Lectionary Readings for Saturday, June 22nd, 2019

Seventh-Day Sabbath, First Day of New Year 171 KE

Book of the Arc of Bon Chapters 17 and 18

Chapter 17

1. Jehovih, through His angels, said unto Moses: When the body of the king is embalmed
and put away, thou shalt go quickly to thy people; for he who cometh to the throne is
under the voice of the Lord, Baal, and he will try to prevent the departure of MY chosen.
So, Moses left the capital and did as commanded.

2. On Nu-ghan’s being crowned he at once issued the following decree: Behold me, I am
Pharaoh, King of Egupt, and Ruler of the World. God hath raised his voice in my
dominions saying: Hail thou, Sun King of the corporeal world: Behold, I gave to thee all
the living that are on the face of the earth, and in the waters of the earth, to be thine, to
keep forever. And I say unto thee, what is thine own is thine own, and thou shalt have
dominion in thine own way, for I made all that are alive on the earth to be thine forever!

3. Whether of beasts of the field, or fish in the waters, or man on the earth; all the living I
created for thee, and thou shalt possess them from everlasting to everlasting. And the life
of the living gave I into thy keeping; and I said unto thee: The house of Pharaoh have I
created, and it is my house also.

4. And whoever ruleth on the throne of this land, the same is my son, and is the possessor
whilst the breath of life is in him. But when he dieth, and the throne fall to his successor,
the rights and the powers and possessions of thy kingdom shall not die nor be set at
naught. But the successor shall be my Pharaoh whom I raised upon unto my dominions;
thus saith the Lord.

5. Now, therefore, I, Pharaoh, who am king and possessor of all the world by
commandment of God, and by his son (Osiris), who is dead and risen, being myself God
of the earth, into whose hands are bequeathed all the living, am today, yesterday, and
forever, the same everlasting king and Lord of all. And I decree unto my people, who are
mine by virtue of my authority from God, that only by my gracious indulgence hath any
man or people right to put one foot before the other, on this my sacred earth.

6. And whoso goeth here or there, save by the sign of the signet of my seal, shall surely be
put to death.

7. Any multitude of my people, who are my servants, whom the God of Gods hath given
into my hands to do my works, to till my earth, or to build my houses, or dig ditches, or
make bricks, or gather harvest, or make cloth, or attend flocks, and to do all works
whatsoever, who may design to escape out of Egupt, to go to my enemies, the foreign
kings, shall be deemed guilty unto death. And if such people start forth, to quit my
service, to go out of my holy land, then shall my loyal slaves fall upon them and slay
them, right and left, sparing neither man, woman nor child. For thus commandeth the
Lord God, whose son I am.

8. Jehovih, through His angels, spake to Moses, saying: Go thou; take Aaron thy brother,
and go before the king and plead thy cause. Moses said: O Jehovih, Thou Almighty, why
hast Thou said this unto me? I have no argument in me, like other men? nor have I
courage to face a man or woman. My tongue is slow to find words till after the
opportunity. From my youth up I have known this man, Nu-ghan, who is king, and if he
but stomp his foot at me I am helpless before him.

9. Jehovih said: For that reason, My son, I can give thee My words. Go and fear not.

10. Then Moses went before Pharaoh, taking Aaron with him. The king asked: What is
thy will? And Moses said: I am come to beseech thee to suffer my people to depart out of
Egupt. The king replied: The Lord is with me; he saith thou shalt not go; and I repeat the
words of my God.

11. Then spake Moses, the power of Jehovih being upon him: Think not, O king, that
bondage is for this world only; here doth not the matter end. Thou hast here said in thy
decree, even from the Lord hast thou spoken, saying: The life of the living gave I into thy
keeping. Saidst the Lord this to thee? Wherein, then, is justice, since pestilence and death
are coming upon thy people? Callest thou this keeping them? I declare unto thee, that
even in the words of thine own God thou hast failed utterly, and this sin is upon thee.
Suffer, then, my people to depart, that thine own shortness may not be magnified unto
thee, in the afflictions which will surely overspread this land.

12. The king said: Thou hast no authority; thou art a frozen serpent that was taken into the
house of the king; and being thawed out, thou turnest to bite thy benefactors. Thou art
outlawed by men and accursed by the oracles. It is said of thee, thou hast been to Hored,
and there wed for sake of alliance with my high priest, Jethro, for conveyance of my lands
unto thy people. Who art thou, that pretendest to hear a voice, and to be led by the
Unseen? Thou slave!

