Textorah

I Samuel 25

1
וַיָּמָת שְׁמוּאֵל וַיִּקָּבְצוּ כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּסְפְּדוּ־לוֹ וַיִּקְבְּרֻהוּ בְּבֵיתוֹ בָּרָמָה וַיָּקָם דָּוִד וַיֵּרֶד אֶל־מִדְבַּר פָּארָן
And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
Καὶ ἀπέθανε Σαμουὴλ, καὶ συναθροίζονται πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ κόπτονται αὐτὸν, καὶ θάπτουσιν αὐτὸν ἐν οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ ἐν Ἁρμαθαίμ· καὶ ἀνέστη Δαυὶδ, καὶ κατέβη εἰς τὴν ἔρημον Μαών.
And Samuel died, and all Israel assembled, and bewailed him, and they bury him in his house in Ramah: and David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Maon.
2
וְאִישׁ בְּמָעוֹן וּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ בַכַּרְמֶל וְהָאִישׁ גָּדוֹל מְאֹד וְלוֹ צֹאן שְׁלֹשֶׁת־אֲלָפִים וְאֶלֶף עִזִּים וַיְהִי בִּגְזֹז אֶת־צֹאנוֹ בַּכַּרְמֶל
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
Καὶ ἦν ἄνθρωπος ἐν τῇ Μαὼν, καὶ τὰ ποίμνια αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ Καρμήλῳ, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος μέγας σφόδρα· καὶ τούτῳ ποίμνια τρισχίλια, καὶ αἶγες χίλιαι· καὶ ἐγενήθη ἐν τῷ κείρειν τὸ ποίμνιον αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ Καρμήλῳ.
And there was a man in Maon, and his flocks were in Carmel, and [he was] a very great man; and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand she-goats: and he happened to be shearing his flock in Carmel.
3
וְשֵׁם הָאִישׁ נָבָל וְשֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ אֲבִגָיִל וְהָאִשָּׁה טוֹבַת־שֶׂכֶל וִיפַת תֹּאַר וְהָאִישׁ קָשֶׁה וְרַע מַעֲלָלִים וְהוּא כלבו כָלִבִּי
Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful form; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
Καὶ ὄνομα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ Νάβαλ, καὶ ὄνομα τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ Ἀβιγαία· καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἀγαθὴ συνέσει καὶ ἀγαθὴ τῷ εἴδει σφόδρα· καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος σκληρὸς καὶ πονηρὸς ἐν ἐπιτηδεύμασι, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος κυνικός.
And the man’s name [was] Nabal, and his wife’s name [was] Abigail: and his wife [was] of good understanding and very beautiful in person: but the man [was] harsh and evil in his doings, and the man [was] churlish.
4
וַיִּשְׁמַע דָּוִד בַּמִּדְבָּר כִּי־גֹזֵז נָבָל אֶת־צֹאנוֹ
And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
καὶ ἤκουσε Δαυὶδ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ὅτι κείρει Νάβαλ ὁ Καρμήλιος τὸ ποίμνιον αὐτοῦ.
And David heard in the wilderness, that Nabal the Carmelite was shearing his sheep.
5
וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִד עֲשָׂרָה נְעָרִים וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לַנְּעָרִים עֲלוּ כַרְמֶלָה וּבָאתֶם אֶל־נָבָל וּשְׁאֶלְתֶּם־לוֹ בִשְׁמִי לְשָׁלוֹם
And David sent ten young men, and David said unto the young men: 'Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name;
Καὶ ἀπέστειλε Δαυὶδ δέκα παιδάρια, καὶ εἶπε τοῖς παιδαρίοις, ἀνάβητε εἰς Κάρμηλον καὶ ἀπέλθατε πρὸς Νάβαλ, καὶ ἐρωτήσατε αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου εἰς εἰρήνην,
And David sent ten young men, and he said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and ask him in my name how he is.
6
וַאֲמַרְתֶּם כֹּה לֶחָי וְאַתָּה שָׁלוֹם וּבֵיתְךָ שָׁלוֹם וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ שָׁלוֹם
and thus ye shall say: All hail! and peace be both unto thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
καὶ ἐρεῖτε τάδε· εἰς ὥρας καὶ σὺ ὑγιαίνων καὶ ὁ οἶκός σου, καὶ πάντα τὰ σὰ ὑγιαίνοντα.
And thus shall ye say, May thou and thy house seasonably prosper, and all thine be in prosperity.
