open the concordance on the right: the full lexicon entry, then every occurrence, grouped by book — for Hebrew, separately for the Masoretic text, the Samaritan Pentateuch and the scrolls (with the manuscript named). Click a reference to go there; every form of the word in the chapter is highlighted. You can also type a word or a Strong's number into Lexicon at the top.

In the Masoretic text, a Ketiv (the written form, unpointed) is shown in grey immediately before its Qere (the form read aloud); both carry the Qere's dictionary entry.

Variants

The Samaritan Pentateuch and every scroll are compared word by word with the Masoretic text of the same verse:

In the scrolls, letters in brackets are a modern editor's reconstruction and are never counted as variants; letters with a dotted overline are uncertain; ◦ is a trace of an unreadable letter. Manuscripts written in paleo-Hebrew script, and divine names that square-script scrolls write in paleo-Hebrew, are shown in paleo-Hebrew letters (switchable under Display). Hover a manuscript to see its edition. Display → Dead Sea Scrolls can hide the manuscripts that agree with the Masoretic text, or strip the reconstructions to show only what survives.

The comparison is automatic. It aligns words by spelling, so a transposition or a long rewritten passage can be marked imperfectly, and the spelling rule cannot tell a suffix from a vowel letter. Treat the colours as a finding aid and check a critical edition before building an argument on a reading.

Books outside the Hebrew Bible

Besides the Septuagint-only books, the book list has 1 Enoch and Jubilees (“Other ancient books”), shown in R. H. Charles's English with the Qumran copies beside them, and Psalms has a chapter 151. Their scroll copies — like those of Tobit and Ben Sira — have no verse numbers in the data: each fragment is placed by its published identification, and its lines are spread over those verses, so treat the exact verse boundaries as approximate. Aramaic copies (Tobit 4Q196–199 and all of Enoch) are marked “Aramaic” and have no word lookups.

Rabbinic citations

The small ❝ under a verse number opens the passages of rabbinic literature that cite that verse — Mishnah, Tosefta, both Talmuds, Midrash, Targum and Kabbalah (and, if you tick the box, later halakhah, liturgy and thought) — fetched live from Sefaria, so it needs an internet connection. Each passage is listed with Sefaria's date for the work it comes from and a link to read it there. Sefaria's links include allusions and discussions as well as quotations; those it classes as quotations are marked. It works for the Hebrew Bible, Ben Sira (by Kahana's numbering, e.g. the Talmud's quotations of Ben Sira), Tobit and Jubilees. For 1 Enoch, which the rabbis do not quote, it lists instead the Zohar's passages about a “Book of Enoch”.

How the Septuagint is aligned

Each Greek verse is placed by combining three things: the standard table of Septuagint–Masoretic verse correspondences (SIL's lxx.vrs), the table of Masoretic–English numbering differences, and a comparison of the English of Brenton's Septuagint with the JPS English, which confirms each pairing and catches displaced verses. Where no Masoretic verse is similar enough, the Greek verse stands on its own row.

The Greek word data

No openly licensed word-by-word analysis of Brenton's Greek exists, so each Greek word is matched to the most frequent analysis of the same form in the openly licensed Swete Septuagint (Morpheus parser), then to a lexicon entry. About 95% of words are identified. Parses of ambiguous forms (e.g. αὐτοῦ, τοῦ) can be wrong; the card says "automatic parse" as a reminder.

About the texts

What each column is, where it comes from, and what to keep in mind when reading it.

Masoretic Text — Westminster Leningrad Codex

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew Bible as transmitted by the Masoretes, scribal scholars active in Tiberias and elsewhere roughly from the 7th to the 10th century, who fixed its vowel points, accents and marginal notes (the Masorah) around a consonantal text that was already essentially stable by the 1st–2nd century CE. The Leningrad Codex (St Petersburg, Firkovich I B 19 A), copied in 1008/1009 CE in the Ben Asher tradition, is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible; the slightly older Aleppo Codex lost most of the Torah in 1947. It is the base of the standard critical editions (BHK, BHS, BHQ).

The Westminster Leningrad Codex is the public-domain digital transcription of it maintained by the J. Alan Groves Center at Westminster Theological Seminary. In this edition a Ketiv appears as its own unpointed word before the pointed Qere.

JPS 1917 — The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic Text

The first English Bible translation produced by a committee of Jewish scholars for the Jewish Publication Society of America, under Max L. Margolis as editor-in-chief, published in 1917. Its language deliberately follows the cadence of the King James and Revised Versions, but its renderings follow the Masoretic text and Jewish exegetical tradition, and it keeps the Hebrew chapter and verse numbering. It is in the public domain; its successor, the New JPS (Tanakh, 1985), is not. The electronic edition used here writes the divine names as “HaShem” and “G-d”.