13. Moses said: I am not here to plead mine own cause O king, but my people’s. Suffice
it, though, that even as thy Lord God standeth upon miracles, I bow not down before him.
For these are evidence that thy God and thy Lord are but angels of the dead, who labor for
thee and thy aggrandizement, and not for all men’s welfare.

14. For I have miracles also; and whatsoever thy magicians can do, that can I do also;
have I not eyes and ears, even as the oracles? Now I declare a miracle unto thee, which is
that thou thyself shalt yet not only consent to my people going out of Egupt, but thou
shalt send armies to drive them out. To turn a rod into a serpent, or water into wine; or to
show the spirits of the dead, alas, O king, even they that are of rotten flesh can do such
things!

15. Pharaoh said: If the oracle hear God, is not this the greatest? Moses replied: He who
uttereth what an angel bid him is that angel’s servant; he who uttereth a good truth hath
spoken with Jehovih’s voice. Pharaoh asked: Sayest thou thy words are the Creator’s?

16. Moses replied: I am as all good men who speak truth; all that is good, and all truth,
are Jehovih’s words. In a rose He findeth expression in perfume; in the lightning His
words are thunder; in a bird His words are songs; but in man, His voice is in man’s words;
for every living creature, and every dead thing on the earth, or in the waters, or in the air
above the earth, giveth expression in its own way; because the Father’s hand is the
foundation of all that is good and true. He is the I AM Who sent me to thee; by His
command open I my mouth before thee. And in His name declare I unto thee thou shalt
not only suffer my people to depart out of Egupt, but thou shalt send thy armies to drive
them out.

17. The king said: Moses, Moses, thou art mad! For though all Egupt run blood, yet will I
not do as thou hast said. Then Moses replied: I tell thee, O king, there be two powers in
heaven: that which is for Justice and Goodness, even Jehovih; and that which is for sin
and death. And if the Creator lift off His protecting hand from Egupt, she shall in that day
become the plague spot of the earth. Thou dost remember, when in the ancient days, great
Thothma built the first pyramid, thy forefathers decried the power of heaven; and
straightway all the land, and the great pyramid itself, was flooded over by evil spirits.
And then came foreign kings, and robbed and plundered Egupt. Think not, O king, these
legends are but idle tales; there be Gods and Lords in heaven who could sweep the sea up,
and drown all this country. Behold, a day is set; a night is marked out when the lamb of
peace shall die. And in that night the first-born of every woman, and the first-born of
every beast in the fields, shall die for all the Eguptians; and in that same night not one of
the Israelites shall go down in death. Jehovih saith: I will show My power through My
people in the time of My covenants.

18. Pharaoh said: Were these things to be, God had come to more noble quarters. Thou
art beside thyself. And I banish thee; nor will I again look upon thy face.

19. Moses said: Whether in this world or the next, thou shalt yet call unto me to deliver
thee from torments. Nevertheless, I do thy bidding; neither will I come to thee again, nor
shalt thou look upon my face for a long season. With that, Moses and Aaron saluted the
king and departed.

Chapter 18

1. Pharaoh called his chief superintendent and said unto him: As to the Hebrew brick
makers, thou shalt no longer supply them with straw, but they shall gather stubble
themselves, and they shall continue to make the same number of bricks. And as to the
tillers of the soil, thou shalt no longer suffer them to have cattle to draw the plows, but
they shall draw the plows themselves, and they shall likewise break the same quantity of
ground. And in this way the king put extra hardships upon the Israelites because he was
angered at what Moses said.

2. Moses perceiving this, cried out unto Jehovih, saying: O why didst Thou send me
before Pharaoh? Behold matters are worse than before. O that I had guarded my tongue
and been of persuasive speech!

3. Jehovih said to Moses: Rebuke not thyself, for thou hast done My commands. And
it shall come to pass now, what otherwise would not. For such Israelites as hesitated
about going out of Egupt, will now decide for themselves as to what they will do.
And the hardships that Pharaoh hath newly added, shall be a blessing to thy people.

4. And it came to pass that the Israelites went away from their task-masters, and the
rab’bahs sent them to the Heads; and the people of Israel were stirred up from one end
of Egupt to the other. And as for the Eguptians, save the courtiers and nobles, they
were likewise stirred up, but without any purpose or order; so that all the great land of
Egupt had no tillers nor builders; and cleanliness departed away from them; and the
country stank as a dead carcass, so that insects and vermin filled all the air of heaven.

5. But of the Faithists, the flesh was good; and vermin came not upon them; nor were they
stricken with fevers, or lepers, or scabs, like the Eguptians.

6. Pharaoh ordered his army of two hundred thousand men to take the field, but lo and
behold, they were scattered and afflicted so that they were only as vagrants, without head
or discipline.