7
וְעַתָּה שָׁמַעְתִּי כִּי גֹזְזִים לָךְ עַתָּה הָרֹעִים אֲשֶׁר־לְךָ הָיוּ עִמָּנוּ לֹא הֶכְלַמְנוּם וְלֹא־נִפְקַד לָהֶם מְאוּמָה כָּל־יְמֵי הֱיוֹתָם בַּכַּרְמֶל
And now I have heard that thou hast shearers; thy shepherds have now been with us, and we did them no hurt, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.
Καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ἀκήκοα ὅτι κείρουσί σοι νῦν οἱ ποιμένες σου οἳ ἦσαν μεθʼ ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκωλύσαμεν αὐτοὺς, καὶ οὐκ ἐνετειλάμεθα αὐτοῖς οὐθὲν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ὄντων αὐτῶν ἐν Καρμήλῳ.
And now, behold, I have heard that thy shepherds who were with us in the wilderness are shearing thy sheep, and we hindered them not, neither did we demand anything from them all the time they were in Carmel.
8
שְׁאַל אֶת־נְעָרֶיךָ וְיַגִּידוּ לָךְ וְיִמְצְאוּ הַנְּעָרִים חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ כִּי־עַל־יוֹם טוֹב בָּנוּ תְּנָה־נָּא אֵת אֲשֶׁר תִּמְצָא יָדְךָ לַעֲבָדֶיךָ וּלְבִנְךָ לְדָוִד
Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee; wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes; for we come on a good day; give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thy hand, unto thy servants, and to thy son David.'
Ἐρώτησον τὰ παιδάριά σου, καὶ ἀπαγγελοῦσί σοι· καὶ εὑρέτωσαν τὰ παιδάριά σου χάριν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς σου, ὅτι ἐφʼ ἡμέραν ἀγαθὴν ἥκομεν· δὸς δὴ ὃ ἐὰν εὕρῃ ἡ χείρ σου τῷ υἱῷ σου τῷ Δαυίδ.
Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Let then thy servants find grace in thine eyes, for we are come on a good day; give, we pray thee, whatsoever thy hand may find, to thy son David.
9
וַיָּבֹאוּ נַעֲרֵי דָוִד וַיְדַבְּרוּ אֶל־נָבָל כְּכָל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה בְּשֵׁם דָּוִד וַיָּנוּחוּ
And when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
Καὶ ἔρχονται τὰ παιδάρια, καὶ λαλοῦσι τοὺς λόγους τούτους πρὸς Νάβαλ κατὰ πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Δαυίδ· καὶ ἀνεπήδησε
So the servants come and speak these words to Nabal, according to all these words in the name of David.
10
וַיַּעַן נָבָל אֶת־עַבְדֵי דָוִד וַיֹּאמֶר מִי דָוִד וּמִי בֶן־יִשָׁי הַיּוֹם רַבּוּ עֲבָדִים הַמִּתְפָּרְצִים אִישׁ מִפְּנֵי אֲדֹנָיו
And Nabal answered David's servants, and said: 'Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master;
καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Νάβαλ τοῖς παισὶ Δαυὶδ, καὶ εἶπε, τίς ὁ Δαυὶδ, καὶ τίς ὁ υἱὸς Ἰεσσαί; σήμερον πεπληθυμένοι εἰσὶν οἱ δοῦλοι ἀναχωροῦντες ἕκαστος ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ.
And Nabal sprang up, and answered the servants of David, and said, Who [is] David? and who [is] the son of Jesse? nowadays there is abundance of servants who depart every one from his master.
11
וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶת־לַחְמִי וְאֶת־מֵימַי וְאֵת טִבְחָתִי אֲשֶׁר טָבַחְתִּי לְגֹזְזָי וְנָתַתִּי לַאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַעְתִּי אֵי מִזֶּה הֵמָּה
shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are?'
Καὶ λήψομαι τοὺς ἄρτους μου καὶ τὸν οἶνόν μου καὶ τὰ θύματά μου ἃ τέθυκα τοῖς κείρουσί μου τὰ πρόβατα, καὶ δώσω αὐτὰ ἀνδράσιν, οἷς οὐκ οἶδα πόθεν εἰσί;
And shall I take my bread, and my wine, and my beasts that I have slain for my shearers, and shall I give them to men of whom I know not whence they are?
12
וַיַּהַפְכוּ נַעֲרֵי־דָוִד לְדַרְכָּם וַיָּשֻׁבוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ וַיַּגִּדוּ לוֹ כְּכֹל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה
So David's young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words.
Καὶ ἀπεστράφησαν τὰ παιδάρια Δαυὶδ εἰς ὁδὸν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀνέστρεψαν καὶ ἦλθον, καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν τῷ Δαυὶδ κατὰ τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα.
