Textorah

II Samuel 15

1
וַיְהִי מֵאַחֲרֵי כֵן וַיַּעַשׂ לוֹ אַבְשָׁלוֹם מֶרְכָּבָה וְסֻסִים וַחֲמִשִּׁים אִישׁ רָצִים לְפָנָיו
And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
Καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ ἅρματα, καὶ ἵππους, καὶ πεντήκοντα ἄνδρας παρατρέχειν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ.
And it came to pass after this that Absalom prepared for himself chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
2
וְהִשְׁכִּים אַבְשָׁלוֹם וְעָמַד עַל־יַד דֶּרֶךְ הַשָּׁעַר וַיְהִי כָּל־הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִהְיֶה־לּוֹ־רִיב לָבוֹא אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ לַמִּשְׁפָּט וַיִּקְרָא אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֵלָיו וַיֹּאמֶר אֵי־מִזֶּה עִיר אַתָּה וַיֹּאמֶר מֵאַחַד שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַבְדֶּךָ
And Absalom used to rise up early, and stand beside the way of the gate; and it was so, that when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said: 'Of what city art thou?' And he said: 'Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.'
Καὶ ὤρθρισεν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ, καὶ ἔστη ἀνὰ χεῖρα τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς πύλης· καὶ ἐγένετο πᾶς ἀνὴρ ᾧ ἐγένετο κρίσις, ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα εἰς κρίσιν, καὶ ἐβόησε πρὸς αὐτὸν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ, καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ, ἐκ ποίας πόλεως σὺ εἶ; καὶ εἶπεν, ἐκ μιᾶς φυλῶν Ἰσραὴλ ὁ δοῦλός σου.
And Absalom rose early, and stood by the side of the way of the gate: and it came to pass that every man who had a cause, came to the king for judgment, and Absalom cried to him, and said to him, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant [is] of one of the tribes of Israel.
3
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אַבְשָׁלוֹם רְאֵה דְבָרֶךָ טוֹבִים וּנְכֹחִים וְשֹׁמֵעַ אֵין־לְךָ מֵאֵת הַמֶּלֶךְ
And Absalom said unto him: 'See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.'
Καὶ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ, ἰδοὺ οἱ λόγοι σου ἀγαθοὶ καὶ εὔκολοι, καὶ ὁ ἀκούων οὐκ ἔστι σοι παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως.
And Absalom said to him, See, thy affairs [are] right and clear, yet thou hast no one [appointed] of the king to hear thee.
4
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְשָׁלוֹם מִי־יְשִׂמֵנִי שֹׁפֵט בָּאָרֶץ וְעָלַי יָבוֹא כָּל־אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִהְיֶה־לּוֹ־רִיב וּמִשְׁפָּט וְהִצְדַּקְתִּיו
Absalom said moreover: 'Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!'
Καὶ εἶπεν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ, τίς με καταστήσει κριτὴν ἐν τῇ γῇ, καὶ ἐπʼ ἐμὲ ἐλεύσεται πᾶς ἀνὴρ ᾧ ἐὰν ᾖ ἀντιλογία καὶ κρίσις, καὶ δικαιώσω αὐτόν;
And Absalom said, O that one would make me a judge in the land; then every man who had a dispute or a cause would come to me, and I would judge him!
5
וְהָיָה בִּקְרָב־אִישׁ לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺת לוֹ וְשָׁלַח אֶת־יָדוֹ וְהֶחֱזִיק לוֹ וְנָשַׁק לוֹ
And it was so, that when any man came nigh to prostrate himself before him, he put forth his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him.
Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἐγγίζειν ἄνδρα τοῦ προσκυνῆσαι αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐξέτεινε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπελαμβάνετο αὐτοῦ, καὶ κατεφίλησεν αὐτόν.
And it came to pass when a man came near to do him obeisance, that he stretched out his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him.
6
וַיַּעַשׂ אַבְשָׁלוֹם כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה לְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר־יָבֹאוּ לַמִּשְׁפָּט אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיְגַנֵּב אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶת־לֵב אַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל
And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
Καὶ ἐποίησεν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο παντὶ Ἰσραὴλ τοῖς παραγινομένοις εἰς κρίσιν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ ἰδιοποιεῖτο Ἀβεσσαλὼμ τὴν καρδίαν ἀνδρῶν Ἰσραήλ.
