Textorah

Jeremiah 50

1
הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה אֶל־בָּבֶל אֶל־אֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים בְּיַד יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא
The word that HaShem spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.
ΛΟΓΟΣ ΚΥΡΙΟΥ ὋΝ ἘΛΑΛΗΣΕΝ ἘΠΙ ΒΑΒΥΛΩΝΑ.
The word of the Lord which he spoke against Babylon.
2
הַגִּידוּ בַגּוֹיִם וְהַשְׁמִיעוּ וּשְׂאוּ־נֵס הַשְׁמִיעוּ אַל־תְּכַחֵדוּ אִמְרוּ נִלְכְּדָה בָבֶל הֹבִישׁ בֵּל חַת מְרֹדָךְ הֹבִישׁוּ עֲצַבֶּיהָ חַתּוּ גִּלּוּלֶיהָ
Declare ye among the nations and announce, and set up a standard; announce, and conceal not; say: 'Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.'
Ἀναγγείλατε ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀκουστὰ ποιήσατε, καὶ μὴ κρύψητε· εἴπατε, ἑάλωκε Βαβυλὼν, κατῃσχύνθη Βῆλος, ἡ ἀπτόητος, ἡ τρυφερὰ παρεδόθη Μαιρωδὰχ,
Proclaim ye among the Gentiles, and cause the tidings to be heard, and suppress [them] not: say ye, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded; the fearless, the luxurious Merodach is delivered up.
3
כִּי עָלָה עָלֶיהָ גּוֹי מִצָּפוֹן הוּא־יָשִׁית אֶת־אַרְצָהּ לְשַׁמָּה וְלֹא־יִהְיֶה יוֹשֵׁב בָּהּ מֵאָדָם וְעַד־בְּהֵמָה נָדוּ הָלָכוּ
For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein; they are fled, they are gone, both man and beast.
ὅτι ἀνέβη ἐπʼ αὐτὴν ἔθνος ἀπὸ Βοῤῥᾶ, οὗτος θήσει τὴν γῆν αὐτῆς εἰς ἀφανισμὸν, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ κατοικῶν ἐν αὐτῇ ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἕως κτήνους.
For a nation has come up against her from the north, he shall utterly ravage her land, and there shall be none to dwell in it, neither man nor beast.
4
בַּיָּמִים הָהֵמָּה וּבָעֵת הַהִיא נְאֻם־יְהוָה יָבֹאוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵמָּה וּבְנֵי־יְהוּדָה יַחְדָּו הָלוֹךְ וּבָכוֹ יֵלֵכוּ וְאֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם יְבַקֵּשׁוּ
In those days, and in that time, saith HaShem, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek HaShem their G-d.
Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ἥξουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ αὐτοὶ, καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰούδα ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ, βαδίζοντες καὶ κλαίοντες πορεύσονται, τὸν Κύριον Θεὸν αὐτῶν ζητοῦντες.
In those days, and at that time, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall proceed, weeping as they go, seeking the Lord their God.
5
צִיּוֹן יִשְׁאָלוּ דֶּרֶךְ הֵנָּה פְנֵיהֶם בֹּאוּ וְנִלְווּ אֶל־יְהוָה בְּרִית עוֹלָם לֹא תִשָּׁכֵחַ
They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces hitherward: 'Come ye, and join yourselves to HaShem in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.'
Ἕως Σιὼν ἐρωτήσουσι τὴν ὁδὸν, ὧδε γὰρ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν δώσουσι, καὶ ἥξουσι, καὶ καταφεύξονται πρὸς Κύριον τὸν Θεόν· διαθήκη γὰρ αἰώνιος οὐκ ἐπιλησθήσεται.
They shall ask the way till [they come to] Zion, for that way shall they set their face; and they shall come and flee for refuge to the Lord their God; for the everlasting covenant shall not be forgotten.
6
צֹאן אֹבְדוֹת היה הָיוּ עַמִּי רֹעֵיהֶם הִתְעוּם הָרִים שובבים שׁוֹבְבוּם מֵהַר אֶל־גִּבְעָה הָלָכוּ שָׁכְחוּ רִבְצָם
My people hath been lost sheep; their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting-place.
Πρόβατα ἀπολωλότα ἐγενήθη ὁ λαός μου, οἱ ποιμένες αὐτῶν ἔξωσαν αὐτοὺς, ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη ἀπεπλάνησαν αὐτοὺς, ἐξ ὄρους ἐπὶ βουνὸν ᾤχοντο, ἐπελάθοντο κοίτης αὐτῶν.