So the servants of David turned back, and returned, and came and reported to David according to these words.
13
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לַאֲנָשָׁיו חִגְרוּ אִישׁ אֶת־חַרְבּוֹ וַיַּחְגְּרוּ אִישׁ אֶת־חַרְבּוֹ וַיַּחְגֹּר גַּם־דָּוִד אֶת־חַרְבּוֹ וַיַּעֲלוּ אַחֲרֵי דָוִד כְּאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת אִישׁ וּמָאתַיִם יָשְׁבוּ עַל־הַכֵּלִים
And David said unto his men: 'Gird ye on every man his sword.' And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword; and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the baggage.
Καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν αὐτοῦ, ζώσασθε ἕκαστος τὴν ῥομφαίαν αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἀνέβησαν ὀπίσω Δαυὶδ, ὡς τετρακόσιοι ἄνδρες· καὶ οἱ διακόσιοι ἐκάθισαν μετὰ τῶν σκευῶν.
And David said to his men, Gird on every man his sword. And they went up after David, about four hundred men: and two hundred abode with the stuff.
14
וְלַאֲבִיגַיִל אֵשֶׁת נָבָל הִגִּיד נַעַר־אֶחָד מֵהַנְּעָרִים לֵאמֹר הִנֵּה שָׁלַח דָּוִד מַלְאָכִים מֵהַמִּדְבָּר לְבָרֵךְ אֶת־אֲדֹנֵינוּ וַיָּעַט בָּהֶם
But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying: 'Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he flew upon them.
Καὶ τῇ Ἀβιγαίᾳ γυναικὶ Νάβαλ ἀπήγγειλεν ἓν τῶν παιδαρίων, λέγων, ἰδοὺ Δαυὶδ ἀπέστειλεν ἀγγέλους ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου εὐλογῆσαι τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν, καὶ ἐξέκλινεν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν.
And one of the servants reported to Abigail the wife of Nabal, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our lord; but he turned away from them.
15
וְהָאֲנָשִׁים טֹבִים לָנוּ מְאֹד וְלֹא הָכְלַמְנוּ וְלֹא־פָקַדְנוּ מְאוּמָה כָּל־יְמֵי הִתְהַלַּכְנוּ אִתָּם בִּהְיוֹתֵנוּ בַּשָּׂדֶה
But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields;
Καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες ἀγαθοὶ ἡμῖν σφόδρα, οὐκ ἀπεκώλυσαν ἡμᾶς, οὐδὲ ἐνετείλαντο ἡμῖν οὐδὲν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἃς ἦμεν παρʼ αὐτοῖς.
And the men were very good to us; they did not hinder us, neither did they demand from us anything all the days that we were with them.
16
חוֹמָה הָיוּ עָלֵינוּ גַּם־לַיְלָה גַּם־יוֹמָם כָּל־יְמֵי הֱיוֹתֵנוּ עִמָּם רֹעִים הַצֹּאן
they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
Καὶ ἐν τῷ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἐν ἀγρῷ, ὡς τεῖχος ἦσαν περὶ ἡμᾶς καὶ τὴν νύκτα καὶ τὴν ἡμέραν, πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἃς ἦμεν παρʼ αὐτοῖς ποιμαίνοντες τὸ ποίμνιον.
And when we were in the field, they were as a wall round about us, both by night and by day, all the days that we were with them feeding the flock.
17
וְעַתָּה דְּעִי וּרְאִי מַה־תַּעֲשִׂי כִּי־כָלְתָה הָרָעָה אֶל־אֲדֹנֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל־בֵּיתוֹ וְהוּא בֶּן־בְּלִיַּעַל מִדַּבֵּר אֵלָיו
Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a base fellow, that one cannot speak to him.'
Καὶ νῦν γνῶθι καὶ ἴδε σὺ τί ποιήσεις, ὅτι συντετέλεσται ἡ κακία εἰς τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν καὶ εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ· καὶ οὗτος υἱὸς λοιμὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι λαλῆσαι πρὸς αὐτόν.
And now do thou consider, and see what thou wilt do; for mischief is determined against our lord and against his house; and he [is] a vile character, and one cannot speak to him.
