1 Jeroboam. 353 2 Nadab. 367 3 Baasha. 368 4 Elah. 370 5 Zimri. 373 6 Omri. 374 7 Ahab. 377 8 Ahaziah. 382 9 Joram. 387 10 Jehu. 395 11 Jehoahaz. 399 12 Joash. 400 13 Jeroboam II. 401 14 Zechariah 402 15 Shallum. 403 16 Menahem. 404 17 Pekahiah. 407 18 Pekah. 408 19 Hoshea. 411

TALES OF THE MACCABEES. 415

NOTES. 485

MEMORY VERSES 499

{13}

TALES OF THE FAR-OFF DAYS

{14}

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Map of Palestine in Old Testament times.

[End ill.u.s.tration]

{15}

THE STORY OF THE CREATION.

"_In the Beginning G.o.d Created the Heaven and the Earth_."

In the beginning G.o.d created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the spirit of G.o.d moved upon the face of the waters. And G.o.d said, "Let there be light": and there was light. And G.o.d saw the light that it was good: and G.o.d divided the light from the darkness. And G.o.d called the light "Day," and the darkness he called "Night." And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

And G.o.d said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." And G.o.d made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And G.o.d called the firmament "Heaven." And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

And G.o.d said, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear": and it was so.

And G.o.d called the dry land "Earth"; and the gathering together of the waters called he "Seas": and G.o.d saw that it was good. And G.o.d said, "Let the earth put forth gra.s.s, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree bearing fruit after {16} its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth": and it was so.

And the earth brought forth gra.s.s, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind: and G.o.d saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

And G.o.d said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth:" and it was so.

And G.o.d made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And G.o.d set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and G.o.d saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

And G.o.d said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven."

And G.o.d created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, with which the waters swarmed, after their kinds, and every winged bird after its kind: and G.o.d saw that it was good. And G.o.d blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

And G.o.d said, "Let the earth bring forth living {17} creatures after their kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind": and it was so.

And G.o.d made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the ground after its kind: and G.o.d saw that it was good. And G.o.d said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

And G.o.d created man in his own image, in the image of G.o.d created he him; male and female created he them. And G.o.d blessed them: and G.o.d said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

And G.o.d said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food: and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food:" and it was so.

And G.o.d saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

And on the seventh day G.o.d finished {18} his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

And G.o.d blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it: because that in it he rested from all his work which he had created and made.

{19}

A STORY OF DISOBEDIENCE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.

_How Adam and Eve Lost Eden_.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord G.o.d had made. And he said to the woman, "Yea, hath G.o.d said, 'Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'"

And the woman said unto the serpent, "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G.o.d hath said, 'Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'"

And the serpent said to the woman, "Ye shall not surely die: for G.o.d doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as G.o.d, knowing good and evil."

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and ate; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves ap.r.o.ns. And they heard the voice of the Lord G.o.d walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife {20} hid themselves from the presence of the Lord G.o.d amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord G.o.d called to the man, and said unto him, "Where art thou?"

And he said, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and 1 was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."

And he said, "Who told thee that thou wast naked?

Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"

And the man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."

And the Lord G.o.d said to the woman, "What is this thou hast done?"

And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate."

And the Lord G.o.d said unto the serpent, "Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

And to Adam he said, "Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, 'Thou shalt not eat of it': cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the ground; for out of it wast thou {21} taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Then the Lord G.o.d sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

{22}

THE STORY OF THE FIRST MURDER.

"_Am I My Brother's Keeper?_"

(After Adam and Eve were driven from the garden of Eden, two sons were born to them. They named these sons Cain and Abel.)

And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And in time it came to pa.s.s, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect to Abel and to his offering: but to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

And the Lord said to Cain, "Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?