The book of Jasher: Complete edition

By Jaser Jaser

The book of Jasher, or the book of the Just, is a book of historical Hebrew origin that is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, and in the same way as the first canonical books, it tells us in an expanded and detailed way the creation of man, his relationships, the life of the prophets, the patriarchs, Moses, and many events of collective and religious interest.



“The Lord, in whom I trust, said to me: Abraham, you will lack nothing, because I will bless you in all the works of your hands because you have been faithful and upright in all my ways, and you have never reneged on any command that I have given you”. Book of Jasher

• Language: English
• Publisher: Noe
• Release date: Apr 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9791221323467

Book preview

Chapter 1

And the Lord said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and the Lord created man in his image. And the Lord formed man from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being endowed with speech.

And the Lord declared: It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him. Then the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and took away one of his ribs, and built flesh on it, and formed it, and brought it to Adam, and Adam awoke from his sleep, and behold a woman was standing in front of him.

And Adam exclaimed: This is a bone of my bones and will be called woman, because this has been taken from man. And Adam called her name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

And the Lord blessed them and called their names Adam and Eve on the day he created them. And he gave them this ordinance: Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

And the Lord took Adam and his wife, and put them in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it; and he commanded them and told them this statute: From every tree of the garden you may eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat from it you will surely die.

And when the Lord had blessed and ordained them, he departed from them, and Adam and his wife dwelt in the garden according to the order that the Lord had given them.

And it happened, that the serpent that the Lord had created with them on earth, came to them to incite them to transgress the mandate of their Creator that he had given them. And the serpent seduced and persuaded the woman to eat from the tree of knowledge, and the woman listened to the voice of the serpent, and transgressed the word of the Lord, and took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and she ate, and she took from him and gave also to her husband and he ate.

So, Adam and his wife transgressed the command of the Lord that he commanded them, and he knew it, so his anger was kindled against them and he cursed them.

And it came to pass that the Lord expelled them that day from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from which they were taken, and they went and dwelt to the east of the Garden of Eden. And there Adam met his wife Eve and she gave birth to two sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the firstborn Cain, saying, I have obtained a man from the Lord, and the name of the other he called Abel, because he said; In vanity we enter the land, and in vanity we will be taken from it. And the boys grew up and his father gave them possession in the land. And Cain was a tiller of the land, and Abel was a shepherd of sheep.

And at the end of a few years, they brought a rough offering to the Lord, and Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock of its fat, and the Lord turned and bowed down to Abel and his offering, and fire came down from heaven from the Lord and consumed him. And to Cain and his offering the Lord did not turn, and did not bow down to her, because she had brought of the inferior fruit of the earth before the Lord, and Cain was jealous of his brother Abel because of this, and he sought an excuse to kill it.

And some time later, Cain and Abel his brother, went out into the field one day to do their work. And they were both in the field, Cain plowing and plowing his land, and Abel tending his flock, and the flock passed through the part of the land that Cain had plowed, and this greatly distressed Cain. And Cain approached his brother Abel in anger, and said to him: What is between you and me, that you come to dwell and bring your flock to graze in my land? Then Abel answered his brother Cain of his and said to him: What is between you and me, that you eat the meat of my sheep and clothe yourself with their wool? And now therefore, take away the wool of my sheep with which you have clothed yourself, and pay me for the fruit and the meat that you have eaten, and when you have done this, will I leave your land as you have said? And Cain answered his brother Abel: If I kill you today, who will demand your blood from me? And Abel answered Cain, saying: Surely the Lord, who has made us on earth, will avenge my cause, and will demand my blood from you if you kill me, because the Lord is the judge and the arbiter, and it is he who will repay man according to his wickedness, and to the wicked according to the wickedness he does on earth. And now, if you should kill me here, surely the Lord knows your secret opinions, and he will judge you for the evil you declared to do to me today.

And when Cain heard the words that Abel his brother had spoken, behold, Cain's anger was kindled against his brother Abel for having declared this. And Cain hurried up and got up, and took the iron part of his plowing tool, with which he suddenly struck his brother and killed him. And Cain shed his brother Abel's blood on the ground, and Abel's blood was shed on the ground before the flock. And after this Cain repented that he had killed his brother, and he was very sad, and wept for him and grieved him greatly. And Cain got up and dug a hole in the field, in which he put the body of his brother, and covered it with dust.