Septuagint — Brenton's Greek text and the Updated Brenton English

The Septuagint is the Jewish translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek. The Torah was translated in Alexandria in the 3rd century BCE (the Letter of Aristeas tells the legend of 72 translators under Ptolemy II); the other books followed over the next two centuries. Because it was made from Hebrew manuscripts older than the Masoretic text, it often preserves a different Hebrew text: Jeremiah is about one-seventh shorter and differently ordered (a shorter Hebrew text of this type survives at Qumran in 4QJerb,d), Job is about one-sixth shorter, and Esther and Daniel have long additions. It was the Bible of Philo, Josephus and the New Testament writers, and became the Old Testament of the Greek church, which in turn led Jewish translators (Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion) to produce closer revisions.

Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton published an English translation in 1844 and a Greek–English edition in 1851. His Greek is essentially the Sixtine (Roman) edition of 1587, which follows the 4th-century Codex Vaticanus. It is older and less critical than the modern editions of Rahlfs (1935) and Göttingen, which are under copyright. The English column is the Updated Brenton (Adam Boyd, 2020), Brenton's translation with modernised spelling and wording, dedicated to the public domain.

Samaritan Pentateuch †

The Torah as preserved by the Samaritan community of Mount Gerizim (Nablus), written in the Samaritan script, a descendant of the paleo-Hebrew alphabet. It differs from the Masoretic text in about 6,000 places, most of them spelling or grammar; in about 1,900 of them it agrees with the Septuagint. Some readings are distinctively Samaritan, above all the commandment to build an altar on Mount Gerizim added after the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21) and “Gerizim” for “Ebal” in Deut 27:4. Many others — harmonising expansions that copy one passage into its parallel — are shared with “pre-Samaritan” Qumran manuscripts such as 4QpaleoExodm and 4QNumb, showing that the text type is older than the Samaritan schism.

European scholars learned of it in 1616, when Pietro della Valle brought a manuscript from Damascus; it was printed in the Paris (1645) and London (1657) Polyglots, collated by Benjamin Kennicott (1776–80) and edited critically by August von Gall (1914–18). The Hebrew here is Aleksandr Sigalov's digital text, based on Kennicott and checked against von Gall; the English is Sigalov's adaptation of the King James Version to the Samaritan readings. For modern scholarship see Abraham Tal's edition of MS Shechem 6 and Stefan Schorch's critical editio maior.

Dead Sea Scrolls and other Judean Desert manuscripts †

Between 1947 and 1956 the remains of about 950 manuscripts were found in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran. Some 230 are biblical — every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther is represented, from tiny fragments to the complete Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) — dating from about 250 BCE to 68 CE. They are a thousand years older than the Leningrad Codex. Most are close to the ancestor of the Masoretic text (“proto-Masoretic”), but others agree with the Septuagint (4QJerb, 4QSama in places), with the Samaritan text type, or with neither — evidence that several forms of the text circulated side by side before the Masoretic text prevailed.

Manuscripts from other sites fill out the picture: Masada (before its fall in 73/74 CE; excavated by Yigael Yadin, 1963–65) and the Bar Kokhba refuges of Wadi Murabba'at and Naḥal Ḥever (132–135 CE), whose biblical texts are already virtually identical with the Masoretic text, as well as Naḥal Ṣe'elim, Wadi Sdeir and Naḥal Arugot. The official publication is the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series (Oxford, 1955–2010).

The transcriptions here are those of Martin G. Abegg Jr., James E. Bowley and Edward M. Cook, as converted by the Eep Talstra Centre for Bible and Computer (ETCBC). Each manuscript is labelled with its siglum (e.g. 4QIsad), its DJD number, its find-site and the column or fragment and line. Besides the biblical manuscripts, the copies of Ben Sira, Tobit, 1 Enoch, Jubilees and Psalm 151 are shown under those books. Not every manuscript is in the dataset — notably the Greek scrolls (such as the Greek Minor Prophets from Naḥal Ḥever) are absent, and the Masada Ben Sira scroll is added separately (see Ben Sira).

Ben Sira

The Wisdom of Yeshua ben Eleazar ben Sira, composed in Hebrew in Jerusalem around 190–180 BCE and translated into Greek by his grandson in Egypt after 132 BCE (his prologue explains the difficulty of rendering Hebrew into Greek). It belongs to the Septuagint and to the Catholic and Orthodox canons (Latin Ecclesiasticus) but not to the Jewish one, although the Talmud and midrash quote it. Its Hebrew text was lost to the West until 1896, when Solomon Schechter, Agnes Lewis and Margaret Gibson identified medieval copies in the Cairo Genizah; ancient Hebrew copies then emerged at Qumran and Masada.