18
וַתְּמַהֵר אבוגיל אֲבִיגַיִל וַתִּקַּח מָאתַיִם לֶחֶם וּשְׁנַיִם נִבְלֵי־יַיִן וְחָמֵשׁ צֹאן עשוות עֲשׂוּיֹת וְחָמֵשׁ סְאִים קָלִי וּמֵאָה צִמֻּקִים וּמָאתַיִם דְּבֵלִים וַתָּשֶׂם עַל־הַחֲמֹרִים
Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
Καὶ ἔσπευσεν Ἀβιγαία καὶ ἔλαβε διακοσίους ἄρτους, καὶ δύο ἀγγεῖα οἴνου, καὶ πέντε πρόβατα πεποιημένα, καὶ πέντε οἰφὶ ἀλφίτου, καὶ γόμορ ἓν σταφίδος, καὶ διακοσίας παλάθας, καὶ ἔθετο ἐπὶ τοὺς ὄνους.
And Abigail hastened, and took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five ephahs of fine flour, and one homer of dried grapes, and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them upon asses.
19
וַתֹּאמֶר לִנְעָרֶיהָ עִבְרוּ לְפָנַי הִנְנִי אַחֲרֵיכֶם בָּאָה וּלְאִישָׁהּ נָבָל לֹא הִגִּידָה
And she said unto her young men: 'Go on before me; behold, I come after you.' But she told not her husband Nabal.
Καὶ εἶπε τοῖς παιδαρίοις αὐτῆς, προπορεύεσθε ἔμπροσθέν μου, καὶ ἰδοὺ, ἐγὼ ὀπίσω ὑμῶν παραγίνομαι· καὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς οὐκ ἀπήγγειλε.
And she said to her servants, Go on before me, and behold I come after you: but she told not her husband.
20
וְהָיָה הִיא רֹכֶבֶת עַל־הַחֲמוֹר וְיֹרֶדֶת בְּסֵתֶר הָהָר וְהִנֵּה דָוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו יֹרְדִים לִקְרָאתָהּ וַתִּפְגֹּשׁ אֹתָם
And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down towards her; and she met them.--
Καὶ ἐγενήθη, αὐτῆς ἐπιβεβηκυίης ἐπὶ τὴν ὄνον καὶ καταβαινούσης ἐν σκέπῃ τοῦ ὄρους, καὶ ἰδοὺ Δαυὶδ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ κατέβαινον εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτῆς, καὶ ἀπήντησεν αὐτοῖς.
And it came to pass when she had mounted her ass and was going down by the covert of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down to meet her, and she met them.
21
וְדָוִד אָמַר אַךְ לַשֶּׁקֶר שָׁמַרְתִּי אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר לָזֶה בַּמִּדְבָּר וְלֹא־נִפְקַד מִכָּל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ מְאוּמָה וַיָּשֶׁב־לִי רָעָה תַּחַת טוֹבָה
Now David had said: 'Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him; and he hath returned me evil for good.
Καὶ Δαυὶδ εἶπεν, ἴσως εἰς ἄδικον πεφύλακα πάντα τὰ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, καὶ οὐκ ἐνετειλάμεθα λαβεῖν ἐκ πάντων τῶν αὐτοῦ οὐθὲν, καὶ ἀνταπέδωκέ μοι πονηρὰ ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν.
And David said, Perhaps I have kept all his possessions in the wilderness that he should wrong me, and we did not order the taking anything of all his goods; yet he has rewarded me evil for good.
22
כֹּה־יַעֲשֶׂה אֱלֹהִים לְאֹיְבֵי דָוִד וְכֹה יֹסִיף אִם־אַשְׁאִיר מִכָּל־אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ עַד־הַבֹּקֶר מַשְׁתִּין בְּקִיר
G-d do so unto the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light so much as one male.'--
Τάδε ποιήσαι ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Δαυὶδ καὶ τάδε προσθείη, εἰ ὑπολείψομαι ἐκ πάντων τῶν τοῦ Νάβαλ ἕως πρωΐ οὐροῦντα πρὸς τοῖχον.
So God do to David and more also, if I leave one male of all that belong to Nabal until the morning.
23
וַתֵּרֶא אֲבִיגַיִל אֶת־דָּוִד וַתְּמַהֵר וַתֵּרֶד מֵעַל הַחֲמוֹר וַתִּפֹּל לְאַפֵּי דָוִד עַל־פָּנֶיהָ וַתִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרֶץ
And when Abigail saw David, she made haste, and alighted from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed down to the ground.
Καὶ εἶδεν Ἀβιγαία τὸν Δαυίδ, καὶ ἔσπευσε καὶ κατεπήδησεν ἀπὸ τῆς ὄνου, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐνώπιον Δαυὶδ ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτῆς, καὶ προσεκύνησεν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν
And Abigail saw David, and she hastened, and alighted from her ass; and she fell before David on her face, and did obeisance to him, [bowing] to the ground
24
וַתִּפֹּל עַל־רַגְלָיו וַתֹּאמֶר בִּי־אֲנִי אֲדֹנִי הֶעָוֺן וּתְדַבֶּר־נָא אֲמָתְךָ בְּאָזְנֶיךָ וּשְׁמַע אֵת דִּבְרֵי אֲמָתֶךָ
And she fell at his feet, and said: 'Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy handmaid.