And the Lord knew what Cain had done to his brother, and he appeared to Cain and said to him, Where is Abel thy brother who was with thee?      Then Cain concealed himself and answered, I do not know; am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said unto him, What hast thou done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the land where you killed him.  For thou hast killed thy brother, and hast concealed thyself from me, and hast imagined in thine heart that I did not see thee, neither knew all thy doings. But thou hast done this, and hast killed thy brother for nothing, and because he spake well of thee: and now therefore cursed be thou from the land which opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood at thine hand, and in which thou hast buried him.  And it shall come to pass, when thou tillest it, that it shall no more give thee its strength as at the first, for the earth shall bring forth thorns and thistles, and thou shalt wander and wander through the earth until the day of thy death.

So Cain left the presence of the Lord, from the place where he was, and wandered about the earth to the east of Eden, he and all that belonged to him.

And Cain knew his wife in those days, and she conceived and gave birth to a son, and called his name Enoch, saying: At that time the Lord began to give him rest and tranquility on earth. And at that time Cain also began to build a city, and he built the city and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son, because in those days the Lord had given him rest on the earth, and he neither walked nor wandered as at the beginning. And Irad was born to Enoch, and Irad begot Mechuyael, and Mechuyael begot Methusael.

Chapter 2

And it happened in the one hundred and thirty year of Adam's life on earth, that he met his wife Eve again, and she conceived and gave birth to a son in his likeness and image, and called him by the name Seth, saying; because the Lord has given me another seed instead of Abel, because Cain has killed him. And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begat a son, and Seth called his son's name Enos, saying, because at that time the sons of men began to multiply, and to afflict their souls and hearts by transgressing and rebelling against the Lord. And it came to pass in the days of Enos that the sons of men continued to rebel and transgress against the Lord, to increase His wrath against the sons of men.

And the children of men went and served other gods, and forgot the Lord who had created them on earth. And in those days the sons of men made images of bronze and iron, wood and stone, and they bowed down and worshiped them. And every man made the god of him and they bowed down before them, and the sons of men forsook the Lord all the days of Enos and his sons. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled because of their deeds and abominations that they did on earth. And the Lord caused the waters of the Gihon River to cover them, and destroyed them and consumed them, and destroyed a third of the earth, and notwithstanding this, the sons of men did not turn from their wicked ways, and their hands still they were stretched out to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

And in those days neither was sown nor harvested in the land; and there was no food for the sons of men and the famine was very great in those days. And the seed that they sown in those days on the earth became thorns, and thistles, because from the days of Adam was this declaration concerning the earth, of the curse that the Lord made on the earth, because of the sin that Adam committed before the Lord. And it was when men continued to rebel and transgress against the Lord, and corrupt their ways, that the earth also became corrupt.

And Enos lived ninety years and fathered Cainan. And Cainan grew up and was forty years old, and became wise and had knowledge and skill in all wisdom, and reigned over all the sons of men, and led the sons of men to wisdom and knowledge; for Cainan was a very wise man and had understanding in all wisdom, and with his wisdom he ruled over spirits and demons. And Cainan knew by his wisdom that the Lord would destroy the sons of men for having sinned on the earth, and that the Lord in the last days would bring the waters of the flood upon them. And in those days Cainan wrote on tablets of stone what was to take place in the time to come, and put them in his treasures. And Cainan reigned over all the earth, and brought back some of the sons of men to serve the Lord.

And when Cainan was seventy years old, he fathered three sons and two daughters. And these are the names of the sons of Cainan: the name of the firstborn is Mahlallel, the second Enan, and the third Mered, and his sisters were Adah and Zillah, and these are the five sons of Cainan who were born to him.

And Lamech the son of Methuselah was related to Cainan by marriage, and he took his two daughters for wives, and Adah conceived and bore Lamech a son, and she called his name Jabal. And she again conceived and bare a son, and he called her name Jubal. As for Zillah, her sister, she was barren in those days and had no offspring. Because in those days the sons of men began to rebel against the Lord, and to transgress the commandments that he had commanded Adam, in order to be fruitful and multiply on earth.

