Book of Jubilees Reader

For all have done evil, and every mouth speaketh iniquity and all their works are an uncleanness and an abomination, and all their ways are pollution, uncleanness and destruction.

Behold the earth will be destroyed on account of all their works, and there will be no seed of the vine, and no oil; for their works are altogether faithless,

and they will all perish together, beasts and cattle and birds, and all the fish of the sea, on account of the children of men.

And they will strive one with another, the young with the old, and the old with the young, the poor with the rich, and the lowly with the great, and the beggar with the prince,

on account of the law and the covenant; for they have forgotten commandment, and covenant, and feasts, and months, and Sabbaths, and jubilees, and all judgments.

And they will stand (with bows and) swords and war to turn them back into the way; but they will not return until much blood hath been shed on the earth,

one by another. And those who have escaped will not return from their wickedness to the way of righteousness,

but they will all exalt themselves to deceit and wealth, that they may each take all that is his neighbour's, and they will name the great name, but not in truth and not in righteousness,

and they will defile the holy of holies with their uncleanness and the corruption of their pollution.

And a great punishment will befall the deeds of this generation from the Lord, and He will give them over to the sword and to judgment and to captivity, and to be plundered and devoured.

And He will wake up against them the sinners of the Gentiles, who have neither mercy nor compassion, and who will respect the person of none, neither old nor young, nor any one, for they are more wicked and strong to do evil than all the children of men.

And they will use violence against Israel and transgression against Jacob, And much blood will be shed upon the earth, And there will be none to gather and none to bury.

In those days they will cry aloud, And call and pray that they may be saved from the hand of the sinners, the Gentiles; But none will be saved.

And the heads of the children will be white with grey hair, And a child of three weeks will appear old like a man of one hundred years, And their stature will be destroyed by tribulation and oppression.

And in those days the children will begin to study the laws, And to seek the commandments, And to return to the path of righteousness.

And the days will begin to grow many and increase amongst those children of men, Till their days draw nigh to one thousand years, And to a greater number of years than (before) was the number of the days.

And there will be no old man Nor one who is not satisfied with his days, For all will be (as) children and youths. And all their days they will complete and live in peace and in joy,

And there will be no Satan nor any evil destroyer; For all their days will be days of blessing and healing,

And at that time the Lord will heal His servants, And they will rise up and see great peace, And drive out their adversaries.

And the righteous will see and be thankful, And rejoice with joy for ever and ever,

And will see all their judgments and all their curses on their enemies. And their bones will rest in the earth, And their spirits will have much joy,

And they will know that it is the Lord who executeth judgment, And showeth mercy to hundreds and thousands and to all that love Him.

And do thou, Moses, write down these words; for thus are they written, and they record (them) on the heavenly tables for a testimony for the generations for ever.

And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that the Lord blessed Isaac his son, and he arose from Hebron and went

and dwelt at the Well of the Vision in the first year of the third week of this jubilee, seven years.

And in the first year of the fourth week a famine began in the land, besides the first famine, which had been in the days of Abraham.

And Jacob sod lentil pottage, and Esau came from the field hungry.

And he said to Jacob his brother: "Give me of this red pottage." And Jacob said to him: "Sell to me thy [primogeniture, this] birthright and I will give thee bread, and also some of this lentil pottage."

And Esau said in his heart: "I shall die; of what profit to me is this birthright?"

And he said to Jacob: "I give it to thee." And Jacob said "Swear to me, this day," and he sware unto him.

And Jacob gave his brother Esau bread and pottage, and he ate till he was satisfied, and Esau despised his birthright;

for this reason was Esau's name called Edom, on account of the red pottage which Jacob gave him for his birthright.

And Jacob became the elder, and Esau was brought down from his dignity.

And the famine was over the land, and Isaac departed to go down into Egypt in the second year of this week,

and went to the king of the Philistines to Gerar, unto Abimelech.

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

and sojourn in this land, and I shall be with thee and bless thee. For to thee and to thy seed shall I give all this land, and I shall establish My oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father,

and I shall multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and shall give unto thy seed all this land. And in thy seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed,

because thy father obeyed My voice, and kept My charge and My commandments, and My laws, and My ordinances, and My covenant;

And Abimelech charged concerning him, and concerning all that was his, saying: "Any man that shall touch him or aught that is his shall surely die."

And Isaac waxed strong among the Philistines, and he got many possessions, oxen and sheep and camels and asses and a great household.

And he sowed in the land of the Philistines and brought in a hundred-fold, and Isaac became exceedingly great,

and the Philistines envied him. Now all the wells which the servants of Abraham had dug during the life of Abraham, the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham, and filled them with earth.

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

and Isaac departed thence in the first year of the seventh week, and sojourned in the valleys of Gerar.

And they digged again the wells of water which the servants of Abraham, his father, had digged, and which the Philistines had closed after the death of Abraham his father, and he called their names as Abraham his father had named them.

And the servants of Isaac dug a well in the valley, and found living water,

and the shepherds of Gerar strove with the shepherds of Isaac, saying: "The water is ours "; and Isaac called the name of the well "Perversity," because they had been perverse with us.

And they dug a second well, and they strove for that also, and he called its name "Enmity."

And he arose from thence and they digged another well, and for that they strove not, and he called the name of it "Room," and Isaac said: "Now the Lord hath made room for us, and we have increased in the land."

And he went up from thence to the Well of the Oath in the first year of the first week in the forty-fourth jubilee.

And the Lord appeared to him that night, on the new moon of the first month, and said unto him: "I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear not, for I am with thee, and shall bless thee and shall surely multiply thy seed as the sand of the earth, for the sake of Abraham my servant."

And he built an altar there, which Abraham his father had first built, and he called upon the name of the Lord, and he offered sacrifice to the God of Abraham his father.

And they digged a well and they found living water.

And the servants of Isaac digged another well and did not find water,

and they went and told Isaac that they had not found water, and Isaac said: "I have sworn this day to the Philistines and this thing hath been announced to us."

And he called the name of that place the "Well of the Oath"; for there he had sworn to Abimelech and Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol the prefect of his host.

And Isaac knew that day that under constraint he had sworn to them to make peace with them.

And Isaac on that day cursed the Philistines and said: "Cursed be the Philistines unto the day of wrath and indignation from the midst of all nations;

may God make them a derision and a curse and an object of wrath and indignation in the hands of the sinners the Gentiles and in the hands of the Kittim.

And whoever escapeth the sword of the enemy and the Kittim, may the righteous nation root out in judgment from under heaven;

for they will be the enemies and foes of my children throughout their generations upon the earth. And no remnant will be left to them, Nor one that will be saved on the day of the wrath of judgment;

For for destruction and rooting out and expulsion from the earth is the whole seed of the Philistines (reserved), And there will no longer be left for these Caphtorim a name or a seed on the earth.

For though he ascend unto heaven, Thence will he be brought down, And though he make himself strong on earth, Thence will he be dragged forth,

And though he hide himself amongst the nations, Even from thence will he be rooted out; And though he descend into Sheol, There also will his condemnation be great, And there also he will have no peace.

And if he go into captivity, By the hands of those that seek his life will they slay him on the way,

And neither name nor seed will be left to him on all the earth; For into eternal malediction will he depart."

And thus is it written and engraved concerning him on the heavenly tables, to do unto him on the day of judgment, so that he may be rooted out of the earth.

And in the second year of this week in this jubilee, Rebecca called Jacob her son, and spake unto him, saying:

"My son, do not take thee a wife of the daughters of Canaan, as Esau, thy brother, who took him two wives of the daughters of Canaan,

and they have embittered my soul with all their unclean deeds: for all their deeds are fornication and lust, and there is no righteousness with them, for (their deeds) are evil.

And I, my son, love thee exceedingly, and my heart and my affection bless thee every hour of the day and watch of the night.

And now, my son, hearken to my voice, and do the will of thy mother, and do not take thee a wife of the daughters of this land, but only of the house of my father, and of my father's kindred.

Thou wilt take thee a wife of the house of my father, and the Most High God will bless thee, and thy children will be a righteous generation and a holy seed."

And then spake Jacob to Rebecca, his mother, and said unto her: "Behold, mother, I am nine weeks of years old, and I neither know

nor have I touched any woman, nor have I betrothed myself to any, nor even think of taking me a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

For I remember, mother, the words of Abraham, our father, for he commanded me not to take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,

but to take me a wife from the seed of my father's house and from my kindred.

I have heard before that daughters have been born to Laban, thy brother, and I have set my heart on them to take a wife from amongst them.

And for this reason I have guarded myself in my spirit against sinning or being corrupted in all my ways throughout all the days of my life; for with regard to lust and fornication, Abraham, my father, gave me many commands.

And, despite all that he hath commanded me, these two and twenty years my brother hath striven with me, and spoken frequently to me and said: 'My brother, take to wife a sister of my two wives';

but I refuse to do as he hath done. I swear before thee, mother, that all the days of my life I will not take me a wife from the daughters of the seed of Canaan, and I will not act wickedly as my brother hath done.

Fear not, mother; be assured that I shall do thy will and walk in uprightness, and not corrupt my ways for ever."

And thereupon she lifted up her face to heaven and extended the fingers of her hands, and opened her mouth and blessed the Most High God, who had created the heaven and the earth,

and she gave Him thanks and praise. And she said: "Blessed be the Lord God, and may His holy name be blessed for ever and ever, who hath given me Jacob as a pure son and a holy seed;

for He is Thine, and Thine shall his seed be continually and throughout all the generations for evermore. Bless him, O Lord, and place in my mouth the blessing of righteousness, that I may bless him."

And at that hour, when the spirit of righteousness descended into her mouth, she placed both her hands on the head of Jacob, and said:

"Blessed art thou, Lord of righteousness and God of the ages; And may He bless thee beyond all the generations of men.

May He give thee, my son, the path of righteousness, And reveal righteousness to thy seed. And may He make thy sons many during thy life, And may they arise according to the number of the months of the year.

And may their sons become many and great beyond the stars of heaven, And their numbers be more than the sand of the sea.

And may He give them this goodly land--as He said He would give it to Abraham and to his seed after him alway -- And may they hold it as a possession for ever.

And may I see (born) unto thee, my son, blessed children during my life, And a blessed and holy seed may all thy seed be.

And as thou hast refreshed thy mother's spirit during my life, The womb of her that bare thee blesseth thee, [My affection] and my breasts bless thee And my mouth and my tongue praise thee greatly.

Increase and spread over the earth, And may thy seed be perfect in the joy of heaven and earth for ever;

And may thy seed rejoice, And on the great day of peace may it have peace.

And may thy name and thy seed endure to all the ages, And may the Most High God be their God, And may the God of righteousness dwell with them, And by them may His sanctuary be built unto all the ages.

Blessed be he that blesseth thee, And all flesh that curseth thee falsely may it be cursed."

And she kissed him, and said to him "May the Lord of the world love thee As the heart of thy mother and her affection rejoice in thee and bless thee." And she ceased from blessing.

And in the seventh year of this week Isaac called Esau, his elder son, and said unto him: "I am old, my son, and behold my eyes are dim in seeing, and I know not the day of my death.

And now take thy hunting weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt and catch me (venison), my son,

and make me savoury meat, such as my soul loveth, and bring it to me that I may eat, and that my soul may bless thee before I die."

But Rebecca heard Isaac speaking to Esau. And Esau went forth early to the field to hunt and catch and bring home to his father.

And Rebecca called Jacob, her son, and said unto him: "Behold, I heard Isaac, thy father, speak unto Esau, thy brother, saying:

Hunt for me, and make me savoury meat, and bring (it) to me that I may eat and bless thee before the Lord before I die.'

And now, my son, obey my voice in that which I command thee:

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

and thou shalt bring (it) to thy father that he may eat and bless thee before the Lord before he die, and that thou mayst be blessed."

And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother: "Mother, I shall not withhold anything which my father would eat, and which would please him: only I fear, my mother, that he will recognise my voice and wish to touch me.

And thou knowest that I am smooth, and Esau, my brother, is hairy, and I shall appear before his eyes as an evildoer, and shall do a deed which he had not commanded me, and he will be wroth with me, and I shall bring upon myself a curse, and not a blessing."

And Rebecca, his mother, said unto him: "Upon me be thy curse, my son, only obey my voice."

And Jacob obeyed the voice of Rebecca, his mother, and went and fetched two good and fat kids of the goats, and brought them to his mother, and his mother made them (savoury meat) such as he loved.