ἐπὶ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἶπεν, ἐν ἐμοὶ κύριέ μου ἡ ἀδικία μου, λαλησάτω δὴ ἡ δούλη σου εἰς τὰ ὦτά σου, καὶ ἄκουσον λόγων τῆς δούλης σου.
[even] to his feet, and said, On me, my lord, be my wrong: let, I pray thee, thy servant speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy servant.
25
אַל־נָא יָשִׂים אֲדֹנִי אֶת־לִבּוֹ אֶל־אִישׁ הַבְּלִיַּעַל הַזֶּה עַל־נָבָל כִּי כִשְׁמוֹ כֶּן־הוּא נָבָל שְׁמוֹ וּנְבָלָה עִמּוֹ ו͏ַאֲנִי אֲמָתְךָ לֹא רָאִיתִי אֶת־נַעֲרֵי אֲדֹנִי אֲשֶׁר שָׁלָחְתָּ
Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this base fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and churlishness is with him; but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
Μὴ δὴ θέσθω ὁ κύριός μου καρδίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν λοιμὸν τοῦτον, ὅτι κατὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ οὗτός ἐστι· Νάβαλ ὄνομα αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀφροσύνη μετʼ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐγὼ ἡ δούλη σου οὐκ εἶδον τὰ παιδάρια τοῦ κυρίου μου ἃ ἀπέστειλας.
Let not my lord, I pray thee, take to heart this pestilent man, for according to his name, so is he; Nabal [is] his name, and folly [is] with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the servants of my lord whom thou didst send.
26
וְעַתָּה אֲדֹנִי חַי־יְהוָה וְחֵי־נַפְשְׁךָ אֲשֶׁר מְנָעֲךָ יְהוָה מִבּוֹא בְדָמִים וְהוֹשֵׁעַ יָדְךָ לָךְ וְעַתָּה יִהְיוּ כְנָבָל אֹיְבֶיךָ וְהַמְבַקְשִׁים אֶל־אֲדֹנִי רָעָה
Now therefore, my lord, as HaShem liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing HaShem hath withholden thee from bloodguiltiness, and from finding redress for thyself with thine own hand, now therefore let thine enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
Καὶ νῦν κύριέ μου, ζῇ Κύριος καὶ ζῇ ἡ ψυχή σου, καθὼς ἐκώλυσέ σε Κύριος τοῦ μὴ ἐλθεῖν εἰς αἷμα ἀθῶον, καὶ σώζειν τὴν χεῖρά σου σοί· καὶ νῦν γένοιντο ὡς Νάβαλ οἱ ἐχθροί σου καὶ οἱ ζητοῦντες τῷ κυρίῳ μου κακά.
And now, my lord, [as] the Lord lives, and thy soul lives, as the Lord has kept thee from coming against innocent blood, and from executing vengeance for thyself, now therefore let thine enemies, and those that seek evil against my lord, become as Nabal.
27
וְעַתָּה הַבְּרָכָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר־הֵבִיא שִׁפְחָתְךָ לַאדֹנִי וְנִתְּנָה לַנְּעָרִים הַמִּתְהַלְּכִים בְּרַגְלֵי אֲדֹנִי
And now this present which thy servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord.
Καὶ νῦν λάβε τὴν εὐλογίαν ταύτην, ἣν ἐνήνοχεν ἡ δούλη σου τῷ κυρίῳ μου, καὶ δώσεις τοῖς παιδαρίοις τοῖς παρεστηκόσι τῷ κυρίῳ μου.
And now accept this token of goodwill, which thy servant has brought to my lord, and thou shalt give it to the servants that wait on my lord.
28
שָׂא נָא לְפֶשַׁע אֲמָתֶךָ כִּי עָשֹׂה־יַעֲשֶׂה יְהוָה לַאדֹנִי בַּיִת נֶאֱמָן כִּי־מִלְחֲמוֹת יְהוָה אֲדֹנִי נִלְחָם וְרָעָה לֹא־תִמָּצֵא בְךָ מִיָּמֶיךָ
Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid; for HaShem will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of HaShem; and evil is not found in thee all thy days.