And Absalom did after this manner to all Israel that came to the king for judgment; and Absalom gained the hearts of the men of Israel.
7
וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵלֲכָה נָּא וַאֲשַׁלֵּם אֶת־נִדְרִי אֲשֶׁר־נָדַרְתִּי לַיהוָה בְּחֶבְרוֹן
And it came to pass at the end of forty years, that Absalom said unto the king: 'I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto HaShem, in Hebron.
Καὶ ἐγένετο ἀπὸ τέλους τεσσαράκοντα ἐτῶν, καὶ εἶπεν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ, πορεύσομαι δὴ, καὶ ἀποτίσω τὰς εὐχάς μου, ἃς ηὐξάμην τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν Χεβρών·
And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said to his father, I will go now, and pay my vows, which I vowed to the Lord in Hebron.
8
כִּי־נֵדֶר נָדַר עַבְדְּךָ בְּשִׁבְתִּי בִגְשׁוּר בַּאֲרָם לֵאמֹר אִם־ישיב יָשׁוֹב יְשִׁיבֵנִי יְהוָה יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְעָבַדְתִּי אֶת־יְהוָה
For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Aram, saying: If HaShem shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve HaShem.'
Ὅτι εὐχὴν ηὔξατο ὁ δοῦλός σου ἐν τῷ οἰκεῖν με ἐν Γεδσοὺρ ἐν Συρίᾳ, λέγων, ἐὰν ἐπιστρέφων ἐπιστρέψῃ με Κύριος εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ, καὶ λατρεύσω τῷ Κυρίῳ.
For thy servant vowed a vow when I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord should indeed restore me to Jerusalem, then will I serve the Lord.
9
וַיֹּאמֶר־לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ לֵךְ בְּשָׁלוֹם וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ חֶבְרוֹנָה
And the king said unto him: 'Go in peace.' So he arose, and went to Hebron.
Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ βασιλεὺς, Βάδιζε εἰς εἰρήνην· καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθη εἰς Χεβρών.
And the king said to him, Go in peace. And he arose and went to Hebron.
10
וַיִּשְׁלַח אַבְשָׁלוֹם מְרַגְּלִים בְּכָל־שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר כְּשָׁמְעֲכֶם אֶת־קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר וַאֲמַרְתֶּם מָלַךְ אַבְשָׁלוֹם בְּחֶבְרוֹן
But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying: 'As soon as ye hear the sound of the horn, then ye shall say: Absalom is king in Hebron.'
Καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ κατασκόπους ἐν πάσαις φυλαῖς Ἰσραὴλ, λέγων, ἐν τῷ ἀκοῦσαι ὑμᾶς τὴν φωνὴν τῆς κερατίνης, καὶ ἐρεῖτε, βεβασίλευκε βασιλεὺς Ἀβεσσαλὼμ ἐν Χεβρών.
And Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, When ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then shall ye say, Absalom is become king in Hebron.
11
וְאֶת־אַבְשָׁלוֹם הָלְכוּ מָאתַיִם אִישׁ מִירוּשָׁלִַם קְרֻאִים וְהֹלְכִים לְתֻמָּם וְלֹא יָדְעוּ כָּל־דָּבָר
And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were invited, and went in their simplicity; and they knew not any thing.
Καὶ μετὰ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ ἐπορεύθησαν διακόσιοι ἄνδρες ἐξ Ἰερουσαλὴμ κλητοί· καὶ πορευόμενοι τῇ ἁπλότητι αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν πᾶν ῥῆμα.
And there went with Absalom two hundred chosen men from Jerusalem; and they went in their simplicity, and knew not anything.
12
וַיִּשְׁלַח אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶת־אֲחִיתֹפֶל הַגִּילֹנִי יוֹעֵץ דָּוִד מֵעִירוֹ מִגִּלֹה בְּזָבְחוֹ אֶת־הַזְּבָחִים וַיְהִי הַקֶּשֶׁר אַמִּץ וְהָעָם הוֹלֵךְ וָרָב אֶת־אַבְשָׁלוֹם
And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.
Καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ τῷ Ἀχειτόφελ τῷ Θεκωνεὶ, σύμβουλον Δαυὶδ, ἐκ τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῦ εἰς Γωλὰ, ἐν τῷ θυσιάζειν αὐτόν· καὶ ἐγένετο σύντριμμα ἰσχυρόν· καὶ ὁ λαὸς ὁ πορευόμενος καὶ πολὺς μετὰ Ἀβεσσαλώμ.
