sacred uses of the Bible will be imperilled by his reading, not with the spirit only, but with the understanding also. * * * In this, as in the other volumes of this series, the text of the Selections is that of the Revised Version, the marginal alternatives being often substituted for the readings in the text. For the use of this Revised Version I express my obligation to the University Presses of Oxford and Cambridge. A Reference Table at the end connects the Selections with the volumes of the Modern Reader's Bible from which they are taken, and with the chapters and verses of the ordinary versions. CONTENTS STORIES I Joseph and his Brethren 5 II The Witness of Balaam to Israel 32 III The Crowning of Abimelech 43 IV Samson's Wedding Feast 49 V The Expedition against Elisha 53 VI The Dream of the Tree cut down 55 VII Belshazzar's Feast 60 ORATORY I The Oration of Moses at the Rehearsal of the Blessing and the Curse 67 II A Discourse on Immortality and the Covenant with Death 75 III Isaiah: The Great Arraignment 84 IV Isaiah: The Covenant with Death 87 V Isaiah: The Utter Destruction and the Great Restoration 90 VI Ezekiel: The Sword of the LORD 93 VII Ezekiel: Wreck of the Goodly Ship Tyre 98 VIII Prophetic Sentences (from Jeremiah) 101 WISDOM Wisdom Brevities 107 Essays i Wisdom's Way with her Children 112 ii Prosperity and Adversity are from the Lord 113 iii Against Gossip 114 iv On the Tongue 115 v Choice of Company 116 vi The Wisdom of Business and the Wisdom of Leisure 120 vii Life as a Joy shadowed by the Judgment (with a Sonnet: The Coming of the Evil Days) 123 Sonnets i The Sluggard 125 ii The Mourning for the Fool 126 iii The Two Paths 126 iv The Creator has made Wisdom the Supreme Prize 127 v Watchfulness of Lips and Heart 129 vi Wisdom and the Fear of the Lord 130 vii Wisdom and the Strange Woman 132 LYRICS