Ἆρον δὴ τὸ ἀνόμημα τῆς δούλης σου, ὅτι ποιῶν ποιήσει Κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου οἶκον πιστὸν, ὅτι πόλεμον κυρίου μου ὁ Κύριος πολεμεῖ, καὶ κακία οὐχ εὑρεθήσεται ἐν σοὶ πώποτε.
Remove, I pray thee, the trespass of thy servant; for the Lord will surely make for my lord a sure house, for the Lord fights the battles of my lord, and there shall no evil be ever found in thee.
29
וַיָּקָם אָדָם לִרְדָפְךָ וּלְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת־נַפְשֶׁךָ וְהָיְתָה נֶפֶשׁ אֲדֹנִי צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְאֵת נֶפֶשׁ אֹיְבֶיךָ יְקַלְּעֶנָּה בְּתוֹךְ כַּף הַקָּלַע
And though man be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with HaShem thy G-d; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.
Καὶ ἀναστήσεται ἄνθρωπος καταδιώκων σε καὶ ζητῶν τὴν ψυχήν σου, καὶ ἔσται ψυχὴ κυρίου μου ἐνδεδεμένη ἐν δεσμῷ τῆς ζωῆς παρὰ Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ψυχὴν ἐχθρῶν σου σφενδονήσεις ἐν μέσῳ τῆς σφενδόνης.
And [if] a man shall rise up persecuting thee and seeking thy life, yet shall the life of my lord be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord God, and thou shalt whirl the life of thine enemies [as] in the midst of a sling.
30
וְהָיָה כִּי־יַעֲשֶׂה יְהוָה לַאדֹנִי כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר אֶת־הַטּוֹבָה עָלֶיךָ וְצִוְּךָ לְנָגִיד עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל
And it shall come to pass, when HaShem shall have done to my lord according to all the good that He hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel;
Καὶ ἔσται ὅτε ποιήσῃ Κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου πάντα ὅσα ἐλάλησεν ἀγαθὰ ἐπὶ σὲ, καὶ ἐντελεῖταί σοι εἰς ἡγούμενον ἐπὶ Ἰσραὴλ,
And it shall be when the Lord shall have wrought for my lord all the good things he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee to be ruler over Israel;
31
וְלֹא תִהְיֶה זֹאת לְךָ לְפוּקָה וּלְמִכְשׁוֹל לֵב לַאדֹנִי וְלִשְׁפָּךְ־דָּם חִנָּם וּלְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֲדֹנִי לוֹ וְהֵיטִב יְהוָה לַאדֹנִי וְזָכַרְתָּ אֶת־אֲמָתֶךָ
that this shall be no stumbling-block unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath found redress for himself. And when HaShem shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.'
καὶ οὐκ ἔσται σοι τοῦτο βδελυγμὸς καὶ σκάνδαλον τῷ κυρίῳ μου, ἐκχέαι αἷμα ἀθῶον δωρεὰν, καὶ σῶσαι χεῖρα κυρίῳ μου αὐτῷ· καὶ ἀγαθώσαι Κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μοῦ, καὶ μνησθήσῃ τῆς δούλης σου ἀγαθῶσαι αὐτῇ.
then this shall not be an abomination and offense to my lord, to have shed innocent blood without cause, and for my lord to have avenged himself: and so may the Lord do good to my lord, and thou shalt remember thy handmaid to do her good.
32
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לַאֲבִיגַל בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחֵךְ הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לִקְרָאתִי
And David said to Abigail: 'Blessed be HaShem, the G-d of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me;
Καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ τῇ Ἀβιγαίᾳ, εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ, ὃς ἀπέστειλέ σε σήμερον ἐν ταύτῃ εἰς ἀπάντησίν μοι,
And David said to Abigail, Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel, who sent thee this very day to meet me:
33
וּבָרוּךְ טַעְמֵךְ וּבְרוּכָה אָתְּ אֲשֶׁר כְּלִתִנִי הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה מִבּוֹא בְדָמִים וְהֹשֵׁעַ יָדִי לִי
and blessed be thy discretion, and blessed be thou, that hast kept me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from finding redress for myself with mine own hand.
καὶ εὐλογητὸς ὁ τρόπος σου, καὶ εὐλογημένη σὺ ἡ ἀποκωλύσασά με σήμερον ἐν ταύτῃ μὴ ἐλθεῖν εἰς αἵματα, καὶ σῶσαι χεῖρά μου ἐμοί.
and blessed [be] thy conduct, and blessed [be] thou, who hast hindered me this very day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself.