My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds thrust them out, they caused them to wander on the mountains: they went from mountain to hill, they forgot their resting place.
7
כָּל־מוֹצְאֵיהֶם אֲכָלוּם וְצָרֵיהֶם אָמְרוּ לֹא נֶאְשָׁם תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר חָטְאוּ לַיהוָה נְוֵה־צֶדֶק וּמִקְוֵה אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם יְהוָה
All that found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said: 'We are not guilty'; because they have sinned against HaShem, the habitation of justice, even HaShem, the hope of their fathers.
Πάντες οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτοὺς, ἀνήλισκον αὐτούς· οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτῶν εἶπαν, Μὴ ἀνῶμεν αὐτοὺς, ἀνθʼ ὧν ἥμαρτον τῷ Κυρίῳ· νομὴ δικαιοσύνης τῷ συναγαγόντι τοὺς πατέρας αὐτῶν.
All that found them consumed them: their enemies said, Let us not leave them alone, because they have sinned against the Lord: he that gathered their fathers [had] a pasture of righteousness.
8
נֻדוּ מִתּוֹךְ בָּבֶל וּמֵאֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים יצאו צֵאוּ וִהְיוּ כְּעַתּוּדִים לִפְנֵי־צֹאן
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks.
Ἀπαλλοτριώθητε ἐκ μέσου Βαβυλῶνος καὶ ἀπὸ γῆς Χαλδαίων, καὶ ἐξέλθατε, καὶ γένεσθε ὥσπερ δράκοντες κατὰ πρόσωπον προβάτων.
Flee ye out of the midst of Babylon, and from the land of the Chaldeans, and go forth, and be as serpents before sleep.
9
כִּי הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי מֵעִיר וּמַעֲלֶה עַל־בָּבֶל קְהַל־גּוֹיִם גְּדֹלִים מֵאֶרֶץ צָפוֹן וְעָרְכוּ לָהּ מִשָּׁם תִּלָּכֵד חִצָּיו כְּגִבּוֹר מַשְׁכִּיל לֹא יָשׁוּב רֵיקָם
For, lo, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her, from thence she shall be taken; their arrows shall be as of a mighty man that maketh childless; none shall return in vain.
Ὅτι ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐγείρω ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα συναγωγὰς ἐθνῶν ἐκ γῆς Βοῤῥᾶ, καὶ παρατάξονται αὐτῇ· ἐκεῖθεν ἁλώσεται, ὡς βολὶς μαχητοῦ συνετοῦ οὐκ ἐπιστρέψει κενή.
For, behold, I stir up against Babylon the gatherings of nations out of the land of the north; and they shall set themselves in array against her: thence shall she be taken, as the dart of an expert warrior shall not return empty.
10
וְהָיְתָה כַשְׂדִּים לְשָׁלָל כָּל־שֹׁלְלֶיהָ יִשְׂבָּעוּ נְאֻם־יְהוָה
And Chaldea shall be a spoil; all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith HaShem.
Καὶ ἔσται ἡ Χαλδαία εἰς προνομὴν, πάντες οἱ προνομεύοντες αὐτὴν ἐμπλησθήσονται.
And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied.
11
כִּי תשמחי תִשְׂמְחוּ כִּי תעלזי תַעֲלְזוּ שֹׁסֵי נַחֲלָתִי כִּי תפושי תָפוּשׁוּ כְּעֶגְלָה דָשָׁה ותצהלי וְתִצְהֲלוּ כָּאֲבִּרִים
Because ye are glad, because ye rejoice, O ye that plunder My heritage, because ye gambol as a heifer at grass, and neigh as strong horses;
Ὅτι ηὐφραίνεσθε, καὶ κατεκαυχᾶσθε, διαρπάζοντες τὴν κληρονομίαν μου, διότι ἐσκιρτᾶτε, ὡς βοΐδια ἐν βοτάνῃ, καὶ ἐκερατίζετε ὡς ταῦροι.
Because ye rejoiced, and boasted, [while] plundering my heritage; because ye exulted as calves in the grass, and pushed with the horn as bulls.