And some of the sons of men made their wives drink a drink that would render them barren, so that they would preserve their figure and so that their fair appearance would not fade. And when the sons of men made some of their wives drink, Zila drank with them. And pregnant women seemed abominable in the eyes of their husbands as widows, while their husbands lived, because only they were united to the barren.

And at the end of days and years, when Zillah grew old, the Lord opened her womb. And she conceived and gave birth to a son and called her name Tubal Cain, saying; after having withered I have obtained it from the Lord. And she conceived again and brought forth a daughter, and she called her name Naamah, for she said; after I had withered, I got pleasure and delight.

And Lamech was old and advanced in years, and his eyes were dim and he could not see, and Tubal Cain his son was leading him and it was one day that Lamech entered the field and Tubal Cain his son was with him, and as they walked through the field Cain the son of Adam advanced towards them; for Lamech was very old and could not see much, and Tubal Cain his son was very young. And Tubal Cain told his father to draw his bow from him, and with the arrows he struck Cain, who was still far away, and killed him, because it seemed to them that he was an animal. And the arrows entered Cain's body though he was far away from them, and he fell to the ground and died.

And the Lord repaid Cain's evil according to his iniquity which he had done to his brother Abel, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken. And it happened that when Cain died, Lamech and Tubal went to see the animal that they had killed, and they saw, and behold, Cain, his grandfather, had fallen dead on the ground. And Lamech was very sad that he had done this, and when he put his hands together he struck his son and caused her death. And the women of Lamech heard what Lamech had done, and they sought to kill him. And the women of Lamech hated him from that day, because he killed Cain and Tubal Cain, and the women of Lamech separated from him, and would not listen to him in those days. And Lamech approached his wives and urged them to listen to him about this matter. And he told his wives Adah and Zillah; Hear my voice, wives of Lamech, listen to my words, because now they imagine and say that I killed a man with my wounds, and a child with my lashes, for not having done anything. violence, but surely you know that I am old and gray-haired, and that my eyes are heavy with age, and that I did this without knowing it.

And the wives of Lamech listened to him in this matter, and they returned to him with the advice of their father Adam, but from then on they begat him no children, knowing that the anger of the Lord increased in those days against the sons of men to destroy them with the waters of the deluge for their evil deeds.

And Mahalale the son of Cainan lived sixty-five years, and begat Jared. And Jared lived sixty-two years and fathered Enoch.

Chapter 3

And Enoch lived sixty-five years and begat Methuselah; and Enoch walked with the Lord after he begat Methuselah, and served the Lord, and despised the wicked ways of men. And Enoch's soul was wrapped up in the instruction of the Lord, in knowledge and in understanding, and he wisely withdrew from the sons of men, and hid himself from them for many days.

And it was after many years, while he was serving the Lord, and praying before him in his house, when an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, Here I am. And he ordered him: "Arise, go out from your house and from the place where you hide, and appear to the sons of men, so that you may teach them the way they should go and the work they should do. Enter the ways of the Lord.

And Enoch arose according to the word of the Lord, and went out of his house, and out of his place, and out of the chamber where he was hid. And he went to the sons of men and taught them the ways of the Lord. And at that time he gathered the sons of men together and acquainted them with the instruction of the Lord. And he commanded that proclamation should be made in all the places where the sons of men dwelt, saying, Where is the man who would know the ways of the Lord and good works? let him come to Enoch. And all the sons of men then gathered to him, for all who desired this went to Enoch, and Enoch reigned over the sons of men according to the word of the Lord, and they came and bowed down to him and listened to his word. And the spirit of the Lord was upon Enoch, and he taught all his men the wisdom of the Lord and his ways, and the sons of men served the Lord all the days of Enoch, and they came and listened to his wisdom.