And Rebecca took the goodly raiment of Esau, her elder son, which was with her in the house, and she clothed Jacob, her younger son, (with them),

and she put the skins of the kids upon his hand and on the exposed parts of his neck.

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

And Jacob went in to his father and said: "I am thy son: I have done according as thou badest me:

arise and sit and eat of that which I have caught, father, that thy soul may bless me."

And Isaac said to his son: "How hast thou found so quickly, my son?" And Jacob said: "Because (the Lord) thy God caused me to find."

And Isaac said unto him: "Come near, that I may feel thee, my son, if thou art my son Esau or not."

And Jacob went near to Isaac, his father, and he felt him and said: "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau,"

and he discerned him not, because it was a dispensation from heaven to remove his power of perception

and Isaac discerned not, for his hands were hairy as (his brother) Esau's, so that he blessed him.

And he said: "Art thou my son Esau?" and he said: "I am thy son."

and he said, "Bring near to me that I may eat of that which thou hast caught, my son, that my soul may bless thee." And he brought near to him, and he did eat, and he brought him wine and he drank.

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

And he came near and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of his raiment, and he blessed him and said: "Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a (full) field which the Lord hath blessed.

And may the Lord give thee of the dew of heaven And of the dew of the earth, and plenty of corn and oil:

Let nations serve thee, And peoples bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee;

And may all the blessings wherewith the Lord hath blessed me and blessed Abraham, my father, Be imparted to thee and to thy seed for ever. Cursed be he that curseth thee, And blessed be he that blesseth thee."

And it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing his son Jacob, and Jacob had gone forth from Isaac his father he hid himself and Esau, his brother, came in from his hunting.

And he also made savoury meat, and brought (it) to his father, and said unto his father: "Let my father arise, and eat of my venison that thy soul may bless me."

And Isaac, his father, said unto him: "Who art thou?" And he said unto him: "I am thy first born, thy son Esau: I have done as thou hast commanded me."

And Isaac was very greatly astonished, and said: "Who is he that hath hunted and caught and brought (it) to me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him: (and) he shall be blessed, and all his seed for ever."

And it came to pass when Esau heard the words of his father Isaac that he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father: "Bless me, (even) me also, father."

And he said unto him: "Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing."

And he said: "Now I know why his name is named Jacob: behold, he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birth-right, and now he hath taken away my blessing." And he said: "Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me, father?"

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

And Esau said to Isaac, his father: "Hast thou but one blessing, O father? Bless me, (even) me also, father": And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

And Isaac answered and said unto him: "Behold, far from the dew of the earth shall be thy dwelling, And far from the dew of heaven from above.

And by thy sword wilt thou live, And thou wilt serve thy brother. And it shall come to pass when thou becomest great, And dost shake his yoke from off thy neck, Thou wilt sin a complete sin unto death, And thy seed will be rooted out from under heaven."

And Esau kept threatening Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him, and he said in his heart: "May the days of mourning for my father now come, so that I may slay my brother Jacob."

And the words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebecca in a dream, and Rebecca sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him: "Behold Esau thy brother will take vengeance on thee so as to kill thee.

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

and tarry with him a few days until thy brother's anger turneth away,

and he remove his anger from thee, and forget all that thou hast done; then I will send and fetch thee from thence."

And Jacob said: "I am not afraid; if he wisheth to kill me, I will kill him." But she said unto him: "Let me not be bereft of both my sons on one day."

And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother: "Behold, thou knowest that my father hath become old, and doth not see because his eyes are dull,

and if I leave him it will be evil in his eyes, because I leave him and go away from you, and my father will be angry, and will curse me.

I will not go; when he sendeth me, then only will I go."

And Rebecca said to Jacob: "I will go in and speak to him, and he will send thee away."

And Rebecca went in and said to Isaac: "I loathe my life because of the two daughters of Heth, whom Esau hath taken him as wives; and if Jacob take a wife from among the daughters of the land such as these, for what purpose do I further live; for the daughters of Canaan are evil."

And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and admonished him and said unto him: "Do not take thee a wife of any of the daughters of Canaan;

arise and go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother.

And God Almighty bless thee and increase and multiply thee that thou mayest become a company of nations,

and give thee the blessings of my father Abraham, to thee and to thy seed after thee, that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings and all the land which God gave to Abraham: go, my son, in peace."