12
בּוֹשָׁה אִמְּכֶם מְאֹד חָפְרָה יוֹלַדְתְּכֶם הִנֵּה אַחֲרִית גּוֹיִם מִדְבָּר צִיָּה וַעֲרָבָה
Your mother shall be sore ashamed, she that bore you shall be confounded; behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
Ἠσχύνθη ἡ μήτηρ ὑμῶν σφόδρα, ἐνετράπη ἡ τεκοῦσα ὑμᾶς μήτηρ ἐπʼ ἀγαθὰ, ἐσχάτη ἐθνῶν, ἔρημος
Your mother is greatly ashamed; your mother that bore you for prosperity is confounded: [she is] the last of the nations, desolate,
13
מִקֶּצֶף יְהוָה לֹא תֵשֵׁב וְהָיְתָה שְׁמָמָה כֻּלָּהּ כֹּל עֹבֵר עַל־בָּבֶל יִשֹּׁם וְיִשְׁרֹק עַל־כָּל־מַכּוֹתֶיהָ
Because of the wrath of HaShem it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate; every one that goeth by Babylon shall be appalled and hiss at all her plagues.
ἀπὸ ὀργῆς Κυρίου, οὐ κατοικηθήσεται καὶ ἔσται εἰς ἀφανισμὸν πᾶσα· καὶ πᾶς ὁ διοδεύων διὰ Βαβυλῶνος σκυθρωπάσει, καὶ συριοῦσιν ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν πληγὴν αὐτῆς.
by reason of the Lord’s anger: it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be all a desolation; and everyone that passes through Babylon shall scowl, and they shall hiss at all her plague.
14
עִרְכוּ עַל־בָּבֶל סָבִיב כָּל־דֹּרְכֵי קֶשֶׁת יְדוּ אֵלֶיהָ אַל־תַּחְמְלוּ אֶל־חֵץ כִּי לַיהוָה חָטָאָה
Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows; for she hath sinned against HaShem.
Παρατάξασθε ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα κύκλῳ πάντες τείνοντες τόξον, τοξεύσατε ἐπʼ αὐτὴν, μὴ φείσησθε ἐπὶ τοῖς τοξεύμασιν ὑμῶν,
Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare not your arrows,
15
הָרִיעוּ עָלֶיהָ סָבִיב נָתְנָה יָדָהּ נָפְלוּ אשויתיה אָשְׁיוֹתֶיהָ נֶהֶרְסוּ חוֹמוֹתֶיהָ כִּי נִקְמַת יְהוָה הִיא הִנָּקְמוּ בָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשְׂתָה עֲשׂוּ־לָהּ
Shout against her round about, she hath submitted herself; her buttresses are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of HaShem, take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.
καὶ κατακρατήσατε αὐτήν· παρελύθησαν αἱ χεῖρες αὐτῆς, ἔπεσαν αἱ ἐπάλξεις αὐτῆς, καὶ κατεσκάφη τὸ τεῖχος αὐτῆς, ὅτι ἐκδίκησις παρὰ Θεοῦ ἐστιν· ἐκδικεῖτε ἐπʼ αὐτὴν, καθὼς ἐποίησε, ποιήσατε αὐτῇ.
and prevail against her: her hands are weakened, her bulwarks are fallen, and her wall is broken down: for it is vengeance from God: take vengeance upon her; as she has done, do to her.
16
כִּרְתוּ זוֹרֵעַ מִבָּבֶל וְתֹפֵשׂ מַגָּל בְּעֵת קָצִיר מִפְּנֵי חֶרֶב הַיּוֹנָה אִישׁ אֶל־עַמּוֹ יִפְנוּ וְאִישׁ לְאַרְצוֹ יָנֻסוּ
Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest; for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
Ἐξολοθρεύσασθε σπέρμα ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος, κατέχοντα δρέπανον ἐν καιρῷ θερισμοῦ· ἀπὸ προσώπου μαχαίρας Ἑλληνικῆς, ἕκαστος εἰς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀποστρέψουσι, καὶ ἕκαστος εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ φεύξεται.
Utterly destroy seed out of Babylon, [and] him that holds a sickle in time of harvest: for fear of the Grecian sword, they shall return every one to his people, and every one shall flee to his own land.
17
שֶׂה פְזוּרָה יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲרָיוֹת הִדִּיחוּ הָרִאשׁוֹן אֲכָלוֹ מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר וְזֶה הָאַחֲרוֹן עִצְּמוֹ נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל
Israel is a scattered sheep, the lions have driven him away; first the king of Assyria hath devoured him, and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
Πρόβατον πλανώμενον Ἰσραὴλ, λέοντες ἔξωσαν αὐτόν· ὁ πρῶτος ἔφαγεν αὐτὸν βασιλεὺς Ἀσσοὺρ, καὶ οὗτος ὕστερον τὰ ὀστᾶ αὐτοῦ βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος.
Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have driven him out: the king of Assyria first devoured him, and afterward this king of Babylon [has gnawed] his bones.
18
לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִנְנִי פֹקֵד אֶל־מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וְאֶל־אַרְצוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר פָּקַדְתִּי אֶל־מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר
Therefore thus saith HaShem of hosts, the G-d of Israel: behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
Διατοῦτο τάδε λέγει Κύριος, ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐκδικῶ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα Βαβυλῶνος, καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ, καθὼς ἐξεδίκησα ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα Ἀσσούρ.
Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I [will] take vengeance on the king of Babylon, and upon his land, as I took vengeance on the king of Assyria.
19
וְשֹׁבַבְתִּי אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־נָוֵהוּ וְרָעָה הַכַּרְמֶל וְהַבָּשָׁן וּבְהַר אֶפְרַיִם וְהַגִּלְעָד תִּשְׂבַּע נַפְשׁוֹ
And I will bring Israel back to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.
Καὶ ἀποκαταστήσω τὸν Ἰσραὴλ εἰς τὴν νομὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ νεμήσεται ἐν τῷ Καρμήλῳ, καὶ ἐν ὄρει Ἐφραῒμ, καὶ ἐν τῷ Γαλαὰδ, καὶ πλησθήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ.
And I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and on Mount Ephraim and in Gilead, and his soul shall be satisfied.
20
בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וּבָעֵת הַהִיא נְאֻם־יְהוָה יְבֻקַּשׁ אֶת־עֲוֺן יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֵינֶנּוּ וְאֶת־חַטֹּאת יְהוּדָה וְלֹא תִמָּצֶאינָה כִּי אֶסְלַח לַאֲשֶׁר אַשְׁאִיר
In those days, and in that time, saith HaShem, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none, and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.
Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ζητήσουσι τὴν ἀδικίαν Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ οὐχ ὑπάρξει, καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας Ἰούδα, καὶ οὐ μὴ εὑρεθῶσιν, ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι τοῖς ὑπολελειμμένοις ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς,
In those days, and at that time, they shall seek for the iniquity of Israel, and there shall be none; and for the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will be merciful to them that are left
21
עַל־הָאָרֶץ מְרָתַיִם עֲלֵה עָלֶיהָ וְאֶל־יוֹשְׁבֵי פְּקוֹד חֲרֹב וְהַחֲרֵם אַחֲרֵיהֶם נְאֻם־יְהוָה וַעֲשֵׂה כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ
Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod; waste and utterly destroy after them, saith HaShem, and do according to all that I have commanded thee.
λέγει Κύριος. Πικρῶς ἐπίβηθι ἐπʼ αὐτὴν, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐπʼ αὐτήν· ἐκδίκησον μάχαιρα, καὶ ἀφάνισον, λέγει Κύριος, καὶ ποίει κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐντέλλομαί σοι.
on the land, saith the Lord. Go up against it roughly, and against them that dwell on it: avenge, O sword, and destroy utterly, saith the Lord, and do according to all that I command thee.
22
קוֹל מִלְחָמָה בָּאָרֶץ וְשֶׁבֶר גָּדוֹל
Hark! battle is in the land, and great destruction.
Φωνὴ πολέμου καὶ συντριβὴ μεγάλη ἐν γῇ Χαλδαίων.
A sound of war, and great destruction in the land of the Chaldeans!
23
אֵיךְ נִגְדַּע וַיִּשָּׁבֵר פַּטִּישׁ כָּל־הָאָרֶץ אֵיךְ הָיְתָה לְשַׁמָּה בָּבֶל בַּגּוֹיִם
How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
Πῶς ἐκλάσθη καὶ συνετρίβη ἡ σφυρὰ πάσης τῆς γῆς; πῶς ἐγενήθη εἰς ἀφανισμὸν Βαβυλὼν ἐν ἔθνεσιν;
How is the hammer of the whole earth broken and crushed! How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
24
יָקֹשְׁתִּי לָךְ וְגַם־נִלְכַּדְתְּ בָּבֶל וְאַתְּ לֹא יָדָעַתְּ נִמְצֵאת וְגַם־נִתְפַּשְׂתְּ כִּי בַיהוָה הִתְגָּרִית
I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware; thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against HaShem.