And all the kings of the sons of men, both the first and the last, together with their princes and judges, came to Enoch when they heard of his wisdom, and bowed down to him, and also asked Enoch to reign over them, what he agreed to. And they gathered together, one hundred and thirty kings and princes, and made Enoch king over them and they were all under his power and command. And Enoch taught them wisdom, knowledge, and the ways of the Lord; and he made peace among them, and there was peace in all the earth during Enoch's lifetime. And Enoch reigned over the sons of men two hundred and forty-three years, and did justice and righteousness to all his people, and led them in the ways of the Lord.

And these are the generations of Enoch, Methuselah, Elisha, and Elimelech, three sons; and his sisters were Melca and Nahmah, and Methuselah lived eighty-seven years and begat Lamech.

And it was in the fifty-sixth year of Lamech's life that Adam died. He was nine hundred and thirty years old when he died, and his two sons, with Enoch and Methuselah his son, buried him with great pomp, as in the tomb of kings, in the cave that the Lord had told him about. And in that place all the sons of men made a great mourning and crying because of Adam, therefore, it has become a custom among the sons of men to this day.

And Adam died because he ate from the tree of knowledge. He and his sons after him, as the Lord had said. And it was in the year of the death of Adam that was the year two hundred and forty-three of the reign of Enoch, at that time Enoch resolved to separate himself from the sons of men and hide himself as at the beginning to serve the Lord. And Enoch did, but he didn't completely hide from them, but he kept away from the sons of men for three days and then he went to them for one day. And during the three days that he was in his chamber, he prayed and praised the Lord his creator, and on the day that he went and appeared to his subjects, he taught them the ways of the Lord, and everything they asked. And he did this way for many years, and then hid himself for six days, and appeared to his people one day out of seven; and after that once a month, and then once a year, until all kings, princes, and sons of men sought him, and wished again to see Enoch's face, and to hear his word; but they could not, since all the sons of men were greatly afraid of Enoch, and feared to approach him because of the divine fear that settled on his countenance; therefore, no one could look at him, fearing that he might be punished and die.

And all the kings and princes resolved to assemble the sons of men and come to Enoch, thinking that they might all speak to him at the time he appeared among them, and they did so. And the day came when Enoch went out and they all gathered together and came to him, and Enoch spoke to them the words of the Lord and taught them wisdom and knowledge, and they bowed down to him and said: Long live the king! Long live the king!

And some time later, when the kings and princes and the sons of men were talking to Enoch, and Enoch was teaching them the ways of the Lord, behold, an angel of the Lord. He then called Enoch from heaven, and wished to take him to heaven to rule there over the sons of the Lord, as he had ruled over the sons of men on earth.

When Enoch heard this at that time, he went and assembled all the inhabitants of the earth, and taught them wisdom and knowledge and gave them divine instructions, and said to them; I have been asked to ascend to heaven, therefore I do not know the day of my departure. And now, therefore, I will teach you wisdom and knowledge and I will give you instruction before I leave you, how to act on earth so that you may live. And so he did.

And he taught them wisdom and knowledge, and gave them instruction, and rebuked them, and appointed statutes and judgments for them to do in the land, and made peace among them, and taught them eternal life, and dwelt with them some time, teaching them all these things.

And at that time the sons of men were with Enoch, and Enoch was speaking to them, and they raised their eyes, and the likeness of a great horse descended from heaven, and the horse walked in the air. And they told Enoch what they had seen, and Enoch told them; Because of me this horse descends to earth, and the time has come when I must leave you and I will no longer be seen by you. And the horse came down at that moment and stood before Enoch, and all the sons of men that were with Enoch saw it. And Enoch again commanded a voice to be proclaimed, saying: Where is the man that delights to know the ways of the Lord his creator? Let him come to Enoch today before he is taken from us. And all the sons of men came together and came to Enoch that day; and all the kings of the earth with their princes and counselors stayed with him that day; and Enoch then taught the sons of men wisdom and knowledge, and gave them divine instruction; and he commanded them to serve the Lord and walk in his ways all the days of their lives, and he continued to make peace among them.

And it was after this that he got up and rode on the horse, and he went out and all the sons of men went after him, about eight hundred thousand men; and they went with him one day's journey. And on the second day he said to them: Go back to your tents, what are you going for? maybe you can die; and some of them departed from him, and those who remained went with him six days' journey; and Enoch told them every day: Go back to your tents, so that you don't die; but they did not want to return, and they went with him.