34
וְאוּלָם חַי־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר מְנָעַנִי מֵהָרַע אֹתָךְ כִּי לוּלֵי מִהַרְתְּ ותבאתי וַתָּבֹאת לִקְרָאתִי כִּי אִם־נוֹתַר לְנָבָל עַד־אוֹר הַבֹּקֶר מַשְׁתִּין בְּקִיר
For in very deed, as HaShem, the G-d of Israel, liveth, who hath withholden me from hurting thee, except thou hadst made haste and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light so much as one male.'
Πλὴν ὅτι ζῇ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ, ὃς ἀπεκώλυσέ σε σήμερον τοῦ κακοποιῆσαί σε, ὅτι εἰ μὴ ἔσπευσας καὶ παρεγένου εἰς ἀπάντησίν μοι, τότε εἶπα, εἰ ὑπολειφθήσεται τῷ Νάβαλ ἕως φωτὸς τοῦ πρωῒ οὐρῶν πρὸς τοῖχον.
But surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who hindered me this day from doing thee harm, if thou hadst not hastened and come to meet me, then I said, There shall [surely] not be left to Nabal till the morning one male.
35
וַיִּקַּח דָּוִד מִיָּדָהּ אֵת אֲשֶׁר־הֵבִיאָה לוֹ וְלָהּ אָמַר עֲלִי לְשָׁלוֹם לְבֵיתֵךְ רְאִי שָׁמַעְתִּי בְקוֹלֵךְ וָאֶשָּׂא פָּנָיִךְ
So David received of her hand that which she had brought him; and he said unto her: 'Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.'
Καὶ ἔλαβε Δαυὶδ ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτῆς πάντα ἃ ἔφερεν αὐτῷ, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ, ἀνάβηθι εἰς εἰρήνην εἰς οἶκόν σου· βλέπε, ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς σου, καὶ ἠρέτισα τὸ πρόσωπόν σου.
And David took of her hand all that she brought to him, and said to her, Go in peace to thy house: see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and accepted thy petition.
36
וַתָּבֹא אֲבִיגַיִל אֶל־נָבָל וְהִנֵּה־לוֹ מִשְׁתֶּה בְּבֵיתוֹ כְּמִשְׁתֵּה הַמֶּלֶךְ וְלֵב נָבָל טוֹב עָלָיו וְהוּא שִׁכֹּר עַד־מְאֹד וְלֹא־הִגִּידָה לּוֹ דָּבָר קָטֹן וְגָדוֹל עַד־אוֹר הַבֹּקֶר
And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken; wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
Καὶ παρεγενήθη Ἀβιγαία πρὸς Νάβαλ· καὶ ἰδοὺ αὐτῷ πότος ἐν οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ, ὡς πότος βασιλέως· καὶ ἡ καρδία Νάβαλ ἀγαθὴ ἐπʼ αὐτόν· καὶ αὐτὸς μεθύων ἕως σφόδρα· καὶ οὐκ ἀπήγγειλεν αὐτῷ ῥῆμα μικρὸν ἢ μέγα ἕως φωτὸς τοῦ πρωΐ.
And Abigail came to Nabal: and, behold, he had a banquet in his house, as the banquet of a king, and the heart of Nabal [was] merry within him, and he [was] very drunken: and she told him nothing great or small till the morning light.
37
וַיְהִי בַבֹּקֶר בְּצֵאת הַיַּיִן מִנָּבָל וַתַּגֶּד־לוֹ אִשְׁתּוֹ אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַיָּמָת לִבּוֹ בְּקִרְבּוֹ וְהוּא הָיָה לְאָבֶן
And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
Καὶ ἐγένετο πρωῒ, ὡς ἐξένηψεν ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴνου Νάβαλ, ἀπήγγειλεν ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα· καὶ ἐναπέθανεν ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ αὐτὸς γίνεται ὡς λίθος.
And it came to pass in the morning, when Nabal recovered from his wine, his wife told him these words; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
38
וַיְהִי כַּעֲשֶׂרֶת הַיָּמִים וַיִּגֹּף יְהוָה אֶת־נָבָל וַיָּמֹת
And it came to pass about ten days after, that HaShem smote Nabal, so that he died.
Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡσεὶ δέκα ἡμέραι, καὶ ἐπάταξε Κύριος τὸν Νάβαλ, καὶ ἀπέθανε.
And it came to pass after about ten days, that the Lord smote Nabal, and he died.