7. Jehovih spoke to Moses, saying: Now will I show her philosophers a miracle in the air
above the earth. Have they not said: All thing come up out of the earth? for they have
tried every way to put Me aside, and to explain My creation away as an idle tale. They
shall look and see the sun, and declare of a truth there is no cloud; but whilst they look
up, they shall see a cloud high up in the heavens, and it shall be broad as the land of
Egupt, a very black cloud. And it shall descend to the earth, and it shall prove to be
locusts, come without any seed; and they shall be so numerous that in three days they will
eat up every green leaf of every tree and herb in all the land. Neither shall they be like any
other locusts that have been on the earth or ever shall be; for man shall comprehend that
they are not of the seed of the earth.

8. Moses sent with a herald this prophecy to the king, and he added thereto: Why hast
thou put more hardships on my people? Seest thou not that the evil thou hadst hope to
accomplish hath cured itself even before it came to pass? For the Israelites now work not
at all, and their task-masters are left in the lurch. Again I call upon thee to let my people
go.

9. The king replied not to this, but silently put his officers to work, drilling and equipping
his armies and collecting them together; the which, when Moses beheld it, he understood
to be the sign, as the Great Spirit had previously said, when the cloud would appear. And
it came to pass on a very clear day, at noon, a cloud formed high up in the firmament, and
it grew blacker and blacker, until it descended upon the earth; and it was locusts, and was
even as a snow-storm that covereth the land of the earth; in places to the depth of the
shoes and ankles. And they fell to, eating every green leaf, and herb, and grass, so that in
two days there was not a leaf to be found far or near. And on the third day, the locusts
being still unappeased as to hunger, fell upon the Eguptians, old and young, feeding upon
their clothes, and even upon the flesh of the Eguptians.

10. And on the fourth day Jehovih caused a great wind to come, and it blew the locusts
off into the sea. And again Moses sent heralds to the king, saying: Consider now my
words and be wise. I have told thee that the hand of the Creator is upon this land. In thy
heart thou sayest: Moses is a fool! Only a wind-storm fetched the locusts from a far-off
country.

11. But I say unto thee, O king, this is not so. And thou shalt still further behold Jehovih’s
power. For as the locusts came down out of the firmament, and thou hast a philosophy for
the occurrence, behold, now another miracle shall come in another way: For there shall
suddenly come up out of the water frogs and reptiles, and they shall likewise be so
numerous on the land that man shall not find where to put his foot that it shall not come
upon them. And the first day they shall be harmless; but on the second day they shall
crawl upon the people, and under their clothes, and in their houses; and on the third day
they shall eat the flesh of the Eguptians. But they shall not touch one Hebrew in all the
land.

12. Nor shall any man find whence came so many frogs and reptiles, for they shall not be
like the seed of other frogs and reptiles. And on the fifth day they shall suddenly
disappear, neither by wind nor rain. But a stench, as of rotten flesh, shall strangle the
Eguptians nigh unto death.

13. Again I appeal unto thee, O king, to suffer my people to depart out of Egupt in peace.
This is the last time I shall solicit thee. And if thou answerest not me, then shall it come
to pass in the month Abib, and on the ninth day and night thereof, Jehovih will raise His
hand over Israel; but as for Egupt, thy Lord shall strike her in death. For in every family
of Eguptians, far and near, on that night shall the first-born fall dead; and that thou shalt
not say the prophecy killed them, behold the first-born of every beast shall die also, even
of goats, and sheep, and cattle, and asses, and of dogs and cats, and of every living
creature man useth. For on that night, behold, four millions of Israelites shall make with
Jehovih the covenant of death. And on the morning thereafter they will rise up to not lie
down again in Egupt. And this shall be the testimony of innocent blood against thyself
and all thy people, for what the Hebrews have suffered.

14. The king answered not Moses; and it came to pass that Egupt was overspread with
frogs and reptiles, in every particular even as Moses had prophesied. Nevertheless,
Pharaoh pursued his course.

15. Jehovih spake to Moses, saying: Moses, My son, look upon man and pity him, for he
believeth not in Me, though I multiply signs and omens continually, and give him
prophecies without end. One thing only turneth man’s eyes inward; that is, flesh of his
flesh, lying dead before him.

16. Now on the night of the passover, when the Israelites made the covenant on the blood
of the lamb, a hot wind blew upon the face of the earth; and the first-born of the
Eguptians fell dead, both man and beast. And Pharaoh’s son died, and his brother’s son;
and the first-born of every courtier, and every noble’s first-born, and all other people, their
first-born, so that in every family there lay one dead.

