ATHENA. Let us sing, O muses.
ALL. With the God dess Athena
ATHENA. Let us tell the tale
ODYS SEUS. Of Odys seus
TELEMACHUS. And his son Telemachus,
ATHENA & MALE 3. A tale of
Home and sea
TELEMACHUS & ODYS SEUS. Of how we are lost
And how we must find our way
ATHENA & TELEMACHUS. De spite our youth or age
ATHENA & ODYS SEUS. De spite our rash ness or fear
ATHENA & MALE 3. How? How to find our path?
ATHENA. Let us tell the tale of
ALL. The Od ys sey.
(A huge wave crashes. ODYS SEUS rows through the
storm sing ing a sea chan tey.)
ODYS SEUS. My ship sails on the rag ing seas
The wind blows gainst my steadfast knees
9
FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY
TELEMACHUS. Fa ther, where are you?
ODYS SEUS. But still I blus ter through and through
Till I come back to you, my dears
Heigh ho.
TELEMACHUS. Fa ther, we need you.
(ODYS SEUS re peats his song as ATHENA speaks.)
ATHENA.
Ten years Odysseus
Led the Greeks
In their fight
Against Troy.
Troy now vanquished,
The others all safely home,
Only brave Odysseus
Has not returned.
And his good-hearted son Telemachus
Despairs.
TELEMACHUS. Fa ther, come home.
(ODYS SEUS drifts off.
ANTINOUS, an Ithacan lord, struts on.)
ANTINOUS. Hey. Prince of Ithaca.
TELEMACHUS. Antinous.
ANTINOUS. Stop whinin. You're fa ther less. Ac cept it.
10 THE OD YS SEY
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TELEMACHUS. Why have n't you guided him home,
Athena?
ANTINOUS. Look, you know how many guys got killed
fightin in Troy? You know how many did n't make it
through storms comin back?
TELEMACHUS. My fa ther is not other peo ple.
ANTINOUS. Your fa ther's not here. And he's not gonna
be. Ever. It's been years. He's dead, swal lowed up by
the sea, or starved on some desert is land. And you're
just like any other kid whose old man's not around.
You're alone, you and your mom, and you gotta face it.
Look, I know it's hard. That's why me and the guys are
here.
TELEMACHUS. You're here be cause you want to take his
place.
ANTINOUS. Ex actly right. You need a dad. Your mother
needs a hus band.
TELEMACHUS. No.
ANTINOUS. Your mom's gotta choose which of us'll slip
that ring on her fin ger and plop him self down on the
thrown of Ithaca.
TELEMACHUS. My fa ther is the only one who'll sit on
that throne.
ANTINOUS. Am I miss ing some thing? Hello. He's not
here.
TELEMACHUS. You're not wor thy to take his place. You
could n't even string his bow.
ANTINOUS. Who cares about your old man's fa mous
bow? Look, pee wee, she's gonna choose, and if you're
lucky, that means we won't toss you out.
TELEMACHUS. You would n't dare.
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ANTINOUS. Try me, lit tle prince. She's choosin, now. (He
ex its.)
TELEMACHUS. O Athena, help us. Bring back my fa ther.
ATHENA. Stop toss ing empty words at Athena, child. You
must act. Stand up to Antinous. Tell him to leave this
house at once.
TELEMACHUS. He won't lis ten to me. He's a grown man
and I'm a kid.
ATHENA. You're a prince. And this is your house.
TELEMACHUS. A prince.
Like my father.
ATHENA. Like and not like your fa ther.
(ODYS SEUS rows on the dis tant sea.)
ATHENA. There are many ways to be strong.
What gleams as riches
May not always be wealth.
ODYS SEUS. Com rades, come, come.
(The ac tors play ing TELEMACHUS and ATHENA be -
come ODYS SEUS' CREW.)
ODYS SEUS. Pull with all your strength for Greece. For
Ithaca. For our fam i lies.
CREW (ATHENA). Look, Captain, there's an is land.
ODYS SEUS. The is land of the Cy clops, friends. Riches
and plea sures. Row for it.
CREW (TELEMACHUS). But what about Ithaca?
12 THE OD YS SEY
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ODYS SEUS. Af ter we fill our stom achs. Row. Row.
CREW (T). What is this Cy clops, Cap tain?
ODYS SEUS. His cave is filled with rich meat and lus cious
cheese.
CREW (A). All right, I'm starv ing!
ODYS SEUS. Out of the boats, com rades. There's the cave.
It's din ner time!
(They en ter the cave.)
ODYS SEUS. Look.
CREW. Oh!
ODYS SEUS. Look at this loaf of bread! It's as big as my
son prob a bly is by now. And this hunk of cheese, it's
the size of my bed at home. Eat, friends, eat. But make
it quick. For the Cy clops—is a one-eyed—brut ish—gi -
ant!
(POLYPHEMUS en ters driv ing in the "flock" with his
staff.)
POLYPHEMUS. Come on, sheep sheep. Good lamb chops,
fat mut ton rams, in you go.
ODYS SEUS. Look at those an i mals! They're big ger than
we are.
CREW (T). We need to go home.
