The Bible
(Economists' Version)

Translated from the Original Paradigms
Being the Version Set Forth A.D. 1891
Revised A.D. 1931, A.D. 1941, and A.D. 1951
Compared with the Most Modern Authorities
And Revised A.D. 1961, A.D. 1971, and A.D. 1981
Centenary Edition of the New Testament A.D. 1991

Contents, Headings, Footnotes, and Endnotes

"Edited" by Gavin R. Putland
2002—

Preface

If this work offends your sensibilities, you have taken neo-classical economics too seriously. If it offends your religious sensibilities, you have made a religion of neo-classical economics. Here endeth the serious part.

Contents

• The Seventh Day
• The Creation of Woman
• The Fall
• Cain and Abel
• The Nephilim
• Babel
• ...
• The Ten Commandments
• ...

• The Parable of the Talents
• Render to Caesar...
• Footnote

• Endnotes

The Seventh Day

And on the seventh day God rested from all his work which he had made. Therefore God said, "The seventh part of men shall be idle: though they desire to work, yet shall they be paupers; for none shall hire them. And every one that is hired shall work without ceasing, lest he be cast out among the paupers, and a pauper take his place."

— Genesis 2:2-3 EV (Economists' Version).

The Creation of Woman

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and 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 unto the woman, "This is my garden. If thou wilt toil therein, thou shalt pay rent; and whosoever will pay more rent than thou, the same shall have thy portion of the garden in thy stead."

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall become a burden upon the state, and no woman shall accept him for an husband; for he hath no place to toil.

And they were both uncompetitive, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

— Genesis 2:21-25 EV (Economists' Version).

The Fall

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, "Yea, hath thy husband said, `Thou shalt pay rent'?"

And the woman said, "If I will toil in the garden, I must pay rent to my husband; for the garden is his."

And the serpent said, "The garden is not thy husband's, but mine; for I was in it afore he." Howbeit other creatures had been in the garden afore the serpent; but the woman wist it not, and held her peace. "Moreover," said the serpent, "God doth know that in the day thou eatest of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, thou shalt be as God, knowing efficiency and inefficiency. Therefore take thou of the fruit and eat, lest thy husband be able to pay more rent than thou, and thy portion of the garden be taken from thee and given unto him."

And the woman feared greatly. And when she 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 the serpent said likewise unto her husband; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were uncompetitive; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves suits.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves amongst the trees of the garden. And God called unto Adam and said unto him, "Where art thou?"

And he said, "I heard a sound in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was uncompetitive; and I hid myself."

And God said, "Who told thee that thou wast uncompetitive? 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 did eat it first; and for fear of her 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 shalt be bless'd
above all cattle, and above all men.
Content upon thy belly shalt thou go:
the strife of men shall be for thee as feet;
by this the very dust shall be thy meat.

For between a master and his equal,
and between a servant and his fellow,
and between a master and his servant,
enmity and strife shall rage forever,
while in peace thou shalt receive the rent.

And if for pity thou shalt give the poor
a tithe of what the landless give to thee,
pretending to be giving of thine own,
a pillar of society shalt thou be.

Unto the woman he said:

I will greatly multiply thy sorrow,
and in sorrow shalt thou bear thy children:
neither shall thy labour nor thy husband's
be sufficient to provide for them;
yet shall thy desire be unto him.

And unto Adam he said:

The serpent is rewarded for his guile:
the ground beneath thy feet is all possess'd.
In sorrow shalt thou labour all thy days
and only in thy death shalt thou take rest,
for if another pay more rent than thou,
the same shall take thy place; for dust thou art;
and striving over dust shall be thy lot,
because without the dust thou livest not.

— Genesis 3:1-19 EV (Economists' Version).

Cain and Abel

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, "I have gotten a man from the LORD." And she again bare his brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And though the land yielded more unto Cain than unto Abel, yet did Abel hire fewer labourers, wherefore he was able to pay more rent, which was counted to him for efficiency. Therefore, when Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering for rent, and when also Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof an offering for rent, the serpent 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? If thou doest better than thy brother, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not better, vagrancy lieth at the door: 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 the LORD said, "What hast thou done? If thy brother shall not teach thee to keep sheep, who shall teach thee? How canst thou now compete? Thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand: a pauper 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 any one that findeth me shall slay me."

And the LORD said unto him, "Not so! Whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold, for only one man in seven is a vagabond." And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

— Genesis 4:1-15 EV (Economists' Version).

The Nephilim

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 the serpent 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 an hundred and twenty years." There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of the serpent came in unto the daughters of men and they bare children to them, the same became powerful men which were of old, and are yet, men of renown.

— Genesis 6:1-4 EV (Economists' Version).

Babel

Now all the economists of the world were of one language and of few words. And it came to pass, as men journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Vespuccia and dwelt there. And the economists said one to another, "Go to, let us write books, and prove them thoroughly." And they knew what was capital and what was labour and what was land. And they said, "Behold, the capitalist createth his profit, as the labourer createth his wages; but the landlord createth not his ground-rent, as the beggar createth not his alms. Therefore let the commonwealth tax neither wages, lest there be less employment and higher prices, nor profit, lest there be less production and higher prices, but ground-rents, for there cannot be less land." And the people heard it, and understood it, and were glad.

But the sons of the serpent cried out unto the LORD, saying, "This cannot be! For if we no longer grow richer as we sleep, how shall the serpent be rewarded for his guile?"

So the LORD raised up new economists, which confounded the language of the old economists: and what was land became capital, and what was ground-rent became interest, and what was wages or profit became rent, and what was appropriation became production, and what were three factors of production became two, and what were three classes of persons became two.^[1,2,3] So the people no more understood the economists, and left off murmuring against the ground-landlords, and began instead to murmur against the capitalists.

And the new economists did eat at the tables of the sons of the serpent unto this day; but the old economists were driven into the wilderness unto this day. Therefore is the name of the place called Babel: because the LORD did there confound the language of the old economists, and from thence did the LORD scatter them into the wilderness.

— Genesis 11:1-9 EV (Economists' Version).

To be continued...

The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt have no other gods before Me, save thy landlord, thine employer, and thine employer's landlord.

Thou shalt not make for thyself any graven image; for thine employer shall provide graven images for thee, and to them only shalt thou bow down.

Thou shalt not invoke the name of the LORD thy God against unearned privileges; for the process of time doth convert wrongs into perpetual tradeable rights.

Remember the sabbath day and offer it for a sacrifice to thine employer: for if thou wilt not sacrifice thy sabbaths to thy master, another servant will; and if thy master will not sacrifice his servants' sabbaths to his landlord, another master will.

Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest inherit their estate; for the labour of thy youth shall not suffice thee in thine old age.

Thou shalt not kill, but needst not give up thy privileges to keep nameless multitudes alive.

Thou shalt not commit adultery, but shalt make ostentation of riches while thou art yet unmarried, that she who would become thy neighbour's wife may become thine own.

Thou shalt not steal; for he that biddeth against his fellow for a place to work and a place to dwell shall willingly give thee all that he hath.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour, but shalt bear false witness against thy neighbour's ideas if the implications thereof be inconvenient unto thee.

Thou shalt not covet any thing that is thy neighbour's, but shalt covet every thing that is thy neighbourhood's.

— Exodus 20:3-17 EV (Economists' Version).

To be continued...

The Parable of the Talents

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his servants and delivered unto them his goods. And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every man according to his ability; and straightway he took his journey.

After a long time the lord of those servants returned, and did reckon with them.

And so he that had received five talents came and said, "Lord, with the talents that thou gavest me, I bought fields on the edge of the city. And as I ate and drank and was merry, Caesar decreed that the fields should be divided for dwelling-places. So my fields increased greatly in value; yea, and also other fields increased in value, as other men strove to be imitators of me. Then I sold my fields for much gain. Thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained five talents more."

His lord said unto him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Because thou hast been faithful over small things, I will make thee ruler over great things."

He also that had received two talents came and said, "Lord, with the talents that thou gavest me, I bought dwelling places in the midst of the city and let them out to tenants. And as I ate and drank and was merry, I received the rent thereof. Moreover, as the midst of the city became a place to be desired, those dwelling-places increased greatly in value, and increased yet the more as other men strove to be imitators of me. Then I sold the same for much gain beside the rent. Thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two talents more."

His lord said unto him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Because thou hast been faithful over small things, I will make thee ruler over great things."

Then he that had received the one talent came and said, "Lord, thou knowest that I am a fair man, neither reaping where I have not sown, nor gathering where I have not winnowed. Therefore, with the talent that thou gavest me, I built a manufactory, and laboured day and night, and hired many hands, and created much wealth, wherewith I paid wages that raised up many labourers out of poverty, that they by their spending might raise up others out of poverty. But the rent of the land beneath my manufactory became grievous to bear. And the central bankers said, `Behold, too many working men prosper; and they buy too many dwelling-places on the edge of the city and in the midst thereof, wherefore the prices of dwelling-places do soar; and they buy too many goods, wherefore the sellers thereof bid too much rent for working-places, wherefore others strive to buy those working-places, and the prices thereof do soar.' Therefore they burdened the people with heavy usury, so that my customers could no more buy my wares, and my manufactory and all my stock were liquidated and my labourers retrenched. And all that remained was but one talent: behold, take that which is thine."

His lord answered and said unto him, "Thou wicked and reckless servant! Thou sayest that thou wast a fair man, neither reaping where thou hadst not sown nor gathering where thou hadst not winnowed. Why then didst thou not deposit my money with the exchangers, that they might lend it to a man harder than thou, that at my coming I should have received mine own with usury? Why findest thou fault with the central bankers, when thou by hiring too many labourers hast forced their hand? Yea, thou hast laboured day and night, but what hast thou to shew for it? Yea, thou hast hired many labourers; but now because they are hired no longer, they shall hate thee more than if thou hadst never hired them! Yea, thou hast created much wealth, but it hath not profited me. Therefore neither shall it profit thee: Take the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath taken much, more shall be given; but from him that hath taken nothing, even the little that he hath shall be taken away."

— Matthew 25:14-29 EV (Economists' Version).

Render to Caesar...

And there came unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. And they said unto him, "Master, is it lawful to pay taxes unto Caesar, or not?"

And he said, "A certain man bought for himself a dwelling-place. And immediately, within a bow shot thereof, Caesar decreed that there should be schools, and streets, and chariot-stops, and a marketplace, and a surgery. Therefore the dwelling-place increased greatly in value, and the man sold it for much gain. Now tell me: Whose doing was this?"

And they said, "Caesar's."

And he said, "And how much tax did the man pay on account thereof?"

And they said, "Little or none."

Then he said, "Every day for a year, the same man laboured from the rising of the sun till the stars appeared. Whose doing was this?"

And they said, "His own."

And he said, "And how much tax did he pay on account thereof."

And they said, "About the third part of his wages."

Then he said, "Thereafter the man became a travelling merchant, buying goods where they were plentiful and selling the same where they were scarce. Whose doing was this?"

And they said, "His own."

And he said, "And how much tax did he pay on account thereof."

And they said, "About the third part of his profit."

Then Jesus answered, "Therefore do ye every one likewise: Keep for thyself the things that are Caesar's, and render to Caesar the third part of all that is thine."

And they marvelled at him.

— Mark 12:13-17 EV (Economists' Version).

Footnote

The following verse, quoted from the King James Version (KJV), does not appear in the Economists' Version:

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

— I Corinthians 2:9 KJV.

This verse is rejected as spurious because it contradicts the dogma that all radical movements for social reform are impious attempts to create Heaven on earth; for such movements promise only greater production and more equal distribution of benefits which eyes have seen, and which ears have heard, and which have entered into the hearts of men!

To be continued...

Endnotes

Copyright © Gavin R. Putland.