And on the sixth day some of the men stayed and clung to him, and said to him: We will go with you wherever you go. And only death will separate us. And they were so urgent to go with him, that he stopped talking to them, and they went after him and did not want to return. And when the kings returned, they caused a census to be taken, to know the number of the remaining men who went with Enoch; and it was on the seventh day that Enoch ascended to heaven in a whirlwind, with horses and chariots of fire. And on the eighth day all the kings that had been with Enoch sent to bring back the number of men that were with Enoch, to that place from which he ascended into heaven.

And all those kings went to the place and found the land there full of snow, and on the snow there were great stones of snow, and one said to the other: Come, let us break the snow and see, perhaps the men who were left with Enoch they are dead, and now they are under the snow stones, and they looked for him, but they could not find him, because he had ascended to heaven.

Chapter 4

And they were all the days that Enoch lived on the earth, three hundred and sixty-five years. And when Enoch had ascended into heaven, all the kings of the earth rose up and took Methuselah his son and anointed him, and made him reign over them instead of his father.

And Methuselah acted rightly in the sight of the Lord, as his father Enoch had taught him, and he too throughout his life taught the sons of men wisdom, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord, and he did not stray from the right path. Either to the right or to the left.

But in the last days of Methuselah, the sons of men turned from the Lord, corrupted the earth, robbed and plundered one another, and rebelled against the Lord and transgressed, and corrupted their ways, and did not listen to the voice of Methuselah, and rebelled against him. And the Lord was extremely angry against them, and the Lord continued to destroy the seed in those days, so that there was no sowing and no harvesting in the land. For when they sowed the land to obtain food for their sustenance, behold, there came forth thorns and thistles that they did not sow.

And yet the sons of men did not turn from their wicked ways, and their hands were still stretched out to do evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked the Lord with their wicked ways, and the Lord was very angry, and he repented of having made man. And he thought to destroy and annihilate them and so he did.

In those days, when Lamech son of Methuselah was a hundred and sixty years old, Seth son of Adam died. And all the days that Seth lived were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

And Lamech was a hundred and eighty years old when he took Ashmua, the daughter of Elisha, the son of his uncle Enoch, and she conceived. And at that time the sons of men sown the land, and a little food was produced, but the sons of men did not turn from their wicked ways, and they transgressed and rebelled against the Lord.

And Lamech's wife conceived and bore him a son at that time, in the revolution of the year.

And Methuselah called his name Noah, saying The land was in its sabbath days and free from corruption, and Lamech his father called his name Menachem, saying; This will comfort us in our works and in the miserable work of the land, which the Lord had cursed. And the child grew and was weaned, and walked in the ways of his father Methuselah, perfect and upright with the Lord.

And all the sons of men turned from the ways of the Lord in those days as they multiplied on the face of the earth with sons and daughters, and taught one another their evil practices and continued to sin against the Lord. And each man made himself a god, and they robbed and plundered each his neighbor, as well as his relative, and they corrupted the land, and the land was filled with violence. And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took of the cattle of the land, the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with another, to thereby provoke the Lord, and the Lord saw the whole earth and it was corrupted.

Then the Lord declared: I will erase from the face of the earth the man whom I have created, yes, from man to the birds of the sky, together with the cattle and the beasts that are in the field because I regret having made them.

And all the men who walked in the ways of the Lord died in those days, before the Lord brought upon men the evil that he had declared, because this was from the Lord, so that they would not see the evil that the Lord He had said about the sons of men. And Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord chose him and his children to raise up their offspring on the face of all the earth.

Chapter 5

And it was in the eighty-fourth year of Noah's life that Enoch son of Seth died, he was nine hundred and five years old when he died. And in the one hundred and seventy-ninth year of Noah's life, Cainan son of Enos died, and all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. And in the two hundred and thirty-fourth year of Noah's life, Mahlaleel son of Cainan died, and the days of Mahlaleel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died. And Jared son of Mahlallel died in those days, in the three hundred and thirty-sixth year of Noah's life. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died. And all who followed the Lord died in those days, before they saw the evil that the Lord declared to do on earth.