POLYPHEMUS. Into the cave, now, you lit tle choppies
and lambie roasts.
ODYS SEUS. And look at him. He's gi gan tic!
CREW (T). We need to go home.
ODYS SEUS. Ssh.
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POLYPHEMUS. Into the cave for the night. Time to rest,
time to let your flesh grow sweet and ten der.
ODYS SEUS. Care ful, com rades. Very quiet. Slowly by the
edge and we can get around him.
POLYPHEMUS. What's been go ing on here? Some one's
been eat ing my food. And that some one's—still here!
Who's in my den? Who are you? Ah, hu mans.
ODYS SEUS. Quickly, com rades. Run.
POLYPHEMUS. Too late. This rock closes the en trance.
You'll have to stay for din ner. I'll love hav ing you for
din ner. There's noth ing tast ier than hu man flesh.
ODYS SEUS. Hide, try to get in the cracks of the rocks.
(POLYPHEMUS catches one of the CREW.)
POLYPHEMUS. Oh, you smell good. Nice and sweaty and
hairy.
ODYS SEUS & CREW. Let him go. Let him go, you brute.
POLYPHEMUS. Let's see if you taste as good as you
smell.
ODYS SEUS & CREW. No! No! Nooo!
POLYPHEMUS. Umm, not too bad. A lit tle salty, but very
juicy. I think I'll have an other.
CREW. No! No!
ODYS SEUS. It's hor ri ble. I can't look.
POLYPHEMUS. Um, that's what I call nicely aged meat.
Well, good night, hu mans. Or should I say "Good night,
break fast." (He goes to sleep.)
ODYS SEUS. Help me with his staff. If we heat the tip in
the fire…
CREW (A). It's start ing to glow.
14 THE OD YS SEY
FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY
ODYS SEUS. Just a lit tle more. Care ful, now. Bring it this
way. Ready? One. Two. Three.
POLYPHEMUS. Ahhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhhhhhh! My eye! I
can't see! I can't see! Light! Give me light! (He moves
the rock.) Get out of my way, you sheep! Out of— Oh
no, the hu mans!
ODYS SEUS. Yes, we've es caped!
POLYPHEMUS. You! You're the one who did this to me!
ODYS SEUS. Yes, I, Odys seus, did it! Think of Odys seus
the next time you want to eat hu man flesh. Think of
Odys seus when your head throbs and the world's dark.
(ODYS SEUS and the CREW "row" away.)
POLYPHEMUS. Odys seus! I curse you, you thief. You
broke into my home. You took my sight. O my fa ther,
pow er ful Po sei don, god of the sea, hear me and pun ish
him! Bring your storms! Blind him! Let him suf fer in
dark ness as I do!
(The seas are tu mul tu ous.)
ODYS SEUS. Oh. Whoa. Ohhhhhh. (ODYS SEUS dis ap -
pears.)
TELEMACHUS. My fa ther is never afraid. He's brave and
re source ful.
ATHENA. But now, it is up to you.
This house holds your battle.
TELEMACHUS. How can I be strong like him?
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ATHENA. Find your own way.
Make this house
Yours.
TELEMACHUS. This is my house.
(ANTINOUS strides on.)
ANTINOUS. What are you look ing so scared about, pee -
wee? I'm not gonna do any thing to you—yet. You know
why, pal? Cause I think your mom's ready for a new
hus band.
TELEMACHUS. No. As—as prince of this land, I—say it
is time for you, and all the oth ers—to leave.
ANTINOUS. Leave?
TELEMACHUS. Honor the code of hos pi tal ity and civ i li -
za tion. Gather your things and go.
ANTINOUS. Or what? You'll throw us out?
TELEMACHUS. Honor the law, Antinous.
ANTINOUS. Make me.
TELEMACHUS. Athena? Athena, I can't.
ANTINOUS. Yeah, cause you don't have a fa mous bow
like your fa ther and I don't need any ar rows to squeeze
the life out of you.
TELEMACHUS. Antinous—
ANTINOUS. No one's leav ing. (He tosses TELEMACHUS
aside and sweeps off.)
(A huge storm be gins.)
TELEMACHUS. I know what my fa ther would do.
ODYS SEUS. Fight the storm, com rades!
16 THE OD YS SEY
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ATHENA. Telemachus
ODYS SEUS. We can make it!
ATHENA. Telemachus, find your own way.
ODYS SEUS. Throw ev ery thing into it.
ATHENA. What you will do.
ODYS SEUS. Row, friends!
TELEMACHUS. My path is
ODYS SEUS. Through the waves!
TELEMACHUS. The sea, like my fa ther. I will find him
and bring him home.
ATHENA. In that storm?
TELEMACHUS. I'm my fa ther's child. I can do it.
ATHENA. And what about your mother?
TELEMACHUS. My mother's strong. My ab sence will
make her stron ger. She won't give in till she knows
what's hap pened to me.
ATHENA. Then board your ship, Telemachus.
(The storm abates as ODYS SEUS and CREW "row" on.
They are tossed to shore.)
ODYS SEUS. We made it, com rades.
CREW (T). And this is land looks—
(CIRCE en ters play ing her "scep ter.")