And Absalom sent to Ahithophel the Theconite, the counselor of David, from his city, from Giloh, where he was sacrificing: and there was a strong conspiracy; and the people with Absalom were increasingly numerous.
13
וַיָּבֹא הַמַּגִּיד אֶל־דָּוִד לֵאמֹר הָיָה לֶב־אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֲרֵי אַבְשָׁלוֹם
And there came a messenger to David, saying: 'The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.'
Καὶ παρεγένετο ἀπαγγέλων πρὸς Δαυὶδ, λέγων, ἐγενήθη ἡ καρδία ἀνδρῶν Ἰσραὴλ ὀπίσω Ἀβεσσαλώμ.
And there came a messenger to David, saying, The heart of the men of Israel is gone after Absalom.
14
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לְכָל־עֲבָדָיו אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ בִירוּשָׁלִַם קוּמוּ וְנִבְרָחָה כִּי לֹא־תִהְיֶה־לָּנוּ פְלֵיטָה מִפְּנֵי אַבְשָׁלוֹם מַהֲרוּ לָלֶכֶת פֶּן־יְמַהֵר וְהִשִּׂגָנוּ וְהִדִּיחַ עָלֵינוּ אֶת־הָרָעָה וְהִכָּה הָעִיר לְפִי־חָרֶב
And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem: 'Arise, and let us flee; or else none of us shall escape from Absalom; make speed to depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.'
Καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ πᾶσι τοῖς παισὶν αὐτοῦ τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ, ἀνάστητε καὶ φύγωμεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν σωτηρία ἀπὸ προσώπου Ἀβεσσαλώμ· ταχύνατε τοῦ πορευθῆναι, ἵνα μὴ ταχύνῃ καὶ καταλάβῃ ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἐξώσῃ ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς τὴν κακίαν, καὶ πατάξῃ τὴν πόλιν ἐν στόματι μαχαίρης.
And David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, Rise, and let us flee, for we have no refuge from Absalom: make haste and go, lest he overtake us speedily, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
15
וַיֹּאמְרוּ עַבְדֵי־הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַר אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ הִנֵּה עֲבָדֶיךָ
And the king's servants said unto the king: 'Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall choose.'
Καὶ εἶπον οἱ παῖδες τοῦ βασιλέως πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, κατὰ πάντα ὅσα αἱρεῖται ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἰδοὺ οἱ παῖδές σου.
And the king’s servants said to the king, In all things which our lord the king chooses, behold [we are] thy servants.
16
וַיֵּצֵא הַמֶּלֶךְ וְכָל־בֵּיתוֹ בְּרַגְלָיו וַיַּעֲזֹב הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵת עֶשֶׂר נָשִׁים פִּלַגְשִׁים לִשְׁמֹר הַבָּיִת
And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, that were concubines, to keep the house.
Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ πᾶς ὁ οἶκος αὐτοῦ τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν· καὶ ἀφῆκεν ὁ βασιλεὺς δέκα γυναῖκας τῶν παλλακῶν αὐτοῦ φυλάσσειν τὸν οἶκον.
And the king and all his house went out on foot: and the king left ten women of his concubines to keep the house.
17
וַיֵּצֵא הַמֶּלֶךְ וְכָל־הָעָם בְּרַגְלָיו וַיַּעַמְדוּ בֵּית הַמֶּרְחָק
And the king went forth, and all the people after him; and they tarried in Beth-merhak.
Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ πάντες οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ πεζῇ, καὶ ἔστησαν ἐν οἴκῳ τῷ μακράν.
And the king and all his servants went out on foot; and abode in a distant house.
18
וְכָל־עֲבָדָיו עֹבְרִים עַל־יָדוֹ וְכָל־הַכְּרֵתִי וְכָל־הַפְּלֵתִי וְכָל־הַגִּתִּים שֵׁשׁ־מֵאוֹת אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־בָּאוּ בְרַגְלוֹ מִגַּת עֹבְרִים עַל־פְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ
And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men that came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.
Καὶ πάντες οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ ἀνὰ χεῖρα αὐτοῦ παρῆγον, καὶ πᾶς Χελεθὶ καὶ πᾶς ὁ Φελεθὶ, καὶ ἔστησαν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐλαίας ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς παρεπορεύετο ἐχόμενος αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντες οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἁδροὶ, καὶ πάντες οἱ μαχηταὶ ἑξακόσιοι ἄνδρες· καὶ παρῆσαν ἐπὶ χεῖρα αὐτοῦ· καὶ πᾶς ὁ Χελεθι, καὶ πᾶς ὁ Φελεθὶ, καὶ πάντες οἱ Γεθαῖοι οἱ ἑξακόσιοι ἄνδρες οἱ ἐλθόντες τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν ἐκ Γὲθ, καὶ πορευόμενοι ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τοῦ βασιλέως.
And all his servants passed on by his side, and every Cherethite, and every Pelethite, and they stood by the olive tree in the wilderness: and all the people marched near him, and all his court, and all the men of might, and all the men of war, six hundred: and they were present at his side: and every Cherethite, and every Pelethite, and all the six hundred Gittites that came on foot out of Gath, and they went on before the king.
19
וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל־אִתַּי הַגִּתִּי לָמָּה תֵלֵךְ גַּם־אַתָּה אִתָּנוּ שׁוּב וְשֵׁב עִם־הַמֶּלֶךְ כִּי־נָכְרִי אַתָּה וְגַם־גֹּלֶה אַתָּה לִמְקוֹמֶךָ
Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite: 'Wherefore goest thou also with us? return, and abide with the king; for thou art a foreigner, and also an exile from thine own place.
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Ἐθὶ τὸν Γεθαῖον, ἱνατί πορεύῃ καὶ σὺ μεθʼ ἡμῶν; ἐπίστρεφε, καὶ οἴκει μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως, ὅτι ξένος εἶ σὺ, καὶ ὅτι μετῴκηκας σὺ ἐκ τοῦ τόπου σου.
And the king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why dost thou also go with us? return, and dwell with the king, for thou art a stranger, and thou hast come forth as a sojourner out of thy place.
20
תְּמוֹל בּוֹאֶךָ וְהַיּוֹם אנועך אֲנִיעֲךָ עִמָּנוּ לָלֶכֶת וַאֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ עַל אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ שׁוּב וְהָשֵׁב אֶת־אַחֶיךָ עִמָּךְ חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת
Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us, seeing I go whither I may? return thou, and take back thy brethren with thee in kindness and truth.'
Εἰ ἐχθὲς παραγέγονας, καὶ σήμερον κινήσω σε μεθʼ ἡμῶν; καί γε μεταναστήσεις τὸν τόπον σου· χθὲς ἡ ἐξέλευσίς σου, καὶ σήμερον μετακινήσω σε μεθʼ ἡμῶν τοῦ πορευθῆναι; καὶ ἐγὼ πορεύσομαι οὗ ἐὰν ἐγὼ πορευθῶ· ἐπιστρέφου καὶ ἐπίστρεψον τοὺς ἀδελφούς σου μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ Κύριος ποιήσει μετὰ σοῦ ἔλεος καὶ ἀλήθειαν.
Whereas thou camest yesterday, shall I today cause thee to travel with us, and shalt thou [thus] change thy place? thou didst come forth yesterday, and today shall I set thee in motion to go along with us? I indeed will go whithersoever I may go: return then, and cause thy brethren to return with thee, and may the Lord deal mercifully and truly with thee.
21
וַיַּעַן אִתַּי אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיֹּאמַר חַי־יְהוָה וְחֵי אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ כִּי אִם־בִּמְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה־שָּׁם אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ אִם־לְמָוֶת אִם־לְחַיִּים כִּי־שָׁם יִהְיֶה עַבְדֶּךָ
And Ittai answered the king, and said: 'As HaShem liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, even there also will thy servant be.'
Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Ἐθὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ εἶπε, ζῇ Κύριος καὶ ζῇ ὁ κύριός μου ὁ βασιλεὺς, ὅτι εἰς τὸν τόπον οὗ ἐὰν ᾖ ὁ κύριός μου, καὶ ἐὰν εἰς θάνατον καὶ ἐὰν εἰς ζωὴν, ὅτι ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ δοῦλός σου.
And Ittai answered the king and said, [As] the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, in the place wheresoever my lord shall be, whether it be for death or life, there shall thy servant be.