39
וַיִּשְׁמַע דָּוִד כִּי מֵת נָבָל וַיֹּאמֶר בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר רָב אֶת־רִיב חֶרְפָּתִי מִיַּד נָבָל וְאֶת־עַבְדּוֹ חָשַׂךְ מֵרָעָה וְאֵת רָעַת נָבָל הֵשִׁיב יְהוָה בְּרֹאשׁוֹ וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִד וַיְדַבֵּר בַּאֲבִיגַיִל לְקַחְתָּהּ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה
And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said: 'Blessed be HaShem, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back His servant from evil; and the evil-doing of Nabal hath HaShem returned upon his own head.' And David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife.
Καὶ ἤκουσε Δαυὶδ, καὶ εἶπεν, εὐλογητὸς Κύριος, ὃς ἔκρινε τὴν κρίσιν τοῦ ὀνειδισμοῦ μου ἐκ χειρὸς Νάβαλ, καὶ τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ περιεποιήσατο ἐκ χειρὸς κακῶν, καὶ τὴν κακίαν Νάβαλ ἀπέστρεψε Κύριος εἰς κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἀπέστειλε Δαυὶδ καὶ ἐλάλησε περὶ Ἀβιγαίας, λαβεῖν αὐτὴν ἑαυτῷ εἰς γυναῖκα.
And David heard it and said, Blessed [be] the Lord, who has judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and has delivered his servant from the power of evil; and the Lord has returned the mischief of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself for a wife.
40
וַיָּבֹאוּ עַבְדֵי דָוִד אֶל־אֲבִיגַיִל הַכַּרְמֶלָה וַיְדַבְּרוּ אֵלֶיהָ לֵאמֹר דָּוִד שְׁלָחָנוּ אֵלַיִךְ לְקַחְתֵּךְ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה
And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke unto her, saying: 'David hath sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.'
Καὶ ἦλθον οἱ παῖδες Δαυὶδ πρὸς Ἀβιγαίαν εἰς Κάρμηλον, καὶ ἐλάλησαν αὐτῇ, λέγοντες, Δαυὶδ ἀπέστειλεν ἡμᾶς πρὸς σὲ, λαβεῖν σε αὐτῷ εἰς γυναῖκα.
So the servants of David came to Abigail to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife.
41
וַתָּקָם וַתִּשְׁתַּחוּ אַפַּיִם אָרְצָה וַתֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה אֲמָתְךָ לְשִׁפְחָה לִרְחֹץ רַגְלֵי עַבְדֵי אֲדֹנִי
And she arose, and bowed down with her face to the earth, and said: 'Behold, thy handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.'
Καὶ ἀνέστη καὶ προσεκύνησεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον, καὶ εἶπεν, ἰδοὺ ἡ δούλη σου εἰς παιδίσκην νίψαι πόδας τῶν παίδων σου.
And she arose, and did reverence with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, thy servant [is] for a handmaid to wash the feet of thy servants.
42
וַתְּמַהֵר וַתָּקָם אֲבִיגַיִל וַתִּרְכַּב עַל־הַחֲמוֹר וְחָמֵשׁ נַעֲרֹתֶיהָ הַהֹלְכוֹת לְרַגְלָהּ וַתֵּלֶךְ אַחֲרֵי מַלְאֲכֵי דָוִד וַתְּהִי־לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה
And Abigail hastened, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
Καὶ ἀνέστη Ἀβιγαία, καὶ ἐπέβη ἐπὶ τὴν ὄνον, καὶ πέντε κοράσια ἠκολούθουν αὐτῇ, καὶ ἐπορεύθη ὀπίσω τῶν παίδων Δαυὶδ, καὶ γίνεται αὐτῷ εἰς γυναῖκα.
And Abigail arose, and mounted her ass, and five damsels followed her: and she went after the servants of David, and became his wife.
43
וְאֶת־אֲחִינֹעַם לָקַח דָּוִד מִיִּזְרְעֶאל וַתִּהְיֶיןָ גַּם־שְׁתֵּיהֶן לוֹ לְנָשִׁים
David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became both of them his wives.
Καὶ τὴν Ἀχινάαμ ἔλαβε Δαυὶδ ἐξ Ἰεζραὲλ, καὶ ἀμφότεραι ἦσαν αὐτῷ γυναῖκες.
And David took Ahinoam out of Jezreel, and they were both his wives.
44
וְשָׁאוּל נָתַן אֶת־מִיכַל בִּתּוֹ אֵשֶׁת דָּוִד לְפַלְטִי בֶן־לַיִשׁ אֲשֶׁר מִגַּלִּים
Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
Καὶ Σαοὺλ ἔδωκε Μελχὸλ τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα Δαυὶδ τῷ Φαλτὶ υἱῷ Ἀμὶς τῷ ἐκ Ῥομμᾶ.
And Saul gave Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish who was of Romma.

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.