CREW (ANTINOUS). Enchanting.
CIRCE. Yoohoo? Yoohoo? Oh boys, come here.
ODYS SEUS. It's Queen Circe. She's a sor cer ess.
CIRCE. Oh my, a boatload o' sail ors. And don't you poor
things look beat. You must be fam ished. Come on, come
on and get a lit tle nour ish ment, sail ors. Drink some of
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FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY
my nec tar and you'll be more re freshed than you ever
imag ined.
CREW (A). All right!
ODYS SEUS. Thank you, Queen. Your of fer is kind, but
we do not wish to trou ble you. We are used to hunt ing
for our food.
CIRCE. O silly, there's noth ing for you to hunt on this is -
land. Ev ery thing wild's been tamed. All the beasts live
in peace here. Come and have a drink.
CREW (A). Okay!
ODYS SEUS. Care ful, com rades. She's not what she seems.
CIRCE. Say, you're that tricky Odys seus, aren't you?
Don't be so sus pi cious. I only wanna re lieve you of your
bur dens. Come on, sailor boys, drink up.
CREW (A). All right!
(She pours from her "scep ter" into the sail ors' mouths.)
ODYS SEUS. Wait, com rades, wait.
CIRCE. You see, they aren't afraid. They're lappin it up
like wild cats. And now they're peace ful as kit tens.
Come on, Ody, have a drink.
ODYS SEUS. Your nec tar, I'm sure is sweet, Queen, but I
will find my own food.
CIRCE. If that's the way you want it, be my guest, big
boy. Roam the is land. Knock your self out.
ODYS SEUS. I thank Your Highness. (He moves off and
hides.)
CIRCE. Now, you sail ors, now, my pets, up, up, up. (She
touches them with her "scep ter.")
CREW. Oink, oink.
18 THE OD YS SEY
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ODYS SEUS. Oh no. No! She's turned them into pigs. My
com rades are pigs!
CREW. Oink, oink. Oink, oink.
CIRCE. Oh, you cute lit tle pig gies, with your floppy ears
and your curli cue tails and your fat lit tle pink bel lies. I
just wanna eat you up.
CREW. Oink, oink.
CIRCE. And you know what, pig gies? That's what I'm
gonna do. Cause I just love bar be cue. Umm um um.
Now, into the oven.
ODYS SEUS. Queen Circe.
CIRCE. Ah, Odys seus.
ODYS SEUS. I've searched the is land and I've found noth -
ing as en tic ing as your nec tar.
CIRCE. Oh, you smart lit tle boy.
ODYS SEUS. My crew seemed to like it so much.
CIRCE. They're in pig heaven.
ODYS SEUS. If your of fer still stands, I'd like to join them.
CIRCE. By all means. Why should you be the only poor
sufferin hu man?
ODYS SEUS. Let me drink, then.
(She pours from her "scep ter.")
CIRCE. Oh, you good boy. You good, sweet boy.
(ODYS SEUS holds her "scep ter" as she pours. He takes
the "scep ter" from her, turn ing it all the way up side
down.)
CIRCE. That's it, get ev ery last drop. It'll make you so—
nice—and—ten der. Ha ha ha.
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(ODYS SEUS, "scep ter" in his hand, his cheeks bulg ing,
stares at her. He grins. CIRCE re al izes what he's do -
ing.)
CIRCE. Oh no.
(She grabs for the "scep ter." ODYS SEUS smoothly
keeps it out of her reach. He rears back and "spits the
nec tar" all over CIRCE.)
CIRCE. Eeuu, uuu, uuu, uuu!
ODYS SEUS. What's the mat ter, Circe? Not so sweet now,
is it?
(ODYS SEUS touches the pigs with the "scep ter.")
ODYS SEUS. Back to your selves, friends. (The CREW be -
comes hu man again.) Off to the ship, now, be fore she
does you any more harm. (They run off.) And what
should be come of you, sor cer ess? (He reaches to touch
her with the "scep ter.")
CIRCE. No, please, don't. I can help you. Ahead o' you
are the Si rens. Their mu sic makes men crazy.
ODYS SEUS. Enough.
CIRCE. And the sea mon sters Scylla and Charybdis.
ODYS SEUS. You're fin ished, Circe.
CIRCE. Be lieve me.
ODYS SEUS. I trust no one. (He touches her with the
"scep ter.")
CIRCE (turns into an ape). Oo oo. Oo oo oo.
ODYS SEUS. Fare well, Circe.
20 THE OD YS SEY
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(TELEMACHUS sails on sing ing the sea chantey.)
TELEMACHUS. I'm fam ished from all that sail ing.
There's got to be some food on this is land. Sounds like
there's sheep roam ing this place. That's a good sign.
There's prob a bly some friendly herd ers here.
POLYPHEMUS (off). Oooh. Oooh.
TELEMACHUS. There's moan ing from this cave. What's
wrong?
POLYPHEMUS. Ooh.
TELEMACHUS. It's a Cy clops, a mon ster.
POLYPHEMUS. Help me.
TELEMACHUS. Stay away.
POLYPHEMUS. Please, I'm blind. Only one eye and it's
been gouged out. The pain is un bear able.
TELEMACHUS. I'm sorry.
POLYPHEMUS. My sheep have run away and I've noth -
ing to eat. Can you help me?
TELEMACHUS. How?
POLYPHEMUS. Gather my sheep. Bring them to me.
Please.
TELEMACHUS. Yes, all right.
POLYPHEMUS. You won't run away.
TELEMACHUS. I'll bring you the sheep as long as you
won't hurt me.
POLYPHEMUS. There's only one hu man I'd eat, and I'd
tear him limb from limb first to make him suf fer. You I
won't hurt.
TELEMACHUS. I'll find your sheep. Here, sheep, sheep,
sheep. Good sheep. Come with me, lit tle lambies. Into
your home, find your mas ter.
THE OD YS SEY 21
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POLYPHEMUS. Ah, my soft furry ones. My lit tle ba bies.
Let me just move this rock so they can't es cape. Now,
we're safe and cozy.
TELEMACHUS. Can't you leave it open just a lit tle. It's
so dark.
POLYPHEMUS. It's al ways dark for me.
TELEMACHUS. Who is it that did this to you?
POLYPHEMUS. I do not speak his name. It en rages me.
TELEMACHUS. I'm sorry.
POLYPHEMUS. You sound so young, how is it you're out
in the world?
TELEMACHUS. I search for my fa ther. Per haps you've
heard tell of him. He's King of Ithaca.
POLYPHEMUS. He must be a no ble man.
TELEMACHUS. Yes, he is. The great lord Odys seus.
POLYPHEMUS. Odys seus?
TELEMACHUS. Yes, Odys seus.
POLYPHEMUS. Odys seus is the one who blinded me! He
is the one who stole my life!
TELEMACHUS. Please, you said you would n't hurt me.
POLYPHEMUS. He took my eye. Now I'll take some thing
of his.
TELEMACHUS. I brought the sheep. I trusted you.
POLYPHEMUS. I'll have my re venge.
TELEMACHUS. Will kill ing me bring back your sight? I
took noth ing from you. I'm sorry for what my fa ther
did. I'd undo it if I could.
POLYPHEMUS. I should kill you.
TELEMACHUS. I'm not my fa ther. I can't stop you from
kill ing me, but I can do you more good alive. Let me
help you— Let me soothe your pain. (TELEMACHUS
sings sweetly.)
22 THE OD YS SEY
FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY
POLYPHEMUS. It's true…you're not your fa ther.
(POLYPHEMUS pushes the boul der aside, let ting
TELEMACHUS leave the cave.)
ODYS SEUS. Yes! Yes! Now, we're on course. Now, com -
rades. I can smell home. I feel Ithaca draw ing us on.
Home.
CREW. What is that, Cap tain?
ODYS SEUS. Oh, it's sweet. Sweet, sweet mu sic. The Si -
rens.
CREW. The de stroy ers?
ODYS SEUS. So beau ti ful.
SI RENS. Come, Odys seus.
ODYS SEUS. I've got to hear them. I've got to beat them.
CREW. No, Cap tain.
ODYS SEUS. Lash me to this mast. And plug your ears. No
mat ter how I cry out to set me free, don't do it. You un -
der stand? Just row, row un til we're far past this is land.
SI RENS. Odys seus.
ODYS SEUS. Oh.
SI RENS. Come to us.
ODYS SEUS. Oh.
SI RENS. Come to us.
ODYS SEUS. Oh.
SI RENS. Odys seus
ODYS SEUS. Un tie me. Un tie me, now! Do you hear me?!
Oh, the sound. Please. Un tie me. I must go to them.
Don't keep row ing! Don't! (ODYS SEUS drifts away.)
TELEMACHUS. What's that? It's beau ti ful.
SI RENS. Telemachus.
Come to us.
THE OD YS SEY 23
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TELEMACHUS. Oh. It's draw ing me in. It's as if the mu -
sic's sweep ing over my whole body.
SI RENS. Come to us.
TELEMACHUS. It's tak ing hold of me.
SI RENS. Telemachus.
TELEMACHUS. It's cap tur ing me. No! I've got to stop the
sound! (He sings the sea chan tey un til the SI RENS fade.)
Good. Just the sea.
(He sails off. ODYS SEUS sails on.)
ODYS SEUS. Home, com rades. Home.
SCYLLA. Ssssss.
Ssssss.
ODYS SEUS. Now, our jour ney's al most at an end.
SCYLLA. Odysssseussss.
Sailing cross salty sheets.
CREW (ANTINOUS). What's that?
SCYLLA. Sail this side
Your sailors Scylla eatssss.
ODYS SEUS. Scylla? What, do you think I'm afraid of
you?
CREW (A). Please, Cap tain, let's stay our course to home.
ODYS SEUS. I beat the Cy clops
SCYLLA. Surging breeze
ODYS SEUS. The sor cer ess,
24 THE OD YS SEY
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SCYLLA. Slapping seas
ODYS SEUS. And the Si rens.
SCYLLA. Slightest slip
ODYS SEUS. And I'll beat you, too.
SCYLLA. Scylla seize.
CREW (A). Oh no, it's got me!
ODYS SEUS. Grab him! Pull him back!
CREW(A). I'm—I'm—
CREW (T). They've gone un der.
ODYS SEUS. No use now. Steer away from here.
(The boat veers to the other side, right into CHARYBDIS,
a pow er ful, suck ing whirl pool.)
CHARYBDIS. Iiii'm Cha-ryb-dis
On your other siiiide
Sail to meeee
Your whole ship diiiiies.
ODYS SEUS. You won't have any of my crew, Charybdis.
I'll cut your head off first!
CHARYBDIS. Iii'll swaaaalloooow youuuuu whoooole.
ODYS SEUS. Back, back. We're be ing sucked down. Pull
harder.
(The ship spins wildly back to the other side.)
SCYLLA. Ship spins.
Scylla grins.
Sliding swabbers.
Scylla wins.
THE OD YS SEY 25
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ODYS SEUS. Scylla!
SCYLLA. Snatch loose.
CREW (T). She's got me!
SCYLLA. Plump goose.
CREW (T). I'm be ing—
SCYLLA. Sweet, sweet
Sailor juice.
ODYS SEUS. Ahhhh! Pull the other way! The other way!!
(ODYS SEUS is out of con trol, veer ing wildly.) No the
other way!
(SCYLLA keeps eat ing the crew.)
ODYS SEUS. No the other way!
(CHARYBDIS keeps suck ing down the ship.)
ODYS SEUS. No the other way!
(It's a swirl ing, fran tic di sas ter.)
ODYS SEUS. The other!!
(In the midst of the chaos, TELEMACHUS sails on.)
TELEMACHUS. Mon sters!
ODYS SEUS. No, no—
TELEMACHUS. Fa ther.
ODYS SEUS. No! We're go ing down!
TELEMACHUS. Fa ther!
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ODYS SEUS. We're go ing—
TELEMACHUS. Fa ther? Fa ther? Come back. Come up.
Please.
(CHARYBDIS re sur faces.)
CHARYBDIS. Ahhhh.
TELEMACHUS. You killed my fa ther. I hate you!
CHARYBDIS. Reveeennge yourselllf.
SCYLLA. Gainssst me
CHARYBDIS. No meee
SCYLLA. I'm the sssstronger
CHARYBDIS. En emy
TELEMACHUS. I'll kill both of you.
SCYLLA. Yessss
CHARYBDIS. Kill
SCYLLA. Kill
TELEMACHUS. Kill
CHARYBDIS. Meeee!
SCYLLA. Then a hero
CHARYBDIS. You will beee!
SCYLLA. Ssson of Odyssseusssss.
TELEMACHUS. Fa ther.
CHARYBDIS. Kill.
TELEMACHUS. You're gone.
SCYLLA. Ussss
TELEMACHUS. Gone.
CHARYBDIS. Now.
TELEMACHUS. No. I just want
THE OD YS SEY 27
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CHARYBDIS.
Commme
TELEMACHUS.
To go home.
SCYLLA.
Thissss
I just want
SCYLLA & CHARYBDIS.
Waaaaaay!
To go home.
SCYLLA & CHARYBDIS. We'll ssswaalloow youu toooo.
TELEMACHUS. No. I will not fight. I am go ing home.
(SCYLLA and CHARYBDIS dis ap pear into the sea.
TELEMACHUS sails safely through.
A gong.
ATHENA watches TELEMACHUS.)
ATHENA. Though a child sailed on the sea,
It is not a child who returns home.
(ODYS SEUS en ters from UC.)
ODYS SEUS. What an es cape. I thought I'd never breathe
again but I've made it. Home. It looks so dif fer ent. (Sees
TELEMACHUS en ter.) Per haps it's better no one knows
I'm here just yet.
TELEMACHUS. Ithaca. I never thought I'd see you and be
so sad.
(ANTINOUS saun ters on.)
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ANTINOUS. You turned out to be a good sailor, kid—just
like your old man.
TELEMACHUS. My fa ther is dead.
ODYS SEUS. I must be cau tious, now. Wait for the right
mo ment or there'll be an other di sas ter. (He dis guises
him self.)
ANTINOUS. Don't take it so hard, kid. What'd ya ex pect
af ter all this time? But ya know what? Your mother
would n't budge when you were gone. Now that you're
back, there won't be nothin to stop the wed ding. (He
skips off.)
TELEMACHUS. This world. Ev ery thing is wrong.
THE STRANGER (ODYS SEUS). Not ev ery thing, my boy.
So you're the prince, huh? And the queen's get ting mar -
ried? So aren't you stay ing for the wed ding?
TELEMACHUS. No.
THE STRANGER. Oh, I see. Ya wanna let your mother
face this guy all on her own. That makes sense. You're
just a kid. Stay outa the way. Let the grown ups take care
of the whole deal.
TELEMACHUS. You're right. I should be there. I need to
be there.
THE STRANGER. Mind if I stick around?
(ANTINOUS en ters the throne room with ODYS SEUS'
bow.)
ANTINOUS. Okay, all I gotta do, she says, to make this
wed ding hap pen is string the bow and shoot a sin gle ar -
row through twelve ax heads. "Just like Odys seus."
THE STRANGER. No body but him has ever been able to
even string that bow.
ANTINOUS. Yeah, well, I'm a strong guy. (He strug gles
to string the bow.)
TELEMACHUS. What are you do ing?
(ANTINOUS fails.)
TELEMACHUS. That's my fa ther's bow.
ANTINOUS. Not when I fin ish with it. (He tries again.)
TELEMACHUS. Give it to me.
ANTINOUS. Back off. (ANTINOUS tries the bow again—
might ily—but fails.)
(TELEMACHUS be gins to string the "bow.")
ANTINOUS. You're jok ing.
THE STRANGER. He's bend ing it back.
ANTINOUS. The bow's start ing to give.
THE STRANGER. He's got the string taut.
ANTINOUS. It's al most reach ing.
THE STRANGER. Just a lit tle bit more.
(TELEMACHUS fails.)
ANTINOUS. Guess you're not your fa ther yet.
ODYS SEUS. The child's more than you'll ever be. Well
done, Telemachus. (ODYS SEUS strings the "bow.")
ANTINOUS. How did you do that?
ODYS SEUS. And now, one ar row through all twelve ax
heads. (He shoots.)
ANTINOUS. In cred i ble. Who are you?
TELEMACHUS. My fa ther.
30 THE OD YS SEY
FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY
ANTINOUS. Odys seus.
ODYS SEUS. You've taken over my house. You've abused
my fam ily.
ANTINOUS. No, please.
ODYS SEUS. You'll die like the an i mal you are.
TELEMACHUS. Fa ther, wait.
ODYS SEUS. You're right. You're the one who's suf fered
un der him. You're the one who de serves the honor. (He
hands TELEMACHUS the "bow.") Take your re venge.
As sume your right ful place. Do what I would do.
(TELEMACHUS lifts the weapon and points it at
ANTINOUS.)
ATHENA. This is how the Greeks told the tale.
Revenge raging like a scarlet ocean
Will our Telemachus make blood flow like a tidal
wave?
ODYS SEUS. Kill him, Telemachus.
TELEMACHUS. No, Fa ther.
ODYS SEUS. You must kill be fore you are killed.
TELEMACHUS. He is our en emy, but an en emy in one
mo ment may be a neigh bor in the next.
ODYS SEUS. You don't un der stand the world, Telemachus.
TELEMACHUS. If we kill him, we be come mon sters.
ODYS SEUS. If you don't shoot—you are not my son.
TELEMACHUS. I am your son, Fa ther. But I'm my self
too. This man has be haved brut ishly, but he is a guest in
our house. I will not harm him. I have seen enough de -
struc tion. I don't want to bring any more to the world.
Go, Antinous.
THE OD YS SEY 31
FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY
(ANTINOUS slinks away.)
ODYS SEUS. I've been gone a long time. The world's
changed. You've changed. But you have as much cour -
age as I've ever known.
TELEMACHUS. Wel come home, Fa ther.
(ODYS SEUS em braces his child.)
ATHENA.
The muses have sung
Our tale of ocean's storm
And water's cleansing,
Of a father brought home
By slyness and strength
Of a child who found his way,
With wisdom and trust.
Their journey is done.
What will yours be, my friends?
What path will you find?
END OF PLAY
In the beginning God 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 God moved upon the face of
the waters.
¶ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light
from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
¶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the
waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God 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 God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the
morning were the second day.
¶ And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered
together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of
the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding
seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in
itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his
kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his
kind: and God saw that it was good.
And the evening and the morning were the third day.
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¶ And God 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 God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
And God 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 God saw that it was good.
And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
¶ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving
creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the
open firmament of heaven.
And God created great whales, and every living creature that
moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their
kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was
good.
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill
the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
¶ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after
his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his
kind: and it was so.
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after
their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his
kind: and God saw that it was good.
¶ And God 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
fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he them.
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7 Genesis 2
And God blessed them, and God 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 fowl of the air, and
over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing 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 meat.
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to
every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have
given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was
very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
2
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
them.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made;
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had
made.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in
it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Man in the Garden of Eden
¶ These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when
they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth
and the heavens,
and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every
herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it
to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole
face of the ground.
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8 Genesis 2
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there
he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that
is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the
midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
¶ And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from
thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the
whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx
stone.
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that
compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth
toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
¶ And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of
Eden to dress it and to keep it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of
the garden thou mayest freely eat:
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat
of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
¶ And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be
alone; I will make him a help meet for him.
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the
field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see
what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living
creature, that was the name thereof.
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and
to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help
meet for him.
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9 Genesis 3
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he
slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead
thereof.
And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a
woman, and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my
flesh: she shall be called Woman [heb. Isha], because she was taken
out of Man [heb. Ish].
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not
ashamed.
3
Man's Disobedience
Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which
the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath
God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of
the trees of the garden:
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes
shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that
it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made
themselves aprons.
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10 Genesis 3
¶ And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden
in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from
the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where
art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I 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 God said unto the woman, What is this that thou
hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I
did eat.
¶ And the Lord God said unto the serpent,
Because thou hast done this,
thou art cursed 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;
it shall bruise thy head,
and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Unto the woman he said,
I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception;
in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;
and thy desire shall be to thy husband,
and he shall rule over thee.
And unto Adam he said,
Because thou hast hearkened unto 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 sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
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11 Genesis 4
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 unto the ground;
for out of it wast thou taken:
for dust thou art,and unto dust shalt thou return.
¶ And Adam called his wife's name Eve [living]; because she was
the mother of all living.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of
skins, and clothed them.
¶ And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us,
to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and
take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
therefore the Lord God 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 cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to
keep the way of the tree of life.
4
Cain and Abel
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain
[gotten, or acquired], and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of
sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the
fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat
thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was
very wroth, and his countenance fell.
And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy
countenance fallen?
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12 Genesis 4
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not
well, sin lieth at the door: and unto thee shall be his desire, and
thou shalt rule over him.
¶ And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when
they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother,
and slew him.
And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he
said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood
crieth unto me from the ground.
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her
mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand.
When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto
thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the
earth.
And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can
bear.
Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth;
and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a
vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that
findeth me shall slay me.
And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain,
vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a
mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in
the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
¶ And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and
he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of
his son, Enoch.
And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and
Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was
Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents,
and of such as have cattle.
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13 Genesis 5
And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as
handle the harp and organ.
And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructor of every artificer
in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
¶ And Lamech said unto his wives,
Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech:
for I have slain a man to my wounding,
and a young man to my hurt.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
¶ And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his
name Seth [appointed, or put]: For God, said she, hath appointed
me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his
name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
5
The Descendants of Adam
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God
created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called
their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his
own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
and the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight
hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
and all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty
years: and he died.
¶ And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
and Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years,
and begat sons and daughters:
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14 Genesis 5
and all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and
he died.
¶ And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
and Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen
years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he
died.
¶ And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
and Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty
years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he
died.
¶ And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
and Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty
years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five
years: and he died.
¶ And Jared lived a hundred sixty and two years, and he begat
Enoch:
and Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat
sons and daughters:
and all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years:
and he died.
¶ And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three
hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
¶ And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and
begat Lamech:
and Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty
and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine
years: and he died.
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¶ And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begat a
son:
and he called his name Noah [rest or comfort], saying, This same
shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands,
because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.
And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five
years, and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven
years: and he died.
¶ And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem,
Ham, and Japheth.
6
The Wickedness of Mankind
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the
earth, and daughters were born unto them,
that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair;
and they took them wives of all which they chose.
And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for
that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty
years.
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that,
when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they
bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of
old, men of renown.
¶ And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually.
And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and
it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from
the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing,
and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
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But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah Makes the Ark
¶ These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and
perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
¶ The earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled
with violence.
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all
flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me;
for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I
will destroy them with the earth.
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the
ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the
ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and
the height of it thirty cubits.
A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou
finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side
thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to
destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven;
and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come
into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives
with thee.
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou
bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male
and female.
Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every
creeping thing of the earth after his kind; two of every sort shall
come unto thee, to keep them alive.
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And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt
gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
Thus did Noah according to all that God commanded him, so did
he.
7
The Flood
And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into
the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and
his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his
female.
Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep
seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty
days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made
will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.
¶ And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters
was upon the earth.
And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives
with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of
every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and
the female, as God had commanded Noah.
And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood
were upon the earth.
¶ In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the
seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains
of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were
opened.
And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
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In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and
Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of
his sons with them, into the ark;
they, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their
kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after
his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh,
wherein is the breath of life.
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God
had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.
¶ And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters
increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth.
And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the
earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the
high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains
were covered.
And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of
cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon
the earth, and every man:
all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry
land, died.
And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face
of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and
the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth:
and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the
ark.
And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.
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And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the
cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass
over the earth, and the waters assuaged.
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The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were
stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.
And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after
the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of
the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the
tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the
mountains seen.
¶ And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the
window of the ark which he had made:
and he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the
waters were dried up from off the earth.
Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated
from off the face of the ground.
But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned
unto him into the ark; for the waters were on the face of the whole
earth. Then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in
unto him into the ark.
And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the
dove out of the ark.
And the dove came in to him in the evening, and, lo, in her mouth
was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were
abated from off the earth.
And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove, which
returned not again unto him any more.
¶ And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first
month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off
the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked,
and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the
month, was the earth dried.
And God spake unto Noah, saying,
Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons'
wives with thee.
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Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all
flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the
earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons'
wives with him:
every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever
creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the
ark.
¶ And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every
clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on
the altar.
And the Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in his
heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake;
for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: neither
will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and
heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
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God's Covenant with Noah
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast
of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth
upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are
they delivered.
Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the
green herb have I given you all things.
But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye
not eat.
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And surely your blood of your lives will I require: at the hand of
every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of
every man's brother will I require the life of man.
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for
in the image of God made he man.
And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in
the earth, and multiply therein.
¶ And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your
seed after you;
and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the
cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out
of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be
cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any
more be a flood to destroy the earth.
And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make
between me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for
perpetual generations:
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a
covenant between me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that
the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you
and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more
become a flood to destroy all flesh.
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I
may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every
living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I
have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
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Noah's Drunkenness
¶ And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and
Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth
overspread.
¶ And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
and he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered
within his tent.
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father,
and told his two brethren without.
And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their
shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their
father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their
father's nakedness.
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son
had done unto him.
And he said,
Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
And he said,
Blessed be the Lord God of Shem;
and Canaan shall be his servant.
God shall enlarge Japheth,
and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem;
and Canaan shall be his servant.
¶ And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he
died.
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The Descendants of the Sons of Noah
Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah; Shem, Ham,
and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
¶ The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan,
and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and
Dodanim.
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every
one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
¶ And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and
Canaan.
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah,
and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said,
Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and
Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the
city Rehoboth, and Calah,
and Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and
Naphtuhim,
and Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and
Caphtorim.
¶ And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and
afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
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And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest
to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and
Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues,
in their countries, and in their nations.
¶ Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother
of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud,
and Aram.
And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg
[division]; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's
name was Joktan.
And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazar-maveth, and
Jerah,
and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of
Joktan.
And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar, a
mount of the east.
These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues,
in their lands, after their nations.
¶ These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations,
in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth
after the flood.
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The Tower of Babel
And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they
found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
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And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn
them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they
for mortar.
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top
may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be
scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the
children of men builded.
And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all
one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be
restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they
may not understand one another's speech.
So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of
all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did
there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did
the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
The Descendants of Shem
¶ These are the generations of Shem: Shem was a hundred years
old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:
and Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and
begat sons and daughters.
¶ And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:
And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three
years, and begat sons and daughters.
¶ And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:
and Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years,
and begat sons and daughters.
¶ And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:
and Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years,
and begat sons and daughters.
¶ And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:
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and Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and
begat sons and daughters.
¶ And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:
and Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years,
and begat sons and daughters.
¶ And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:
and Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat
sons and daughters.
¶ And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:
and Nahor lived after he begat Terah a hundred and nineteen years,
and begat sons and daughters.
¶ And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and
Haran.
The Descendants of Terah
¶ Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram,
Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity,
in Ur of the Chaldees.
And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife
was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of
Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
¶ And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his
son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and
they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the
land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah
died in Haran.
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God's Call to Abram
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that
I will show thee:
and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and
make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
¶ So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot
went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he
departed out of Haran.
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all
their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had
gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of
Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto
the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I
give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who
appeared unto him.
And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the
east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon
the name of the Lord.
And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
Abram in Egypt
¶ And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into
Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
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28 Genesis 13
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt,
that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a
fair woman to look upon:
therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee,
that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they
will save thee alive.
Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for
thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the
Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before
Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and
oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she
asses, and camels.
¶ And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues,
because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast
done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me
to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent
him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
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Abram and Lot Separate
And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he
had, and Lot with him, into the south.
¶ And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto
the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
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unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first:
and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and
tents.
And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell
together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell
together.
And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and
the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite
dwelt then in the land.
¶ And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee,
between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen;
for we be brethren.
Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee,
from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or
if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it
was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of
Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east:
and they separated themselves the one from the other.
Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of
the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord
exceedingly.
¶ And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated
from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where
thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy
seed for ever.
And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man
can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be
numbered.
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Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth
of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of
Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the
Lord.
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Abram Rescues Lot
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch
king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of
nations;
that these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king
of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of
Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the
salt sea.
Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year
they rebelled.
And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that
were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and
the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
and the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the
wilderness.
And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and
smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites,
that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.
And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah,
and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of
Bela, (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the
vale of Siddim;
with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of
nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar;
four kings with five.
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And the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom
and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to
the mountain.
And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their
victuals, and went their way.
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom,
and his goods, and departed.
¶ And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the
Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother
of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with
Abram.
And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he
armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred
and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night,
and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the
left hand of Damascus.
And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his
brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
Melchizedek Blesses Abram
¶ And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return
from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and of the kings that were with
him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and
he was the priest of the most high God.
And he blessed him, and said,
Blessed be Abram of the most high God,
possessor of heaven and earth:
and blessed be the most high God,
which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.
And he gave him tithes of all.
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and
take the goods to thyself.
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And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand
unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and
earth,
that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I
will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have
made Abram rich:
save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of
the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them
take their portion.
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A Son Promised to Abram
After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a
vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding
great reward.
And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go
childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo,
one born in my house is mine heir.
And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This
shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine
own bowels shall be thine heir.
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward
heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he
said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for
righteousness.
¶ And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur
of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit
it?
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And he said unto him, Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she
goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a
turtledove, and a young pigeon.
And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and
laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove
them away.
¶ And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram;
and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a
stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they
shall afflict them four hundred years;
and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and
afterward shall they come out with great substance.
And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a
good old age.
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
¶ And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was
dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed
between those pieces.
In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto
the great river, the river Euphrates:
the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim,
and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the
Jebusites.