22
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־אִתַּי לֵךְ וַעֲבֹר וַיַּעֲבֹר אִתַּי הַגִּתִּי וְכָל־אֲנָשָׁיו וְכָל־הַטַּף אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ
And David said to Ittai: 'Go and pass over.' And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Ἐθὶ, δεῦρο, καὶ διάβαινε μετʼ ἐμοῦ· καὶ παρῆλθεν Ἐθὶ ὁ Γεθαῖος καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ πάντες οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ὁ μετʼ αὐτοῦ.
And the king said to Ittai, Come and pass over with me. So Ittai the Gittite and the king passed over, and all his servants, and all the multitude with him.
23
וְכָל־הָאָרֶץ בּוֹכִים קוֹל גָּדוֹל וְכָל־הָעָם עֹבְרִים וְהַמֶּלֶךְ עֹבֵר בְּנַחַל קִדְרוֹן וְכָל־הָעָם עֹבְרִים עַל־פְּנֵי־דֶרֶךְ אֶת־הַמִּדְבָּר
And all the country wept with a loud voice, as all the people passed over; and as the king passed over the brook Kidron, all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
Καὶ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ ἔκλαιε φωνῇ μεγάλῃ· καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς παρεπορεύοντο ἐν τῷ χειμάῤῥῳ τῶν Κέδρων· καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς διέβη τὸν χειμάῤῥουν Κέδρων· καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς παρεπορεύοντο ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ὁδοῦ τὴν ἔρημον.
And all the country wept with a loud voice. And all the people passed by over the brook of Kidron; and the king crossed the brook Kidron: and all the people and the king passed on toward the way of the wilderness.
24
וְהִנֵּה גַם־צָדוֹק וְכָל־הַלְוִיִּם אִתּוֹ נֹשְׂאִים אֶת־אֲרוֹן בְּרִית הָאֱלֹהִים וַיַּצִּקוּ אֶת־אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים וַיַּעַל אֶבְיָתָר עַד־תֹּם כָּל־הָעָם לַעֲבוֹר מִן־הָעִיר
And, lo, Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of G-d; and they set down the ark of G-d--but Abiathar went up--until all the people had done passing out of the city.
Καὶ ἰδοὺ καί γε Σαδὼκ καὶ πάντες οἱ Λευῖται μετʼ αὐτοῦ, αἴροντες τὴν κιβωτὸν διαθήκης Κυρίου ἀπὸ Βαιθάρ· καὶ ἔστησαν τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ ἀνέβη Ἀβιάθαρ ἕως ἐπαύσατο πᾶς ὁ λαὸς παρελθεῖν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως.
And behold also Zadok, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Baethar: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had passed out of the city.
25
וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְצָדוֹק הָשֵׁב אֶת־אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים הָעִיר אִם־אֶמְצָא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה וֶהֱשִׁבַנִי וְהִרְאַנִי אֹתוֹ וְאֶת־נָוֵהוּ
And the king said unto Zadok: 'Carry back the ark of G-d into the city; if I shall find favour in the eyes of HaShem, He will bring me back, and show me both it, and His habitation;
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τὸν Σαδὼκ, ἀπόστρεψον τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς τὴν πόλιν· ἐὰν εὕρω χάριν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς Κυρίου, καὶ ἐπιστρέψει με, καὶ δείξει μοι αὐτὴν καὶ τὴν εὐπρέπειαν αὐτῆς.
And the king said to Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I should find favor in the eyes of the Lord, then will he bring me back, and he will show me it and its beauty.
26
וְאִם כֹּה יֹאמַר לֹא חָפַצְתִּי בָּךְ הִנְנִי יַעֲשֶׂה־לִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר טוֹב בְּעֵינָיו
but if He say thus: I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him.'
Καὶ ἐὰν εἴπῃ οὕτως, οὐκ ἠθέληκα ἐν σοί· ἰδοὺ ἐγώ εἰμι, ποιείτω μοι κατὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ.
But if he should say thus, I have no pleasure in thee; behold, [here] I am, let him do to me according to that which is good in his eyes.
