The Children"s Bible.
by Henry A. Sherman and Charles Foster Kent.
PREFACE
"The Children"s Bible" provides, in simple English, a translation of selections from both the Old and the New Testament. These selections have been made as a result of more than twenty-five years of observation and study. The text is that of the Bible itself, but in the language of the child, so that it may easily be read to the younger children and by those who are older. It is not in words of one syllable, for while the child is reading the Bible he should gradually learn the meaning of new words and idioms.
The Bible contains the foundations on which the religious life of the child must be built. The immortal stories and songs of the Old and New Testaments are his richest inheritance from the past. To give him this heritage in language and form that he can understand and enjoy is the duty and privilege of his parents and teachers.
It is hoped that "The Children"s Bible" will meet the need and the demand, which parents and educators alike have long felt and often expressed, for a simple translation of selections from the Bible most suited to the needs and the interests of the child. It is also believed that after the child has learned to appreciate and love these stories and songs, he will be eager and able to read the Bible as a whole with genuine interest and understanding.
THE CHILDREN"S BIBLE
THE STORY OF CREATION
In the beginning G.o.d made the heavens and the earth, and while the earth was still unformed, G.o.d said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
And G.o.d saw that the light was good. Then G.o.d separated the light from the darkness. And G.o.d called the light Day and the darkness Night. And there was an evening and a morning, making the first day.
And G.o.d said, "Let there be a sky and let it divide the waters that are below from the waters that are above the sky." And it was done. And G.o.d called the sky the Heavens. And there was an evening and a morning, making the second day.
And G.o.d said, "Let the waters under the heavens be brought together, and let the dry land appear." And it was done. And G.o.d called the dry land Earth and the waters that were brought together Seas. And G.o.d saw that it was good.
And G.o.d said, "Let plants and trees grow from the earth." And it was done. And plants and trees grew from the earth, each plant bringing forth its own kind of seed and each tree its own kind of fruit, and G.o.d saw that it was good. And there was an evening and a morning, making the third day.
And G.o.d said, "Let there be lights in the heavens to separate the night from the day. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, the days, and the years. Let them be lights in the heavens to light the earth." And it was done. So G.o.d made the two great lights (the sun and the moon): the greater to rule the day and the lesser to rule the night. G.o.d made the stars also and placed them in the heavens to throw light upon the earth.
And G.o.d saw that it was good. And there was an evening and a morning, making the fourth day.
And G.o.d said, "Let the waters bring forth many living creatures and let birds fly above the earth and in the sky." And G.o.d made large sea-monsters and all kinds of living creatures with which the waters abound, and all kinds of birds. And G.o.d saw that it was good. And he blessed them, saying, "Increase and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was an evening and a morning, making the fifth day.
And G.o.d said, "Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures, cattle and creeping things and wild beasts." And it was done. So G.o.d made all the different kinds of wild beasts, and the cattle, and everything that crawls upon the ground. And G.o.d saw that it was good.
And G.o.d said, "Let us make man like ourselves. Let him rule over the fish in the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the wild beasts and all the living things that crawl upon the ground." And G.o.d made man like himself, like G.o.d he made him. He made them male and female.
And G.o.d blessed them, and said to them, "Have children, increase, live all over the earth, and conquer it; rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that crawls upon the ground."
And G.o.d said, "See, to you I give every plant which grows on all the earth, and every tree which bears fruit with its own kind of seed. It shall be food for you. And to every wild beast and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that crawls on the earth and is alive, I give every green herb for food." And it was done.
And when G.o.d saw everything that he had made, he saw that it was very good. And there was an evening and a morning, making the sixth day.
And the heavens and the earth were finished and all that there was in them. And on the seventh day when G.o.d had finished the work which he had done, he rested from all his work. And G.o.d blessed the seventh day and made it holy, for in it he rested from all the work which he had done.
G.o.d"S GOOD GIFTS TO MAN
At the time when Jehovah made earth and heaven, no trees or plants grew on the earth, for Jehovah had not yet sent the rain; and there was no man to till the soil; but a mist rose from the earth and watered the ground.
Then Jehovah made man out of dust taken from the ground and breathed into him the breath of life; and man became a living being. And Jehovah planted a garden in Eden, far in the East; and out of the ground he made grow all kinds of trees that are pleasant to look at and good for food, also the tree of life and the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil.
Then Jehovah took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and to care for it. And Jehovah gave the man this command: "You may eat all you wish from every tree of the garden, except from the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil; from this you shall not eat, for if you eat from it you shall surely die."
Then Jehovah said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a companion for him." So out of the ground Jehovah made all the wild beasts and birds, and brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever he called each living thing that became its name. But for the man himself there was found no companion suited to him.
Then Jehovah made the man fall into a deep sleep; and while he slept, he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The rib which he had taken from the man, Jehovah made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "Because she was made from my body, she shall be called Woman."
THE FIRST DISOBEDIENCE
Now the serpent was more deceitful than any other animal that Jehovah had made; and it said to the woman, "Has G.o.d really said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden"?" The woman answered, "We may eat of the fruit of all the trees of the garden except the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, for G.o.d has said, "You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it; for if you do, you shall die.""
Then the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not surely die; for G.o.d knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will know what is good and what is evil."
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, beautiful to look at and that it would make her wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it.
Then she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, so that they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together and made girdles for themselves. When they heard the sound of the footsteps of Jehovah, as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, the man and his wife hid from him among the trees of the garden.
And Jehovah called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" and he answered, "I heard the sound of thy footsteps in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself." Jehovah said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?" The man answered, "The woman whom thou didst give to me--she gave me fruit from the tree and I ate." Jehovah said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman replied, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
Then Jehovah said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you shall be hated more than all beasts. You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust all your life, and men and serpents shall always be enemies. They shall bruise your head, and you shall wound them on the heel."
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your trouble and your pain, and you shall be subject to your husband, and he shall rule over you."
But to the man he said, "Because you have listened to your wife and have eaten of the tree from which I forbade you to eat, as long as you live you shall earn a living only by hard work. By hard work shall you raise food to eat. And you shall die and your body go back to the ground, for from dust you were made, and to dust you shall return!"
And Jehovah made garments of skins for the man and his wife, and clothed them. And he sent them out of the garden of Eden to till the ground.
CAIN AND HIS BROTHER ABEL
Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living beings. She had two sons, Cain and Abel. Abel was a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer.
One day Cain brought, as an offering to Jehovah, some fruit and grain that he had grown. Abel, too, brought some of the best animals of his flock and sacrificed their fat pieces to Jehovah. Jehovah was pleased with Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering did not please him.
This made Cain very angry and his face showed it. So Jehovah said to Cain, "Why are you angry and why do you scowl? If you do what is right and good, will not your offering be accepted? But if you do wrong, sin crouches like a wild beast at the door and the desire to sin will overcome you; but you should master it."