Ἐπιβήσονταί σοι, καὶ οὐ γνώσῃ, ὡς Βαβυλὼν καὶ ἁλώσῃ· εὑρέθης, καὶ ἐλήφθης, ὅτι τῷ Κυρίῳ ἀντέστης.
They shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not know it, Babylon, that thou wilt even be taken captive: thou art found and taken, because thou didst resist the Lord.
25
פָּתַח יְהוָה אֶת־אוֹצָרוֹ וַיּוֹצֵא אֶת־כְּלֵי זַעְמוֹ כִּי־מְלָאכָה הִיא לַאדֹנָי יְהוִה צְבָאוֹת בְּאֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים
HaShem hath opened His armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of His indignation; for it is a work that the L-rd GOD of hosts hath to do in the land of the Chaldeans.
Ἤνοιξε Κύριος τὸν θησαυρὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξήνεγκε τὰ σκεύη ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἔργον τῷ Κυρίῳ Θεῷ ἐν γῇ Χαλδαίων,
The Lord has opened his treasury, and brought forth the weapons of his anger: for the Lord God [has] a work in the land of the Chaldeans.
26
בֹּאוּ־לָהּ מִקֵּץ פִּתְחוּ מַאֲבֻסֶיהָ סָלּוּהָ כְמוֹ־עֲרֵמִים וְהַחֲרִימוּהָ אַל־תְּהִי־לָהּ שְׁאֵרִית
Come against her from every quarter, open her granaries, cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly; let nothing of her be left.
ὅτι ἐληλύθασιν οἱ καιροὶ αὐτῆς· ἀνοίξατε τὰς ἀποθήκας αὐτῆς, ἐρευνήσατε αὐτὴν ὡς σπήλαιον, καὶ ἐξολοθρεύσατε αὐτήν· μὴ γενέσθω αὐτῆς κατάλειμμα·
For her times are come: open ye her storehouses: search her as a cave, and utterly destroy her: let there be no remnant of her.
27
חִרְבוּ כָּל־פָּרֶיהָ יֵרְדוּ לַטָּבַח הוֹי עֲלֵיהֶם כִּי־בָא יוֹמָם עֵת פְּקֻדָּתָם
Slay all her bullocks, let them go down to the slaughter; woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
Ἀναξηράνατε αὐτῆς πάντας τοὺς καρποὺς, καὶ καταβήτωσαν εἰς σφαγήν· οὐαὶ αὐτοῖς, ὅτι ἥκει ἡ ἡμέρα αὐτῶν, καὶ καιρὸς ἐκδικήσεως αὐτῶν.
Dry ye up all her fruits, and let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them! for their day is come, and the time of their retribution.
28
קוֹל נָסִים וּפְלֵטִים מֵאֶרֶץ בָּבֶל לְהַגִּיד בְּצִיּוֹן אֶת־נִקְמַת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ נִקְמַת הֵיכָלוֹ
Hark! they flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of HaShem our G-d, the vengeance of His temple.
Φωνὴ φευγόντων, καὶ ἀνασωζομένων ἐκ γῆς Βαβυλῶνος, τοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαι εἰς Σιὼν τὴν ἐκδίκησιν παρὰ Κυρίου Θεοῦ ἡμῶν.
A voice of men fleeing and escaping from the land of Babylon, to declare to Zion the vengeance [that comes] from the Lord our God.
29
הַשְׁמִיעוּ אֶל־בָּבֶל רַבִּים כָּל־דֹּרְכֵי קֶשֶׁת חֲנוּ עָלֶיהָ סָבִיב אַל־יְהִי־לָהּ פְּלֵטָה שַׁלְּמוּ־לָהּ כְּפָעֳלָהּ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר עָשְׂתָה עֲשׂוּ־לָהּ כִּי אֶל־יְהוָה זָדָה אֶל־קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל
Call together the archers against Babylon, all them that bend the bow; encamp against her round about, let none thereof escape; recompense her according to her work, according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been arrogant against HaShem, against the Holy One of Israel.
Παραγγείλατε ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα πολλοῖς, παντὶ ἐντείνοντι τόξον, παρεμβάλλετε ἐπʼ αὐτὴν κυκλόθεν· μὴ ἔστω αὐτῆς ἀνασωζόμενος· ἀνταπόδοτε αὐτῇ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῆς, κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησε, ποιήσατε αὐτῇ, ὅτι πρὸς Κύριον ἀντέστη Θεὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ἰσραήλ.
Summon many against Babylon, [even] everyone that bends the bow: camp against her round about; let no one of her [people] escape: render to her according to her works; according to all that she has done, do to her: for she has resisted the Lord, the Holy God of Israel.
30
לָכֵן יִפְּלוּ בַחוּרֶיהָ בִּרְחֹבֹתֶיהָ וְכָל־אַנְשֵׁי מִלְחַמְתָּהּ יִדַּמּוּ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא נְאֻם־יְהוָה
Therefore shall her young men fall in her broad places, and all her men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, saith HaShem.
Διατοῦτο πεσοῦνται οἱ νεανίσκοι αὐτῆς ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις αὐτῆς, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ πολεμισταὶ αὐτῆς ῥιφήσονται, εἶπε Κύριος.
Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her warriors shall be cast down, saith the Lord.
31
הִנְנִי אֵלֶיךָ זָדוֹן נְאֻם־אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה צְבָאוֹת כִּי בָּא יוֹמְךָ עֵת פְּקַדְתִּיךָ
Behold, I am against thee, O thou most arrogant, saith the L-rd GOD of hosts; for thy day is come, the time that I will punish thee.
Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐπὶ σὲ τὴν ὑβρίστριαν, λέγει Κύριος· ὅτι ἥκει ἡ ἡμέρα σου, καὶ ὁ καιρὸς ἐκδικήσεως σου.
Behold, I am against thee the haughty one, saith the Lord: for thy day is come, and the time of thy retribution.
32
וְכָשַׁל זָדוֹן וְנָפַל וְאֵין לוֹ מֵקִים וְהִצַּתִּי אֵשׁ בְּעָרָיו וְאָכְלָה כָּל־סְבִיבֹתָיו
And the most arrogant shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all that are round about him.
Καὶ ἀσθενήσει ἡ ὕβρις σου, καὶ πεσεῖται· καὶ οὐδεὶς ἔσται ὁ ἀνιστῶν αὐτήν· καὶ ἀνάψω πῦρ ἐν τῷ δρυμῷ αὐτῆς, καὶ καταφάγεται πάντα τὰ κύκλῳ αὐτῆς.
And thy pride shall fail, and fall, and there shall be no one to set it up again: and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all things round about her.
33
כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת עֲשׁוּקִים בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבְנֵי־יְהוּדָה יַחְדָּו וְכָל־שֹׁבֵיהֶם הֶחֱזִיקוּ בָם מֵאֲנוּ שַׁלְּחָם
Thus saith HaShem of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all that took them captives hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.
Τάδε λέγει Κύριος, καταδεδυνάστευνται οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰούδα, ἅμα πάντες οἱ αἰχμαλωτεύσαντες αὐτοὺς, κατεδυνάστευσαν αὐτοὺς, ὅτι οὐκ ἠθέλησαν ἐξαποστεῖλαι αὐτούς.
Thus saith the Lord; The children of Israel and the children of Judah have been oppressed: all they that have taken them captive have oppressed them together; for they would not let them go.
34
גֹּאֲלָם חָזָק יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ רִיב יָרִיב אֶת־רִיבָם לְמַעַן הִרְגִּיעַ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְהִרְגִּיז לְיֹשְׁבֵי בָבֶל
Their Redeemer is strong, HaShem of hosts is His name; He will thoroughly plead their cause, that He may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
Καὶ ὁ λυτρούμενος αὐτοὺς ἰσχυρὸς, Κύριος παντοκράτωρ ὄνομα αὐτῷ· κρίσιν κρινεῖ πρὸς τοὺς ἀντιδίκους αὐτοῦ, ὅπως ἐξάρῃ τὴν γῆν· καὶ παροξυνεῖ τοῖς κατοικοῦσι Βαβυλῶνα,
But their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name: he will enter into judgment with his adversaries, that he may destroy the earth;
35
חֶרֶב עַל־כַּשְׂדִּים נְאֻם־יְהוָה וְאֶל־יֹשְׁבֵי בָבֶל וְאֶל־שָׂרֶיהָ וְאֶל־חֲכָמֶיהָ
A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith HaShem, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.
μάχαιραν ἐπὶ τοὺς Χαλδαίους, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Βαβυλῶνα, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς μεγιστᾶνας αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς συνετοὺς αὐτῆς·
and he will sharpen a sword against the Chaldeans, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her nobles and upon her wise men;
36
חֶרֶב אֶל־הַבַּדִּים וְנֹאָלוּ חֶרֶב אֶל־גִּבּוֹרֶיהָ וָחָתּוּ
A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall become fools; a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.
Μάχαιραν ἐπὶ τοὺς μαχητὰς αὐτῆς, καὶ παραλυθήσονται· μάχαιραν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἵππους αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἅρματα αὐτῶν·
a sword upon her warriors, and they shall be weakened: a sword upon their horses, and upon their chariots:
37
חֶרֶב אֶל־סוּסָיו וְאֶל־רִכְבּוֹ וְאֶל־כָּל־הָעֶרֶב אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹכָהּ וְהָיוּ לְנָשִׁים חֶרֶב אֶל־אוֹצְרֹתֶיהָ וּבֻזָּזוּ
A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women; a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed.
Μάχαιραν ἐπὶ τοὺς μαχητὰς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν σύμμικτον τὸν ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἔσονται ὡσεὶ γυναῖκες· μάχαιραν ἐπὶ τοὺς θησαυροὺς, καὶ διασκορπισθήσονται
a sword upon their warriors, and upon the mixed people in the midst of her; and they shall be as women: a sword upon the treasures, and they shall be scattered upon her water,
38
חֹרֶב אֶל־מֵימֶיהָ וְיָבֵשׁוּ כִּי אֶרֶץ פְּסִלִים הִיא וּבָאֵימִים יִתְהֹלָלוּ
A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad upon things of horror.
ἐπὶ τῷ ὕδατι αὐτῆς, καὶ καταισχυνθήσονται, ὅτι γῆ τῶν γλυπτῶν ἐστι, καὶ ἐν ταῖς νήσοις, οὗ κατεκαυχῶντο.
and they shall be ashamed: for it is a land of graven [images]; and in the islands, where they boasted.
39
לָכֵן יֵשְׁבוּ צִיִּים אֶת־אִיִּים וְיָשְׁבוּ בָהּ בְּנוֹת יַעֲנָה וְלֹא־תֵשֵׁב עוֹד לָנֶצַח וְלֹא תִשְׁכּוֹן עַד־דּוֹר וָדוֹר
Therefore the wild-cats with the jackals shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein; and it shall be no more inhabited for ever, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
Διατοῦτο κατοικήσουσιν ἰνδάλματα ἐν ταῖς νήσοις, καὶ κατοικήσουσιν ἐν αὐτῇ θυγατέρες σειρήνων, οὐ μὴ κατοικηθῇ οὐκέτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
Therefore shall idols dwell in the islands, and the young of monsters shall dwell in it: it shall not be inhabited anymore forever.
40
כְּמַהְפֵּכַת אֱלֹהִים אֶת־סְדֹם וְאֶת־עֲמֹרָה וְאֶת־שְׁכֵנֶיהָ נְאֻם־יְהוָה לֹא־יֵשֵׁב שָׁם אִישׁ וְלֹא־יָגוּר בָּהּ בֶּן־אָדָם
As when G-d overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith HaShem; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
Καθὼς κατέστρεψεν ὁ Θεὸς Σόδομα καὶ Γόμοῤῥα, καὶ τὰς ὁμορούσας αὐταῖς, εἶπε Κύριος, οὐ μὴ κατοικήσει ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ οὐ μὴ παροικήσει ἐκεῖ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου.
As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities bordering upon them, saith the Lord: no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn there.
41
הִנֵּה עַם בָּא מִצָּפוֹן וְגוֹי גָּדוֹל וּמְלָכִים רַבִּים יֵעֹרוּ מִיַּרְכְּתֵי־אָרֶץ
Behold, a people cometh from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be roused from the uttermost parts of the earth.
Ἰδοὺ λαὸς ἔρχεται ἀπὸ Βοῤῥᾶ, καὶ ἔθνος μέγα, καὶ βασιλεῖς πολλοὶ ἐξεγερθήσονται ἀπʼ ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς,
Behold, a people comes from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the end of the earth; holding bow and dagger:
42
קֶשֶׁת וְכִידֹן יַחֲזִיקוּ אַכְזָרִי הֵמָּה וְלֹא יְרַחֵמוּ קוֹלָם כַּיָּם יֶהֱמֶה וְעַל־סוּסִים יִרְכָּבוּ עָרוּךְ כְּאִישׁ לַמִּלְחָמָה עָלַיִךְ בַּת־בָּבֶל
They lay hold on bow and spear, they are cruel, and have no compassion; their voice is like the roaring sea, and they ride upon horses; set in array, as a man for war, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
τόξον καὶ ἐγχειρίδιον ἔχοντες, ἰταμός ἐστι, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐλεήσῃ· ἡ φωνὴ αὐτῶν ὡς θάλασσα ἠχήσει, ἐφʼ ἵπποις ἱππάσονται, παρεσκευασμένοι, ὥσπερ πῦρ, εἰς πόλεμον, πρὸς σὲ, θύγατερ Βαβυλῶνος.