27
וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל־צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן הֲרוֹאֶה אַתָּה שֻׁבָה הָעִיר בְּשָׁלוֹם וַאֲחִימַעַץ בִּנְךָ וִיהוֹנָתָן בֶּן־אֶבְיָתָר שְׁנֵי בְנֵיכֶם אִתְּכֶם
The king said also unto Zadok the priest: 'Seest thou? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Σαδὼκ τῷ ἱερεῖ, ἴδετε, σὺ ἐπιστρέφεις εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐν εἰρήνῃ, καὶ Ἀχιμάας ὁ υἱός σου, καὶ Ἰωνάθαν ὁ υἱὸς Ἀβιάθαρ οἱ δύο υἱοὶ ὑμῶν μεθʼ ὑμῶν.
And the king said to Zadok the priest, Behold, thou shalt return to the city in peace, and Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons with you.
28
רְאוּ אָנֹכִי מִתְמַהְמֵהַּ בעברות בְּעַרְבוֹת הַמִּדְבָּר עַד בּוֹא דָבָר מֵעִמָּכֶם לְהַגִּיד לִי
See, I will tarry in the plains of the wilderness, until there come word from you to announce unto me.'
Ἴδετε, ἐγώ εἰμι στρατεύομαι ἐν Ἀραβὼθ τῆς ἐρήμου, ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῖν ῥῆμα παρʼ ὑμῶν τοῦ ἀπαγγεῖλαί μοι.
Behold, I continue in arms in Araboth of the desert, until there come tidings from you to report to me.
29
וַיָּשֶׁב צָדוֹק וְאֶבְיָתָר אֶת־אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם
Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of G-d back to Jerusalem; and they abode there.
Καὶ ἀπέστρεψε Σαδὼκ καὶ Ἀβιάθαρ τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ, καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐκεῖ.
So Zadok and Abiathar brought back the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, and it continued there.
30
וְדָוִד עֹלֶה בְמַעֲלֵה הַזֵּיתִים עֹלֶה וּבוֹכֶה וְרֹאשׁ לוֹ חָפוּי וְהוּא הֹלֵךְ יָחֵף וְכָל־הָעָם אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ חָפוּ אִישׁ רֹאשׁוֹ וְעָלוּ עָלֹה וּבָכֹה
And David went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered, and went barefoot; and all the people that were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
Καὶ Δαυὶδ ἀνέβαινεν ἐν τῇ ἀναβάσει τῶν ἐλαιῶν ἀναβαίνων καὶ κλαίων, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐπικεκαλυμμένος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπορεύετο ἀνυπόδετος· καὶ πὰς ὁ λαὸς ὁ μετʼ αὐτοῦ ἐπεκάλυψεν ἀνὴρ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἀνέβαινον ἀναβαίνοντες καὶ κλαίοντες.
And David went up by the ascent of [the mount of] Olives, ascending and weeping, and had his head covered, and went barefooted: and all the people that were with him covered [every] man his head; and they went up, ascending and weeping.
31
וְדָוִד הִגִּיד לֵאמֹר אֲחִיתֹפֶל בַּקֹּשְׁרִים עִם־אַבְשָׁלוֹם וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד סַכֶּל־נָא אֶת־עֲצַת אֲחִיתֹפֶל יְהוָה
And one told David, saying: 'Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.' And David said: 'O HaShem, I pray Thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.'
Καὶ ἀνηγγέλη Δαυὶδ, λέγοντες, καὶ Ἀχιτόφελ ἐν τοῖς συστρεφομένοις μετὰ Ἀβεσσαλώμ· καὶ εἶπε Δαυὶδ, διασκέδασον δὴ τὴν βουλὴν Ἀχιτόφελ, Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου.
And it was reported to David, saying, Ahithophel also [is] among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord my God, disconcert, I pray thee, the counsel of Ahithophel.
32
וַיְהִי דָוִד בָּא עַד־הָרֹאשׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה שָׁם לֵאלֹהִים וְהִנֵּה לִקְרָאתוֹ חוּשַׁי הָאַרְכִּי קָרוּעַ כֻּתָּנְתּוֹ וַאֲדָמָה עַל־רֹאשׁוֹ
And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the ascent, where G-d was wont to be worshipped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head.
Καὶ ἦν Δαυὶδ ἐρχόμενος ἕως τοῦ Ῥὼς, οὗ προσεκύνησεν ἐκεῖ τῷ Θεῷ· καὶ ἰδοὺ εἰς ἀπαντὴν αὐτῷ Χουσὶ ὁ ἀρχιεταῖρος Δαυίδ διεῤῥηχὼς τὸν χιτῶνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ γῆ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ.