And after a lapse of many years, in the four hundred and eightieth year of Noah's life, when all those men who followed the Lord had died from among the sons of men, and Methuselah alone then remained, the Lord said to Noah and Methuselah, saying: Speak and proclaim to the sons of men, saying, Thus saith the Lord: Turn from your wicked ways and forsake your works, and the Lord will repent of the evil that he has told you he will do to you, so that you will not come pass For thus says the Lord: Behold, I give you a term of one hundred and twenty years; if you turn to me and leave your evil ways, then I also will turn away from the evil that I have spoken to you, and it will be no more, says the Lord.

And Noah and Methuselah spoke all the words of the Lord to the sons of men, day after day, speaking to them constantly. But the sons of men did not listen to them, nor did they incline their ears to their words, and their hearts were hardened.

And the Lord granted them a period of one hundred and twenty years, saying: If they return, the Lord will repent of the evil, so as not to destroy the earth.

Noah, son of Lamech, refrained from taking a wife in those days to beget children, because he said: "Surely now the Lord will destroy the earth, why then will I beget children?

And Noah was a just man, perfect in his generation, and the Lord chose him to raise up seed of his seed on the face of the earth.

And the Lord said to Noah: Take a wife and beget children, for I have seen you right before me in this generation. And you will raise offspring, and your children with you, in the midst of the earth. And Noah went and took a wife, and he chose Naamah the daughter of Enoch, and she was five hundred and eighty years old. And Noah was four hundred and ninety-eight years old when he took Naamah as his wife.

And Naamah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Japheth, saying: The Lord has enlarged me in the earth; and she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and he called her name Shem after her, saying, The Lord has made me a remnant, to raise up offspring in the midst of the earth. And Noah was five hundred and two years old when Naamah gave birth to Shem, and the children grew up and went in the ways of the Lord, in all that Methuselah and Noah his father taught them.

And Lamech, the father of Noah, died in those days; however, he truly did not walk with all his heart in the ways of his father, and he died in the one hundred and ninety-fifth year of Noah's life. And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy years, and he died.

And all the sons of men that knew the Lord, died in that year before the Lord brought evil upon them; because the Lord wanted them to die, so that they would not see the evil that the Lord would bring on his brothers and relatives, as he had declared.

At that time, the Lord said to Noah and Methuselah: Arise and proclaim to the sons of men all the words that I spoke to you in those days, perchance they will turn from their evil ways, and then I will repent of evil. and will not bring it.

And Noah and Methuselah went forward and told in the hearing of the sons of men all that the Lord had said to them. But the sons of men would not listen, nor did they incline their ears to all his declarations. And it was after this that the Lord said to Noah: "The end of all flesh has come before me, because of their evil deeds, and behold, I will destroy the earth. And take for yourself squirrel wood, and go to a certain place and make a big ark, and put it in that place. And so you will; three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. And you shall make for yourself a door, open on one side, and you shall end a cubit above it, and you shall cover it with pitch inside and out. And behold, I bring a deluge of waters on the earth, and all flesh will be destroyed, from under the heavens everything that is on the earth will perish. And you shall go, you and your household, and gather together two pairs of every living creature, male and female, and bring them into the ark, to raise up offspring from them on earth. And gather with you all the food that all the animals eat, so that there will be food for you and for them. And you shall choose for your sons three maidens from among the daughters of men, and they shall be wives for your sons. And Noah got up and made the ark, in the place where the Lord had commanded him.

In his five hundred and ninety-fifth year, Noah began to make the ark, and in five years he made the ark, as the Lord had commanded. So Noah took the three daughters of Eliakim, Methuselah's son, to be wives for his sons, just as the Lord had commanded Noah. And it was at that time that Methuselah, son of Enoch, was nine hundred and sixty years old when he died.