[the people] is fierce, and will have no mercy: their voices shall sound as the sea, they shall ride upon horses, prepared for war, like fire, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43
שָׁמַע מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל אֶת־שִׁמְעָם וְרָפוּ יָדָיו צָרָה הֶחֱזִיקַתְהוּ חִיל כַּיּוֹלֵדָה
The king of Babylon hath heard the fame of them, and his hands wax feeble; anguish hath taken hold of him, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Ἤκουσε βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος τὴν ἀκοὴν αὐτῶν, καὶ παρελύθησαν αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ· θλῖψις κατεκράτησεν αὐτοῦ, ὠδῖνες ὡς τικτούσης.
The king of Babylon heard the sound of them, and his hands were enfeebled: anguish overcame him, pangs as of a woman in travail.
44
הִנֵּה כְּאַרְיֵה יַעֲלֶה מִגְּאוֹן הַיַּרְדֵּן אֶל־נְוֵה אֵיתָן כִּי־אַרְגִּעָה ארוצם אֲרִיצֵם מֵעָלֶיהָ וּמִי בָחוּר אֵלֶיהָ אֶפְקֹד כִּי מִי כָמוֹנִי וּמִי יוֹעִדֶנִּי וּמִי־זֶה רֹעֶה אֲשֶׁר יַעֲמֹד לְפָנָי
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will suddenly make them run away from it, and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it; for who is like Me? and who will appoint Me a time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before Me?
Ἰδοὺ ὥσπερ λέων ἀναβήσεται ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου εἰς Γαιθὰν, ὅτι ταχέως ἐκδιώξω αὐτοὺς ἀπʼ αὐτῆς, καὶ πάντα νεανίσκον ἐπʼ αὐτὴν ἐπιστήσω· ὅτι τίς ὥσπερ ἐγώ; καὶ τίς ἀντιστήσεταί μοι; καὶ τίς οὗτος ποιμὴν, ὃς στήσεται κατὰ πρόσωπόν μου;
Behold, he shall come up as a lion from Jordan to Gaethan; for I will speedily drive them from her, and I will set all the youths against her: for who is like me? and who will resist me? and who is this shepherd who will stand before me?
45
לָכֵן שִׁמְעוּ עֲצַת־יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר יָעַץ אֶל־בָּבֶל וּמַחְשְׁבוֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר חָשַׁב אֶל־אֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים אִם־לֹא יִסְחָבוּם צְעִירֵי הַצֹּאן אִם־לֹא יַשִּׁים עֲלֵיהֶם נָוֶה
Therefore hear ye the counsel of HaShem, that He hath taken against Babylon, and His purposes, that He hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely the least of the flock shall drag them away, surely their habitation shall be appalled at them.
Διατοῦτο ἀκούσατε τὴν βουλὴν Κυρίου ἣν βεβούλευται ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα, καὶ λογισμοὺς αὐτοῦ οὓς ἐλογίσατο ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Χαλδαίους· ἐὰν μὴ διαφθαρῇ τὰ ἀρνία τῶν προβάτων αὐτῶν, ἐὰν μὴ ἀφανισθῇ νομὴ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν.
Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he has taken against Babylon; and his devices, which he has devised upon the Chaldeans inhabiting [it]: surely lambs of their flock shall be destroyed: surely pasture shall be cut off from them.
46
מִקּוֹל נִתְפְּשָׂה בָבֶל נִרְעֲשָׁה הָאָרֶץ וּזְעָקָה בַּגּוֹיִם נִשְׁמָע
At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth quaketh, and the cry is heard among the nations.
Ὅτι ἀπὸ φωνῆς ἁλώσεως Βαβυλῶνος σεισθήσεται ἡ γῆ, καὶ κραυγὴ ἐν ἔθνεσιν ἀκουσθήσεται.
For at the sound of the taking of Babylon the earth shall quake, and a cry shall be heard among the nations.

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.