And David came as far as Ros, where he worshiped God: and behold, Hushai the chief friend of David came out to meet him, having rent his garment, and earth [was] upon his head.
33
וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ דָּוִד אִם עָבַרְתָּ אִתִּי וְהָיִתָ עָלַי לְמַשָּׂא
And David said unto him: 'If thou passest on with me, then thou wilt be a burden unto Me;
Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Δαυὶδ ἐὰν μὲν διαβῇς μετʼ ἐμοῦ, καὶ ἔσῃ ἐπʼ ἐμὲ εἰς βάσταγμα·
And David said to him, If thou shouldest go over with me, then wilt thou be a burden to me;
34
וְאִם־הָעִיר תָּשׁוּב וְאָמַרְתָּ לְאַבְשָׁלוֹם עַבְדְּךָ אֲנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶהְיֶה עֶבֶד אָבִיךָ וַאֲנִי מֵאָז וְעַתָּה וַאֲנִי עַבְדֶּךָ וְהֵפַרְתָּה לִי אֵת עֲצַת אֲחִיתֹפֶל
but if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom: I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father's servant in time past, so will I now be thy servant; then wilt thou defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.
καὶ ἐὰν ἐπιστρέψῃς ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν, καὶ ἐρεῖς τῷ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ, διεληλύθασιν οἱ ἀδελφοί σου, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς κατόπισθέ μου διελήλυθεν ὁ πατήρ σου· καὶ νῦν παῖς σού εἰμὶ, βασιλεῦ, ἔασόν με ζῆσαι· παῖς τοῦ πατρὸς σου ἤμην τότε καὶ ἀρτίως, καὶ νῦν ἐγὼ δοῦλος σός· καὶ διασκεδάσεις μοι τὴν βουλὴς Ἀχιτόφελ.
but if thou shall return to the city, and shalt say to Absalom, Thy brethren are passed over, and the king thy father is passed over after me: and now I am thy servant, O king, suffer me to live: at one time even of late I was the servant of thy father, and now I [am] thy humble servant—so shalt thou disconcert for me the counsel of Ahithophel.
35
וַהֲלוֹא עִמְּךָ שָׁם צָדוֹק וְאֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהָיָה כָּל־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמַע מִבֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ תַּגִּיד לְצָדוֹק וּלְאֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֲנִים
And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐκεῖ μετὰ σοῦ Σαδὼκ καὶ Ἀβιάθαρ οἱ ἱερεῖς· καὶ ἔσται πὰν ῥῆμα ὁ ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς ἐξ οἴκου τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ἀπαγγελεῖς τῷ Σαδὼκ καὶ τῷ Ἀβιάθαρ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν.
And, behold, [there are] there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests; and it shall be that every word that thou shalt hear of the house of the king, thou shalt report it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
36
הִנֵּה־שָׁם עִמָּם שְׁנֵי בְנֵיהֶם אֲחִימַעַץ לְצָדוֹק וִיהוֹנָתָן לְאֶבְיָתָר וּשְׁלַחְתֶּם בְּיָדָם אֵלַי כָּל־דָּבָר אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמָעוּ
Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok's son, and Jonathan Abiathar's son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye shall hear.'
Ἰδοὺ ἐκεῖ μετʼ αὐτῶν δύο υἱοὶ αὐτῶν, Ἀχιμάας υἱὸς τῷ Σαδὼκ, καὶ Ἰωνάθαν υἱὸς τῷ Ἀβιάθαρ· καὶ ἀποστελεῖτε ἐν χειρὶ αὐτῶν πρὸς μὲ πὰν ῥῆμα ὃ ἐὰν ἀκούσητε.
Behold, [there are] there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar; and by them ye shall report to me every word which ye shall hear.
37
וַיָּבֹא חוּשַׁי רֵעֶה דָוִד הָעִיר וְאַבְשָׁלֹם יָבֹא יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם
So Hushai David's friend came into the city; and Absalom was at the point of coming into Jerusalem.
Καὶ εἰσῆλθε Χουσὶ ὁ ἐταῖρος Δαυὶδ εἰς τὴν πόλιν, καὶ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ ἄρτι εἰσεπορεύετο εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ.
So Hushai the friend of David went into the city, and Absalom was lately gone into Jerusalem.

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.

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