Chapter 6

At that time, after the death of Methuselah, the Lord said to Noah: "Go into the ark with your household; behold, I will gather to you all the animals of the earth, the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, and they will all come and surround the ark. And you shall go and sit at the doors of the ark, and all the beasts, the animals and the birds shall gather together and stand before you, and those who come and crouch before you, you shall take them and deliver them into the hands of your sons.  That they will take them to the ark, and you will leave everything that is before you. And the Lord caused this to happen the next day, and animals, beasts and birds came in great multitudes and surrounded the ark.

And Noah went and sat at the door of the ark, and of all the flesh that stooped down before him, he brought it into the ark, and all that was before him he left on the earth. And a lioness came, with her two cubs, a male and a female, and the three of them crouched down before Noah, and the two cubs rose up against the lioness and beat her, and made her flee from her place, and she went away, and they returned to their places, and prostrated themselves to the ground before Noah. And the lioness ran away and stood in the place of the lions. And Noah saw this and was very amazed, and he got up and took the two cubs and put them in the ark. And Noah put into the ark all the living creatures that were on the earth, so that there was not one left that Noah did not put into the ark. Two by two Noah was brought into the ark, but out of the clean animals and clean birds he brought out seven pairs, as the Lord had commanded him. And all the animals, and beasts, and birds, were still there, and surrounded the ark on all sides, and the rain had not come down until seven days later.

And on that day the Lord shook the whole earth, and the sun was darkened, and the foundations of the world roared, and the whole earth shook violently, and the lightning flashed, and the thunder roared, and all the fountains in the earth split, as the inhabitants never knew before. And the Lord did this mighty act, to terrify the sons of men, so that there is no more evil on earth. And yet the children of men would not turn from their wicked ways, and increased the wrath of the Lord at that time, and did not even turn their hearts to all this. And after seven days, in the six hundredth year of Noah's life, the waters of the flood came upon the earth. And all the fountains of the deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and there was rain on the earth forty days and forty nights. And Noah and his house, and all the living creatures that were with him, entered the ark because of the waters of the flood, and the Lord shut him up.

And all the sons of men that were left on the earth, were exhausted by the evil because of the rain, because the waters came more violently on the earth, and the animals and the beasts still surrounded the ark. And the sons of men gathered together, about seven hundred thousand men and women, and came to Noah to the ark. And they called to Noah, saying, Open us so that we can come to you in the ark, and why shall we die? And Noah, with a loud voice, answered them from the ark, saying: Have you not all rebelled against the Lord, and have you said that he does not exist? and therefore the Lord brought this evil upon you, to destroy you and cut you off from the face of the earth. Is this not what I told you a hundred and twenty years ago, and you did not want to listen to the voice of the Lord, and now you want to live on earth? So they told Noah: We are ready to return to the Lord; just open us so that we live and not die".

And Noah answered them, saying: "Behold, now that you see the anguish of your souls, you desire to return to the Lord; Why did you not return during these one hundred and twenty years that the Lord granted you as a determined term? But now you come and tell me this because of the anguish of your souls, now neither will the Lord listen to you, nor will he listen to you on this day, so that now you will not succeed in your desires.

And the sons of men came near to break into the ark, to go in because of the rain, because they could not bear the rain on them. And the Lord sent all the beasts and animals that were around the ark. And the beasts overcame them and expelled them from that place, and each one went his way and again they were scattered over the face of the earth. And the rain kept coming down on the earth, and it came down forty days and forty nights, and the waters prevailed greatly on the earth, and all flesh that was on the earth or in the waters died, whether they were men, animals, beasts, reptiles or birds of the sky, and only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained.

And the waters prevailed and increased greatly over the earth, and they lifted up the ark and it was lifted up from the earth. And the ark floated upon the face of the waters, and was shaken upon the waters so that all the living creatures that were in it were overturned like lentils in a caldron. And great anxiety seized all the living creatures that were in the ark, and the ark was like to break. And all the living creatures that were in the ark were terrified, and the lions roared, and the oxen howled, and the wolves howled, and every living creature in the ark spoke and wailed in its own language, so that their voices reached to a great distance, and Noah and his sons wept and wailed in their anguish; for they were greatly afraid that they had come to the gates of death. Then Noah prayed to the Lord, and cried to him because of this, and he said, "O Lord, help us, for we have no strength to