About two-thirds of the Hebrew is now known, from six medieval Genizah manuscripts (A–F, 10th–12th century) and three ancient ones: 2QSir (2Q18; Sir 6:14–15, 20–32), the acrostic of Sir 51:13–20, 30 in the Psalms Scroll 11QPsa (columns 21–22), and the Masada scroll (Mas1h), found by Yigael Yadin in 1964 in a casemate room of the fortress and published in 1965: seven columns with Sir 39:27–44:17, copied in the early 1st century BCE, little more than a century after the author. Its agreement with Genizah manuscript B showed that the medieval copies descend from the ancient Hebrew rather than from a translation back from Greek or Syriac.

Here the book is shown in Brenton's Greek and English. The Hebrew column is the Kahana edition, as transcribed on Hebrew Wikisource and distributed by Sefaria (CC BY-SA): a running text built on the Genizah manuscripts, in which words in [brackets] are Kahana's restorations; chapters with no surviving Hebrew are empty. Kahana numbers the verses in the Hebrew order — in the Greek, two blocks of chapters 30–36 are transposed — so his verses have been matched to Brenton's by content for this site, with his own number shown as “Heb.” where it differs. The scrolls column has the three ancient witnesses; the Masada text is Eric Reymond's transcription from bensira.org. Their placement was made for this site by matching the text; there is no Masoretic text to compare them with, so no variants are marked.

Psalm 151

The Septuagint Psalter ends with a short psalm “outside the number”, in which David recalls tending his father's sheep, his anointing and his victory over Goliath. It belongs to the Greek, Syriac and Ethiopic Bibles but not to the Hebrew one, and was long thought to have been composed in Greek — until the Psalms Scroll from Qumran Cave 11 (11QPsa, published by James Sanders in 1965) turned out to contain a longer Hebrew original in its 28th column, as two poems (151A on David's music and anointing, 151B, broken off, on Goliath). The Greek is a condensed translation of them. The psalm is shown as chapter 151 of Psalms, with the scroll's lines under the Greek verses they correspond to.

Tobit

A Jewish novella of the Eastern diaspora (probably 3rd–2nd century BCE): the pious exile Tobit, blinded in Nineveh, sends his son Tobias to recover money in Media, guided by the angel Raphael in disguise; on the way Tobias marries Sarah and drives off the demon Asmodeus. It is in the Septuagint and the Catholic and Orthodox canons. It survives in two Greek forms — a shorter one (Codices Vaticanus and Alexandrinus, printed by Brenton) and a longer one (Codex Sinaiticus) — and the Qumran copies, four in Aramaic (4Q196–199) and one in Hebrew (4Q200), published by Joseph Fitzmyer in 1995, side with the longer form, which is now generally taken as nearer the original. Their verse placement here follows Fitzmyer's identifications.

1 Enoch

A collection of five works ascribed to Enoch, the seventh from Adam who “walked with God” (Gen 5:24): the Book of the Watchers (ch. 1–36, 3rd century BCE), on the angels who descended to the daughters of men; the Parables (37–71); the Astronomical Book (72–82); the Dream Visions (83–90), with the “Animal Apocalypse” of Israel's history; and the Epistle of Enoch (91–108). It is quoted in the Letter of Jude (1:14–15) and is canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose Ge'ez version is the only complete text; Greek survives for about a third. Józef Milik published the Aramaic fragments from Qumran Cave 4 in 1976: eleven copies, covering every part except the Parables, the oldest from around 200 BCE. The English is R. H. Charles's 1917 translation from the Ethiopic (public domain). The Astronomical scrolls (4Q208–211) contain a much longer calendar than the Ethiopic; only their few passages that match chapters 76–82 are placed.

Jubilees

A retelling of Genesis and Exodus 1–14 as revealed to Moses on Sinai by an “angel of the presence”, dated by a calendar of 49-year jubilees and a 364-day solar year (mid-2nd century BCE). Like 1 Enoch it is canonical only in the Ethiopian church, whose Ge'ez version is the only complete text; parts survive in Latin, Syriac and Greek quotations. Fragments of about fifteen Hebrew copies were found at Qumran, more than of most biblical books, and are published in DJD 13 (VanderKam and Milik, 1994) and DJD 23. The English is R. H. Charles's 1917 translation (public domain).

Lexicon and concordance data

Hebrew words carry the analysis of STEPBible's Translators Amalgamated Hebrew OT (Tyndale House, Cambridge): extended Strong's numbers — James Strong's 1890 numbering, subdivided to follow the Brown–Driver–Briggs lexicon (1906) — with morphology from the ETCBC and an abridged BDB for definitions. Samaritan and scroll words take the analysis of the Masoretic word they correspond to, or, where they differ, of the same written form elsewhere in the Masoretic text. Greek words are matched through the Swete Septuagint and the Morpheus parser to STEPBible's Greek lexicon, which draws on Abbott-Smith (1922) and Liddell–Scott–Jones.

† Licensed for non-commercial use only. Full credits and licences: Credits and licences.