17. Pharoah was now stricken, but not unto repentance, for evil was in his heart, and he
cursed Moses and the Israelites, and swore an oath to destroy Israel, man, woman and
child, so that never more should there be one on the earth. And such a commandment he
sent to his officers, to fall to, and begin the slaughter.

18. As for the Faithists, not many of them had slept all the night, but were providing for
the journey; so that when morning came, and at the time of sunrise, they every one
started. From all the different regions of Egupt they went forth to Sukkoth, westward.
The Heads led the way, and every commune was led by a rab’bah, and every man’s
family by the father of the family or by the eldest son. And at the start they spake through
their leaders, saying: In thy name, O Jehovih, we depart out of the land of our birth,
where we were born, and our sons and daughters were born, to return not forever!
Neither shall Egupt prosper more till Thou hast subdued the whole earth unto Thee.

19. But things had changed wonderfully as to the Eguptians, for when they beheld the
Israelites were indeed going, and knew the miracles that had taken place, they relented,
and brought them gifts of gold and silver; and also asses and camels for the Hebrew
women and children to ride upon; and gave them food to eat. But the Israelitish women
said: Nay, and we take these things we will be under obligations to the Eguptians. The
Israelites accept not what they can not pay for. Then the Eguptians bewailed in fear,
saying: That we be not accursed by the Gods, take them, we beseech you in the name of
your God also.

20. So the Faithist women accepted the presents of asses and camels, and of other things
besides; and they mounted the asses and camels, and rode them.

21. When Moses heard of this afterwards he rebuked Israel, saying: Because ye have
accepted these things it will be said, ye borrowed them and begged them so as to despoil
the Eguptians.

22. When they arrived near Sukkoth, Jehovih spake to Moses and Aaron, saying: Stand ye
here for twelve days that ye may behold my people as they pass, and that ye in turn may
be seen by them. So Moses and Aaron pitched their tents by the way, on a high piece of
ground, and remained there twelve days, and Moses showed himself before them,
speaking and encouraging.

23. After this the Israelites passed through Etham, on the borders of the wilderness, and
thence toward Migdol, near Baal-zephon, the place of the oracle of the God, Baal, and
they encamped before Pi’hahiroth, where Moses commanded them to remain some days
to rest.

24. Now as for Pharaoh he had not made any attack on the Israelites, for the Lord held his
army in confusion. Pharaoh, finding that the Israelites were not injured, decided to take
the field himself; and accordingly, having impressed all the chariots of Egupt, went
ahead, leading his army in person. The Israelites were wearied and foot-sore, and
discovering that Pharaoh was after them, many of them complained and grumbled,
saying: O Moses, why broughtest thou us from home? Better was it for us to have
remained in servitude to the Eguptians than to be slain.

25. Moses rebuked them, saying: Profess ye to be Faithists but yet have not faith in
Jehovih? Put your trust in Him; for he will deliver ye safely, as He hath promised.

26. Jehovih spake to Moses, saying: They shall behold the salvation of My hand; for the
Eguptians who pursue them this day shall pursue them not again forever. For when thou
fetchest them to the sea, thou shalt lift up thy rod, and I will divide the sea, and My
people shall walk across on the land of the bottom of the sea. And Pharaoh’s army shall
pursue, but be swallowed up in the waters. And it so came to pass.

27. Jehovih brought a strong wind and divided the waters of the sea and swept them back,
and the Israelites went over on land. But Pharaoh’s army, who were in pursuit, were
caught in the flood of the tide and drowned.

28. Thus delivered Jehovih the Israelites out of Egupt; and Israel believed in Him and in
Moses, his servant.

29. Now from the place Sukkoth unto the other side of the sea, a pillar of cloud preceded
the Israelites by day, and a pillar of fire stood over them by night, and the people looked
thereon and saw, every one, the cloud and the light. And the name of the place they
reached when they crossed over was Shakelmarath; and they camped there many days.

30. From the time Moses began to put on foot the migration of Israel until he reached
Shakelmarath, was four years two hundred and seven days. And the number of Israelites
that thus went forth out of Egupt was three million seven hundred and fifty-thousand
men, women and children. And the number of other people who accompanied them was
four hundred thousand; and because they were of the uncircumcised tribes of ancients, the
Hebrews named them Levites, i.e., imperfect flesh.

31. And Moses commanded the Levites to camp aside, and not to mix with the Israelites,
and they obeyed him in all things; maintaining that they were the true descendents of
Abraham.

32. And Moses made a song unto Jehovih, and Miriam, his sister sang it and played on
the timbrel, and the women of Israel danced before Jehovih.

33. This, then, is the song of Moses: